Question 40mm vrm fan placement

[Pupq1]

I'm planning to buy 2 or 3 40mm fans to cool the vrm and I was thinking of a new way to place them

So this is the traditional way to place vrm fans:

Basically the fan is placed directly on the heatsink and it takes air from the side of the case and blows it into the radiator

Now I think I've found a better way:

So the fans would be placed perpendicularly on the motherboard, taking the air from the front of the case and blowing it to the back case and vrms

I'm pretty sure this way is much better and this is why:

1. this way the fan respects the case airflow, blowing air from the front to the back, which means more cold air is blown on the vrm area
2. the way the fans are placed this way lets the air get between the heatsink fins and cool it better, while if placed as in the first example it wouldn't
3. it doesn't cover the heatsink so it looks much better

Also, if needed to cool vrms that are above the cpu socket, I could place a fan similarly to this blowing air from the bottom to the top
Of course, this way it would be harder to stick the vrms but I think it can be done somehow using zipties
So what do you guys think about this? I've never seen someone place vrm fans like this and I'm pretty confident that this way the vrms would get cooled way better, but I'm no expert in cooling and airflow and vrms and stuff so I want your opinions on this

 

[AllanGH]

Have you actually had issues with the VRMs overheating, or are you just being proactive?

Most MB installations don't bother with "heroics" in cooling VRMs, and there are no issues with it.

 

[Pupq1]

Have you actually had issues with the VRMs overheating, or are you just being proactive?

Most MB installations don't bother with "heroics" in cooling VRMs, and there are no issues with it.

No, I just want to buy a mb that I've heard has one of the worst possible vrm heatsink designs

 

[koson123]

MBs that have vrm problems should not be bought for overclocking. Other than that though passive airflow with any heatsink is fine for normal use. If you do plan to OC just spend a couple of extra bucks for a decent MB

 

[AllanGH]

I just want to buy a mb that I've heard has one of the worst possible vrm heatsink designs

That could be nothing but conjecture, quite honestly.

Which MB are you looking at, and what is the source of the negative evaluation of the VRM heatsink design?

 

[Pupq1]

The asus prime x470-pro
Buildzoid made a video about it saying the heatsink seems pretty bad
But anyways.. Wouldn't it be perfect if I added 3 small fans? Even if the mb had exceptionally good heatsinks and got like 70c on the vrms at full load.. Why not spend $10 bucks for 3 fans and get 60C?

 

[DMAN999]

Buildzoid also said the IO shield on my Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming MB restricted airflow which would cause high VRM temperatures but he is 100 % wrong in my case.
I have a thermal sensor placed between my IO shield and the VRM heatsink and my VRM temp idles around 27C and has never gone above 40C even with my Ryzen 5 2600 OC'd to 4 GHz.
So I would take what he said with a grain of salt and check out reviews that specifically measure the temperature of the VRM on that MB under various conditions.

 

[AllanGH]

I think that there are other detractors with that specific MB which, when added to the general opinion that the VRM heatsinks are less than they could otherwise be, make a different vendor a better option.

So far, the recommendations that I see (which I certainly do not disagree with) opine that an MSI X470 MB would be a better selection.

 

[Pupq1]

Buildzoid also said the IO shield on my Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming MB restricted airflow but he is 100 % wrong in my case.
I have a thermal sensor placed between my IO shield and the VRM heatsink and my VRM temp idles around 27C and has never gone above 40C even with my Ryzen 5 2600 OC'd to 4 GHz.
So I would take what he said with a grain of salt and check out reviews that specifically measure the temperature of the VRM on that MB under various conditions.

Hmm.. I've seen his b450 video, and those temps are really really impressive
However, this is why exactly I was thinking of vrm fans:
So I want to go with a R5 3600 when it launches and a ML360R cooler. Obviously, the cooler is huge overkill for this cpu but I found a very good deal on it and I think I'll buy it.
Anyways, that cooler provides a lot of oc headroom, and that's why I want to make sure that it is not wasted on bad quality vrm / heatsink

 

[Pupq1]

I think that there are other detractors with that specific MB which, when added to the general opinion that the VRM heatsinks are less than they could otherwise be, make a different vendor a better option.

So far, the recommendations that I see (which I certainly do not disagree with) opine that an MSI X470 MB would be a better selection.

