Aftermarket CPU coolers too large

[nawit]

Hi all,

I am looking to replace my stock intel cooler for my LGA 1155 socket. (Intel i5) However I am trouble finding a powerful aftermarket cooler that will fit my case/not cover the heatsinks on my RAM. I was looking at the CM 212 Hyper but that thing is huge! Any suggestions?

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

 

[rds1220]

Hi all,

I am looking to replace my stock intel cooler for my LGA 1155 socket. (Intel i5) However I am trouble finding a powerful aftermarket cooler that will fit my case/not cover the heatsinks on my RAM. I was looking at the CM 212 Hyper but that thing is huge! Any suggestions?

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

What type of case do you have? You can try something smaller like a 92mm heatsink but if your case is something from an OEM that probably won't fit either. As for covering the RAM slots how much RAM does your computer have, how many RAM slots does your motherboard have and how many are occupied?

 

[djosbun]

Get a down-draft style cooler, not the tower/upright type.

 

[nawit]

What type of case do you have? You can try something smaller like a 92mm heatsink but if your case is something from an OEM that probably won't fit either. As for covering the RAM slots how much RAM does your computer have, how many RAM slots does your motherboard have and how many are occupied?

Case- Rosewill CHALLENGER-U3 Black Gaming ATX Mid

All 4 slots are filled with 4 GB sticks of RAM: the Corsair Vengeance have the tall heatsinks that I may prevent a large cooler.

Thanks for the help.

 

[rds1220]

Thats a pretty small case. A Hyper 212 isnt going to fit and I'm not sure if a 92mm heatsink like a Xigmatek Loki or Cooler Master TX3 will fit either.

So for the RAM each stick is one gig (1GB+1GB+1GB+1GB) for a total of four gigs. What you could do is get 2 sticks of 2 gigs each for a total of four gigs and occupy only the back two slots. That will leave the front two slots open and will give you room for a big heatsink.

 

[nawit]

I apologize, I worded my RAM set up pretty poorly. I have 4 sticks of 4 GB RAM adding up to 16 GB. Apologies. I am looking at these downdraft coolers but I do not know much about them. Can someone suggest a good quality one? Not looking for anything amazing. Something that gets the job done.

 

[ebalong]

[strike]What about this one, I think it is 117mm tall, would that fit?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103075

I don't know how it compares to a 212+ or Evo as far as cooling.
[/strike]

Or, you could spend 3 times as much and see if this one fits - 120mm tall (I think)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016


Edit: I would say that an aftermarket downdraft cooler would be better than the stock downdraft cooler, but maybe not.

Edit2 -Nevermind about the first one, it looks like it's only for AMD sockets.

 

[rds1220]

I apologize, I worded my RAM set up pretty poorly. I have 4 sticks of 4 GB RAM adding up to 16 GB. Apologies. I am looking at these downdraft coolers but I do not know much about them. Can someone suggest a good quality one? Not looking for anything amazing. Something that gets the job done.

You don't need 16 Gigs of RAM for gaming. In most cases 4 gigs is enough and 6 to 8 gigs is more than enough. 12 16 or more RAM is overkill. I would take out the first two stick and reduce it to 8. Thats still more than enough RAM and will leave you plenty of room for a wide cooler.

 

[nawit]

With or without the DIMMs wouldn't the height of something like the CM hyper 212 be too much for my small case? If not then I would do what you suggested.

 

[rds1220]

Yes it will probably be to tall for that case so if you aren't going to get a new case then you are kind of limited.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103084

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608030

 

[nawit]

I think the Zalman will fit and work well too. Thank you for your help and suggestions. I appreciate it!

 

[nawit]

Best answer selected by Nawit.

 

[ebalong]

Yes it will probably be to tall for that case so if you aren't going to get a new case then you are kind of limited.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103084

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608030

Do you think that Zalman cools better or about the same as the Noctua NH-U9B? I'm curious as I have a fairly narrow case as well (and I didn't want to mess with water cooling) and I ordered this Noctua recently.