CPU Cooler Compatibility

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brad3n

brad3n

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How can i tell if a cpu cooler will be compatible/fit with my case. For example, i am looking at this or something similar from corsair:

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Performance-Liquid-Cooler-CW-9060021-WW/dp/B00SV7IEJI/ref=sr_1_52?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1450457016&sr=1-52&keywords=corsair+dual+radiator

My case is the NZXT Source 210 with an AMD FX 6300 cpu. How do i know, for example, that this cooler will fit from where the radiator is on the case to the cpu. The pipes in the amazon picture look really short, as if the radiator has to be really close to the cpu. I mean I'm almost positive it would as it would be designed to fit any average case, but also how do i know if it can be installed in my case? According to the specs for my case on newegg.com, my case has 2 x 120/140mm fan space on top. Does this mean either 120mm or 140mm will both fit in those spaces? And if the radiator for the cooler i'm looking to buy says it is 240mm or 280mm wide, does that mean it will fit on this top space since these are dual fan spaces? (i'm calling it a space because i don't know what else to call it but i'm talking about the spots where a fan can be installed but isn't already).

Also will a liquid cooler like the one i have linked be sufficient in safely overclocking my AMD FX 6300? I have not previously been able to overclock because all i have is the stock heatsink fan that came with my cpu, and i definitely didn't feel safe overclocking with that. Basically I have no experience with overclocking so I want to make sure investing in this liquid cooling will benefit me rather than just making the cpu a little less hot.

Oh and i would also like to add this: is this a better way to go than just getting a much better heatsink fan than my stock one? Is liquid cooling the best possibility over any CPU heatsink fan?

Thanks for any help!
 
Solution
Eximo
Generally the case manufacturer will list potential radiator placement. Most cases will accept a standard 120mm radiator at the rear exhaust.

Sadly your case doesn't support that cooler. You might potentially be able to mount the radiator, but I am pretty sure the fans would have to go on the outside, which is less then ideal. (Top of the case is too close to the motherboard) I think the best you could do is the H80i or H80i GT.

http://support.nzxt.com/hc/en-us/articles/202488414-What-Can-I-Fit-Into-An-Source-210-210-Elite-

Water coolers are not much better then some of the larger air coolers. H100i is decent, but competes with things like the Noctua NH-D14 in terms of performance.

CPU Heatsink Support 160mm (height)

For an FX...
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Eximo

Eximo

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Generally the case manufacturer will list potential radiator placement. Most cases will accept a standard 120mm radiator at the rear exhaust.

Sadly your case doesn't support that cooler. You might potentially be able to mount the radiator, but I am pretty sure the fans would have to go on the outside, which is less then ideal. (Top of the case is too close to the motherboard) I think the best you could do is the H80i or H80i GT.

http://support.nzxt.com/hc/en-us/articles/202488414-What-Can-I-Fit-Into-An-Source-210-210-Elite-

Water coolers are not much better then some of the larger air coolers. H100i is decent, but competes with things like the Noctua NH-D14 in terms of performance.

CPU Heatsink Support 160mm (height)

For an FX, might look into a more mid-range product (unless you want to go for every last megahertz) :

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h7
 
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brad3n

brad3n

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Thanks for the help. The limitations are disappointing but I'm still really excited about the H80i GT. Will this be sufficient for me to safely overclock my FX 6300? And also the 6300 goes to an AM3+ socket, and this cooler says it fits AM3. Does that work? Or is AM3+ completely different and not backwards compatible. And about what you said with the mid-range product for the FX, I will be upgrading to an i5 4690K in the future so don't worry about it being too "top of the line" for the FX.

EDIT: I should've said that the motherboard has an AM3+ socket and the 6300 is an AM3+ CPU. The H80i GT, however, says it supports AM3.
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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Oh, certainly enough for overclocking. It has the same rough surface area as an h100i. I used one to run my i7-4770k for a while, and that thing is drawing something like 150W with my settings.

AM1, AM2, and AM3 are all the same form factor.

These are expensive coolers compared to similar performance from much cheaper, and more reliable, air coolers. Just tossing that info out there.

Depending on the motherboard you have, you might not get very far in overclocking the FX-6300, and you would have un-used cooling potential. (and since there are no direct fans near the motherboard with a liquid cooler, it can have an adverse affect on VRM and chipset temperatures.)

But with a future upgrade in mind (and you should probably consider the i5-6600k if this isn't in very near future) you should be fine.
 
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brad3n

brad3n

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So then that means this AM3 cooler will work with my AM3+ cpu and mobo right?
 
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