Zalman CNPS10X CPU cooler / AM3 board -- rotation!

gambit37

gambit37

gambit37

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22 Nov 2007
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Help! I ordered the Zalman CNPS10X Quite CPU cooler, but I can't mount it properly on my new ASUS M4A785TD-V Evo board. The heatsink and fan are rotated by 90 degrees, meaning that warm air from the CPU cooler air would go straight into the PSU fan which is at the top of the case. Shouldn't this be rotated so that the CPU fan is blowing backwards towards the rear case fan?

Have I bought a poor combination of components or am I missing something obvious? Can this cooler be rotated? If not, can anyone suggest a cooler that can be rotated? (something like the Zalman CNPS9900-NT has the right orientation but it's pretty loud apparently -- I'm looking for a quiet solution.)

Also, as an aside, the single clip mounting for AM3 sockets seems very fragile; not very stable at all. Are there better AM3 mounting solutions for a CPU cooler?

Many thanks in advance.
 
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I was doing more reading and have read some articles that suggest it's actually OK to have the CPU cooler fan blowing into the PSU fan. I thought this was bad? Can anyone confirm this?

I haven't built a PC for 8 years so I'm a bit bit confused by what's the current best practice for cooling. Many thanks to anyone who can help or offer advice.
 
It would be best to have it going out the exhaust at the back but as long as the temps inside the case aren't too hot. Just make sure you have good intake of cold air.
 
Thanks, that's pretty much what I thought. Oh well, it looks like I've bought an incompatible cooler; darn. Will have to find something else that has the right rotation.

I wish the docs for these coolers made it clear about this potential problem with AM3 boards. The whole thing is such a minefield...
 
@Tikkabhuna: Yep, exactly, the Zalman 9900 in those pictures has the mount rotated correctly to blow air out the back. But I've bought the CNPS10X which is has its mount set at 90 degrees -- so it would either blow down into the case, or up into the PSU which is mounted above.

@sturmtruppe: Thanks, I wondered about that. I'm new to all this and am just a bit worried about mounting my cooler with the fan rotated, when every single picture of a build that I've seen has it going the other way. I don't like doing things "wrong". ;)
 
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At first I thought you must've installed it wrong, but after looking at a review at Tomshardware it seems that you are correct:
Orientation of the AMD-compatible clip forces an updraft rather than cross-draft installation on most motherboards. This should make the CNPS10X Quiet an Intel-only cooler design in the minds of most enthusiasts.
Click to expand...

Only concern I can think of is that instead of a bit of hot air going through your PSU it's now taking a lot more due to the cpu fan blowing it directly into your PSU.
 
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