Large Coolers in a Vertical Case

[Spontz]

I'm trying to build a computer around a Pentium D 930, and I've run into a snag with the CPU cooler. Intel says that the cooler must weigh 450 g or less, yet everything I see that's any good is heavier than that.

With mid-tower case and vertically-positioned motherboard, what are the drawbacks of a CPU cooler that weighs more than 450 g? The ASUS Silent Square, for instance?

 

[GherkinPekul]

If your heatsink is too heavy, it could stress the motherboard. I think they are stronger than what they rate them for, but I don't know by how much. It would suck to crack your board though.

 

[Spontz]

That's what I was afraid of. So what does one do? I have yet to spot a heatsink/fan under 450 g that's rated for a Pentium D.

 

[a1ien]

Thermalright SI - 120, you have to buy a separate LGA775 adapter. The heatsink itself weighs in at 400g before a fan (which those don't weigh much at all anyways).

Check out some of the reviews on the web. Looks like a pretty damn good heatsink. I'm going to buy one sometime soon and put a 120mm fan with it.

 

[chuckshissle]

There's a clear line between 'anal safe' and 'safe'.
As a company wanting to ensure near zero damage, they must use the 'anal' safe' standard.

The 'safe' limit for LGA775 is around 1.2kg.

Remember, the force it requires to rip the HSF off equals ripping through the mobo.

1 Kg = 1000 g

So, 1.2Kilo is 1200grams that means 450g is only.450Kilos and that would make it safe for the mobo to support a 450g hsf. I have a Thermaltake Big Typhoon hsf and it's pretty heavy but Im not worried about it. I just make sure the pc will not be drop otherwise a fall will crack a mobo. Besides if your hsf breaks the board then the manufacturer would be responsible for it. Take them to court if this happens. :lol:

 

[Spontz]

There's a clear line between 'anal safe' and 'safe'.
As a company wanting to ensure near zero damage, they must use the 'anal' safe' standard.

The 'safe' limit for LGA775 is around 1.2kg.

Remember, the force it requires to rip the HSF off equals ripping through the mobo.

Where does one find this non-anal safe limit? Is it an actual specification provided by motherboard and CPU manufacturers?

Besides if your hsf breaks the board then the manufacturer would be responsible for it. Take them to court if this happens.

I'm sure the EULA for these products includes a statement that the manufacturer provides no warranty of effectiveness with any given motherboard or CPU, and is not responsible for any damage that may occur. :?

 

[harmonica]

I have two zalman coolers :

CPNS9500 LED (530g) on an asus A8V deluxe
CPNS7000B-CU (755g) on an asus P4B266-SE

Before I bought them, I had the same question as you and I asked about it in the store. They said it's made for what it does, so that it should be allright. Off course if they sell it, they would say that, but I have them for 6 months now and have never had any problem. A few times a week I take the A8V deluxe to my friend and even then I don't run into problems. I must admit I stayed away from the even heavier models, but I think even those shouldn't rip open your motherboard or crack your CPU if you're carefull with them,


greetz

P.S. : i forgot to mention my 2 cases are vertical

 

[Newf]

...Where does one find this non-anal safe limit? Is it an actual specification provided by motherboard and CPU manufacturers?...

The "non-anal safe limit" is an engineering spec which will never be published by OEMs. It is determined by empirical studies done typically by experienced professionals only. Information on these limits are often very hard to find, but you are in luck. Forums like this one offer a wealth of thinly disguised non-anal specifications.

 

[Newf]

In a vertical mobo setting, the heavier the cooler, the more likely the cooler is to tear itself away from the mounting over time. I've never seen this happen though. The more top-heavy the cooler is, the worse the problem (if there is one...). Seems to me that dropping the case would be the only way to encourage a too-heavy cooler to let loose.

The stock Intel cooler works fine with your system. If you want less noise, I recommend the following:

Zalman CPNS9500 Figure8 cooler: 550g
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118223
http://www.zalmanusa.com/

This is a very popular solution, though by no means the only one. There are aftermarket coolers out there that perform worse than the stock one. Oddly enough, the hotter running Intels will just throttle down if overheated rather than die, but spending $ for problems is no fun.
The Zalman 7000 series (like Harmonics's) works great on socket 478, but I would not recommend it for 775 systems.

 

[Spontz]

Thanks, I appreciate the assistance.