CM Hyper 212+ - Alternative G34 Mounting Method

musky

[H]ard|DCer of the Year 2012
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Dec 14, 2009
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WARNING: This HSF mounting method is pretty difficult to do. If you choose to do this, please be careful.

Here is an alternative to R-Type's CM Hyper 212+ mounting on a G34 board. Due to space constraints, mainly with SuperMicro 4p boards, this method is necessary to allow you to use these HSFs.

Parts List
Knape & Vogt PK255 ZC 24 – 24” zinc shelf standard – 24” is enough for 4 x HSFs, 36” is enough for 7 – these are commonly available at about any hardware or home improvement store
http://www.hardwareworld.com/Pk255zc24-24in-Znc-Shlf-Standard-pTVE2G7.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/im..._image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=1055398&s=home-garden
16 - #6-32 x 3/8 taper head bolts
24 - #6 split washers
24 – #6-32 hex nuts
8 - #6-32 x 2” taper head bolts

Instructions
You’ll notice that this shelf standard has 1/8 x 3/8 slots in a ½” on-center pattern. You actually need a 1” OC pattern, so using every other one works perfectly. Starting at one end, count in 5 slots and cut between the 5th and 6th slot. Ignore the round single and double holes – you may actually end up cutting through them if they fall between a 5th and 6th slot. To cut this stuff, you have several options. I used a metal chop saw I happen to have for mine, but you could use a cut-off wheel on a Dremel tool or even a pair of tin snips. Here is a pic of a couple I just made using tin snips, which would work just fine. I did straighten up the ends a little with some pliers since tin snips will flatten the channel. Note that the one on the left has a single and double set of holes within it. This will not hurt anything.
IMG_20111225_084001.jpg


Next, you need to enlarge the width of the center slot slightly. This can be done a few different ways (Dremel, file, etc.), but it is probably easiest with a pair of pliers to hold the piece and a drill with a 5/32” drill bit. Just be patient with it – the drill bit will thread its way through the slot and try to bind. It will eventually free up and allow you to move the bit back and forth in the slot to enlarge it. Test with one of your #6-32 bolts to make sure it goes through the slot easily.
Now, your brackets are finished. It is time to mount them to the X-brace that came with the HSF. The first thing you need to do with the X-brace is remove the bolts that are attached to it. They are held in with retention clips – with some needle nose pliers and a little patience, you can pull them off to remove the bolts and springs. Once you have them off, get 2 of your #6-32 x 3/8 bolts, 2 split washers, and 2 #6-32 hex nuts. You want to bolt the two brackets you just made to the X-brace as shown in the pictures below. The bolts need to go through the X-brace in the furthest out position. Pay close attention to the orientation of the brackets to the X-brace – again, use the pictures for reference. Just snug the bolts down for now – no need to tighten them too tightly just yet.
IMG_20111226_061113.jpg

IMG_20111226_061056.jpg


Open up the X-brace and thread it through the heatsink, then close it down to the position shown in the following picture. This is a little tricky because everything fits together pretty tightly. You will need to hold the X-brace up to the heatsink base while you rotate the new brackets into position. The alignment key on the heatsink base will line up with one of the slots in the X-brace if everything is together correctly. Once everything is together, thread two more of your #6-32 x 3/8 bolts through the X-brace and your brackets. The good news here is, the slots are tight enough that the bolts will actually thread through them and hold everything together when you flip the heatsink over to install the rest of the hardware.

Flip the heatsink over and add a split washer and hex nut to both bolts you just installed. Tighten all four of the bolts now. The bracket assembly should look like this when you are finished:
IMG_20111226_061346.jpg

IMG_20111223_133917.jpg

IMG_20111223_133855.jpg


Note that the new brackets barely clear the heatpipe tubes, so the whole assembly when bolted together stays pretty much stationary with not a lot of movement. This is correct, and has the side effect of making it easier to actually mount the heatsink to the board. I’ll point out one more thing – you will notice that the slots you enlarged in the new brackets (these are the actual mounting holes now) are under the heatsink fins. You can’t get a screwdriver or allen wrench to them easily like you usually can when mounting heatsinks. This is why I recommend the board attachment method described below. If you have a better idea that works, I would love to hear about it.

