Heatsink Dilemma!

[doveman]

I just purchased a TRUE rev C, which I thought was a bargain for £28.

What I planned to do is move the SI-128 from my Phenom X3 720BE PC (Gigabyte MA780G-UD3H), which I use for technical/internet/music composition and which has no graphics card, only the HD3200 IGP, to my Athlon X4 640 PC (Biostar TA790GXBE), which I use for gaming/TV and videos (Mediaportal) and which I'm about to install a Powercolor 6950 card in.

Then I was going to install the TRUE in my X3 PC. I can't install it in my X4 PC as the case isn't deep enough. Please don't suggest I get a new case for the X4, as I've done a fair bit of work modding it (well it took me a lot of time and effort anyway!) and am quite proud of it.

However, now I'm thinking that perhaps the SI-128 is more useful in the X3, as it provides some air blowing down towards the VRM and Northbridge/IGP, whereas I won't be using the IGP in the X4, so it doesn't need the downdraft so much. I've overclocked the X3 to 3.2Ghz and perhaps the air on the VRMs helps with this. I'd like to overclock the X4 as well, but I can live with it if I can't. No doubt the TRUE would keep the X3 cooler, but I think it's the VRMs that limit the overclocking, so the TRUE won't help (and might hinder) this.

So, I'm thinking perhaps I should return the TRUE and find something else for the X4. As I said, the case is quite shallow, which limits things and also I'm using Corsair Dominator RAM in there, which is quite high because of it's heatspreaders, so I have to bear that in mind whichever heatsink I get.

What do you think? Should I just put the SI-128 on the X4 and the TRUE on the X3, or leave the X3 as it is and get something else for the X4, in which case what?

[fumino]

ditch the dominators for some ripjaws or mushkin, then get a noctua nh-c14.

[ces]

ditch the dominators for some ripjaws or mushkin, then get a noctua nh-c14.

+1

[doveman]

Yeah OK, now how about the economy option

I'm not about to spend £60+ on the nh-c14.

The suggestion to replace my RAM seems rather superfluous, as the nh-c14 would seem to have enough clearance for the Dominator and the Ripjaw and Mushkin seem to have heatspreaders and be equally as high, so I presume you're just trying to get the economy going again by encouraging me to spend money unnecessarily

[ces]

Yeah OK, now how about the economy option

How about the coolermaster Geminii... the poor mans Notua. At low speeds its fan isn't too bad. And it is about half the price.

It also has a feature that permits you to optionaly replace the 120mm fan with two 92mm fans.

[ces]

How many mm of height do you have available for the cooler?

[doveman]

I've got about 155mm clearance. It's hard to measure it exactly, so I might just try the TRUE and see if it squeezes in.

The Gemini looks like an interesting option. I'll have to compare it to other options like the Nexus LOW-7000 to see which will clear the Dominator sticks. If I have to, I could always swap the (shorter) Kingston Hyper-X ram in from my other PC.

Having said all that, no-one's addressed my question about whether I should leave the SI-128 on my X3 PC, or if it will work just as well with the TRUE.

[fumino]

The suggestion to replace my RAM seems rather superfluous, as the nh-c14 would seem to have enough clearance for the Dominator and the Ripjaw and Mushkin seem to have heatspreaders and be equally as high, so I presume you're just trying to get the economy going again by encouraging me to spend money unnecessarily

actually, i just didnt read your sig; so i didnt know you already had the dominators. also, if you want to set a budget for suggested coolers, its best to do that when first asking for suggestions.

back to your dilemma:
i'd try to squeeze the true into the shorter case.
if that doesnt work, i'd test it out on the other system to see how it performs not only with cpu temps, but chipset and vrm temps if you can.
if the true wont work for either system, then it'd may be best to try and return it. another option might be to buy a larger diameter fan, so that it hangs below the heatsink more, and can provide airflow across the board.

nobody is better equipped to figure this out than yourself. you have all the hardware there.

if you're at the point where you're returning the true, other than whats been posted for alternatives so far, there are some deepcool downdraft coolers worth looking at. also, if you can find one within your price range, maybe one of the zalman flower type heatsinks is worth a view. they should still provide a bit of incidental airflow to the motherboard.

[doveman]

actually, i just didnt read your sig; so i didnt know you already had the dominators. also, if you want to set a budget for suggested coolers, its best to do that when first asking for suggestions.

I actually mentioned the Dominators in my post, but never mind. I guess I should have specified I only feel comfortable spending around £30 on a heatsink (which was why I was so chuffed to get the excelllent TRUE for £28).

back to your dilemma:
i'd try to squeeze the true into the shorter case.
if that doesnt work, i'd test it out on the other system to see how it performs not only with cpu temps, but chipset and vrm temps if you can.
if the true wont work for either system, then it'd may be best to try and return it. another option might be to buy a larger diameter fan, so that it hangs below the heatsink more, and can provide airflow across the board.

nobody is better equipped to figure this out than yourself. you have all the hardware there.

Yeah but I thought I'd ask for some advice before taking everything apart, as clearly there's people with more experience and expertise here, who can point out if something's worth trying or not, or additional ideas that I hadn't thought of, as you've done.

I will try and fit the TRUE in the smaller case first, 'cos if that works it saves me dismantling my other PC.

It's not easy to tell which temps are which in Speedfan, although I've identified the CPU and IGP on both PCs.

I'm not sure I'd be able to attach a larger (than 120mm) fan to the TRUE as the corners would be off the heatsink.

I'm not going to be able to return the TRUE after testing it, but I'm sure I'll be able to get a reasonable price for it on e-bay.

if you're at the point where you're returning the true, other than whats been posted for alternatives so far, there are some deepcool downdraft coolers worth looking at. also, if you can find one within your price range, maybe one of the zalman flower type heatsinks is worth a view. they should still provide a bit of incidental airflow to the motherboard.

Thanks, I'll look at the deepcools. I've never been that keen on the Zalmans and the review I've seen haven't been that flattering either, but I'll take another look. Having said that, if I can find one that fits, I think a tower heatsink would be more suitable for the X4, as the IGP won't be used and so won't need the downdraft.