Question Air cooler suggestions for an i5-4570 ?

[bedouinbro]

I have been using this i5 4570 for the last ten years. thinking about adding an air cooler in exchange for the weathered stock cooler. Here are some stress tests from cpuz test and temps from hwmonitor, also the actual photo of the mainboard itself, it's a bit dusty after all these years of use, I will give it a clean when installing the cooler. what are some suggestions for air cooler options for this old CPU ! as you can see temp reaches upwards as much as 100 degrees !
here's the mobo link https://www.tomshardware.com/review...h81m-hds-asus-h81m-e-msi-h91m-e34,4099-5.html

As you can see there's not much space left after adding the Rams, GPU, PSU, but there are two four-pin fan connectors, in one I'm using the CPU stock fan, and on the other, there's a Coolermaster fan running. I could try moving the Coolermaster fan from the back of the case to the side of the case, which will give about an extra 1.5-inch space on the back. I am using
pens to give an estimated measure of space available in the casing, using the online ruler! the pen is about 14.1 cm tall, and the pen cover is 4cm. so what are my options in buying any air coolers ? here are some local shops,
https://www.ryanscomputers.com/cate...attr=224(a_s_i)1647(a_s_i)0(a_s_o)&osp=1&st=0

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https://www.ucc.com.bd/cooling-system?ff32=285&fq=1

or do you think there's anything else I should invest in to prolong this pc's life lol

 

[Corwin65]

A nice cleaning might help it's self-esteem.

 

[Satan-IR]

 

[geofelt]

For starters, clean up the pc.
It is going to take some time.
The stock cooler is fine, so long as it is mounted well.
With power off, nudge the cooler. If it wiggles, it needs to be remounted with new paste.
The power supply you are using is not of great quality.
Be prepared for it to fail.

----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.
Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.
When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.
If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, first run the cpu to heat it up and soften the paste before shutting down and powering off the pc. That makes it easy to unstick the old cooler.
Turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.

It is hard to use too little.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[bedouinbro]

and im thinking about running llms on it offline !

 

[bedouinbro]

For starters, clean up the pc.
It is going to take some time.
The stock cooler is fine, so long as it is mounted well.
With power off, nudge the cooler. If it wiggles, it needs to be remounted with new paste.
The power supply you are using is not of great quality.
Be prepared for it to fail.

----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.
Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.
When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.
If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, first run the cpu to heat it up and soften the paste before shutting down and powering off the pc. That makes it easy to unstick the old cooler.
Turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.

It is hard to use too little.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i dont know if the stock cooler is cleanable as it is now, it feels like grease in the heatsink ! how do I clean the heatsink itself ? compressed air ??

 

[geofelt]

As I said, it will take time.
MUCHO time.
The dust will have started to adhere to parts, and the only way to clean it off is with alcohol to moisten it and a cloth or q tip to wipe it off.

You would waste a lot of money on canned air.
A vacuum cleaner of some sort would be good.
If blowing air, immobilize any fan with a stick in the blades.
If you let the fan spin up, it will get damaged.


If you want to buy a new cooler, I would avoid the pushpin type of mount.
Noctua has the easiest mount. On your link, I think the Deepcool AG400 might be reasonable.
https://www.ryanscomputers.com/deepcool-ag400-single-tower-air-cpu-cooler

Next time, look for a case with a washable front filter to keep dust out in the first place.

 

[35below0]

I had a dirtier PC. Just sayin.

You could scrape a lot of dirt from the cooler fins using a toothpick or a thin plastic stick. Maybe a long plastic needle if you have one. Q tips are also good for collecting dirt, but be careful not to leave bits of fluff stuck on components.
Be more careful with the motherboard. You should not really be touching it at all.

Use a vacuum cleaner. Alternatively turn the case upside down and jiggle it a bit. That's not really recommended but you'd be surprised how many places dust and dog hair can hide in.

You should replace the PSU, not to improve performance but because that one will fry your PC sooner or later.

For the CPU cooler, see how much temps improve after cleaning. The Deepcool AG400 is a good recommendation.

 

[Satan-IR]

and im thinking about running llms on it offline !

Jokes aside, cleaning all that dust would go a long way. A heatsink works when it's in contact with air which is ventilated in and out of the case, not burried under 2mm of dust.

The cooler can be detachted and you can clean the fan as described above and the metal heatsink you can even wash with warm water and some soft toothbrush. But using some lint free paper and alcohol is also a good way. Only after that you need some little thermal paste on the CPU to put it back together.

