Hey all,
I am building a HTPC so the motherboard is flat and I am drawing air from the bottom of the case (motherboard mounted upside down). This is so I can put a duct for the cpu but it won't be sucking hot air from my amplifier on top and stuff wont get dropped in the vent.
I wanted to know what the best top down heatsink is for a AM2 (well really its AM3) socket. If possible I would like to go passive or very low air flow. My motherboard can stop the fan if its not needed by setting a target temperature so even a HS that could go passive when the system is at idle and go active when its needed would be fine. I looked at the SPCR recommened list and it looked like they were almost all towers.
The system specs are as follows.
CPU: Athlon II 240 (undervolted to 1.175 V; C'n'C still works during UV)
MB: MSI 785GM-E65
HD: 2.5" Fujitsu 120G ~1-2W
DD: Sony Blu-Ray Drive (full size)
Ram: 2x2 GB DDR3
Case: custom case to be built
PSU: Electrodacus's 130DC-DC adapter
Idle power at outlet: 33W
Max power at outlet (prime95 + FurMark): 80W
Power at outlet during video game (combat arms or bioshock): 65W
Best top down HS or HSF for athlon 240
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barefootzero
- Posts: 102
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Have you got any height limitations in mind or just a need for a top down cooler due to the case design you've got in mind?
The Noctua NH-C12P, Xigmatek HDT-D1264, Scythe Kabuto and Scythe Zipang 2 are all AM2/3 compatible top-down coolers as far as I can tell. According to the reviews, the Kabuto appears to be the best performer, but its quite tall at 132mm.
At the same height, the Ninja Mini would also be an option, if that doesn't mess with your airflow plan.
Also, if you're planning on hanging your motherboard upside down, I would definitely go with an additional bolt-through kit to mount your CPU heatsink, if the heatsink you go with doesn't have one. I think the Noctua is the only one that comes stock with such a mounting kit, so this might tip the balance in favour of the Noctua, if a couple of degrees of performance doesn't matter to you.
The Noctua NH-C12P, Xigmatek HDT-D1264, Scythe Kabuto and Scythe Zipang 2 are all AM2/3 compatible top-down coolers as far as I can tell. According to the reviews, the Kabuto appears to be the best performer, but its quite tall at 132mm.
At the same height, the Ninja Mini would also be an option, if that doesn't mess with your airflow plan.
Also, if you're planning on hanging your motherboard upside down, I would definitely go with an additional bolt-through kit to mount your CPU heatsink, if the heatsink you go with doesn't have one. I think the Noctua is the only one that comes stock with such a mounting kit, so this might tip the balance in favour of the Noctua, if a couple of degrees of performance doesn't matter to you.