Oh I really want to go MSI and the only reason I am looking for asus is aura sync. I'm getting a full rgb system that looks like this: MB520 RGB case, ML360R, Tforce delta rgb ram, Gigabyte Rtx 2060 oc pro 6g, and some cheap Rgb strips like a RebornLeague or something.
Are these likely to be compatible with Msi's mystic light? I don't like using remotes and stuff, I just wanna set up some color effects from software, if you could confirm to me I don't necessarely need aura sync i'd probably go msi

 

[USAFRet]

No, I just want to buy a mb that I've heard has one of the worst possible vrm heatsink designs

Why would you buy a board with know supposed issues?

 

[Pupq1]

Why would you buy a board with know supposed issues?

1. It is asus => nice bios and aura sync
2. It has nice rgb
3. The vrms are not actually known to be bad just the heatsink is, which could be fixed with fans
4. I was thinking of doing some kind of white build and that mb would've matched

But I'm not sure about it now

 

[USAFRet]

1. It is asus => nice bios and aura sync
2. It has nice rgb
3. The vrms are not actually known to be bad just the heatsink is, which could be fixed with fans
4. I was thinking of doing some kind of white build and that mb would've matched

But I'm not sure about it now

Aesthetics counts, until you have to DIY some fans on it.

Performance, then looks.

 

[DMAN999]

According to this list the Asus Prime X470 -Pro has a pretty good VRM which will handle a heavily OC'd 105W 2700x:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-ZwVuH_tinzgpsOdfMvYeCLI5ZbIpnq5fyiWD4NCkkU/edit#gid=0
If that's true I'm sure it could handle a 65 W 3600.

I have very good airflow in my case (2 front 120 intake fan, 1 side panel 120 intake fan , 1 top 140 exhaust and 1 rear 120 exhaust fan and my cooler has push/pull 120 fans) and I'm sure if you use a case with good airflow that Prime X470-Pro would be fine for a 3600.

 

[AllanGH]

I really want to go MSI and the only reason I am looking for asus is aura sync.

MSI has their own LED lighting set-up (something that I don't use, myself) that has quite the following. As far as I know, it's pretty much the same thing as Aura-sync, just with a different name.

My particular MB (which seems to be largely similar to other MSI MBs, in this respect) has 2 - RGB LED headers (4 - pin for 5050 RGB LED strips @ 12V), 1 - "Rainbow" header (3 - pin for WS2812B Individually Addressable LED strips @ 5V), and a "Corsair" 3 - pin header (for a Corsair RGB fan hub, OR a Lighting Node Pro LED strip @ 5V).

 

[Pupq1]

MSI has their own LED lighting set-up (something that I don't use, myself) that has quite the following. As far as I know, it's pretty much the same thing as Aura-sync, just with a different name.

My particular MB (which seems to be largely similar to other MSI MBs, in this respect) has 2 - RGB LED headers (4 - pin for 5050 RGB LED strips @ 12V), 1 - "Rainbow" header (3 - pin for WS2812B Individually Addressable LED strips @ 5V), and a "Corsair" 3 - pin header (for a Corsair RGB fan hub, OR a Lighting Node Pro LED strip @ 5V).

Hmm, I'm still scared of RAM and Cooler Rgb compatibility. Anyways, I'm thinking of getting a Pro Carbon Ac

 

[truegenius]

Buildzoid also said the IO shield on my Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming MB restricted airflow which would cause high VRM temperatures but he is 100 % wrong in my case.
I have a thermal sensor placed between my IO shield and the VRM heatsink and my VRM temp idles around 27C and has never gone above 40C even with my Ryzen 5 2600 OC'd to 4 GHz.
So I would take what he said with a grain of salt and check out reviews that specifically measure the temperature of the VRM on that MB under various conditions.

by placing probe like that you are actually measuring temp of air in your case and 40'c is warm. probe needs to be placed between heatsink and vrm to better measure vrm temp. i think at overclock your vrm temp will be 70'c+ ( if using 100w+ )

 

[DMAN999]

by placing probe like that you are actually measuring temp of air in your case and 40'c is warm.

Actually that isn't true.
I had that sensor placed beside my PSU for a few days and it idled at 26C never went above 30C (so I'd say that was a more accurate measure of air temp inside my case plus a little heat from the PSU). With it on the heatsink I'd say it is measuring the temp that the heatshield is getting to which if the heatshield is working as designed should be a good indication that the heatshield is doings it's job.
I could move it onto the top of the VRM (under the heatshield) to see how warm the VRM actually gets But I didn't want the sensor to affect the heatshields effectiveness by doing that.

