Scythe Big Shuriken + Zotac 9300 ITX [TONS of pic's]

[Merlinen]

So i did get my Big shuriken to day and i have read that it is some problems mounting it on a Zotac 9300 itx board.

I am still missing my blu-ray and case for my HTPC

Setup is:
Zotac 9300
C2D E7200
PicoPSU tx150
and so on (se my sign).

This is how it did look before. (sorry for the bad pic's, did onley have my iphone )



Some pic's on the cooler




And some size comparison



Some ppl did say that i hade to remove the NB cooler to mount this CPU cooler on this motherboard, but when i did put it in place it was still some room to get my fingers in and press it down (i got small hands).



But sins i was gona change the thermal paste on the NB i did remove it anyway.



But now i ran into some problems.
I hade mounted the CPU cooler and was about to put the NB coole back in place :/
No chanse in hell i was able to put it back when the CPU cooler was mounted.




So off with the CPU cooler and back on with the NB cooler, and after that mount the CPU cooler once again.
But it was no problem for me to mount it when the NB cooler was on.
But it ain't much room between the CPU cooler and NB cooler when every thing is mounted



And some thing that did cross my mind after everything was in place, is that it ain't much room left between the memory and the CPU cooler.
And i am using low profile memory.
So i did remove them and did try and put in a normal size DDR 2 dimm.
But nopp, if you are gona use normal size DDR2 memory you can onley use slot 1, not 2.

Sure you can put in the memory before you put on the CPU cooler but then there ain't any room to press down the springs.




Here you can see the size differenc, between normal DDR2 and low profile DDR2.



And here you can se that the CPU cooler sticks out 19mm exactly from the motherboard.




And here every thing is back in place



And dum as i was i did forget to check the temps with stock cooler

But here is the temps with Linkpack + furmark runing for about 2h on the table as you can se in the last pic.

Room temp is about 26 celsius.

CPU+GPU 100% load
Cpu : 50 celsius (E7200 stock speed and volt)
Gpu : 69 celsius

And in idel mode.
Cpu : 34 celsius
Gpu : 46 celsius

So i am realy happy with the results
Hope it will work fine when i get my Antec ISK-300 case


ps.
Sorry for my bad spelling

Edit.

I am running the fan in 720rpm, and it's realy inaudible.

[relitz]

Nice system!

What power-usage do you have in idle/load?

[Merlinen]

Haven't tested yet, but i can bring home a "Fluke" from work and test tomorrow.

[swivelguy2]

Thanks for posting this. Some very useful observations and pics.

[electrodacus]

Haven't tested yet, but i can bring home a "Fluke" from work and test tomorrow.

I will also be interested in power at idle and load.

[Merlinen]

Haven't tested yet, but i can bring home a "Fluke" from work and test tomorrow.

I will also be interested in power at idle and load.

Gona test is when i get home from work, but i think it's gona be very close to these numbers (idel 35 and load 65).
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article943-page5.html

But will post my numbers sins i am using a difrent PSU.
This is the kit i am using "picoPSU-150-XT/12.5A 150W AC-DC"
From http://www.short-circuit.com/product/pi ... 50-XT.html

[Merlinen]

Now i have tested the power consumption.

Idel : 33w
720p movie : 41w (h264 in XBMC windows xp sp3)
1080p movie : ~46w (h264 in XBMC windows xp sp3)
Full load : 79w (linpack + furmark)

The 1080p movie it did move allot, all the way from 38w to 52w but the avrage was after 30min 46w.

And this was Zotac 9300 with E7200 and 2x1GB DDR2 and a 2.5" seagate momentus 7200rpm.

[electrodacus]

Now i have tested the power consumption.

Idel : 33w
720p movie : 41w (h264 in XBMC windows xp sp3)
1080p movie : ~46w (h264 in XBMC windows xp sp3)
Full load : 79w (linpack + furmark)

The 1080p movie it did move allot, all the way from 38w to 52w but the avrage was after 30min 46w.

And this was Zotac 9300 with E7200 and 2x1GB DDR2 and a 2.5" seagate momentus 7200rpm.