Also be aware that there's the small caveat that those plastic pins that hold the stock coolers down on board might be dried up and they may break through the process if you put too much force on them. It's usually OK but be careful and gentle when working with them.

You can use Isopropyl alcohol. I think giving the whole thing a good cleaning would improve temps by a few degrees.

The Deepcool AG400 cooler is a good choice. If you plan to keep the PC for the time being I would suggest you replace that PSU.

 

[bedouinbro]

As I said, it will take time.
MUCHO time.
The dust will have started to adhere to parts, and the only way to clean it off is with alcohol to moisten it and a cloth or q tip to wipe it off.

You would waste a lot of money on canned air.
A vacuum cleaner of some sort would be good.
If blowing air, immobilize any fan with a stick in the blades.
If you let the fan spin up, it will get damaged.


If you want to buy a new cooler, I would avoid the pushpin type of mount.
Noctua has the easiest mount. On your link, I think the Deepcool AG400 might be reasonable.
https://www.ryanscomputers.com/deepcool-ag400-single-tower-air-cpu-cooler

Next time, look for a case with a washable front filter to keep dust out in the first place.

decided to add a ag400 also cleaned the whole case as much as possible, temps are now under 45-40 degree under stress testing. but im thinking will it be safe for the mobo if i keep the case standinng after adding the cooler, since its a 10 year old mobo and it doesnt really seem like it can hold this much weight, thinking about keeping it sideways to avoid damaginf this old mobo, whats your thoughts ?

 

[bedouinbro]

Jokes aside, cleaning all that dust would go a long way. A heatsink works when it's in contact with air which is ventilated in and out of the case, not burried under 2mm of dust.

The cooler can be detachted and you can clean the fan as described above and the metal heatsink you can even wash with warm water and some soft toothbrush. But using some lint free paper and alcohol is also a good way. Only after that you need some little thermal paste on the CPU to put it back together.

Also be aware that there's the small caveat that those plastic pins that hold the stock coolers down on board might be dried up and they may break through the process if you put too much force on them. It's usually OK but be careful and gentle when working with them.

You can use Isopropyl alcohol. I think giving the whole thing a good cleaning would improve temps by a few degrees.

The Deepcool AG400 cooler is a good choice. If you plan to keep the PC for the time being I would suggest you replace that PSU.

aboot the push pins ! this is what happened to the mobo heat sink few months ago, one edge of the pins with spring came apart while tinkering around the mobo, any idea how to fix this ? are this spring plastic pins available or is it really that important for the motherbaord health, one missing heatsink pin with spring ?

 

[bedouinbro]

I had a dirtier PC. Just sayin.

You could scrape a lot of dirt from the cooler fins using a toothpick or a thin plastic stick. Maybe a long plastic needle if you have one. Q tips are also good for collecting dirt, but be careful not to leave bits of fluff stuck on components.
Be more careful with the motherboard. You should not really be touching it at all.

Use a vacuum cleaner. Alternatively turn the case upside down and jiggle it a bit. That's not really recommended but you'd be surprised how many places dust and dog hair can hide in.

You should replace the PSU, not to improve performance but because that one will fry your PC sooner or later.

For the CPU cooler, see how much temps improve after cleaning. The Deepcool AG400 is a good recommendation.

i had posted about this vs450 psu, almost 10 years ago in toms forum, the first one i bought was faulty, did the paper clip test and the volts were all over the place, so i returned the psu to the shop from where i bought it, and they bascially gave a new one ( i dont know if they fixed it lol ) been running this psu for last 10 years without any problems so far, but i wll keep in mind when upgrading the system, to replace the psu.

 

[bedouinbro]

A nice cleaning might help it's self-esteem.

it just got a brand new look with a cooler !

 

[Satan-IR]

aboot the push pins ! this is what happened to the mobo heat sink few months ago, one edge of the pins with spring came apart while tinkering around the mobo, any idea how to fix this ? are this spring plastic pins available or is it really that important for the motherbaord health, one missing heatsink pin with spring ?

To make sure where did that pin come from? By "the mobo heatsink" you mean the silver thing on the board chipset controller sink which is partly under the graphics card?

If yes, well they usually have 2 placed diagonally or 4 on all 4 corners to keep them down in contact with the chip underneath. Missing one would mean the sink would not be snug on the chip and this might compromise conductivity. Less heat would be conducted from chip to sink.

