Cpu cooler help please!!

mr griffin · 19 Jun 2018 at 16:33

Im looking to use a big ass cooler on my asus maximus vI gene on my 4770k cpu

Im worried about the cooler impeeding the first pci slot though.

My top choices are

Silver arrow extreme or noctua d14

Also added dark rock pro 4 cooler too now

Has anyone used either of these on my board ?

DomBruv · 19 Jun 2018 at 16:50

to me this video shows that you have quite a bit of room regarding the pci slots, don't know about high profile ram though

mr griffin · 19 Jun 2018 at 18:02

DomBruv said:
to me this video shows that you have quite a bit of room regarding the pci slots, don't know about high profile ram though

Thanks for taking the time to post, but that's a full atx motherboard mine is a micro atx board and the pci express slot it right at the top....

Im pretty sure a noctua d14 will just about fit, and I know a noctua d15 covers the first pci express slot by a few mm
I have a feeling a silver arrow will cover the slot also

mr griffin · 19 Jun 2018 at 20:06

Ive looked up all the coolers and be quiet pro 4 looks like it will be the one for me then as specs say its width is the smallest...will phone up overclockers b4 order to just make sure it fits.
Noctua d14 width is 140mm

Noctua d15 width is 150mm (seen vid on youtube this covers first pcie slot on my board by a few mm)

Silver arrow extreme width is 155mm

Be quiet pro 4 width is 136mm

Not much in performance between the coolers either from what ive read.

EsaT · 20 Jun 2018 at 13:05

140mm fanned heatsinks pretty much protrude into/touch space of uppermost PCI-e slot. (plate in back side of PCB might not fit)
And big dual tower heatsinks also have memory clearance issues.

Single tower heatsinks with offset design can completely avoid memory clearance issues.
And in smaller than 140mm size are automatically free from any PCI-e slot space issues:
https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8320/scythe-mugen-5-rev-cpu-cooler-review/index5.html
Scythe Mugen 5 is actually extremely affordably priced for its performance.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/scythe-scmg-5000-mugen-5-cpu-cooler-hs-046-sy.html

HeX · 20 Jun 2018 at 14:45

mr griffin said:
Thanks for taking the time to post, but that's a full atx motherboard mine is a micro atx board and the pci express slot it right at the top....

Im pretty sure a noctua d14 will just about fit, and I know a noctua d15 covers the first pci express slot by a few mm
I have a feeling a silver arrow will cover the slot also

Have you looked at the D15S? It's designed to be offset so it doesn't impede the top slots and memory.

Your mobo is also in the compatible list: https://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15s/comp

mr griffin · 20 Jun 2018 at 18:30

Thanks guys appreciated the help... i didnt know about that noctuia cooler i will have a good gander,

doyll · 22 Jun 2018 at 16:02

mr griffin said:
Im looking to use a big ass cooler on my asus maximus vI gene on my 4770k cpu

Im worried about the cooler impeeding the first pci slot though.

My top choices are

Silver arrow extreme or noctua d14

Also added dark rock pro 4 cooler too now

Has anyone used either of these on my board ?

You have about 72mm center CPU to near side of nearest PCIe socket and the usual 50mm to near side of RAM sockets. That is abut 77mm center CPU to center nearest PCIe socket.

Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme was discontinued some time ago.There was no Silver Arrow Extreme ever made. So I'll assume you mean Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme.

SA IB-E Extreme has offset base with fins reaching 67mm toward PCIe sockets from center of CPU. Keep in mind the fins are about 49-50mm above motherboard which clears RAM up to 47mm tall. Case clearance will determine if fan will fit between top of RAM and case ..
Case CPU clearance + 5mm = RAM height + 140mm fan.

If Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme will fit it will cool much better than D14 or D15 or D15S even if only using one fan in middle like D15S uses. This is becuase it has a fan that can move almost twice as much air as Noctua cooler fans do.

If you use Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme and run it about 1500rpm you will need to improve case airflow to match the Extreme airflow of it's TY-143 fans.

chaparral · 22 Jun 2018 at 18:37

mr griffin said:
Also added dark rock pro 4 cooler too now

You can see the size of my DRP 4 on my ATX motherboard in this picture..

greenbrucelee · 25 Jun 2018 at 12:16

The noctua nh-d15 is designed to accommodate higher profile RAM and can be used with one fan or two

doyll · 25 Jun 2018 at 12:32

Honestly, I can't think of any twin tower cooler that doesn't perform well with one fan, even the old Silver Arrow with it's 37.4mm spacing between towers. Only other I know of with that kind of spacing is Silverstone HE01 with 41mm tower spacing, and it comes with a single 38mm deep FHP141 fan.

NH-D15 has base centered under it's toweres. NH-D15S has base offset for better PCIe socket clearance. Noctua cut out 20mm of deep section of bottom 7 fins to give better RAM clearance, but if we are conscious of RAM height being an issue and buy normal height RAM or RAM without heat spreaders because modern RAM doesnt' need heat spreaders, and even on old DDR2 RAM independent testing found they do not help RAM cooling .. DDR3 and DDR4 RAM don't generate enough heat to even need additional cooling.