Z77 & CPU Coolers

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Limp Gawd
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Nov 6, 2010
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I am shopping for Z77 motherboards, specifically Gigabyte, and I'm wondering if my Corsair A50 is going to fit. I've been making sure the RAM I look at doesn't have heat spreaders. Should I be concerned or am I in good shape as long as I get the short RAM? I have my eye on the Z77X-UP4-TH, but that could change if it's not in next month's issue of Microcenter sales.

(For reference, I'm leaning toward the 3570K, but that's not a final decision either.)
 
I've never liked memory with tall heatspreaders, especially DDR3 since the majority of them barely get warm as it is.

If you're looking for some RAM, I'd get Samsung's low-profile 30nm sticks. You won't ever have any clearance issues, they stay cool, and overclock like a beast (and they're inexpensive too!).

I would maybe opt for the A70 or an AIO cooling solution. You might be able to do away up to 4.3GHz but anything beyond that is going to reach really high temps.
 
I like the G. Skill Ares memory or the Corsair Vengeance low profile both of which should fit under the fan on the Corsair A50.
 
I have a Gigabyte z77x-ud5h with low-profile Samsung, it's the coolest running mobo I've even used, idles at 37 watts at the wall with a 3570K. This CPU doesn't make much heat so you don't need much cooling, I think A50 will be fine.
 
The thing is that the A50 on its own is going to cost at least $20. For a little bit more you can get a much better heatsink. There are lots of good heatsinks for around $30 like the Hyper 212+ or EVO.

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Your money would be better spent elsewhere.

No, you should not have any problems with RAM or motherboard clearance. Intel has a specified area that it calls the "do not enter" zone (or something like that) which all MoBo manufacturers have to abide by so the board will be fine. And you have low-profile RAM which means almost every tower cooler will work fine.
 
depends on the cooler i know with the Biostar TZ77XE4 + Thermaltake FRIO their were clearance issues with the primary PCIe x16 slot simply put it couldnt be used. that said if your using ram that doesnt have enormous heatsinks and the top slot on your motherboard is PCIe x1 then cooler will fit fine.
 
Let me clarify that I already own an A50. Overclocking isn't going to be an immediate concern. What I'm setting out to do is replace the CPU/mobo/RAM in my sig. I'm going to notice a huge difference without overclocking. :D

The heat spreader to the left that says "Ultra Durable" looks a bit concerning. Am I wrong? Thanks for you guys' help. I know I at least don't have to worry about the RAM anymore.
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Normally it is just the fan that causes clearance problems, not the cooler itself - and the fan would be on the RAM side, so that heat spreader shouldn't be a problem.
 
First tier motherboard manufacturers in general know what they're doing when it comes to heatsinks. Those voltage regulators should clear just fine. Almost every heatsink on the market is about 40mm tall at its lowest point, this is enough to clear just about everything.

I know that the I/O on the back of the board is about 32mm tall, so you can just eyeball your motherboard and you can see if the VRM heatsinks are taller than that. If they are less than 32mm then they will clear just about anything.
 
Ah. Thanks. I was imagining the fan being on the bottom because the last two systems I put an A50 in were AMD. I forgot that mine shoots the other way.
 
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