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Need some help finding a decent air-cooler.

S

Synomenon

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
7,662
I'm looking for a good air cooler to replace my Corsair H70. Just got an Asus Rampage IV Gene to replace the board in the pic.:
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1038359391&postcount=786
sidecd.jpg


I need a good air cooler that I can install two fans on (push/pull) w/o blocking any of my RAM slots AND still having the fans facing / blowing upwards towards the exhaust of the case (SilverStone FT03). It's going to be cooling a 3960X or 3930K.

I'm looking at the Xigmatek Prime SD1484, but it might be too big once I put 2x 120mm or 140mm fans on it.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Rampage IV Gene:
rampageivgene1.jpg
 
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Looked at the D14, but my Vengeance isn't going to fit under that.
 
Most of the best air coolers are big dual tower ones that will block tall RAM modules. I'd sell the Vengeance and get some low profile ones along with a D14 :)
 
I had the Xigmatek s1283 and two 120mm fans blowing upward on a Gigabyte EP45 board, it didnt block my ram and I was very impressed with the quality (although I did add a Thermalright 775 bolt kit with back plate). Sure there are better performers out there, but for the price the Xigmateks are a great deal.
 
Have you guys seen the RAM layout of my board (Rampage IV Gene)?

I'm losing hope that I'll be able to use the board with a cooler I want without giving up my 32GB of RAM.
 
If you can get the TR Archon to fit, then go with that. It's nearly as good as the dual-tower coolers (I'm using one right now).

I think the TR website has the clearance measurements. I have mine facing UPWARD, as you wanted.

But looking at your board...it's small... and the vengeance heatsink seems tall...you're going to have to do the math on this...
 
Are the Corsair H60 or Antec Kuhler 620 good enough for a 3930K or 3960X? I could mount the radiator right up against the case wall and have the top fan on the outside (other side of the fan opening on the top). With that config., the whole assembly might clear the RAM.

Here's the same system with a Corsair H60:
img0066vk.jpg
 
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Same case here. Although I don't have the same board I have an H60 on my 2600K and it works great. As others have said I think you are going to run into problems with the big heatsinks on the RAM and the kind of cooler that you are looking for. Why not try the H70 on it and see how it goes first then move on if need be. That is, unless you are going to do some hefty overclocking.

Love the rig btw.
 
H70 doesn't fit with this board and RAM in my case. Already tried it. The H60 won't either. If I could mount their radiators right up against the case and place a fan on top (on the outside), they might fit, but there's a diagonal piece of metal on the FT03 the prevents the radiators from being mounted up there:

sidecdr.jpg




I bought a Hyper 212 EVO yesterday, mounted two fans on it and test fitted it by placing it directly over the CPU socket. It clears the RAM. Going by its dimensions, the Zalman I linked to in my post above will clear the RAM too.

The Zalman has great reviews so I'm thinking about returning the EVO and getting the Zalman.
 
I don't have that horizontal piece of metal that you circled on your case. I do have an extra fan mounting bracket but that goes on over the GPU. Not sure why your's has it and mine doesn't, weird.
 
I see it in your case. I see it on other FT03s as well:
FT03-11.jpg


FT03-05.jpg
ft03_cooling_(640x478).jpg


232942zffz6ld6zm5151t3.jpg
Dscf3003.jpg




What version is your FT03? Mine says v1.0 on the box.
 
Not sure, I have had it for awhile now. Weird that my H60 fits but it won't in your case.
 
Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. The H60 and H80 fit. It's when you mount their radiators up against the top (no fan b/w the radiator and case) that they don't fit. I tried to mount their radiator against the case w/ one fan mounted to the bottom of the radiator and the top fan actually on the outside (radiator | case | fan).
 
Ah, got it. Have you tried mounting it like I did? Mine is setup as a pull. Not the most efficient but it works fine for what i'm doing.
 
Yes, I tried mounting it like you did, but it blocks my RAM.

My board is an Asus Rampage IV GENE (has RAM slots on both sides if the CPU).
 
Well there's your problem, lol.

That sucks too cause it's a nice little case. I use mine for LAN's.

Hmm. And you have to have RAM on both sides of the board for Quad Channel.

I guess if that Zalman cooler works then so be it. I remember when I built mine that I had a hard time picking parts cause I new it was going in a smaller case.

You could always change the case, but that doesn't seem like a viable option.

Or, you could get RAM with smaller heatsinks, but it would cheaper to get a cooler.

Man, that is a tricky one.

Let me think about it for a couple of hours and i'll post back. lol.
 
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