[Side note: If you have a rivet gun and 1/8” rivets, that would be an easier and cheaper way to attach the brackets to the X-brace. There will be no significant stress on this assembly, so rivets would have plenty of strength for this application. I do not own a rivet gun, so I could not try it.]

Next, you need to prep your board to mount these heatsinks. You have two options. First, you can cut the heads plus about ¼” off your 2” bolts. The benefit is that you won’t need to mod your motherboard, but the downside is that you may ding up your threads cutting the bolts. The second option is to run the bolts up from the bottom of the board. The benefit here is that you don’t need to modify the bolt. The down side is that with every G34 board I have seen, you can’t run a bolt completely through the mounting bracket – it looks like you can, but you can’t. There are two ways to remedy this. If you happen to have a #6-32 tap, you could run it through the mounting hole and make threads in what currently stops you. The other option is to take a drill with a 5/32: bit and drill a very small amount of material out of the bottom of each mounting point to allow a bolt to thread through from the bottom. I used a through-bolt and the drill method on mine, and everything works fine. For either option, #6-32 x 2” bolts are required – they are actually about ¼” too long, but will work at 2”. Here is my board with the two bolts installed, ready to mount the heatsink (the other three heatsinks are already installed.)
IMG_20111227_144044.jpg


I salvaged two of the original tension springs for mounting because it should keep equal tension on each side even if you don’t get the nuts tightened identically. This also helps prevent over-tightening. You probably could just use a flat and split washer, and would then be able to use a 1 ½” bolt instead of 2”. Either way should be fine, just be careful to not over-tighten the nuts. [EDIT: I don't think I would use the springs for a vertical board mount. The HSFs can tilt over, and might if you jar the case. Since all of my boards are horizontal, it is not a problem for me.] [EDIT #2: After hearing about a couple of successes with not using the tension spring and what sounds like a much easier install, I'm going to officially say you should not use the tension springs and instead use a split washer. I have adjusted the split washer quantities accordingly.] For each side, you need a tension spring, flat washer, and hex nut. For TIM, I just put it on the heatsink and spread it evenly. This seems to work fine – my temps are quite good, and removing the heatsink shows good even coverage. Once your TIM is applied, set the heatsink on the CPU, with the bolts coming up through the center slots in your new brackets. It should slide down pretty easily and not have a whole lot of play side-to-side.
IMG_20111227_144137.jpg


The next part is the most difficult – actually attaching the heatsink to the board. Be very careful with this. You need to get a tension spring, flat washer, and nut on each side. With a 2” bolt, you will need to tilt the heatsink one way or the other to give yourself room to fit the parts over the bolt. You can also slide the heatsink slightly side to side to help create room for the hardware. Get the hardware on one side and snugged down finger tight, then work on the other side. Again, there is very little room to do this, so take your time and be careful. Here are some pics of the hardware installed and finger-tight:
IMG_20111227_144916.jpg

IMG_20111227_144910.jpg


Once the hardware is installed and finger-tight, use your 5/16” open end wrench to tighten the nuts. You will only be able to turn the nuts 1/6th of a turn at a time. Tighten one side a little bit, then the other, switch back and forth until both tension springs are compressed somewhere around half way. The X-brace should end up bowed slightly, which is fine. Once both sides are tightened, you will still be able to twist the heatsink a little. That is also fine. This is what you should end up with:
IMG_20111227_145515.jpg


Once you have all of the heatsinks installed, mount up your fans. Depending on your memory heatsinks, you may need to mount your fans a little higher than normal to clear. This is easy to do with the CM Hyper 212+ fan mounts. The finished product should look like this on an SM H8QGi:
IMG_20111227_150039.jpg

IMG_20111227_150022.jpg

IMG_20111227_150012.jpg


The big question many of you may have is, will this work on the newer SM H8QGL boards with the terrible CPU socket placement? The answer is, yes it will. You can even mount all of the fans the same way. The two sockets are pretty snug, but it does work. Here is my H8QGL board with 212+’s mounted. Temps are very good at 42C max with 6172s @ 2.36GHz.
IMG_20111228_122235.jpg

