bending heatpipes to fit into case

Zangmonkey

Zangmonkey

Supreme [H]ardness
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I am going to build an i3 system in a silverstone GD06:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=293&area

They note that the vertical limit of the heatsink UNDER the optical drive is 70mm
and then the usable height in the case in 120mm

I'm trying to think of how I can cool it most quietly.
If I use the prolimitech genesis:
http://www.prolimatech.com/en/products/detail.asp?id=801&subid=804#showtab

the horizontal side should fit nicely under the optical drive, while the vertical part extends behind it and can rise up.

The problem is that the genesis is 160mm tall but if I were to bend its vertical tower to a 45 degree angle then it would fit.
I still need to see if the 110 mm or so of additional horizontal space is available but I'm just weighing my options with bending the heat pipes....

I could also cut off the top 40mm of fins and bend the heatpipes down....
 
The usual warnings apply, but I bent my heatpipes all to heck and back on an old ~35W Celeron system a year or two ago. It was passively cooled so no fans, and I never had any issues even when running at 100% CPU for months on end when ambient temps were in the high 70s. I can't remember who made that heatsink, but I can find out if you need. The heatpipes were hollow inside, they were literally just copper tubes so keep that in mind when you bend them, as they may tend to pinch or kink. As long as they don't crack I would think you'd be okay. Just speculating though...

Nick
 
I would just get something like the NH-C14, or an all-in-one like the H50 and H60. Bending heatpipes is a risky business, and the Genesis isn't exactly a cheap cooler.

The i3 doesn't put out that much heat anyways, so I don't see why you need something as massive and expensive as the Genesis.
 
Tsumi said:
I would just get something like the NH-C14, or an all-in-one like the H50 and H60. Bending heatpipes is a risky business, and the Genesis isn't exactly a cheap cooler.

The i3 doesn't put out that much heat anyways, so I don't see why you need something as massive and expensive as the Genesis.
Click to expand...

None of the HSF's you mentioned will fit in this case.
 
Really? You can't make the H50 or H60 fit where one of the 120mm fan mounts are?
 
Tsumi said:
Really? You can't make the H50 or H60 fit where one of the 120mm fan mounts are?
Click to expand...

Not without removing the hard drive caddy (which I may end up doing... so we'll see).
But from what I can tell that H50/60/80 -- whatever -- pump has a noticeable sound profile compared to a single "silent" fan in the case... so it's going to require more research.
 
It might be easier because, in the case of the genesis, I would "un-bending" it a little.
It is factory bent at 90 degrees and I would be unbending to 45 degrees.
 
Met-AL said:
Here is the cooler that I used in my Thermaltalke Lanbox which has a 70mm height restriction on the cooler:
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=1623&product_id=2729

It does very well, is not expensive, and is very quiet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103046
Click to expand...

How did you use that when your running a CPU: QUALCOMM 7500 @ 400mhz I didnt think they would work lol

(I dont even know if thats real if it is its before mi computer times)
 
Met-AL said:
Here is the cooler that I used in my Thermaltalke Lanbox which has a 70mm height restriction on the cooler:
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=1623&product_id=2729

It does very well, is not expensive, and is very quiet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103046
Click to expand...

If I'm going with an active cooler then I need to benchmark everything versus the Big Shuriken, which is the top contender right now as far as I can tell from the reviews....
 
Zangmonkey said:
If I'm going with an active cooler then I need to benchmark everything versus the Big Shuriken, which is the top contender right now as far as I can tell from the reviews....
Click to expand...

Why do you need that much cooling capacity though? Any mid-range cooler will be able to cool an i3 quietly, especially the Sandy Bridge i3s.
 
Zangmonkey said:
If I'm going with an active cooler then I need to benchmark everything versus the Big Shuriken, which is the top contender right now as far as I can tell from the reviews....
Click to expand...

Found this comparison, sounds like they are pretty close in performance
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article976-page8.html

The Cooler Master Geminii S wasn't able to clearly defeat the Shuriken, at least not with the stock fan. At 9V, it generated 24 dBA, and operated 3°C cooler than the Shuriken producing 23 dBA. At 5V/14 dBA however, the roles reversed, with the Shuriken posting a 2°C lead despite generating half a dB less at 9V. Pairing the Geminii S with our reference fan greatly improved its low airflow performance. At 9V/13 dBA it was 1 dB quieter than the stock fan at 5V, yet managed to cool the CPU by an extra 4°C.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I operated my fan at full speed and could not hear it with the case closed on my desk, but I wasn't shooting for a silent PC and I did have a PSU fan, VGA Fan running as well which would have masked any sound from the GeminII S Fan.
 
Tsumi said:
Why do you need that much cooling capacity though? Any mid-range cooler will be able to cool an i3 quietly, especially the Sandy Bridge i3s.
Click to expand...

I wanted passive, which is why I was looking at using the genesis.
 
Personally, I think passive is overrated. Just get a 500-800 RPM fan in there and it'll be silent in that case.
 
Zangmonkey said:
Not without removing the hard drive caddy (which I may end up doing... so we'll see).
But from what I can tell that H50/60/80 -- whatever -- pump has a noticeable sound profile compared to a single "silent" fan in the case... so it's going to require more research.
Click to expand...

The H60s I have make barely any noise.
 
Zangmonkey said:
It might be easier because, in the case of the genesis, I would "un-bending" it a little.
It is factory bent at 90 degrees and I would be unbending to 45 degrees.
Click to expand...
I bent my pipes this far and back again, haven't had any issues yet. Not sayin' that's the recommended approach, so if you can find a "built-to-spec" solution I'd roll with that.
 
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