HTPC built in Sony Amplifier Case needs silent CPU cooling

Cooling Processors quietly

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silentbobbo
Posts: 108
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:45 am

HTPC built in Sony Amplifier Case needs silent CPU cooling

Post by silentbobbo » Tue Aug 15, 2017 10:05 am

Hello everyone,

I am going to build my HTPC inside the empty case of a defect Sony Amplifier. The height should be between 12-16cm. On the top of the case are a lot of cooling vents so that the heat can get out of the case. However, the bottom and sides are closed. Here is an example image:

Image

Hardware:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B250N WIFI (miniITX)
CPU: Intel Pentium G4600
2x 8GB RAM
1x SSD
1x 4TB HDD
24/7 in my bedroom

On my old HTPC (which was in a similar case but with a microATX board) I just used the stock CPU heat sink and added an "Enermax T.B.Silence PWM 8cm" fan on top of it which you can literally never hear. It is absolutely silent and it has been like that for 5 years now 24/7 in my bedroom. Well except when doing some heavy work load of course.
For my new HTPC I thought it is time to replace it and I might go the same route again but thought that there might be better solutions?

The problem is:
With my Sony Amplifier Case I will need a "Top Blow Cooler" but can't really use a "Tower Cooler"?
The "Top Blow Cooler" has the heat sink above the CPU and the fan above the heat sink. So it can blow the hot air outside of the case through the air vents on top of the case.
The "Tower Cooler" has the heat sink above the CPU but the fan is mounted on the side of the heat sink which means it basically blow the hot hair on the side walls of the case and/or on other components.

For "Top Blow Coolers" there aren't many available. Even worse is that there aren't any from Enermax available which I have some very good experiences with.
So I could just get the stock heat sink again (or a new one) and mount a fan from "Enermax" on top of it (e.g. "Enermax T.B.Silence PWM 12cm")
Or are there any very very recommended Scythe / Noctua CPU Coolers that would outperform my idea of "Heat sink + Enermax Fan" ?
If I go for my "Heat sink + Enermax Fan" idea then I wonder what measurements the stock heat sink has and if it even is any good?

I have browsed the Enermax/Scythe/Noctua websites and to me it seems like the Enermax are the quites one (but again, there are no "Top Blow Coolers" from Enermax.. just fans).
How ever, I am really not sure if I am understand all the relevant terms and connections correctly (min/max noise, fan rpm speed,....).

Thanks in advance !

CA_Steve
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Re: HTPC built in Sony Amplifier Case needs silent CPU cooli

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:59 pm

The "Top Blow Cooler" has the heat sink above the CPU and the fan above the heat sink. So it can blow the hot air outside of the case through the air vents on top of the case.
The flaw in this argument is for most top down coolers, the fan blows downward through the fins to cool the CPU. Even the Noctua NH-L12 (that you saw in the article thread) has both fans blowing downward toward the CPU.

However, as your Pentium has a 51W TDP (and the SPCR test platform was using a 95W CPU), chances are good you could reverse them and still get decent quiet cooling, especially if the primary purpose is streaming/media server rather than heavy transcoding.

Or, you could try the stock cooler + decent fan route again and see how it works. Scythe just released the Kaze Flex 120mm series that's also used in the Mugen 5...either PWM fan speed would work.

silentbobbo
Posts: 108
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:45 am

Re: HTPC built in Sony Amplifier Case needs silent CPU cooli

Post by silentbobbo » Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:17 pm

CA_Steve wrote:
The "Top Blow Cooler" has the heat sink above the CPU and the fan above the heat sink. So it can blow the hot air outside of the case through the air vents on top of the case.
The flaw in this argument is for most top down coolers, the fan blows downward through the fins to cool the CPU. Even the Noctua NH-L12 (that you saw in the article thread) has both fans blowing downward toward the CPU.

However, as your Pentium has a 51W TDP (and the SPCR test platform was using a 95W CPU), chances are good you could reverse them and still get decent quiet cooling, especially if the primary purpose is streaming/media server rather than heavy transcoding.

Or, you could try the stock cooler + decent fan route again and see how it works. Scythe just released the Kaze Flex 120mm series that's also used in the Mugen 5...either PWM fan speed would work.
Thank you for your teply.

In the meantime I have settled for the Cryorig C1 which will blow from the top to the bottom.

The only problem:
I bought a used one and the fan is dead. I need a super silent 120mm fan now.

Enermax T.B. Silence PWM ?
Or smth else?

lodestar
Posts: 1683
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Location: UK

Re: HTPC built in Sony Amplifier Case needs silent CPU cooli

Post by lodestar » Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:09 pm

The Cryorig C1 has a 140mm fan with 120mm fixings, and it is only 13mm high. So potential candidates to meet this spec would include the fan that was originally supplied with it, the Cryorig XT140 Slim Profile PWM available from sources such as this one for around $17 US. There are potential alternatives to the XT140 such as the Silverstone FW141 PWM. I think the cooler uses screws to fix the fan. If the headroom is available and some longer screws can be obtained (if it needs them) then you could consider a full height fan which should give better cooling performance at lower fan speeds. Prime candidate in my humble opinion would be the Thermalright TY-147A PWM. Just a note of caution, the TY-147A is actually 26.5 mm high so you might need to take account of this in your calculations. Both the Silverstone FW141 and the Thermalright TY-147A are actually oblong, so they are longer than 140mm in one dimension. I don't think this would be an issue with the Cryorig C1.

silentbobbo
Posts: 108
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:45 am

Re: HTPC built in Sony Amplifier Case needs silent CPU cooli

Post by silentbobbo » Thu Aug 24, 2017 1:02 am

lodestar wrote:The Cryorig C1 has a 140mm fan with 120mm fixings, and it is only 13mm high. So potential candidates to meet this spec would include the fan that was originally supplied with it, the Cryorig XT140 Slim Profile PWM available from sources such as this one for around $17 US. There are potential alternatives to the XT140 such as the Silverstone FW141 PWM. I think the cooler uses screws to fix the fan. If the headroom is available and some longer screws can be obtained (if it needs them) then you could consider a full height fan which should give better cooling performance at lower fan speeds. Prime candidate in my humble opinion would be the Thermalright TY-147A PWM. Just a note of caution, the TY-147A is actually 26.5 mm high so you might need to take account of this in your calculations. Both the Silverstone FW141 and the Thermalright TY-147A are actually oblong, so they are longer than 140mm in one dimension. I don't think this would be an issue with the Cryorig C1.
So its either a 120mm or a 140mm with 120mm fixings?
Height is no problem...I could go with a 40mm thick fan as well.

What about fans from noctua, enermax, noiseblocker? I see them praised everywhere but you didnt mention them. May I ask why?

So far I could find:
Phanteks PH-F140HP PWM (discounted, but seems like I can still get one)
Phanteks PH-F140HP II PWM (no idea if it is any good)
Thermalright TY-147A PWM
Thermalright TY-147B PWM (no idea what is different compared to TY-147A)
Noctua NF-A15 PWM
Cryorig XF140

Enermax doesnt seem to have a 140mm fan with 120mm mounting.

Thanks again !

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