IMG_20111228_122252.jpg

IMG_20111228_122312.jpg


Tips and Tricks:
- Start with the CPU socket closest to the PCI-e slot(s), and work your way toward the top of the board. While you can get to the middle sockets with all the heatsinks mounted, it is easier to work your way from bottom to top.
- Install the memory after the heatsinks are installed, and before you install the fans. It is a little tight, but you can get to everything.
- Be careful where you rest your hands when threading on hardware and tightening. It is pretty easy to set the heal of your hand somewhere on the board where you shouldn’t.
 
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You sir, are my hero. Although I don't own a system like this, I really appreciate you sharing this with the good people of this forum. Thank you.
 
You should market these as "MuskyMods" and sell them as a kit.
 
patent #139359138930 Alternative method for mounting non-conforming heat sink to socket g34 motherboard.
 
Nice pron!

Musky, thanks for all you do for DC'ing. You are amazing! :)
 
That is bloody awesome. If this year's new folding rig is a quad G34 we'll definitely be referring to this!
 
Yes! This is just the solution I was looking for. I just set up a 4P Folder on a H8QGL-iF. Now I can get rid of the awful Dynatron sirens that are on the two CPU sockets that are so close together. Hardware store, here I come.

Thank you. Those Dynatrons are so loud, even at medium fan speeds, that we could hear the computer on the third floor until I put a foam board between the computer and the wall. Oh the computer is in the garage, first floor, on a work bench.
 
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brilliant work !

But do you plan to cool the VRM too ?

Indeed i wonder whether they don't heat too much without fan blowing directly on them ?
 
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macgyver FTW.. wish i had a camera i'd show my ghetto macgyver way my waterblock is mounted on my old socket 754 system, its pretty funny..
 
But do you plan to cool the VRM too ?

Indeed i wonder whether they don't heat too much without fan blowing directly on them ?

I have nothing extra for the VRM. The Dynatron A5s and any of the Noctuas would have the same problem, so I am not overly concerned about it.
 
Nicely done musky
grinning-smiley-003.gif


This is what I did to get 3.5" heatsinks to work on my TYAN s2912 board that has a 4.1" heatsink mounting hole pitch like the G34 boards do. Link

013a.jpg


My only concern would be the surface area of a 3.5" heatsink on the ihs of the MC since the dies aren’t in the center. But since your temps are good that may be a non-concern.
 
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I have nothing extra for the VRM. The Dynatron A5s and any of the Noctuas would have the same problem, so I am not overly concerned about it.

I asked you this question because i read this sfield's topic speaking about this potential problem :

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1626216

So i took precaution by putting little heatsinks like theses :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rue&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

I assume that it's better than nothing but did not do temperature measurement comparison.
 
I asked you this question because i read this sfield's topic speaking about this potential problem :

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1626216

So i took precaution by putting little heatsinks like theses :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rue&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

I assume that it's better than nothing but did not do temperature measurement comparison.

I have those enzos on harbringer...but I push harder on the vrm's than most...

Nice mounting guide musky...
 
Musky, thank you very much for the 212 mounting guide.

Last week I assembled the hardware and fabricated the mounts. This weekend, I installed four 212+s. My system is oriented vertically in a case, so I did not use springs when I cinched the brackets over the motherboard posts, just flat washers and lock (split) washers with a nut. All sinks are stable and do not budge at all from their perpendicular orientation to the motherboard.

At full load Folding, overclocked, core temps are more than 10C lower than with the previous Dynatron/Thermaltake mix of heatsinks. For the two motherboard mounting bolts for each heatsink, I used the top-down method. I took 6X32 screws and cut off the heads plus about 3/8" off the shafts with a hacksaw. I then filed any disfigured threads with a fine metal file, as necessary. It didn't take all that much work and the bolts threaded into the motherboard without problem. I did not have to remove the motherboard from the case! (but access to a couple of bolts/nuts was not easy!)

Oh, I could not find galvanized (zinc) finished shelving stock. My only choices were white or brass colored coating. Hey hey, the brass-colored braces look pretty good in a windowed Rocketfish/Lian Li.

