[SOLVED] How to figure out RAM clearance

[kingsc]

Hey all...

I haven't built a gaming rig since like... before SSDs existed.

I'm building a middle-of-the-road gaming rig as I don't need the best of the best, not planning on overclocking, etc.

Have a MSI Mortar B460M micro-ATX and I got a Hyper 212BE cooler for it and I'm waiting on the RAM to come in but I can already tell I'm going to have to return this cooler - it's not going to clear the RAM. I have a H710i mid tower. The motherboard manual states there's 50.77mm from the center of the CPU to the nearest DIMM slot. I was shocked to see how huge this cooler actually was lol - is it overkill for my needs? If I'm not planning on overclocking (10th Gen i7-10700k), do I need that large of a cooler? Can I get away with a simple stock cooler that maybe isn't so large it hovers over my DIMM slots? Or do I just need to buy a cooler that's "taller" so that it gives enough clearance to at least install DIMMs (not even sure how tall the DIMMS are yet but they look relatively large.

Maybe that CM Evo 2 with asymmetric design that will move it a bit further away from the DIMM slots? There wasn't much room on the other side either before bumping into a part of the mobo and that was just with the heatsink without the fan on the side of it.

Or... maybe this? https://www.amazon.com/ID-COOLING-A...er+lga+1200+low+profile&qid=1612765319&sr=8-9

It didn't used to be this hard... but I guess I was doing full towers and ATX boards then so I never had to worry about it.

Thanks!

 

[Lutfij]

You won't be able to overclock that processor, not if you pair it with a B460 chipset. You will need to look into a Z490 chipset board. What rams did you pick out for the board? Your concerns are contradictory since Intel stopped shipping K suffix i7's with a stock cooler after the Haswell/Broadwell processors because people buying said processors would need aftermarket cooling anyway(profit for Intel for not including something that no one will use since it can't do the job even when not overclocked).

 

[kingsc]

I have no desire to overclock.

The RAM I'm getting is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FBP815T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[kingsc]

Just installed the RAM and M2 SSD. Yeah there was absolutely no way the cooler was going to fit over the top of these. They are like 2" tall and the tallest thing currently on the motherboard lol. I ordered the Evo v2 hoping the asymmetric design will put it close to flush without having to hang over.

 

[geofelt]

If you want to keep the cooler, mount the fan on the opposite side.
It is not quite as efficient though.

Some makers like noctua have tested compatibility of their coolers with specific motherboards.
Here is the one for your motherboard:
https://ncc.noctua.at/motherboards/model/MSI-MAG-B460M Mortar-4055
They also have evaluated their products for suitability.
Here is the one for a i7-10700K:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i7-10700K-416
Your cm hyper212 is somewhat comparable to the noctua NH-U12s with the noctua being somewhat more effective.
My assessment is that it will work, but you will be leaving the top turbo speeds on the table because the cooler will limit that.
I would suggest the D15s which also come in black.
It allows for ram with tall heat spreaders up to 65mm tall.
This review measures the height at 51mm:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/cosair-debuts-vengeance-rgb-pro-sl-ram

 

[kingsc]

Thanks geofelt!

I recently came across a thread with someone and learned about AIOs... so bought one of those today from Fractal (lol my impulse buying has been terrible lately... dying to get this rig done!) as I liked the minimal look compared the huge block radiator looking thing. I'll just remove some fans in the top of the case and mount there and I should be good yeah?

 

[kingsc]

So, the Cooler Master Evo v2 came in.... and rather than returning it I went and checked and it cleared the RAM so I'm going to leave it and see how it does and keep the AIO on-hand for a bit in case I need to swap em out.... yay!