Passive low-profile CPU heatsink needed for custom case

vils · Post by **vils** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:49 pm

I have transformed an old electrical typewriter into a computer (I've made my best to keep it silent to).
The CPU will be placed next to the PSU fan so a passive heatsink makes good sense.
I have for long planned to use a Ninja Mini but when the case is almost finished I realized that the space between mobo tray and roof is just a fraction over 12cm. With the height of mobo stand pins, pcb and the cpu itself the minja's 116mm is too tall.

Can anyone recommend a good passive heatsink?
I will use a intel cpu not rated over 65W.

The Silverstone NT01-E maybe?

mark19891989 · Post by **mark19891989** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:04 am

I have a ninja mini installed in a small case my self, im not at home right now, so i cant post measurements, but I thinking i had just over 12cm between the motherboard and the roof in mine... i have the measurements written down at home, and will post back here after i have checked them out, to see if i can be any help

vils · Post by **vils** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:08 am

I saw some measurement that the total height from mobo to top of Minja was 122mm, wich happens to be the space I have from mobo tray to roof.
The 5mm mobo stands and the thickness of the pcb makes it impossible.

I have decoupled the computer interior from the outer case with anti vibration grommets, this would be useless if the cooler had any contact with the roof (case), so some clearance is needed.

Any comments on the Silverstone heatsink?

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 6:29 am

"Passive" and "low-profile" rarely go well together.

Semi-passive maybe, requiring a fan in the very near vicinity (or ducted) but low-profile heatsinks usually are not large enough nor oriented properly for true passive operations.

Why not look at the Scythe Shuriken?

I doubt that Silverstone will cool anywhere near enough even with a fan on it.

N-K · Post by **N-K** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:10 am

I have a Noctua NH-C12P on my e8500. It's fanless and the height is ~11cm from the mb tray to the top of the heatsink.
It's definitely enough to keep my cpu at reasonable temperatures.
It would work even better in your case if the psu fan is right next to it.

vils · Post by **vils** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 3:13 am

Thanks for the input, the Noctua cooler looks intresting. It seems that it would be possible to mount so that the fins runs parallel to the airflow.
I have looked at the Shuriken but it seems less adequate in a passive setup.
The fin grid looks rather closed at the sides and appears to depend heavily on a downward airflow.

vils · Post by **vils** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:32 pm

A bit OT, but this is the case it will be mounted in:

reddyuday · Post by **reddyuday** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:23 pm

Looks cool! But how is the air flowing?

vils · Post by **vils** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:55 pm

I think you can see the air flow route from the pics above.
You can see the psu mount?
Thanks for the kind words.[/img]

mark19891989 · Post by **mark19891989** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 5:57 am

Nice project, update us on how it goes, looks cool

vils · Post by **vils** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 5:09 am

mark19891989 wrote:Nice project, update us on how it goes, looks cool

viewtopic.php?t=56002

ces · Post by **ces** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:14 am

Take a look at the top down Coolermaster Geminii plus. SPCR has some testing on it.

The stock PWM fan isn't to bad bad at lower speeds to my recollection.

It cools about as well as the top down Noctua, but is a lot shorter. And it cools a lot better than either of the Shurikens.

fwki · Post by **fwki** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:00 am

The Silverstone Sugo case (SG01, 02 etc) uses the PSU fan to move air across a low-profile top down cooler. I believe the Nitrogon NT06-E is the favorite for this appication.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... E&area=usa

Edit - I've been following this thread for a while:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php ... 1034579654

....basically the NT-06 is fine for 65W TDP cpu such as E5200, but 45nm quads run a lot cooler with Gemini 2....no surprise there.