Not bad . It will be nice if you could undervolt the CPU but I guess that this board dose not have this future in BIOS.

[Merlinen]

Ye, realy hope zotac releases a new bios that you can undervolt the CPU.

[Mando84]

I'm also thinking about Zotac 9300 + Scythe Big Shuriken + Antec ISK-300 case.
Please let us know if it fits.

[Merlinen]

I will, but Antec ISK300 ain't easy to find atm in Sweden

http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=445874

[Parappaman]

What about installing it rotated 90 degrees? With the heatpipes pointing to the memory, to be clear. Will there be any additional difficulty to run in or will it be just as "smooth" as installing it the way you did?

[Merlinen]

I did try and rotate it 90 degres but you can't.
To get this to work you need to mod the chippset cooler, it's not much you need to mod but still.

It is the mounting bits that takes into chippset cooler.

[hormati]

So i did get my Big shuriken to day and i have read that it is some problems mounting it on a Zotac 9300 itx board.

I am still missing my blu-ray and case for my HTPC

Setup is:
Zotac 9300
C2D E7200
PicoPSU tx150
and so on (se my sign).

I am running the fan in 720rpm, and it's realy inaudible.

Hi Merlinen,
Very nice system, good job!

I have three questions for you:
1- Is the cpu cooler bending your board a great deal? Does it look like it is gonna damage the board? I've read on other forums that Shuriken bends the mobo very badly.

2- I am planning to remove the push pins on Shuriken and use a back plate. Do you think there is enough room in there to actually do this or it's impossbile?

3- Is it really necessary to reseat the GPU heat sink? When you removed it, did the way they applied thermal paste look wrong to you?

Thanks a lot,

[Merlinen]

So i did get my Big shuriken to day and i have read that it is some problems mounting it on a Zotac 9300 itx board.

I am still missing my blu-ray and case for my HTPC

Setup is:
Zotac 9300
C2D E7200
PicoPSU tx150
and so on (se my sign).

I am running the fan in 720rpm, and it's realy inaudible.

Hi Merlinen,
Very nice system, good job!

I have three questions for you:
1- Is the cpu cooler bending your board a great deal? Does it look like it is gonna damage the board? I've read on other forums that Shuriken bends the mobo very badly.

2- I am planning to remove the push pins on Shuriken and use a back plate. Do you think there is enough room in there to actually do this or it's impossbile?

3- Is it really necessary to reseat the GPU heat sink? When you removed it, did the way they applied thermal paste look wrong to you?

Thanks a lot,

1. My board ain't bending anything, it's totaly flat.

2. Well depends on what type of mounting you are gona use on the top, but i don't see way you would whant to remove the push pins when they work fine.

3. Well the NB/chippset coller did as usuly have way to much thermal paste on it so it ain't a bad ide to remove it and do it right, but it ain't realy necessary to remove it at all.

[lucky-dirk-henning]

Hi Merlinen,

this is a very nice and interesting post of yours.

Could you perhaps indicate the exact part number of
that low profile Kingston ram you have installed (KTH - ????)?
I can't read it in your picture.

Thank you very much.

[Jen1]

I did try and rotate it 90 degres but you can't.
To get this to work you need to mod the chippset cooler, it's not much you need to mod but still.

It is the mounting bits that takes into chippset cooler.

i rotated mine so that the heat pipes go over the memory rather than the chipset as you have yours on same motherboard without problems . didnt have to modify the chipset cooler either.


Jen

[Merlinen]

Hi Merlinen,

this is a very nice and interesting post of yours.

Could you perhaps indicate the exact part number of
that low profile Kingston ram you have installed (KTH - ????)?
I can't read it in your picture.

Thank you very much.

It is :
KTH-XW4400C6/1G
1.8V
BKME0850932

[lucky-dirk-henning]

It is :
KTH-XW4400C6/1G
1.8V
BKME0850932

Thanks a lot, Merlinen

[Rushdie]

Alot of nice pics, that's always helpful!

