Heavy CPU heatsinks - will they snap a motherboard?

Naoko

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Jan 10, 2015
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Hey guys ^_^

I'm wondering if a very heavy CPU cooler like the Noctua NH-D15 (~1320 grams with 1 (2?) fans) or the Noctua NH-U14S (935 grams with 1 fan) will cause trouble like snapping for a motherboard (specifically an MSI Z97-G45 gaming motherboard) mounted in a Fractal Define R5 case. It just seems really heavy to have that huge piece of metal hanging off the side of the board.

I've looked into it a bit and it seems like some board manufacturers state their maximum weight limit as far below that. I couldn't find that information about the G45 anywhere, though.

I hear that many coolers come with good backplates that help distribute the weight stress over more of the motherboard, and also that if the board is mounted very well to the case that snapping or other similar issues don't really happen. But, I don't really know.

Thanks!
 
Solution
It should be absolutely fine, I doubt MSI made their board without considering the fact that some of their customers will use large heat sinks.

I personally have a U14S (great cooler, I bought a second a15 pwm fan and mounted on the other side) and the backplate on it is fairly solid and sturdy. I've lifted and moved my system around a couple of times and never had to deal with any damage caused by the weight of it. I would recommend just being careful when moving the system around anyway.
It dosent happen often, if at all, with static systems.
The motherboard, with properly installed heatsink and backplate, can take the extra weight hanging off the side. Though I personally was skeptical before as well.

The main time this becomes an issue is when the system is being moved, or shipped. Under movement that mass of heatsink carries some high amounts of energy through it.
 
Not so easily but It could bend motherboard, unless you have ultra durable one. I personaly avoid big heat sink coolers, I'm already sceptical about my GTX 970. It's massive and I worry about pci slot taking too much preassure under the weight... Btw why don't you try with liquid cooler such as H100 or H80? Price is pretty much similair to Noctua NH-D15 and they perform better. And you mount radiator on PC case...
 
Thanks for your input! Gam3r01, I see what you mean about moving the system with the cooler attached - I can imagine the stress would get multiplied a lot from the extra energy of the motion. The reason I'm set on getting a heavy Noctua-something heatsink is because of the quietness combined with the excellent heat dissipation. I'm trying to build the quietest high-mid-end-ish gaming PC possible (without spending an exorbitant amount of money, like say on a water cooler) and those coolers have around a ~24-27 maximum dBa; otherwise I would just save some money and get something like a Hyper 212 EVO, but sadly while it only weighs around 500 grams, it's significantly louder under load and doesn't cool as well.

I guess I'll just go for it and hope for the best. I'm curious to hear about more people's experiences as well, though. :)

edit: Oh, haha - I didn't realize that high end water coolers were so inexpensive. The thing is, I heard a few people's horror stories of faulty ones leaking all over their double SLI GTX 780s, so... I think I'll just stick to air for now.
 
It should be absolutely fine, I doubt MSI made their board without considering the fact that some of their customers will use large heat sinks.

I personally have a U14S (great cooler, I bought a second a15 pwm fan and mounted on the other side) and the backplate on it is fairly solid and sturdy. I've lifted and moved my system around a couple of times and never had to deal with any damage caused by the weight of it. I would recommend just being careful when moving the system around anyway.
 
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