TRUE120 pull-only vs 120mm slim vs 92mm HSF?

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Metaluna
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TRUE120 pull-only vs 120mm slim vs 92mm HSF?

Post by Metaluna » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:39 am

I'm putting together a new system in a Silverstone Temjin TJ08e uATX case. I want to move my trusty old Thermalright TRUE 120 over to this system, but I've taken some measurements, and it looks like the front HD cage may overhang the DIMM/CPU area of the motherboard enough that the fan may not fit in the traditional pusher position (I haven't tried it yet, but it's going to be close).

So one option I'm looking at is removing the cage and figuring out some other way to mount my single 3.5" HD, but failing that, I will need to evaluate alternative options for cooling. Some of the ideas I've come up with are:

1) Flipping the fan around to the other side, facing the rear 120mm fan cutout, pulling air instead of pushing. I don't think it would be a good idea to push from this position because it would conflict with the front 180mm fan which blows inward.

2) Replacing the existing standard-thickness Slipstream 120mm fan with a slim Slipstream. I assume this will have poorer airflow and static pressure characteristics than a full-sized fan.

3) Combine options 1 & 2 for a push-pull setup with the slim fan in front. I've read that push-pull doesn't work very well unless the fans are matched though, so I'd probably need to buy two of the slims. I think my motherboard only has one PWM CPU fan header, so I'd need to daisy chain these somehow to keep the speeds matched.

4) Dump the TRUE altogether and go with a smaller HSF like a Xigmatek 963 or AC Freezer 13


The motherboard is an Asrock Z77 Professional-M, which seems to locate the CPU socket a bit farther forward than usual. I measured roughly 2.25" of clearance between the centerline of the CPU socket and the back of a 3.5" HD protruding from the drive cage (not including right angle SATA cables). The TRUE looks like it needs about 2.5" from the centerline of the fins to the fan intake, but my measurements are not exact. With luck it will fit and this will all be academic.

lodestar
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Re: TRUE120 pull-only vs 120mm slim vs 92mm HSF?

Post by lodestar » Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:53 am

Your option 1 will work OK. I have seen coolers configured this way in order to avoid a conflict between the fan and high-profile RAM modules, particularly where all the memory slots are in use.

andyb
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Re: TRUE120 pull-only vs 120mm slim vs 92mm HSF?

Post by andyb » Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:29 am

Your option 1 will work OK. I have seen coolers configured this way in order to avoid a conflict between the fan and high-profile RAM modules, particularly where all the memory slots are in use.
+1


Andy

flemeister
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Re: TRUE120 pull-only vs 120mm slim vs 92mm HSF?

Post by flemeister » Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:07 pm

Another vote for option #1. And it wouldn't conflict with the airflow direction at all. In through the front 180mm fan, through the hard drive cage, CPU heatsink, 120mm CPU fan, and finally out the back of the case.

Metaluna
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Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2003 2:47 pm
Location: USA

Re: TRUE120 pull-only vs 120mm slim vs 92mm HSF?

Post by Metaluna » Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:25 am

Thanks for all the replies. I put everything together and there definitely isn't enough clearance for both the HD cage and the fan on the same side of the heatsink.

Unfortunately I ran into a complication mounting the fan on the opposite side. On this motherboard, there is very little clearance between the first PCIe slot and the CPU keepout area -- only a few mm between the edge of the TRUE120's fins and the backplate of my Radeon 6950. The Thermalright fan clips bulge out around the outside of the fins in such a way that they press against the video card. With the fan mounted in front, this isn't fatal, because the wire clips press against the large metal backplate of the card's HSF. But when the clips are flipped around, they press into an area of exposed components. So, I will have to rig an alternative mounting for the fan -- maybe zip ties slipped through the fins.

Right now I have the cage removed, and my 3.5" HD sitting sideways on top of the external 2.5/3.5 bay, on a layer of Sorbothane. This gives plenty of clearance for the fan and good quiet mounting of the HD as a bonus. I'm mostly happy with this configuration, but only gravity is keeping the HD in place right now. If I can't work out a way to secure the HD, I'll go back to the idea of flipping the fan without using the wire clips.

andyb
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Re: TRUE120 pull-only vs 120mm slim vs 92mm HSF?

Post by andyb » Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:10 am

Zip ties/cable ties, zip clips, whatever you want to call these things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_tie

Are great for attaching fans as they wont break for years even with the heat, I have the top fan in my P180 attached with them - its basically suspension without any elastic.

You can also do the same with your HDD if there are some mounting points above it that you can use. You can easily daisy-chain them together to make them longer and use them to suspend your HDD, but when it comes to drives you want to have a more solid, more permanent setup.


Andy

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