X3 720 on Asrock A790GMH/128M in a NSK2480

oopsminded · Post by **oopsminded** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:04 am

I own an Antec NSK2480 case and I recently upgraded my CPU/mobo combo to Phenom II X3 720 and a 790G/SB750 Asrock motherboard. Unfortunately, I had to increase the 2 TriCools the case comes with from min to medium to keep the stock CPU cooler, PWM controlled, to go to over 3000 rpm while playing, making a substantial difference in the overall noise level I was used to.

I am now looking for a CPU cooler that would allow to keep the case fans on minimum while keeping the CPU and NB cool enough to maybe allow me some margin for overclocking - it would be a shame to keep the X3 720BE on stock settings

.

So, after reading/searching on SPCR I think the Scythe Ninja Mini is a possibility, although I'm not sure which side the fan would fit and/or bring the best results. Another issue is that the fan the Mini Ninja comes with is a non-PWM one (3-pins).

Can you please offer me some alternatives or is the Ninja Mini my best bet?

Thanks a lot. Here are some closeups of my board:

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:16 pm

I am very happy with the Scythe Ninja Mini on my Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H mobo in my NSK2480. The Ninja Mini is perfect for this case IMO.

I would swap the two Tri-Cools for something quieter from Nexus or Scythe and undervolt the included 80mm fan that comes with the Ninja Mini with a Zalman Fanmate 2 or something similar.

oopsminded · Post by **oopsminded** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:46 pm

Looking at your board I see it has a similar setup with mine but the NB cooler is not as high. Form pics I've seen on the net, the only way of mounting the fan is on that side, over the NB, opposite the case fans.

Assuming that fan is pulling air in (is it?) that would be good for the NB but not so much for the CPU. I hope the case fans, being so close to the heat sink would compensate (at least the back one, the front one seem like it will be bypassed by most of the case air flow).

And another thing (though with the height difference in the NB heat sinks between us, I'm not sure it applies): does a 92mm fan on that Ninja Mini fit into the NSK2480? Not sure how much clearance is between those top nuts and the case to appreciate it from the pics with the 80mm fan mounted (6 mm on top/bottom doesn't seem a lot).