AM3 Socket cooler for mid tower case

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Bdonedge

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Jun 10, 2010
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Hey guys, the title says it all. I plan on OCing my Phenom II X4 965 a little higher and I would like a good aftermarket cooler. And even if I don't OC it extremely, I'd really like to be able to run it at a much lower heat range than it's at now. It runs at about 56-58C on load with stock. To high for my tastes. Something that will fit my Cooler Master mid tower case, I understand it's not going to fit with ease no matter what it is but I'm willing to spend some time on it to make sure it doesn't break my RAM or anything if it's really close. Thanks for any help
 
Thanks for the reply! Is this able to be used in a push/pull method? I've heard that the way to get the best performance is to do something like that
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019

I was thinking about this because it's so popular.

But this one gives better performance, from what I've read in reviews:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118059&Tpk=ZALMAN CNPS10X Performa


The problem I'm having is I have read that the second one linked can actually touch your RAM. I don't know how true that is, but I was curious if anyone had experience with it or could tell me a little about these if they are worth the money. If so, what thermal paste should I consider buying, as well?
 
Gym Rat said:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus

Thermaltake Frio but make sure you gotta big case, cause this thing is huge.

I like the Core Contact Freezer mentioned above. The 120mm fan is going for $40 shipped right now and is rated near the top on Frosty Tech's list.

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2523&page=4
Click to expand...


The Core Contact Freezer mentioned above, I read reviews and people are saying it's gigantic. Will it fit in my Cooler Master Centurian 5? I have 4 sticks of RAM, too, will they give clearance?
 
The Core Contact Freezer is pretty dang big....


It comes close to hitting the window in my Antec 1200 for size reference......though I think the 1200 is about the same width as the 900......

anyhow, height wise it is pretty tall, and no you cannot do push/pull. It only allows you to mount a fan on one side(without modding). The fins themselves are in a "V' shape so the other side(non fan side) is angled and comes to a point. With rubber band you could probably position a fan on it, ive yet to see a need for it for my rig in sig.


hope this helps
 
This does help, thank you!

How close does it get to your RAM? Just curious? My RAM has rather large heat sinks on them.
 
Yikes! I didnt know it was that big! Check out the Cooler Master Hyper 212. I dont think its nearly as big as the others. You might try overclocking without the cooler first. The stock AMD coolers are actually pretty good. Ive got my Athlon II cranked up to 3.4 from its stock 2.9 and Im using the stock cooler and the highest it ever got was 48 when I was running Prime95 for several hours testing the OC. During gaming, its in the high 30's to low 40's. Granted the 965 is a bigger proc with more juice but might be worth a try. If youve got good case cooling and you only do a mild overclock you may not need an aftermarket cooler and can save yourself $50 or so.
 
I don't mind it being big, I just don't want it to hit the side of the case and like I said I need it to be out of the way from my RAM. My RAM is really close to my CPU I have the Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P and they have heatsinks so it makes it look a little closer. That being said, The cooler master got good reviews on that list you linked. I just am afraid it will be to close.

Also my 965 gets hot, man. It runs stock at 45C and load at 58C, and I can OC it to 3.8 but gets up to 62C. An aftermarket cooler is definitely necessary in this case, because it says max is 62C. It would make me feel a lot better if I got one.
 
On the Crosshair III it is close to my ram(which is OCZ Reaper, a bit taller than Dominators), i dont know what the spacing is on the Gigabyte youve got, but it is probably close to my motherboards distance....so you should be fine, you just cannot put the fan on the side of the heat sync that is by the ram
 
Bdonedge said:
I don't mind it being big, I just don't want it to hit the side of the case and like I said I need it to be out of the way from my RAM. My RAM is really close to my CPU I have the Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P and they have heatsinks so it makes it look a little closer. That being said, The cooler master got good reviews on that list you linked. I just am afraid it will be to close.

Also my 965 gets hot, man. It runs stock at 45C and load at 58C, and I can OC it to 3.8 but gets up to 62C. An aftermarket cooler is definitely necessary in this case, because it says max is 62C. It would make me feel a lot better if I got one.
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Not only is the stock amd cooler crap but its friggin loud too. go for the cm hyper 212+. Hopefully you will have enough clearance for it.
 
I have done countless amounts of research on my board, high heatsinks on RAM and that hyper 212+ and I can't find anything worth trusting. I even compared RAM location on the crosshair iii as said in this thread with my motherboard, and my RAM looks a little closer because stock CPU mount in my mobo is closer. But from what I'm to understand you have to remove that anyway. With the high heatsinks that W.Feather has, I hope that it will be able to fit. And if I didn't think the H50 was a gimmick I'd get that due to space issues.

If anyone has any more information on the subject before I hit "buy" I'd appreciate it so I don't waste my time.

W.Feather are you using all 4 RAM slots? And does the cooler sit above it or just beside it. sorry I'm being annoying at this point but I just like to be sure.
 
I have the Core Contact Freezer installed on my Crosshair III Formula and it does touch the RAM I have in there, which is Kingston 1600 DDR3 without heat spreaders. The clips for the fan just barely touch one or two fo the RAM modules.
 
dbphelps said:
I have the Core Contact Freezer installed on my Crosshair III Formula and it does touch the RAM I have in there, which is Kingston 1600 DDR3 without heat spreaders. The clips for the fan just barely touch one or two fo the RAM modules.
Click to expand...

Did you just make it so the fan exhausts on the opposite side, then?
 
Bdonedge said:
Did you just make it so the fan exhausts on the opposite side, then?
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Yeah, in that case it basically draws cool air in above the ram, then it has a 120mm exhaust just behind the Core Contact Freezer on the back of the case... works pretty well, even tho I should get a higher CFM fan for use on the case in back...
 
