hi! i'm trying to look for a cpu cooler for my pc a04. i found that titan makes a cooler that fits in the pc a04 and so does gelid. i think the maximum height my case can fit is around 156 mm, but i'm not entirely sure. i read this review for a silencio 550 case. http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1210-page7.html and it said that a cpu cooler of the height 156 mm was used. curious to know which cooler that was used. it has been kind of rough looking for a cpu cooler that'll fit in my case because i was hoping to get one that can have a push pull set up as well as use 120 mm fans, but it has to be able to be able to avoid my ram (ripjaws x) lol...

if anybody can help i would be extremely greatful

The Gelid Tranquillo seems like a good choice. It's not that tall, but I don't know if it will interfere with your RAM. If you look at this link, it doesn't seem to interfere with RAM:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1223-page2.html

But this also depends on the motherboard.

Hope this was helpful.

yeah i knew the tranquillo would fit my case, but not my preferences. thanks for your suggestion

Read the review:Zerotherm Zen FZ120 review.
Other options: Spire TherMax II, Gemini Rev.2, EVGA Superclock, Titan Fenrir EVO, looking around a bit on your own, etc.

Noctua NH-C14 will fit height wise, is ~130mm with fan on top so just about enough clearance for it to work efficiently.
I recently got one and hoped to be blown away by it but I'm not, but then I do need to get "proper quiet" my re-built rig and may need to back off the over-clock (2600k @ 4.5+)
I have mine with dual fans blowing up/away from the motherboard as my case is so narrow there’s only 15~20mm between the fan and side of the chassis. Blowing towards a restrictions works much better than sucking against it, also seem to get better temps of the heatsinks around the CPU as heat being blown away and the flow into the fan has reasonable cooling potential.
Depending on your motherboard’s layout it may not block any of the DIMMs, doesn’t on my P8P67, can be freely rotated that may help, especially if bottom fan removed.
It is a nice heatsink and obviously high quality but for the price it so wants to be!
Regards, Seb

yes i've been looking around like a madman... i checked frostytech... (sorry if i'm not allowed to post other review sites) and i was looking at the thermax eclipse ii and the gemini ii i believe. both interested me. i don't think the evga fits. the titan certainly fits, but won't allow a push pull. thanks for looking around and the suggestions guys. and thanks for finding out which cooler that was used boost.

seb i was actually looking into the c14, but my side panel might need some modding so i can direct the heat out. it think it should work with my board though... according to noctua's compatibility list. thanks

Hey, I'm in the same boat. Lian Li PC-V600FX... max HSF height is ~155mm.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my googling. Here's a list of HSF's that I'm considering with some specs:

Spire Thermax Eclipse II: 153mm tall, dual 120mm fans, RAM clearance = ~40mm to bottom fins
Titan Fenrir: 156mm tall, single 120mm fan, RAM clearance = ~37mm to bottom fins
Zalman 9900 Max: 150mm tall, single 130mm fan, RAM clearance = unknown... but looks to not block at all
Zalman CNPS10X-Flex: 151mm tall, dual 120mm fans, RAM clearance = unknown
Thermolab BADA: 136mm tall, single ~95mm fan, RAM clearance = ~31mm to bottom fins... but it's narrow so might not matter
Thermolab Trinity: 149mm tall, single 130mm fan, RAM clearance = ~37mm to bottom fins
Sunbeam Twister: 154mm tall, dual 120mm fans, RAM clearance = ~41mm to bottom fins
Gelid Tranquillo: 153mm tall, single 120mm fan, RAM clearance = ~42mm to bottom fins
Tuniq Ultra 120 Extreme: 152mm tall, single 120mm fan, RAM clearance = 47mm to bottom fins
Cooler Master Hyper TX3: 138mm tall, dual 92mm fans, RAM clearance = ~37mm to bottom fins... but it's narrow so might not matter
Arctic Cooling Freezer 13: 130mm tall, single 92mm fan, RAM clearance = ~31mm to bottom fins... but it's narrow so might not matter
Noctua NH-U9B SE 2: 125mm tall, single 92mm fan, RAM clearance = ~45mm to bottom fins
Swiftech Polaris: 152mm tall, single 120mm fan, RAM clearance = ~45mm to bottom fins
EVGA Superclock: 152mm tall, single 120mm fan, RAM clearance = ~45mm to bottom fins (same as Polaris, but black)

Some of the coolers listed have fans that hang below the bottom fins so you'll need to watch for that. Ripjaws are 40mm tall I believe, but you should measure. The best coolers on the list above are the Spire, Zalman 9900 Max, Fenrir, Tuniq, and the Polaris/Superclock.

thanks for your findings! i think i'm going to try and see if i can get my hands on a spire thermax eclipse ii or a deep cool ice warrior. i'll probably go with the thermax eclipse ii since it's not as heavy as the deep cool ice warrior

Well, I purchased the Spire Thermax Eclipse II and it fits my PC-V600FX perfectly. I do believe the PC-V600F's and PC-A04's have the same dimensions so it should be identical to your case. I don't know about your RAM clearance though... the heatsink doesn't leave much room for tall heatspreaders so you may lose the first slot. Here are some pictures I snapped. I took pictures of both orientations for the heatsink as well as the case clearance. Of course, your motherboard layout may be different than mine.

Case Clearance (straight edge is level with case side, about 3mm to spare)


Left-Right Orientation




Up-Down Orientation

wow thank you for your thorough job... i think i've decided with something else. i was really hoping that the eclipse would be fine, but my heatspreaders will most likely hit the fan. i haven't checked this thread in a while surprised somebody still responded : ) thanks again!

the heatsink i was thinking of will probably be deep cool ice warrior. i think the width should be pretty thin compared to other heatsinks and i can do a push pull configuration on it. problem i have is that it's a pretty heavy heatsink compared to most other options.

Here's my A04 build: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=63878

interesting i have not gotten around to completing my build, but i'm looking for a push pull config. doesn't look like your cpu cooler will allow that unless you have your fans pushing up. nice build though looks clean