Cooler to fit... frustrating.!!

Dustee · 31 Jan 2012 at 12:58

Ok so for the past week and half now I've been back n forth over ideas of a cpu cooler but I just can't seem to find one that Will fit.. or if it will, I just dont Like it..!

I know this sounds probably a little fussy, but I just don't want to settle for something I'm not happy with..

So.. I have a MSI Z68S-G43 (Gen3) 1155 Board..
This image isn't my board but... its pretty much bang on to how much room I have to my ram modules.. My Board may have a couple of mm extra in the space between fan mounts and ram slots but.. its very minimal to what you see in that pic.. its around 5-7mm at an approximate.!!!

I also Have Corsair Vengeance Memory so those with experience will know
these sit pretty high off the board..!!

Height of modules is;

-- I Really would like to avoid one of the AIO H20 Coolers (ie; antec kuhler 620) purely becasue I don't like the look of the tubing and I really don't fancy havin' it sprawling its way across my system..

Kinda need a cooler where the face of the fan sits with a maximum overhang of 5mm from the mounting holes on the plate / board .. orr if mounted with fan pointing downwards (i have 2 x 140mm top exhausts on case) then i need the side of the cooler to have either enough height clearance for the ram or also to sit with at most a 5mm overhang from the mounting points..

It's a Painstaking task looking at coolers, reading the reviews to cooling performance, then if its worthy having to find out its exact fitting dimensions..
(some are easy to find.. others not so..)

So.. Calling on the Experience of OCUK members and customers.! Surely someone out there has the answer.!!

Surveyor · 31 Jan 2012 at 13:29

Why don't you just buy a cooler where you can fit the fan on the other side so it pulls air through the heatsink instead of blowing air though it?

Kingy1968 · 31 Jan 2012 at 13:30

I have the Antex 620 and the tubes arnt that long and it certainly doesnt look like its sprawling across in my system...

Dustee · 31 Jan 2012 at 15:03

Kingy1968 said:
I have the Antex 620 and the tubes arnt that long and it certainly doesnt look like its sprawling across in my system...

Granted they don't look like they're trawling all around the case, but in my own personal preference I find them to be really unsightly.. Come the end of the year I intend to have the new IVY Bridge CPU and a Custom Watercooling Rig, but between now and then I just want a Decent Air cooler that.

a: fits
b: looks the part
c: performs well enough to let me o/c to get a little more juice out of the setup.

Dustee · 31 Jan 2012 at 15:10

Surveyor said:
Why don't you just buy a cooler where you can fit the fan on the other side so it pulls air through the heatsink instead of blowing air though it?

I initially wanted to get the ZALMAN CNPS 10X Flex

With a Push / Pull Config of 2 Akasa Venom Fans..
After realising this wasn't gonna fit I thought about the pull only setup.. but changing the fan to a Scythe Jaze Kyuni 1900RPM Which pushes a Massive Air volume at full speed (12V), CFM ±10% 110.3..

I was told though that the Flex setup in this way just wouldn't perform that well..
For Pull only configurations I'd gladly use one.. I just don't know which are actually any good..

pepp77 · 31 Jan 2012 at 15:32

Have a look at the Thermalright SI-128 - should do what you need.

Dustee · 31 Jan 2012 at 16:32

pepp77 said:
Have a look at the Thermalright SI-128 - should do what you need.

Compatibility

Intel
All Intel P4 LGA775 processors

AMD
Athlon64 / FX / X2 / Opteron all models**

----
Socket 1155 Needed

Reaper 392 · 31 Jan 2012 at 16:40

the zalman CNPS9900MAX blue or red LED should fit just fine:

http://www.bjorn3d.com/Material/revimages/coolers/Zalman CNPS9900Max/pic09.jpg

you can probably tell from my sig that i like it
(the only reason i havent overclocked is because im far too lazy to figure out how to overclock and allow the processor to turn itself down while idle)

pepp77 · 31 Jan 2012 at 16:42

Dustee said:
Compatibility

Intel
All Intel P4 LGA775 processors

AMD
Athlon64 / FX / X2 / Opteron all models**

----
Socket 1155 Needed

Thermalright have released an addon - http://www.thermalright.com/products/index.php?cat_id=20

Thermalright Venomous BTK allows 1155, 1366 and 775 fittings from the one adapter - costs about £8.50, however the only site I know that sells it has included this kit now with the cooler for the same price it was selling the cooler on its own previously (ie £27.50).

Dustee · 31 Jan 2012 at 16:46

Had Another Idea...

Ok so ever since I've upgraded my rig.. I've been struggling with a decent cooler for my cpu whilst avoiding the AIO H20 Coolers..