Here's my Hyper 212+ and four sticks of ram.... it's a little close to the inside one, but you could slide the fan up some for taller ram sinks....

4ta890gxe3232010006.jpg
 
winginit said:
Here's my Hyper 212+ and four sticks of ram.... it's a little close to the inside one, but you could slide the fan up some for taller ram sinks....

4ta890gxe3232010006.jpg
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Thanks very much for this picture. Comparing Mobo's my RAM is still a little closer than yours but you look like you have just a little room to spare. That being said, is raising the fan an option? If so, how much could I raise it? My heat sinks aren't any bigger than yours, roughly the same size I'd guess. I didn't know raising it was an option without ghetto rigging it.
 
Bdonedge said:
Thanks very much for this picture. Comparing Mobo's my RAM is still a little closer than yours but you look like you have just a little room to spare. That being said, is raising the fan an option? If so, how much could I raise it? My heat sinks aren't any bigger than yours, roughly the same size I'd guess. I didn't know raising it was an option without ghetto rigging it.
Click to expand...

I do have some room to spare over the ram itself, which has standard sized heatspreaders. The fan can certainly be positioned higher, as the clips holding it to the heatsink can be snapped in anywhere along the grooves on the sides.... the only limit would be the width of your case beyond the tops of the heatpipes. ;)
 
my case is about 8 inches thick. from what I'm to understand I should have half an inch to spare, hopefullIy that's enough to clear the RAM if I need to move my fan up. It's on sale at Amazon for 30 bucks. I think I'm going to go ahead and get it
 
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Bdonedge said:
my case is about 8 inches thick. from what I'm to understand I should have half an inch to spare, does that sound about right?
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Yes, that should be pretty close.

The clip brackets attach to the fan with screws, then the clips snap into the heatsink grooves on each side.... so it's pretty easy to put on and take off if needed for access to the memory. And if your ram isn't any taller than mine, you wouldn't have to position the fan any higher either.
 
winginit said:
Here's my Hyper 212+ and four sticks of ram.... it's a little close to the inside one, but you could slide the fan up some for taller ram sinks....

4ta890gxe3232010006.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm putting one of those in my AM3 X6 build. What kinda temps do you get?
 
Thanks so much for your help, I appreciate your responses. And not to beat a dead horse or anything, how much head room is between the fan and the RAM sticks in your situation? (vertically)
 
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sorry for not getting back on this thread sooner :p


anyhow, no only using 2 slots(slots 1/2), there is a bit of clearance on my board(pm me if you want a picture, i can probably get one taken tomorrow).

It is pulling "cool" air from the ram slots and shooting it through the HS and out the back. In my Antec 1200 there is no issue with this as there is a fan pretty much perfectly inline with the HSF, and I positioned one of the three fans up front to soot again pretty much inline with the HS to give it plenty of cool(typically 80 F :p thats cool here in FL) air.

You shouldn't have much of an issue, the Core Contact is pretty much the only cooler when I ordered it that allowed me to fit it on the Crosshair III w/o having RAM clearance issues, and the ram slots are dam close to the socket IMO
 
W.Feather said:
sorry for not getting back on this thread sooner :p


anyhow, no only using 2 slots(slots 1/2), there is a bit of clearance on my board(pm me if you want a picture, i can probably get one taken tomorrow).

It is pulling "cool" air from the ram slots and shooting it through the HS and out the back. In my Antec 1200 there is no issue with this as there is a fan pretty much perfectly inline with the HSF, and I positioned one of the three fans up front to soot again pretty much inline with the HS to give it plenty of cool(typically 80 F :p thats cool here in FL) air.

You shouldn't have much of an issue, the Core Contact is pretty much the only cooler when I ordered it that allowed me to fit it on the Crosshair III w/o having RAM clearance issues, and the ram slots are dam close to the socket IMO
Click to expand...

Do you have the 92mm version or the 120 mm version?
 
AudioCow said:
Yeah definately. I had to take the fan off to get the RAM in the first slot and it's a little snug, but fits.
Click to expand...

Is that with or without raising the fan? I know raising it is an option, and is probably what I'll have to resort to.
 
Bdonedge said:
Do you have the 92mm version or the 120 mm version?
Click to expand...

120 mm one

i cna say for a fact that my CCF does NOT touch my ram(OCZ Reapers) on a Croshair III, ill get a picture tomorrow when I turn off my computer for a BIOS update
 
AudioCow said:
I'm putting one of those in my AM3 X6 build. What kinda temps do you get?
Click to expand...

I hadn't done much stress testing yet to really see how load temps will run.... and I've just installed two SanAce H401's on it in a push-pull setup, so I'll see how that fares....

Bdonedge said:
Thanks so much for your help, I appreciate your responses. And not to beat a dead horse or anything, how much head room is between the fan and the RAM sticks in your situation? (vertically)
Click to expand...

You're welcome.... I don't currently have that ram installed, but I'm guessing I had 5-7mm of clearance....
 
Thanks so much for the information guys. I know I'm being picky but It means a lot to me that you're helping.

And, W.Feather, lookin forward to those pictures!
 
In theory, could I cut the Hyper 212+'s fan clips you screw into the fan, in half, and shorten them by cutting them down and screw them onto a smaller fan, say 100mm or 92mm? Hypothetically, if it doesn't fit?
 
Bdonedge said:
In theory, could I cut the Hyper 212+'s fan clips you screw into the fan, in half, and shorten them by cutting them down and screw them onto a smaller fan, say 100mm or 92mm? Hypothetically, if it doesn't fit?
Click to expand...

Yes, you could.... but I don't think you'll have any trouble with the 120mm.... ;)
 
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