 

[truegenius]

many motherboard comes preequiped with a sensor which measure vrm area temp which will be more accurate than any external sensor placed multiple millimetres away from actual heat source.
It is usually labelled cpu temp in hwinfo64 ( in motherboard sensor area ). Just did a quick test Using IR thermometer i found vrm temp in hwinfo64 went upto 80'c (4.7ghz 8700k small fft prime95 avx, fan on vrm, ambient temp 33'c, 687khz vrm switching frequency to show difference between vrm temp and heatsink surface temp difference ) but on top of vrm heatsink it was upto 44'c while near vrm area it showed 57'c so that shows vrm runs way hotter than what you are seeing using your temp probe.

 

[DMAN999]

I'm sure my VRM temp is higher than my sensor on the heatsink is reading BUT I'm also sure it is a LOT cooler than yours since your ambient temperature is 33C and mine is 21C.
Also my MB has a CPU sensor but does not have a VRM specific sensor that I'm aware of.
I personally just placed the sensor there to warn me if that temperature got too high while I was testing OC's.
If that temperature got too high then obviously the VRM temperature was also too high,

Also I read a review where they stress tested my MB for hours and the VRM never exceeded 68C (measured with an IR thermometer).
Since I'm NOT stress testing I'm confident that my VRM never even gets close to that 68C mark.

I'll move the sensor onto the VRM (under the heatsink) later and see how hot the VRM actually gets just out of curiosity.

 

[AllanGH]

Hmm, I'm still scared of RAM and Cooler Rgb compatibility. Anyways, I'm thinking of getting a Pro Carbon Ac

The X470 Pro Carbon is a good MB. I did a build for a family member on that particular one.

If you get the AC, though, here's an easy method of increasing your WiFi speed, and taking BT up to 5.0:
Buy the Intel Wireless-AC 9260 module ($16.72 @ AMZ).
Remove the I/O cover from the MB (2 screws), and remove the WiFi module enclosure (2 screws + pull it out).
Open-up the module enclosure (1 screw) and remove the Wireless-AC 8265 module (1 screw +2 antenna connectors).
Replace it with the Wireless-AC 9260 module.
Reassemble the module enclosure and put everything back together.
Done
If you use Win10, the correct driver will be automatically installed. Other versions of Win will need a driver download, from what I'm told: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/99445/Intel-Wireless-AC-9260
Linux has unified drivers that handle both modules.

I didn't buy the Pro Carbon AC MB, but removed the module from the X470 Gaming M7 AC MB that I did my own build with, and did the module swap, then installed it on the X470 Pro Carbon MB. Seems to work quite well.

 

[Pupq1]

The X470 Pro Carbon is a good MB. I did a build for a family member on that particular one.

If you get the AC, though, here's an easy method of increasing your WiFi speed, and taking BT up to 5.0:
Buy the Intel Wireless-AC 9260 module ($16.72 @ AMZ).
Remove the I/O cover from the MB (2 screws), and remove the WiFi module enclosure (2 screws + pull it out).
Open-up the module enclosure (1 screw) and remove the Wireless-AC 8265 module (1 screw +2 antenna connectors).
Replace it with the Wireless-AC 9260 module.
Reassemble the module enclosure and put everything back together.
Done
If you use Win10, the correct driver will be automatically installed. Other versions of Win will need a driver download, from what I'm told: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/99445/Intel-Wireless-AC-9260
Linux has unified drivers that handle both modules.

I didn't buy the Pro Carbon AC MB, but removed the module from the X470 Gaming M7 AC MB that I did my own build with, and did the module swap, then installed it on the X470 Pro Carbon MB. Seems to work quite well.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Karadjgne]

Heatsinks on the VRM's don't actually do all that much, they do help but most of the heat is actually transmitted through the motherboard's ground plane, along with every other component.

If you look at a transistor, it usually has 3 prongs. These go directly into the core of the TX and thats what really siphons off most of the heat. It's only the surface heat that's affected by the heatsinks.

The problem with the lower end mobo's isn't the lack of decent heatsinking, it's the lack of decent mosfets, like the higher grade ones used on the X series and some of the better B450's (like the Pro Carbon).

It's part of the reason more traditional VRM cooling is downdraft style, not just to put air over the heatsink, but also over the motherboard adjacent to the VRM's, and the included ground plane.