Is extra cooling required for my build

Hercules Smith · 26 Nov 2018 at 17:11

New HTPC build so far:

Ryzen 5 2400G
Noctua NH L9x65 AM4 CPU fan
MSI B450M Mortar
2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance 3000mhz
Crucial MX500 500GB SSD
Silverstone ML04 case
be quiet Straight Power 450W

The power supply is has more W than needed but was the lowest in that range - I'm going for quiet running.

I will need to overclock the memory slightly to get 3000 mhz.

Will I need an extra fan in the case? I imagine the most taxing thing it will do is play 4k movies while maybe downloading stuff. Thanks

Hercules Smith · 26 Nov 2018 at 21:09

mattyfez said:
I'd say no, you also don't need 16gb ram for playing videos and downloading files 8gb is plenty.

Thanks.

Yes, I did have 8GB in there to start with but I've upped it to 16GB just to future proof it a bit - it's about £45 more. My last HTPC build back in 2005 was given way more oomph than it needed at the time and it lasted for 13 years. Maybe that extra memory will get used by 2031

Hercules Smith · 26 Nov 2018 at 21:43

On my previous build I used a bit of software called Speedfan. It started as part of start up and the % usage of each fan was set to be quiet unless a certain temperature was exceeded.

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 07:36

Thanks mattyfez, Jamin. That's all good then.

So I don't need an extra fan on the side of the case. Brill

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 14:44

doyll said:
Try it without a top intake and see. It will most likely be fine. You can always add a fan if needed. Case only has 80mm CPU clearance and NH-L9x65 is 65 with fan. That leave only 15mm for intake fan .. and while there are some fans 13mm thick, having 2 fans that close together often makes a lot of noise.

I suggest you experiment with fan on cooler mounted pulling air out of cooler as well as pushing air into cooler. I've found most of the time with this kind of small coolers fan pulling almost always gives lower temps.

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you suggesting putting a fan on top of the CPU fan? Pulling air out as well as pushing in - not sure how you mean

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 19:20

Oh right, I see. I would have thought it did it that way anyway.

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 19:57

Quite. I just assumed the fan pulled the heat away from the cooler like the pics on the right. I assume I'll be able to choose which way round the fan goes then?