Too close ?

PurplePhoenix

PurplePhoenix

PurplePhoenix

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Putting some random parts I got together, Is this too close?

Going to add a 670 as well to the mix.
 
yes considering that the psu fan and cooler fan will spin in the opposite direction. In the case that your psu fan is on top then, there will be no air for the cpu cooler.
 
Wonder if it's worth having a go at running the cooler fabless and see if the PSU has enough to keep the CPU cool. :eek:
 
I have the Thermalright AXP-200 Muscle (had to pay around £35 for mine), which is basically the same base cooler, but with a different fan. Awesome cooler, but I personally found the 13mm fan a little too loud, so I replaced it with the Noctua NF-F12 PWM (only 120mm, but 25mm thick). Now it's VERY quiet, but still very efficient, as well.

But indeed, the fans are too close to each other, especially when they're blowing in opposite directions. So the first thing I would try is turning the CPU fan upside down, or maybe even remove it completely.

But, if you're still thinking of purchasing a new cooler, then I would before that suggest yet another alternative: ditch the case. There are quite a few small low-cost cases, like the Kolink Satellite (for £27) (https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kolink-satellite-micro-atx-cube-case-black-ca-005-kk.html), for example. Because whatever cooler you're getting for your current case, you will still face the same air supply shortages, so you'd still be better off with turning the CPU fan upside down. So why not get a proper case, instead of compromising with an inferior new cooler?

But seriously, first try turning the fan upside down or removing it completely. That's the £0 upgrade. A £20+ CPU cooler upgrade is not very sensible with its limited benefits, when you can get a new case for £30, and get rid of the compromises altogether.
 
aatu said:
I have the Thermalright AXP-200 Muscle (had to pay around £35 for mine), which is basically the same base cooler, but with a different fan. Awesome cooler, but I personally found the 13mm fan a little too loud, so I replaced it with the Noctua NF-F12 PWM (only 120mm, but 25mm thick). Now it's VERY quiet, but still very efficient, as well.

But indeed, the fans are too close to each other, especially when they're blowing in opposite directions. So the first thing I would try is turning the CPU fan upside down, or maybe even remove it completely.

But, if you're still thinking of purchasing a new cooler, then I would before that suggest yet another alternative: ditch the case. There are quite a few small low-cost cases, like the Kolink Satellite (for £27) (https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kolink-satellite-micro-atx-cube-case-black-ca-005-kk.html), for example. Because whatever cooler you're getting for your current case, you will still face the same air supply shortages, so you'd still be better off with turning the CPU fan upside down. So why not get a proper case, instead of compromising with an inferior new cooler?

But seriously, first try turning the fan upside down or removing it completely. That's the £0 upgrade. A £20+ CPU cooler upgrade is not very sensible with its limited benefits, when you can get a new case for £30, and get rid of the compromises altogether.
Click to expand...

Well the case was free so not a big one to swap it to another case I got. Was trying to build a media pc for the TV out of random parts I had or could get cheap.

I have a look at that case and some others.
 
Looks like my Silverstone ITX case. Best option would be to have a 120mm AIO cooler with the fan and rad mounted in the front.

Depending on the cpu and usage though, it may just work passively without the fan with the heatsink you have there.
 
I've ran a cooler fan near enough as close as that to the PSU, on a toasty Phenom II 965.
As Jokester said, turn the fan around so it's exhausting through the PSU, should be fine! :)

I'd be surprised if an old i3 ran that hot, under that cooler! :D
 
If you're brave, try turning the fan in the PSU upside down.

If not, turn the CPU fan upside down.

Its not very nice, but once its all boxed up, try and forget about it. ;)
 
... which upon 2nd inspection it's not. If thats an option though give it a go anyway. Or see if you can undervolt and dith the cpu fan altogether.

I have an i7 4770s, which has a 65w TDP. I bought an 120mm AIO to cool it n my sg13, but temps were mental high. I remounted and did some other stuff, cpu still hit 95c in Prime. Turns out the block made no contact at all with the cpu, at any point.

So if that is a reasonably low TDP i3 in your build (70w or less-ish) I'd hazard you'd be fine with the psu fan sucking over the heatsink only.

Or if you're feeling super adventuorus, swap the psu fan for a PWM fan, hook it upto to your motherboard's cpu fan header and try make some sort of shroud with gaffer tape or something to seal the area around the top of the heatsink to the PSU fan... ghetto AF but would probably work quite well :)
 
I like the idea of trying the heatsink without a fan, and just relying on air from the PSU (and maybe some fans on the sides to create extra airflow)
 
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