AMD A320 Motherboard for Streacom FC5 Evo Upgrade

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Purchased a Streacom FC5 evo c/w ASUS P8Z77-M Motherboard around 4 years ago but decided to upgrade to something a tad more current

However didn't do my homework when I purchased my MSI A320M-PRO MAX / 3200G CPU as the CPU positioning on the new MB doesn't match the existing heating pipe setup

Are there any A320M boards out there that match the Z77 board configuration?

I do also have a 2nd hand Tomahawk MSI B450 TOMAHAWK (Gen 1) if that could be used?

Streacom dimensions shown below


FekC1WL.jpg
2gy5rML.gif
 
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I saw that SFF one when looking around, it was quite an impressive thread. :D
If Intel boards seem to be working (albeit with some heatsink hacking), might be worth picking up one of their recents?
Still a nice case. Would be a shame to get rid of it.
 
Got a prompt reply from Streacom, not great new looks like my case is a Gen 1 which will cause more issues


Thanks for getting in touch regarding upgrading your FC5, will do my best to help. I have taken a look at the forum link you provided, from the picture it looks like you have the original FC5 (v1) not the updated Evo (v2) which is the main issue because we don't have any CPU mounting hardware revisions that support that.

With Evo and Alpha (the current version) we changed to using flat heat pipes which means the current CPU mount cant be used with your existing cooling hardware. Even if we supply the new heat pipes and heat sink mounts (in other words, all the cooling parts) the holes to attach to the heat sink (side panel) won't align.

Everything you have there can still function, the problem is how to secure it to the CPU, so it really depends if you are able to fabricate or mod something to replace the existing mounting arms.
 
I saw that SFF one when looking around, it was quite an impressive thread. :D
If Intel boards seem to be working (albeit with some heatsink hacking), might be worth picking up one of their recents?
Still a nice case. Would be a shame to get rid of it.
Yep it would, tbh for what I use it for I could probably live with the current set up however it stopped working last year (as per this thread)

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/threads/htpc-powering-up-but-not-posting-displaying.18859261/
 
I'm still not 100% sure on what your issue is. The blocks that attach to the side of the case which clamp the heatpipes should unscrew, freeing up the pipes. Similarly, the heatsink should seperate to allow adjustment of the pipes. That way you could move it to the new CPU location, and then re-attach to clamp it all in place.

Or is that your CPU block cant attach to an AM4 motherboard mounting holes setup. i.e. its just the cpu block thats not fitting or being able to be held down against the CPU.

If so, then you're really only needing some form of clamp that would work to pull down the top of your existing block against the cpu. The streamcom universal CPU mount might actually go the job for you if it could reach across the top of your existing.
 
I'm still not 100% sure on what your issue is. The blocks that attach to the side of the case which clamp the heatpipes should unscrew, freeing up the pipes. Similarly, the heatsink should seperate to allow adjustment of the pipes. That way you could move it to the new CPU location, and then re-attach to clamp it all in place.

Or is that your CPU block cant attach to an AM4 motherboard mounting holes setup. i.e. its just the cpu block thats not fitting or being able to be held down against the CPU.

If so, then you're really only needing some form of clamp that would work to pull down the top of your existing block against the cpu. The streamcom universal CPU mount might actually go the job for you if it could reach across the top of your existing.
From the manufacturer

Thanks for getting in touch regarding upgrading your FC5, will do my best to help. I have taken a look at the forum link you provided, from the picture it looks like you have the original FC5 (v1) not the updated Evo (v2) which is the main issue because we don't have any CPU mounting hardware revisions that support that.

With Evo and Alpha (the current version) we changed to using flat heat pipes which means the current CPU mount cant be used with your existing cooling hardware. Even if we supply the new heat pipes and heat sink mounts (in other words, all the cooling parts) the holes to attach to the heat sink (side panel) won't align.

Everything you have there can still function, the problem is how to secure it to the CPU, so it really depends if you are able to fabricate or mod something to replace the existing mounting arms.
 
Strocky,

Yes, I read that, but it doesn't answer the questions I put to you.

If you undo the 4 screws holding the CPU cooler arms to the motherboard:

(1) Can you then loosen off the brackets holding the pipes to the side of the case ? Yes / No ?
(2) Does that then allow you to slide the pipes along the side of the case ? Yes / No ?
(3) Can you loosen the 4 black screws on the top of the CPU heatsink which clamp the pipes? Yes / No?
(4) Does that then allow you to move the black heatsink closer / further away from the side of the case ? Yes/No?

The heatsink and and pipes are designed by Streacom to have adjustable positions which once in the right position you then clamp down to hold in fixed position. This allows a variance in where the heatsink sits. Your first post shows ability this from the image attached - Standard heatpipe area in light purple - SH2. <- thats the area the heatsink can be moved around in (by loosening the clamps on the pipes) to meet the location of the cpu holder. AM4 boards are generally not that different in position from intels ... as below ... ( your existing board and new board side by side ). You can see there would be minimal adjustment of the position needed.

v334p0W.jpg


What is different is the holes around the cpu that coolers screw into. In your case the 4 existing arms sticking out are not going to match and AM4 set of holes on your new board, and that Streacom do not offer a direct alternative - I get that ... but you can over come it. Yes - it might need a little modding, but its going to be within the scope of you i'm sure.

I would make use of the Streacom Universal CPU Mount to overcome this: https://streacom.com/products/um2-universal-cpu-mount/

Remember all you are needing is for downward pressure onto the top of the heatsink to press it onto the CPU. This UM2 piece looks like it would do that for you.

Once you have taken the parts apart (which you'll need to do to remove the motherboard I presume), I would

a) Cut the arms of the existing CPU heatsink . . . hacksaw + a small file to smooth it.

Pl6ZA2y.jpg

b) On the new board remove the 2 AM4 plastic brackets on the top of the board, but leave the bracket on the underside . i.e. unscrew the 4 screw marked in red, and take away the plastic bit between them.

S5HYcZW.jpg

c) get the UH2 and place it over the top of the whole black heatsink section and adjust the arms so that they sit over the holes of the AM4 motherboard, and use longer screws/bolts to reach down through the arms and screw into the motherboard mounting holes. i.e. move the pink dotted arms to over the red dotted holes.

Uh9SoIf.jpg

mv3COLF.jpg

I imagine you would need longer bolts, but the threads will be a standard size. Most hardware stores should be able to see you right. You can take the screws that you removed earlier to find the right thread size needed.

Yes, there this would be a little modding, but its not crazy stuff either and would get you the result you are looking for.

A potential issue might be height. How much spare height is there above the existing black heatsink to the top of the case ? If you are out of space there, then some other mods / adjustments may be needed.

You could file down the top fins of the black heatsink, or I can think of a different design of clamping bracket that would do the job as well, but would be a much lower height. ( but would be more complex to make.
 
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