I think you should be able find a replacement for it. Maybe others have experience with them. Personally have repasted a chip before and placed the sink on it but that one had metal screws, not push pins.

BTW nice to see you cleaned the dust a bit and the AG400 looks cooler than the stock solution, pun intended.

 

[bedouinbro]

To make sure where did that pin come from? By "the mobo heatsink" you mean the silver thing on the board chipset controller sink which is partly under the graphics card?

If yes, well they usually have 2 placed diagonally or 4 on all 4 corners to keep them down in contact with the chip underneath. Missing one would mean the sink would not be snug on the chip and this might compromise conductivity. Less heat would be conducted from chip to sink.

I think you should be able find a replacement for it. Maybe others have experience with them. Personally have repasted a chip before and placed the sink on it but that one had metal screws, not push pins.

BTW nice to see you cleaned the dust a bit and the AG400 looks cooler than the stock solution, pun intended.

one of the edge screw simply broke while tinkering around lol, btw i havent been keeping up with overclocking news for last 10-15 years, except for some liquid nitrogen and air/water blocks. long time ago i tweaked a core 2 duo with pad modding, heres the link
https://www.overclockers.com/intel-lga775-pad-modding/
are this type of tweaking possible these days, fyi intel haswell ?

 

[Satan-IR]

one of the edge screw simply broke while tinkering around lol, btw i havent been keeping up with overclocking news for last 10-15 years, except for some liquid nitrogen and air/water blocks. long time ago i tweaked a core 2 duo with pad modding, heres the link
https://www.overclockers.com/intel-lga775-pad-modding/
are this type of tweaking possible these days, fyi intel haswell ?

What kind of 'tinerking' would break a screw?🤔 Wondering if heavy toosl were used. Then again if you're not experiencing any malfunction or general instability that might seggest the chip under that sink is overheating I'd say it's OK maybe. Keep the case well ventilated.

I haven't been into OCing really and have never actually followed it closely although a few friends were into covering stuff on MOBOs with putty and liquid nitrogen and stuff like that. So can't really help you in that area.

 

[bedouinbro]

What kind of 'tinerking' would break a screw?🤔 Wondering if heavy toosl were used. Then again if you're not experiencing any malfunction or general instability that might seggest the chip under that sink is overheating I'd say it's OK maybe. Keep the case well ventilated.

I haven't been into OCing really and have never actually followed it closely although a few friends were into covering stuff on MOBOs with putty and liquid nitrogen and stuff like that. So can't really help you in that area.

btw, should i keep the case standing tall or keep it laying down on the right side, since it has quite the weight on the motherboard from the coolder, which will be better ?

 

[Satan-IR]

btw, should i keep the case standing tall or keep it laying down on the right side, since it has quite the weight on the motherboard from the coolder, which will be better ?

What is the exact motherboard model? Almost since chunky air coolers became available MOBO manufacturers started reinforcing the MOBOs especialy around the socket are with metal pieces and metal backplates and so on.

You can check MOBO pictures online if you don't remember whether it has a baclplate or case won't allow it to be seen, although many cases have a cutout to allow access to screws on the metal backplate around the socket on the back.

Just checked the cooler weighs around 600g. That's not too heavy compared to some big ones with hefty heasinks. I don't think it poses any danger to the MOBO as long as it's fixed properly on the socket. Which probably is OK unless you'd have overheating etc.

Putting a case that was designed and meant to be kept upright in some situations disrupts the optimal airflow. In general is intake from lower end of front and side and exhaust from upper end top and back.

What you can do is create some test scenario and put CPU under some load with a test/benchmark app and see how the cooling and ventilation performs when the case is 1) upright and 2) when it's on it's side. You can monitor temps from all temp sensors with HWiNFO from here.

There is a Portable version which is a standalone app and doesn't need to be installed. Download and run close System Summary and click Sensors tab which has a thermometer icon. You get all temp sensosr and you can see min. and max. and so on, from CPU and socket to GPU and chipset and storage also fan speed and motherboard voltages and so on.

 

[jacknail2]

A thorough cleaning could potentially boost its self-confidence.

 

[Corwin65]

All joking aside, you still to give it a thorough cleaning.

 

[bedouinbro]

What is the exact motherboard model? Almost since chunky air coolers became available MOBO manufacturers started reinforcing the MOBOs especialy around the socket are with metal pieces and metal backplates and so on.

