Upgrade advice from i7 6th gen

[ATiRubyfan]

Hello!

My current rig consists of this :
Zalman Z9 case
Seasonic 650W PSU
i7 6700
Xigmatek Thor's hammer Heatsink
14cm Noctua cooling fan
ASUS Z370-A PRIME
16GB G.SKILL TridentZ DDR4
Samsung 980 NVME SSD
Sapphire RX6700XT
DVDRW drive

I have bought a new i7 12700K
I am after an ASUS motherboard as I have always loved the brand and the looks of their motherboards.
Can I kep the same heatsink? It's massive and really keeps the current CPU cool.
I am happy to keep my current RAM, if possible.
My zalman Z9 is quite strong and it has been with me for over 10 years. But, it is quite big and does not have a clear side window.

 

[ATiRubyfan]

Officially: socket 1700 is not compatible with socket 115x/1200 coolers.

Unofficially: it depends. You can find videos that go into more detail on YouTube, but the mounting mechanism is the key factor. You might be able to modify it (well, you can certainly modify it, but it comes down to your skills and if that is worth bothering).

The good news is that if you do need a new cooler, there are very affordable air coolers that can cool your CPU reasonably well (at least, plenty good enough for gaming), like the freezer 36 and peerless assassin/phantom spirit.


Yep, possible, but personally I wouldn't bother buying a DDR4 board just to keep 16GB of DDR4 memory. 32GB I'd say is worthwhile..., but not less than that.

Do you care about how many M.2 slots the motherboard has?

Anything else is required, like USB ports, sound, wireless?

I have had a a look and it seems I really have to let go of my beloved heatsink. Can I take off the fans from the coolers you mentioned? I want to only use the Noctua fan.
Just a single M2 slot is enough for my needs. Don't need wireless and I am not too bothered about other features.

Personal opinion I would be looking to get rid of that zelman z9 is well, there is so many cases on market for little money that would offer lot better airflow, not sure if window is necessary to your needs, only you can decide that, more cases with it now days, case is always personal decision. As for Cooler PA120 for not a lot of money might get you easier life then trying to work out if your fits. I'm sure others will be able to suggest more options.

Actually, it's the Zalamn Z9 PLus. Are cases still amde from SECC steel or are they all plastic or cheap tin now?

 

[ATiRubyfan]

I have since bought a MSI Z790 motherboard and 32GB Crucial DDR5 as it was going for cheap.
I am still stuck with the cooler. I just want a big block with no fans!

 

[ATiRubyfan]

Which CPU are you using? A 12700K? I don't think you could passively cool that unless you very heavily power limited the CPU to like... 65 watt.

Yes, the plan is to use my i7 12700k.

At the moment , on my i7-6700, a 14cm Noctua fan is screwed to the case and sits on top of the giant Xigamtek heatsink.

 

[ATiRubyfan]

I have just gone for the Phantom spirit. Thanks Tetras.
Now, I need a case made from steel like the Zalman with a windowed side, a fan controller at the front and a space for a DVD drive.

 

[ATiRubyfan]

I decided to keep the Zalman case.
I might order an acryclic side window in the future. Everything's surprisingly quiet with the two fans on the Phantom Spirit, A Noctua fan right above and the Zalman case fan at the front.

 

[ATiRubyfan]

Update :

I ended up with these :

620W PSU Seasonic M12 II Evo - £55 (Reusing , Bought in 2018 )
MSI PRO Z790P-WIFI - £150
i7 12700k - £183 ( Bought in July this year )
Thermalright Phantom spirit - £31.79
Thermalright pressure plate - £7.19
32GB Crucial DDR5 RAM 5200MHz - £50.48
Sapphire RX6700XT - £250 ( Bought July 2023 )
1TB Samsung 980 - £58 ( Bought in summer this year)

Total spent - £730.46 ( excl old PSU, Noctua fan and case )