So i did remove them and did try and put in a normal size DDR 2 dimm.
But nopp, if you are gona use normal size DDR2 memory you can onley use slot 1, not 2.

Sure you can put in the memory before you put on the CPU cooler but then there ain't any room to press down the springs.

When you say there is no room, do you mean no room at all or just "very difficult"?

I will, but Antec ISK300 ain't easy to find atm in Sweden

LinITX got a couple of ISK300:s is stock. Total price including shipping is £85, or roughly 950sek.

Edit: Found a pic with the Big Shuriken mounted on a zotac itx in an 90 degree angle. The heatpipes covers the ram and io-ports instead of the chipset cooler.

w*w*w.techpowerup.c*o*m/img/09-05-29/104f.jpg

[Rushdie]

It is :
KTH-XW4400C6/1G
1.8V
BKME0850932

Thanks a lot, Merlinen

I did some research on those memory modules, and the information from both Kingston and resellers were a bit strange. They were not listed a low profile / VLP, not even on Kingston:s datasheets. Since I need low profile 2GB-modules (2x2GB), I contacted Kingston to sort it out. This is the reply I got:

The Kingston part numbers you referenced KTH-XW4400C6/1G and KTH-XW4400C6/2G are Very Low Profile (VLP), although the description is not shown in the part number.

Kingston has been phasing in new Very Low Profile (VLP) DIMMS for unbuffered DDR2 desktop memory SKUs for ValueRam and branded memory. This is due to Kingston.being committed in reducing industrial waste and providing greener, more eco-friendly products that are safer for the environment.

The problem is that I interpret that as: These modules were not low profile from the beginning, but the current revision(s) being shipped are ("spasing in"). This means that earlier revisions could be full height. But this interpretation may be wrong, and all of those modules could be low profile. Anyway, I'm gonna go for the KTH-XW4400C6/2G.

[IsLNdbOi]

I did try and rotate it 90 degres but you can't.
To get this to work you need to mod the chippset cooler, it's not much you need to mod but still.

It is the mounting bits that takes into chippset cooler.

i rotated mine so that the heat pipes go over the memory rather than the chipset as you have yours on same motherboard without problems . didnt have to modify the chipset cooler either.


Jen

Jen, when you installed the Big Shuriken w/ the heat pipes going over the memory, there were no problems w/ clearance b/w the Big Shuriken and any motherboard components on the Zotac 9300 ITX (chipset heatsink, etc.)? Also, were you able to use regular sized RAM w/ the Big Shuriken installed the way you did?

Finally, have any pics. of your setup?

[Rushdie]

Jen, when you installed the Big Shuriken w/ the heat pipes going over the memory, there were no problems w/ clearance b/w the Big Shuriken and any motherboard components on the Zotac 9300 ITX (chipset heatsink, etc.)? Also, were you able to use regular sized RAM w/ the Big Shuriken installed the way you did?

Finally, have any pics. of your setup?

I tried that, and I can confirm that IT IS possible to mount a Big Shuriken on the zontac 9300 with standard size RAM.
1. Mount the RAM.
2. Mount the Big Shuriken, can be a little tricky in the lower right corner, but it is possible.
3. Mount the chipset heatsink. I know that the pics Merlinen posted says it cant be done, but believe me, it's possible. Be careful with the chipset core though, it does not have any IHS to protect it.

It is possible with the heatpipes both going over the shipset, and over the memory. However, by mounting it with the heatpipes covering the memory, the bracket in the lower right corner touches the chipset heatsink. It does not tilt it, nor is the cooling affected, but it touches.

My greatest concern were the push pins of the Big Shuriken. Push pins suck, and have always done. And will always do. The push pins on the Big Shuriken is even worse than the regular ones, since the brackets are multiplatform (i5/i7 I guess) with wider hole spacing. It makes it flimsy, and the amount of force needed to securely lock the pins in place are way to much for the board to handle. It bends real bad. And a bent pcb is never a good thing. I ended up replacing the push pins with m4-bolts instead. As long as you are careful about the components located close to one of the holes, you'll be fine.