Again, thank you very much. I really had fun with this project, and boy, did it work well!
 
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After a couple of successful installs without the tension spring, and the fact that neither person cursed my parentage after completing the install, I am officially changing my recommendation to use split washers instead of the tension springs. It sounds like it is much easier to do, with no real downside. I have adjusted the guide accordingly.

Thanks for the feedback folks. I would love to see picks of how your projects turned out.
 
am officially changing my recommendation to use split washers instead of the tension springs
Good call. There is enough spring-action - flex - in the included scissors brace, that the risk of too much down pressure on the CPUs by over-torquing the nuts on the retention posts is minimal. Besides, it's difficult to over-tighten those nuts inside the shelf stock rails when you can only turn them one-sixth of a rotation at a time. :rolleyes:

Hey Musky, if you are looking for another heatsink modding adventure, I've seen more than one Folder wondering if there's any good application for unused i7 stock Intel CPU coolers. :D You know, they do have a nice, heavy copper core and a decent fan.
 
After a couple of successful installs without the tension spring, and the fact that neither person cursed my parentage after completing the install, I am officially changing my recommendation to use split washers instead of the tension springs. It sounds like it is much easier to do, with no real downside. I have adjusted the guide accordingly.

Thanks for the feedback folks. I would love to see picks of how your projects turned out.







Had to use tension springs, used Koolance G34 screws and threads didnt go down long enough. Wanted to use thumbscrews from koolance kit, but threads were too long and I was sick of cutting metal.
 
I wanted to thank you for the great Mod thread...I visited from the OC Forums. Your parts list alone is invaluable! Great "How To"!

Thought I would add some pics and thoughts. I couldn't get the brackets to fit on my 212+, whether they changed the pipes or my brackets were slightly different or it was just me! They were very close, but touched the pipes. so I flipped them over so the channel pointed down towards the Mobo. This worked on a Supermicro H8QGL-If+ maybe clearance problems would prevent it on other Mobo's.

I didn't find a downside but maybe there is one I am not seeing.

The added benefit are the nuts are no longer in the channels and easier to get at. I also needed to elongate the center hole to make the span between the anchor bolts and found opening up the 2 end slots helped free the small screws so I could make the width as wide as possible. again to make the span between the anchor bolts

Turned out very well.
I guess I can't post Pics due to low post count , that's unfortunate...I don't know if folks can see pics when they are not logged in at our forums but I'll add the link to my thread if anyone wants to look at them. No I see that if you are not logged in you can't see the pics. Maybe some one can post them up for me? I could email them to you

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=701082
 
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I wanted to thank you for the great Mod thread...I visited from the OC Forums. Your parts list alone is invaluable! Great "How To"!

Thought I would add some pics and thoughts. I couldn't get the brackets to fit on my 212+, whether they changed the pipes or my brackets were slightly different or it was just me! They were very close, but touched the pipes. so I flipped them over so the channel pointed down towards the Mobo. This worked on a Supermicro H8QGL-If+ maybe clearance problems would prevent it on other Mobo's.

I didn't find a downside but maybe there is one I am not seeing.

The added benefit are the nuts are no longer in the channels and easier to get at. I also needed to elongate the center hole to make the span between the anchor bolts and found opening up the 2 end slots helped free the small screws so I could make the width as wide as possible. again to make the span between the anchor bolts

Turned out very well.
I guess I can't post Pics due to low post count , that's unfortunate...I don't know if folks can see pics when they are not logged in at our forums but I'll add the link to my thread if anyone wants to look at them. No I see that if you are not logged in you can't see the pics. Maybe some one can post them up for me? I could email them to you

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=701082

I'm glad it worked for you. I had considered mounting the cross pieces on the bottom, but I actually like the fact that they hit the heatpipes and hold the whole thing in place during assembly. Mine definitely touch the heatpipes and they work very well, so I don't think that is necessarily a problem.
 
I agree with you musky, with the brackets touching the heatpipes keeps the heatsink more stable
 
How well does these work with ambient temps around 30C? I am think about getting some of these and the house gets about 30C in the summer.
 
