Problem with fan clearance in first build...

ioverclockers

ioverclockers

ioverclockers

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29 May 2020
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Decided to make a dedicated post to this specific issue I’m having with my heatsink & fans …

As I wanted a decent air cooler, i went with the impressive ZALMAN CNPS20X . My mobo is the Lian Li 011D Dynamic XL, because it was touted as being very spacious.

Well, turns out there’s only like 3-4 mm clearance left between the bolts running through the cooler to the side glass panel and i'm running into a problem with the second Zalman included 140 mm fan that sits on top of my RAM. My RAM is pretty high with its integrated heat sinks (GSKIL F4-3200C14D-32GTZSK) and this makes the fan pop up like a big cm over the heat sink, bumping into the glass panel...

So I’m pondering on what would be the best solution ?
  1. Reposition the RAM sticks underneath the heat sink. That's a possibility. That way the fan goes nicely at the side of the heat sink and all is ok. Only problem i have with that is that's not the recommended RAM placement of the mobo manufacturer (ROG CROSSHAIR VIII HERO (WI-FI)), recommending a B2A2 placement for two memory sticks. It would be a B1B2 config then. Would this create performance hits? I guess the B2A2 allows for dual channel memory ?
  2. Replace the Zalman fan(s) with 120mm ones Other possibility would be to replace either just the troublesome fan (or both) with 2 BEQUIET! SILENT WINGS3 120mm high-speed PWM fans (2200 rpm) which i have laying around anyway. That way the fan can sit on top of the RAM sticks without surpassing too much the heat sink. Only problem here is how to fix it some way to the heat sink so they don't fall off. The Zalmans come with integrated clips that clip the fan to the heat sink. I could run some wire thru the heat sink attaching the fans, but that's kinda last option solution. Any way to have some standard way to attach these 120mm fans ?
  3. Anything else you can come up with ...
Adding 2 pics showing the two fans...
https://imgshare.io/image/N2zGWn
https://imgshare.io/image/N2zQw9
 
I use a 2nd fan on my cpu cooler as I had one spare, with no spare attachment I just used 2 cable ties.

Holds in place fine and even looks fairly OK if they're symmetrical. Ditching the the 140 for a 120 would prob work fine that way albeit with a bit less cooling potential unless at higher rpm.
 
yea it holds ok all right. That's not the problem. Zalman did the clips so it can hang over big RAM sticks. Problem is my G.Skill ones have their own heatsink(ie)s on top of them, adding too much extra hight to the 140 mm fan.

Easy solution for me would be to duck both of the RAM sticks underneath the heatsink, but this seems to be a config. the mobo manufacturer doesn't suggest. Would that in any way impact performance ? Is the B2A2 config necessary for dual channeling RAM ?
 
Noctua do the NH-D15 and NH-D15S coolers (which look very similar to your cooler) - the S version is off-set to allow greater compatibility with graphics cards, also it only has one fan.
Perhaps you could try it with only one fan fitted - one should be more than adequate on it's own (providing you have good airflow and unless you are overclocking).
 
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