So, if you are going to use the zotac 9300+Big Shuriken+regular size RAM, I would suggest the following:
1. Mount the RAM.
2. Mount the Big Shuriken using m4-bolts (with nylon washers on the off-side and regular washes over the holes in the brackets). You might want to file of a mm or so from the lower right corner of the Big Shuriken, but its not critical if you don't.
3. 'Insert' the chipset cooler carefully between the pci-e-slot and the Big Shuriken, turn it, and secure it.

Edit: And since I'm such a nice fella, I'll provide you with a video how-to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuCbMmcOMBI

[IsLNdbOi]

That's too much work for a heatsink that doesn't cool as well as some others.

I guess I'll be going with the Cooler Master GeminII S or Thermalright AXP-140.

Thanks for the details Rushdie.

[jdubs]

Guys any luck with this MB and Shuriken combo with the Antec ISK-300 case?

Very curious about this setup! Also, the Travla C287 might be a good alternative if it doesn't work out with the Antec.

-Jim

[Rushdie]

Without access to an ISK-300 I can't tell for sure, but judging from pictures of it (like the ones posted here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article959-page3.html ), it may not fit with the 2x80mm fan bay mounted. The Big Shuriken extends some 10mm (or 20mm, if you have the heatpipes pointing that way), and it would probably interfere with the fan bay.

However, my concern would be the HDD / optical drive mounting bracket that runs across the case. Not sure if the Big Shuriken would fit under it. Got any measurements on that one?

That goes for the Travla c 287 as well.

[jdubs]

Without access to an ISK-300 I can't tell for sure, but judging from pictures of it (like the ones posted here:), it may not fit with the 2x80mm fan bay mounted. The Big Shuriken extends some 10mm (or 20mm, if you have the heatpipes pointing that way), and it would probably interfere with the fan bay.

However, my concern would be the HDD / optical drive mounting bracket that runs across the case. Not sure if the Big Shuriken would fit under it. Got any measurements on that one?

That goes for the Travla c 287 as well.

I'm more concerned about the height than the fan bay on the side. I think I would take those out anyway and just use the Shuriken as a whole-system cooler. Anyone know the height the 9300 + Shuriken?

-Jim

[stefanello]

mmm wow.. very interesting!! Can you help my with my troubles using the same cooler?
viewtopic.php?p=485169#485169

[vandal138]

Jen, when you installed the Big Shuriken w/ the heat pipes going over the memory, there were no problems w/ clearance b/w the Big Shuriken and any motherboard components on the Zotac 9300 ITX (chipset heatsink, etc.)? Also, were you able to use regular sized RAM w/ the Big Shuriken installed the way you did?

Finally, have any pics. of your setup?

I tried that, and I can confirm that IT IS possible to mount a Big Shuriken on the zontac 9300 with standard size RAM.
1. Mount the RAM.
2. Mount the Big Shuriken, can be a little tricky in the lower right corner, but it is possible.
3. Mount the chipset heatsink. I know that the pics Merlinen posted says it cant be done, but believe me, it's possible. Be careful with the chipset core though, it does not have any IHS to protect it.

It is possible with the heatpipes both going over the shipset, and over the memory. However, by mounting it with the heatpipes covering the memory, the bracket in the lower right corner touches the chipset heatsink. It does not tilt it, nor is the cooling affected, but it touches.

My greatest concern were the push pins of the Big Shuriken. Push pins suck, and have always done. And will always do. The push pins on the Big Shuriken is even worse than the regular ones, since the brackets are multiplatform (i5/i7 I guess) with wider hole spacing. It makes it flimsy, and the amount of force needed to securely lock the pins in place are way to much for the board to handle. It bends real bad. And a bent pcb is never a good thing. I ended up replacing the push pins with m4-bolts instead. As long as you are careful about the components located close to one of the holes, you'll be fine.

