Question 3900X Wraith vs Freezer 34 eSports Duo

[timg65]

So I had a brain cramp and instead of buying extra case fans I bought a CPU fan, the Arctic Freezer 34 eSports Duo. My original plan was simply to use the included Wraith cooler for the CPU.

FWIW, I don't overclock or game, but I do some reasonably heavy duty productivity tasks (Adobe Creative Suite, web applications, a little 3D).

Is it worth the trouble to install the Freezer 34 on the CPU for my use case? I'm tempted to try to use it somehow as a case fan, but I'm not even sure if that's possible to do.

 

[rubix_1011]

That's something only you can answer, it sounds like 'no' if you are reluctant to change it and not planning to overclock.

You can use the fans for case fans, if that is what you are asking, but not the heatpipe cooler itself.

 

[timg65]

Thanks, rubix.

I think I was a bit tired yesterday, and frustrated that I had already installed the Wraith before I realized what I had done.

The truth is that I'll probably feel better about working under load if I take the trouble to install the Arctic, which by all accounts does sound like it does a lot better job at cooling the CPU. And the case does come with two fans.

So that's going to be today's project.

Just hoping I don't mess anything up getting the Wraith out. The motherboard is already installed in the case, as are most of the other components. Is there anything I should be concerned about trying to do the replacement with all that still installed?

 

[timg65]

Turns out the paste didn't give me any removal problems at all. Probably because I've never fired up the machine yet. The only thing I fought with was the metal clip on the opposite side of the Wraith from the securing lever. I had a hard time getting it in yesterday, and it was battle getting it out, especially with the GPU sitting right next to it.

Now for the hard part.

 

[rubix_1011]

Paste should rarely give you problems. I've only see it be an issue on coolers that have been installed for years and years and dried into more of a glue.

You might remove the GPU to give you more room....you can always put it back in place, assuming you reconnect everything, like the power cables.

 

[timg65]

Ran into a problem immediately. The standoffs for the Arctic don't appear to be compatible with the Aorus Elite X570 mobo, so far as I can tell....

Edit: Never mind. There's a mounting plate in behind that fell off when I removed the stock AMD mounts from the mobo.

 

[timg65]

Thanks, rubix. I had seen other people saying that the paste was really nasty and the process had been messy & difficult.