How well does these work with ambient temps around 30C? I am think about getting some of these and the house gets about 30C in the summer.

They will work better than any other cooling solution for G34 systems that we have found. Any big tower HSF would perform similarly, but getting them mounted may be difficult. I know that these HSFs work. I have another option with the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezers that I will post eventually. Performance is identical, the cost is a little higher, but the assembly is much easier in my opinion.
 
Questions mainly for the H8QGi version.

Can the heatsinks be rotated 90 degrees? Does the lower one's exhaust have any ill affect on the upper one's intake? It looks like if the heatsinks where rotated 90 degress there would be less interaction between them.
 
Questions mainly for the H8QGi version.

Can the heatsinks be rotated 90 degrees? Does the lower one's exhaust have any ill affect on the upper one's intake? It looks like if the heatsinks where rotated 90 degress there would be less interaction between them.

No, you can't rotate them 90 degreee. The heatpipes will hit the memory. If you want to rotate the HSFs 90 degrees, you'll need one with a heatpipe configuration like either the Noctuas or the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer. If the heatpipes are all even "U" shapes in-line, it should work with some sort of cross member to mount them.
 
How well does these work with ambient temps around 30C? I am think about getting some of these and the house gets about 30C in the summer.

Since my folding room is over 90F right now...

H8QGL-iF, 6174s, 212+, 605W

Code:
apoc@apoc:~$ sudo tpc -temp
[sudo] password for apoc: 
Turion Power States Optimization and Control - by blackshard - v0.41
Detected processor: Family 10h Processor
Machine has 8 nodes
Processor has 6 cores
Processor has 5 p-states
Processor temperature slew rate:9.0°C

Temperature table:
Node 0	C0:44	C1:44	C2:44	C3:44	C4:44	C5:44	
Node 1	C0:44	C1:44	C2:44	C3:44	C4:44	C5:44	
Node 2	C0:47	C1:47	C2:47	C3:47	C4:47	C5:47	
Node 3	C0:47	C1:47	C2:47	C3:47	C4:47	C5:47	
Node 4	C0:45	C1:45	C2:45	C3:45	C4:45	C5:45	
Node 5	C0:45	C1:45	C2:45	C3:45	C4:45	C5:45	
Node 6	C0:45	C1:45	C2:45	C3:45	C4:45	C5:45	
Node 7	C0:45	C1:45	C2:45	C3:45	C4:45	C5:45	

Done.
apoc@apoc:~$
 
ooooooh 90F sounds nice

I've been spinning up more obsolete crap lately just to warm the place up
 
Big +1 for this thread got the 212+ installed with this mounting method and WOW!

Ambient temp 22C to 26C.

Before:
A6s with BIOS set to server mode for fan speed( what.... I can't hear you :D )
- Stock 6166HE under full load around 45C to 48C
- 6166HE with 10% OC under full load around 54C to 58C.
- Both speeds idle around 38C to 40C.

After:
- BIOS set to server mode with about a 1000000db drop :D
- 6166HE with 10% OC under full load around 35C to 39C
- Idle around 28C to 30C

Best $120 spent in a long while.
 
On the H8QGi-F SuperMicro boards there are 10-11, 4-pin fan headers.
Are any designated/assigned to a specific CPU?
So when you install these CPU-centric heatsinks/fans do you select a specific header or just the one nearest the CPU?
And what do you set the BIOS fan control setting to?
Thanks.

 
On the H8QGi-F SuperMicro boards there are 10-11, 4-pin fan headers.
Are any designated/assigned to a specific CPU?
So when you install these CPU-centric heatsinks/fans do you select a specific header or just the one nearest the CPU?
And what do you set the BIOS fan control setting to?
Thanks.


Yes the H8QGi-F has about 11 4-pin fan headers. 4 of them do have markings for specific CPUs, but a fan does not have to be plugged into it. The BIOS has four settings that affect all connectors.
 
Is it my backwoods HW stores or am I looking in the wrong place :eek:
All the shelf standards I find locally have the slots running vertically, up and down the standard.
Are the horizontal slot types an older style?

 
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