--
I had my heart set on the Zalman Flex as posted at the Very Top.. ^

--
I've just refitted my rig into a Zalman Z9 Plus Case (hats off to zalman.. Love it!!) - Currently I have it Setup with;

1 Front and 1 Bottom 120mm intakes
1 Rear and 2 Top 120mm Exhausts...

If I flip the Rear Exhaust to Intake... This leaves me a 3-2 in / out ratio which i know helps prevent dust build up (even though I have front / bottom dust filters..)

My thinking in this; is I can afterall get my Zalman Flex Cooler and fit the fan in Push configuration with the Fan on the rear case side of the cooler forcing cool air from the rear of the case and then all the heat being exhausted right out the top..

Dustee · 31 Jan 2012 at 16:52

Reaper 392 said:
the zalman CNPS9900MAX blue or red LED should fit just fine:

http://www.bjorn3d.com/Material/revimages/coolers/Zalman CNPS9900Max/pic09.jpg

you can probably tell from my sig that i like it
(the only reason i havent overclocked is because im far too lazy to figure out how to overclock and allow the processor to turn itself down while idle)

Not too bad though again bein fussy i'd prefer to avoid the blue leds.. (crazy considering I bought the zalman z9 plus case... but im changing all the fans to akasa vipers asap..) - Still.. I'll keep my mind open, as for a short term fix i possibly could stick with the blue till i upgrade my cpu / cooling system later if it comes to it..

What kinda temps you gettin with this over stock??

pepp77 said:
Thermalright have released an addon - http://www.thermalright.com/products/index.php?cat_id=20

Thermalright Venomous BTK allows 1155, 1366 and 775 fittings from the one adapter - costs about £8.50, however the only site I know that sells it has included this kit now with the cooler for the same price it was selling the cooler on its own previously (ie £27.50).

Hmm I never saw than on their website i'll go and have a look, thanks

pgi947 · 31 Jan 2012 at 18:29

You could just remove the heatsinks from the vengeance memory, then buy what ever cooler you like, as the HSF will over-hang the 'open' stick you won't actually see it if cosmetics is your worry?

Doing so will void warranty, alternatively sell the vengeance and get some vengeance LP.

panyan · 31 Jan 2012 at 18:32

pgi947 said:
You could just remove the heatsinks from the vengeance memory, then buy what ever cooler you like, as the HSF will over-hang the 'open' stick you won't actually see it if cosmetics is your worry?

Doing so will void warranty, alternatively sell the vengeance and get some vengeance LP.

+1 to all this

Dustee · 31 Jan 2012 at 19:17

pgi947 said:
You could just remove the heatsinks from the vengeance memory, then buy what ever cooler you like, as the HSF will over-hang the 'open' stick you won't actually see it if cosmetics is your worry?

Doing so will void warranty, alternatively sell the vengeance and get some vengeance LP.

ive thought of buying the lp memory.. but well, i bought the vengeance instead cos' i love the look of it..
not sure i wanna void my warranty though.. I'm sure I'll figure this out somehow..
I'm gettin close to tempted to selling the board and buying another that allows me the room i need

pgi947 · 31 Jan 2012 at 19:38

I may be wrong but I don't think there are any socket 1155 boards out that offer generous spacing between the socket and the first ram slot...

Should my H80 ever die I would more than likely get the phanteks cooler, take off the heat-spreaders from the vengeance and buy some aftermarket heat-spreader. Currently only around £2-3 for a decent looking heat-spreader.

It could be worse, you could have these monstrosities:

DoneADougalOnSofa · 4 Feb 2012 at 11:14

pgi947 said:
I may be wrong but I don't think there are any socket 1155 boards out that offer generous spacing between the socket and the first ram slot...

You're pretty much right.
My Asus P8-Z68 LX has the RAM right up against CPU die. But most coolers go 'up-and-out'- I've got an Arctic Freezer 13 wedged in next to 16GB of chunky RipjawsX, yes it's a bit tight, but it fits (and does a great job of cooling the RAM too).
And the Freezer 13 is huge...
Crux: although the gap looks small, remember these are industry standard boards (usually)- coolers will be DESIGNED to fit!

Reaper 392 · 4 Feb 2012 at 11:23

Dustee said:
Not too bad though again bein fussy i'd prefer to avoid the blue leds.. (crazy considering I bought the zalman z9 plus case... but im changing all the fans to akasa vipers asap..) - Still.. I'll keep my mind open, as for a short term fix i possibly could stick with the blue till i upgrade my cpu / cooling system later if it comes to it..

What kinda temps you gettin with this over stock??

you can get one with a red LED as well, but i guess you just dont like LEDs atall so that probably wont help

as for temps, well:

stock heatsink while gaming
fan at 6850RPM (sounding like a jet), 65C, some processor throttling on hot days. considering AMDs limit for the processor was 62C, the cooler was awful

zalman with resistor cable and "cool and quiet" enabled on the motherboard while gaming
fan at 1350RPM, ~50C max, super quiet