You can check MOBO pictures online if you don't remember whether it has a baclplate or case won't allow it to be seen, although many cases have a cutout to allow access to screws on the metal backplate around the socket on the back.

Just checked the cooler weighs around 600g. That's not too heavy compared to some big ones with hefty heasinks. I don't think it poses any danger to the MOBO as long as it's fixed properly on the socket. Which probably is OK unless you'd have overheating etc.

Putting a case that was designed and meant to be kept upright in some situations disrupts the optimal airflow. In general is intake from lower end of front and side and exhaust from upper end top and back.

What you can do is create some test scenario and put CPU under some load with a test/benchmark app and see how the cooling and ventilation performs when the case is 1) upright and 2) when it's on it's side. You can monitor temps from all temp sensors with HWiNFO from here.

There is a Portable version which is a standalone app and doesn't need to be installed. Download and run close System Summary and click Sensors tab which has a thermometer icon. You get all temp sensosr and you can see min. and max. and so on, from CPU and socket to GPU and chipset and storage also fan speed and motherboard voltages and so on.

motherboard is asus h81me, i posted the pictures of the mobo earlier. theres no back plate from mobo but the cooler comes with its own backplate, 4 screws holding it. and theres 6 screws holding the mainboard to the casing, i have doubt if these 6 screws in a 10 year old mobo will be able to hold the cooler weight ! also theres some gpu weight from pcie

 

[Satan-IR]

This tectangular metal on the back of a H81ME is the backplate of the motherboard.

If that is indeed the right board (found photo online) that plate makes the area around the socket stronger.

If you don't move the case a lot with the cooler installed for example don't take it on a care ride on a bumpy road it should be OK. There won't be any board warping.

They sell GPU braces which support the card wight and are screwed to the chassis and side of the card.

You can improvise and find some strong plastic tube (1-2cm in diamater) cut it to the right length (buttom of card to the case floor) and prop up the corner of the graphics card to support some of it's weight. Although I don't see any sagging in the graphic card in the photos.

Also you can try to attach some zip tie to the heat pipe and that whole on the chassis column (gently and carefully not to put pressure on the PCIE slot). Like this ⬇️

Again, I dont' think you need to worry about warping te board and don't see any graphic card sagging. Just be careful when you move the case, especially if you want to do the 2 scenarios we talked about above and turn case on it's side. Easy does it.

 

[bedouinbro]

This tectangular metal on the back of a H81ME is the backplate of the motherboard.

If that is indeed the right board (found photo online) that plate makes the area around the socket stronger.

If you don't move the case a lot with the cooler installed for example don't take it on a care ride on a bumpy road it should be OK. There won't be any board warping.

They sell GPU braces which support the card wight and are screwed to the chassis and side of the card.

You can improvise and find some strong plastic tube (1-2cm in diamater) cut it to the right length (buttom of card to the case floor) and prop up the corner of the graphics card to support some of it's weight. Although I don't see any sagging in the graphic card in the photos.

Also you can try to attach some zip tie to the heat pipe and that whole on the chassis column (gently and carefully not to put pressure on the PCIE slot). Like this ⬇️

Again, I dont' think you need to worry about warping te board and don't see any graphic card sagging. Just be careful when you move the case, especially if you want to do the 2 scenarios we talked about above and turn case on it's side. Easy does it.

decided to keep the case on its side ! thinking about cleaning the gpu heatsink,fan and re-applying thermal paste, how safe will it be ? any chance that this 10 year old will die on me upon taking it apart, cleaning and reapplying thermal paste ? you can see how clogged the gpu heatsink is

 

[Satan-IR]

decided to keep the case on its side ! thinking about cleaning the gpu heatsink,fan and re-applying thermal paste, how safe will it be ? any chance that this 10 year old will die on me upon taking it apart, cleaning and reapplying thermal paste ? you can see how clogged the gpu heatsink is

If done with care and after watching videos of people doing it, it's safe. But you said it. there are chances of not being able to put it back together as tight as it was before, in terms of heapipes toughing the top of GPU chip as they used to and overheating and what not.

Yes by now the thermal paste must be kind of dried up then again if it's not overheating under heavy load it might be ok. But the sink is really clogged and airflow is probably not half as good as it should be.

Taking the card out of the case, holing fan blades to prevent them from overspeeding and using a blower to clean the dust from sink without taking it apart to reapply thermal paste is another option.

You might want to wait for suggestions and ideas from others on this too.