Computer cases and Heatsinks. What do you have?

[element54]

Ok I have been pondering over whether i want to get a new heatsink for my compy. The problem is that i want a good heatsink but i don't want somthing so huge that it will damage my motherboard. So i want some community feedback on what kinda of heatsink you all have and how you have it mounted. Is your computer an upright where the heatsink is just hanging to the side of the CPU/mobo or is it parallel with the desktop so that the heatsink sits ontop of the CPU/mobo. I personally think the latter would be best for these huge heatsink combos like the Skyth Ninja, the Arctic Freezer 7 and the Zalman 9500. Problem is that i don't have a parallel computer case and i have a verry nice $185 upright case that i don't want to replace.

 

[chewbenator]

I have a scythe mine, huge brick o' fins. It is an upright cooler in a parrallel case. I didn't see any problem with mounting it perpendicular to the motherboard. As long as you mount it right it would do anything harmful to the motherboard. Although the thing is huge it doesn't weigh much, half of the volume is air because of the fins. BTW 30C Idle, 40C Full load, Oced E6400.

 

[martyjs]

Thermaltake cooler and fan, base model one works fine.

 

[martyjs]

As long as the heatsink is attached properly to the motherboard, there should be no problem.

 

[clue69less]

I have a scythe mine, huge brick o' fins. It is an upright cooler in a parrallel case. I didn't see any problem with mounting it perpendicular to the motherboard. As long as you mount it right it would do anything harmful to the motherboard. Although the thing is huge it doesn't weigh much, half of the volume is air because of the fins. BTW 30C Idle, 40C Full load, Oced E6400.

Actually, the Mine is one of the heavier HSFs and it is tall, so the mass plus height adds up to quite a bit of leverage in a vertical mobo build. For those of you that don't think it's an issue, go talk to mobo designers and RMA folks. As Pengwin has pointed out here, this problem shows up most often in boxes that are hauled around alot, like lanparty PCs.

 

[clue69less]

It's 560g.
A mid-weight class compared to most at 700-800g of its size.

Duh, I skipped a line on my spread sheet. My notes show my Mine at 670g with the included fan. I weighed it on a good quality analytical balance, calibrated with standards, etc. The 560g you show agrees with the Scythe web site. The Ninja Plus is listed at 815g, but my NP weighs 946g. So at least we can be comforted that Scythe is consistent - consistently very wrong that is...

 

[sirheck]

i have the arctic freezer pro for socket 939. an upright case.
i have laid my case on its side before and the cpu temps went up a little
as opposed to being upright.