Fusion heatsink options - advice wanted

the_beast · Post by **the_beast** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:21 am

I am thinking of putting together an HTPC inside an Antec Fusion case, using a 2.93GHz Celeron D (S478, Prescott) on an Intel motherboard that I have lying around collecting dust. Whilst it'll never be a particularly speedy machine it should be capable of playing back my mp3s etc whilst giving my a nice GUI on the tv etc and a decent upgrade path when I can afford to splash out properly.

I have no real idea about the best heatsink however. I want to keep the case as quiet as possible (obviously), and so would like to go passive if possible. The only cooler I can find that will fit the height is the SilverStone NT-01, which looks like it will fit perfectly. However my motherboard orientation is such that the cooler will have to fit over the rear inlet to the case. Will this arrangement allow sufficient cooling? I was thinking I might need to open up the rear vents (cutting out the metal holding up the baffle) to allow all of the cooler to breathe, then maybe adding a duct to the nearby fan to force air through the cooler. The second fan could then be left alone to cool the motherboard, hdds etc. I won't be using any fancy graphics cards etc so heat from the rest of the case shouldn't be an issue.

Any thoughts? Does this sound a reasonable idea or am I missing something? I have read mixed reviews of the NT-01 and I'm not sure if I can get sufficient airflow through it trying to use a slow 120mm fan along a duct.

Are there any other possible heatsinks to try? Ninjas etc are all too tall, and I don't have the balls/spare cash to try and bend one to fit as I have seen. Similarly with the mods on Zalman 9500 sinks (edit: of little importance, as no s478 option for 9500).

Any input would be appreciated.

nemo · Post by **nemo** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:36 am

I am thinking about getting a fusion myself and plan to purchase a Thermalright XP-120 with it.

From a brief look at the SilverStone NT-01 i think that the xp120 offer a bigger surface and more standard proportions.

cheers

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:09 am

Until we get a 120mm tall or shorter Ninja, passive cooling in the NSK2400/Fusion will continue to be a fantasy. There are many coolers available that will be as quiet or quieter than the stock Tri-Cool and PSU fans.

The CNPS9500 LED is listed as 478 compatible. You only have to bend apart the top most rows of fins a little bit for clearance.

I use an XP-120 but this can be hard to fit on some motherboards due to clearance issues between the heatpipes and capacitors or memory slots.

I would start with SPCR's recommended heatsink list and work your way down from the top.

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:06 am

There are quite a few people over at htpcnews.com who run passive with SI-120 in the NSK2400, albeit only with A64 and not Preshotts.

the_beast · Post by **the_beast** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:59 am

Thanks for the replies & the info.

I had read some of the stuff about using a SI-120 passively, but my motherboard has the socket right on the edge so I don't think I would get it to fit. For the same reason I'm not sure an XP-120 will fit either (my motherboard is the rather crappy Intel 865GVHZ that came in my Black Friday Best Buy eMachines desktop from last year).

My ideal cooler solution seems to be a lot harder to find than I thought...

I initially decided to try a Freezer 4 because of the low cost, and hope it would fit (the height is listed as 120mm). But as that is socket 478 only and this is supposed to be a HTPC with a view to future upgrades I decided that would be a waste of money.

Currently I am looking at getting the Zalman 9500 LED as it can be used for a Core processor in a year or 2 when I have the cash. It does look like I'm gonna have to do a bit of modifying though - not only to get it to fit in the case but I think I will probably end up changing the fan too. I reckon I have a better method lined up than the one listed on this site though that should make things easier (I intend to epoxy/superglue a metal plate to the back of the replacement fan with threaded holes in it, rather than trying to drill the required holes in the fan arms). Before I decide whether or not to do the mod I will need to see how noisy the stock Zalman is however - I may not bother with it and just run it at 5v or lower instead. Decents fans are too expensive to buy on a whim in the UK!

Sr_Lobo · Post by **Sr_Lobo** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:27 pm

Thermalright SI-128.

DQ · Post by DQ » Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:00 pm

Hey all, thanks to SPCR's bad influence I now own an Antec Fusion!

It houses my Athlon XP 2500 (1.8GHz) with one of the original copper Zalman flower coolers.
The two Tri-Cool fans are on their lowest setting. Although it's not completely passive (because of the two fans next to it, this heatsink keeps my cpu at ~47degrees. Fortunately the cpu never gets punished so I'm happy with it the setup at the moment!

Hope this helps anyone with a similar setup!