Ideal CPU cooler for Zotac 9300

klausmedk · Post by **klausmedk** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:07 am

Hello

I'm in the process of building a small, silent and power effective PC.

I've come across the Zotac 9300 mini-itx board as a good choice when it comes to mini-itx mainboards with LGA775 socket.

My plan is to equip it with a core2 duo E8500 3.16GHz or core2 quad Q9400S 2.66 MHz CPU.

But what about CPU cooling. I've read every article and forum post relevant to this topic and come across some contestants.

1: Thermalright HR01 Plus
2: Scythe big shuriken

Are there others I should be aware of?
Which one is the best pick?
Will I have trouble with heat?

Remember i would like to cram it into an as small a case as possible.

Regards
Klaus

suzyj · Post by **suzyj** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:40 pm

I've got this board, and use it with an E7500 processor (2.9GHz).

I used a Noctua NH-U9B cooler on the CPU. This is a relatively small vertical tower that comes with a 92mm fan. I replaced the chipset cooler as well, with a Noctua NC-U6.

I arranged it so that the fan is between the CPU cooler and chipset cooler, and draws air through the CPU cooler, then pushes it into the chipset cooler. It works really well. With both the supplied slow-down resistors in series on the fan, it spins at just 700rpm, and cools both CPU and chipset to around 50 degrees.

stefanello · Post by **stefanello** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 3:02 pm

maybe try a scythe shuriken!!

klausmedk · Post by **klausmedk** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:04 pm

Does the shuriken and big shuriken differ in the Way they fit onto the mb.
It's kind hard to tell from pictures, and scythes homePage says nothing about this.

regards
Klaus

klausmedk · Post by **klausmedk** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:04 am

I've gone for the Silverstone SG06 case, so that puts further constraints on the choice of cpu cooler.

I've heard that people have trouble fitting the big shuriken inside this case. Has anybody succeeded in fitting it onto the Zotac 9300 without the heat sink touching the side of the case?

Will the "little" shuriken have the same problems?

What about the Thermnalright AXP-140? Any experience with it ni this particular mobo + case combination?

I've also read about the GeminII (GeminIIS is not available in my country), but will that work with only one fan (Note: I plan to remove the PSU in favor of a PicoPSU, so the PSU fan won't help)?

Or should I simply go with the Scythe Ninja mini?

As you can see from this post reading more has only gotten me more confused. Advice for final decision is needed! Low noise is first priority, but I do not want to work with a computer (CPU: E8500, TDP 65W) that is operating on the brink of overheating all the time!

Please help!

Regards
Klaus

Parappaman · Post by **Parappaman** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:19 am

Silverstone's own top-down coolers (NT-something) are almost designed for this case, so they're a good choice. Another hit would be the CoolerMaster GeminII.

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:23 pm

If you are removing the PSU in favour of a picoPSU, the Ninja Mini would be a pretty good choice if it would fit on your motherboard without overhanging the side of the motherboard, which may interfere with you case's sides.

klausmedk · Post by **klausmedk** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 11:54 am

Finally built my rig:

viewtopic.php?p=497705#497705

//Klaus