Cons to Replacing Stock CPU Fan/Heatsink?

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rahlo

rahlo

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Is there anything to worry about with the Motherboard Voltage Regulator (MVR), or anything for that matter, getting too hot if I were to replace the stock fan/heatsink of the i5-4690K Devil's Canyon with something like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler? Will I need to add a fan to directly cool the MVR?

I do not intend to overclock... this is for aesthetics as much as cooling.

The reason I'm asking is after reading a water cooling thread for some education (HERE) it mentions that when removing the stock fan/heatsink that there will need to be additional cooling for the MVR. Does this apply in the non-water cooling case above?
 
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RedJaron
It depends on the airflow in your case and your mboard's VRM ( voltage regulator module ). If you still have a slight breeze blowing across the VRM, if it has a passive heatsink on it, and if you're at stock speeds, you should be fine. Yes, changing from a down-draft cooler to a tower cooler means you don't have an active blast of air over the mboard anymore. However, if you mount the fan as low as reasonable on the tower, it will still waft some air over the VRM.

The worry with liquid cooling and the VRM is that typically people seriously overclock the CPU. This draws a lot more power through the VRM which heats it up a lot more. Without any fans on the mboard, you can risk the VRM overheating. But with proper case cooling and...
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RedJaron

RedJaron

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It depends on the airflow in your case and your mboard's VRM ( voltage regulator module ). If you still have a slight breeze blowing across the VRM, if it has a passive heatsink on it, and if you're at stock speeds, you should be fine. Yes, changing from a down-draft cooler to a tower cooler means you don't have an active blast of air over the mboard anymore. However, if you mount the fan as low as reasonable on the tower, it will still waft some air over the VRM.

The worry with liquid cooling and the VRM is that typically people seriously overclock the CPU. This draws a lot more power through the VRM which heats it up a lot more. Without any fans on the mboard, you can risk the VRM overheating. But with proper case cooling and airflow, you don't need a spot fan over the mboard.

This is also a risk with many low-budget boards that don't have a heatsink on the VRM. Sometimes a down-draft cooler is essential when overclocking on these boards.
 
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rahlo

rahlo

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Really appreciating the feedback.

This is the motherboard I'm considering:MSI Z97-G45 Gaming LGA 1150 Intel Z97

I have not identified a case yet that I really like with a side window. If any suggestions let me know.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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I think a good cooling case will have two front intake fans of 120 or 140mm.
Preferably behind a washable filter.
That provides plenty of cooling for a 4690K and a strong graphics card.
Looks in a case counts, you will be looking at it for a long time.
Bust your budget if you need to buy one you love.
You did not ask but...
With Skylake now available, there is absolutely no question in my mind that a new build should be Skylake.
1. Prices for cpu, z170 motherboard and ddr4 ram are almost precisely the same.
2. 6600K has an estimated 5-10% performance improvement per clock over haswell.
3. 14nm runs cooler, you get a decent overclock without the need for exotic cooling.
4. The Z170 chipset permits the use of much faster ssd devices on the horizon. Samsung 950 pro for example:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/ssd950pro/overview.html


 
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RedJaron

RedJaron

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That's a great board. A tower cooler won't pose any problems for it.

I actually don't like cases with windows, but that's because I don't care to show off my internals ( let's face it, how many people can actually identify what's under the hood? ).

I think my current favorite case for the money right now if the Fractal Design R4 Define. It looks nice, it's quiet, and you can often find it on sale in the $80 range. NZXT makes some nice cases as well.
 
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