shortest, smallest LGA1366 cooler that can OC?

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matt167

[H]ard|Gawd
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I want to upgrade the CPU in my Precision T3500 to a W3680 and then take advantage of the unlocked multiplier.. I know that the Dell uses spring tensioned screws but I'm pretty sure the spacing is the same and I can probably rob the screws and springs from the stock cooler, and with a couple washers make it work with an aftermarket.

What is the most compact cooler that can do this job? Failing that, I know that the XPS 9100 cooler will fit directly also using the same spring bolts, but I'm not sure if it's too tall, or whatnot.
 
You may need to find additional hardware to use a standard heatsink on a Dell motherboard -- I'm not certain on the T3500s, but I know the T5500 didn't have the typical holes around the CPU like a standard motherboard does. In fact, it had threaded inserts that appeared to be soldered to the board itself. Do some checking on your board before you start buying parts to throw at it.

I ended up buying spare units for the higher TDP x5675s when I upgraded, they weren't much, around $20 USD each. If I recall, the heatsinks were from ServerMonkey.
 
T5500 and T3500 use spring bolts to hold the cooler onto the mobo, with a permenently installed back plate.. I have the heat pipe cooler on my T3500, and I also have a tube of MX4 if that is enough cooling to push a W3680 over 4 ghz then I won't worry about it too much

According to this youtube video. The Cooler Master 212 Evo will work with the Dell back plate and everything works.. 212 Evo has no chance of fitting but do the other coolers use the same mount style?

 
Also. What about liquid cooling, or poor mans AIO? Using one of the small pump/ reservoir combinations , with a dual 80mm radiator and a 1366 CPU block? I've never water cooled.. The power supply fan vents the GPU heat reasonably well since the mobo is oposite, the card faces up. And I have 2 80mm case fan openings in the back where a dual 80mm radiator could mount. A 120mm cut into the side might work out as well. The radiator at the rear should still allow good airflow to keep ram and remaining gpu heat ventilated.
 
matt167 said:
Also. What about liquid cooling, or poor mans AIO? Using one of the small pump/ reservoir combinations , with a dual 80mm radiator and a 1366 CPU block? I've never water cooled.. The power supply fan vents the GPU heat reasonably well since the mobo is oposite, the card faces up. And I have 2 80mm case fan openings in the back where a dual 80mm radiator could mount. A 120mm cut into the side might work out as well. The radiator at the rear should still allow good airflow to keep ram and remaining gpu heat ventilated.
Click to expand...
A 2x 80mm rad would be really weak. Don't expect to overclock with it. I would suggest a minimum of 1x120mm AIO for that processor, and even then the overclocking would be minimal. That said I don't know what kind of internal space you have available. You may need to think of mounting the 120mm/240mm rad & fan(s) externally. Not pretty, but it works.
 
I think I can put 240mm in the case side for an AIO or radiator.. But what if I put in a dual 80mm rad in the rear, and a dual 80mm on the case floor? I've got enough space for that, and a pump with careful planning ( measure twice, cut once )..

After pondering, I think air cooling with this case is out considering overclocking. The stock cooler is as tall as it can be, and as wide as it can be.. So the only option is to figure out liquid cooling and mounting a cpu block. Either AIO or full custom loop
 
Just out of curiosity, how do you plant on OCing on that board with the locked BIOS?
 
NickM said:
Just out of curiosity, how do you plant on OCing on that board with the locked BIOS?
Click to expand...

The W3680 and W3690 have unlocked multipliers, so Throttle Stop and The Intel extreme tuning applications will do it.. I've actually had conformation it would work as I was skeptical, but should be good.
 
you can bump volts with a hardware volt mod, assuming you can keep the VRMs cool. i've used a hack saw or bank saw to cut up old CPU, VGA and northbridge heatsinks to make my own VRM heatsinks and used AS5 epoxy or other thermal epoxies to glue them on to the VRMs.


EDIT: sometime you can unlock the PLL on the motherboard shorting a leg of the IC to ground or lifting a leg off a solder pad, if setFSB works with your model of PLL chip that's a possibility as well.
 
Yeah, I know I could volt mod it. The VRM's have a heat sink that's not very big. I'm probably going to install a larger one. I have the stock aluminum cooler for an AM3 cpu that I might be able to use.

It should push 4 GHz without bumping voltages though.
 
i'm not too surprised i'm told the unlocked cpu i bought for my laptop can hit 4ghz with no voltage bumps and they tend to run hot in my laptop due to inadequate cooling! modding OEM setups is fun!
 
Yup. They say it can't be done, so at least have to try..

I've seen the Hyper 212 on the T3500 mobo, and there is another youtuber with an H100I on an XPS 9100, so there is hope.
 
I actually got a W3680 and just zip tied a cheapo 80mm fan out of my parts bin and ran it as a puller fan, and I'm getting about 77c stressed with it overclocked to 4.0ghz. It was doing 74c at stock clocks. Using MX4 paste. It's hot, and I will probably just grab a 120mm EVGA CLC AIO but, it actually works the way it is and could probably get more with a higher cfm fan, like a good Noctua
 
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