So, if you are going to use the zotac 9300+Big Shuriken+regular size RAM, I would suggest the following:
1. Mount the RAM.
2. Mount the Big Shuriken using m4-bolts (with nylon washers on the off-side and regular washes over the holes in the brackets). You might want to file of a mm or so from the lower right corner of the Big Shuriken, but its not critical if you don't.
3. 'Insert' the chipset cooler carefully between the pci-e-slot and the Big Shuriken, turn it, and secure it.

Edit: And since I'm such a nice fella, I'll provide you with a video how-to:

Thanks for the video, it will help me tremendously!

I am too making a build using the same components, but don't have ALOT of experience building PCs. Having said that, I tried to mount the Big Shuriken using the fasteners it came with and so far not much luck. They keep popping out of place once I get 3 in at a time. I did manage to get 4 pegs in at one point, but the motherboard was bending and then one of the pegs popped out when I moved it.

here are some pics, sorry I dont know how to embed the images:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/81547/IMG_2438.JPG
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/81547/IMG_2439.JPG

I would like to try using m4 bolts like you suggested. Would I just rip out these plastic pegs and put in the m4 bolts in it's place? This seems like a better method, this way I can adjust the tension of the heatsink by hand. I don't think I need it to be REALLY tight, but just enough so it won't be sliding around.

any thoughts?
Also, if you have pictures of the bolts securing your Big Shuriken I would love to see them.

[Rushdie]

I'm more concerned about the height than the fan bay on the side. I think I would take those out anyway and just use the Shuriken as a whole-system cooler. Anyone know the height the 9300 + Shuriken?

-Jim

70mm or 2.75in. (thats from the highest soldering points on the back to the 13mm fan on the big shuriken. It might be slightly taller when mounted).

Thanks for the video, it will help me tremendously!

I am too making a build using the same components, but don't have ALOT of experience building PCs. Having said that, I tried to mount the Big Shuriken using the fasteners it came with and so far not much luck. They keep popping out of place once I get 3 in at a time. I did manage to get 4 pegs in at one point, but the motherboard was bending and then one of the pegs popped out when I moved it.

here are some pics, sorry I dont know how to embed the images:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/81547/IMG_2438.JPG
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/81547/IMG_2439.JPG

I would like to try using m4 bolts like you suggested. Would I just rip out these plastic pegs and put in the m4 bolts in it's place? This seems like a better method, this way I can adjust the tension of the heatsink by hand. I don't think I need it to be REALLY tight, but just enough so it won't be sliding around.

any thoughts?
Also, if you have pictures of the bolts securing your Big Shuriken I would love to see them.

Just as a note, that ain't the Big Shuriken, it's the regular one.

Yea, the push pins are notorious for being hard to use. On a stock cooler, they do the job, but on a cooler such as the Shuriken, they really aren't suitable. I did manage to pop all of them, but the bending of the motherboard were so severe that I just couldn't go with that solution. Not only was there a short circuit risk, there is always the risk of accelerated wear if the board is bent.

Here's two pictures of the bolts I used:


Four standard M4 bolts / screws. I used nylon washers on the back side of the motherboard to avoid damage and short circuit. Be aware that there are a couple of resistors really close to one of the holes, I cut away a small portion of one nylon washer to make it fit. I made that mistake many years ago. Fried a GF3 when destroying circuitry close to a mounting hole.
Anyway, on the other side I used a metal washer and a nut to secure it. You might want to file of a small portion of the mounting bracket that touches the chipset heatsink. I didn't, but it would be a good idea.

When removing the push pins you turn them, lift a small black latch and pull them apart. When securing the heatsink while using bolts, make sure that you tight them in an X-pattern to avoid any unwanted tensions. Now, as you might have discovered, the push pins require quite a large amount of force to secure, and the lock the heatsink firmly. You want it to be just as (or close to) secured when using bolts, but don't over tighten. It is enough to hold the nut with your fingers and use a short and small screwdriver on the back side. If you use a large one, you might not be able to feel the tension. You could secure the nuts with a small amount of loctite or regular glue. Don't use nuts with a pre-applied nylon ring / 'loctite nut', because these requires a lot more force to tighten, and you might over tighten, or fail to tighten them correctly.