'HTPC', Q6600, Hoping for 3.2-3.4

[Fwertz]

Well, it's a very large HTPC, and it's I'm not going to use it as an HTPC. I just wanted a small case with a lot of punch. So please, no insults because I didn't chose a "real" case (I read an article on the third page, that didn't appear very "user friendly"). It's a budget build for decent gaming, photo editing etc. However, I want to maximize what I'm paying for.

So:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144230

Height is:

5.3" tall/wide laying/standing

Using a TForce P43 board, the CPU rests ~3 inches from the two 80mm fans in rear. I also placed in two 120mm fans on either side. The "top" one is closer to the CPU at ~2 - 3 inches than the other 120MM which is down by the bottom of the board ~8 - 9 inches.

Here are some of the coolers I was considering:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103046 3.4 inches tall
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106114 4.2 inches tall
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 ~5.3 inches tall
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233001 ~5.27 inches tall

I favor the Therm and Xiga but not sure how they'd stack being up so tight to the "top" of the case.

Questions are, too tight?
If not, will they offer desireable performance?
If not, any other suggestions?

 

[Superhal]

random thoughts:

1. if the s963 fits, by all means use that. it's probably the top "low profile" cooler out there.
http://www.frostytech.com/top5_lowprofile_heatsinks.cfm

2. Usually, with a vertical mount, many low profile coolers parallel to the motherboard with similar measurements as their perpendicular cousins perform much worse. This may be caused by the angle. when mounted vertically, it appears that the low profile coolers create heat pipe "valleys" that may trap the liquid inside. however, if they are mounted horizontally, this may allow them to perform as well as their perpendicular cousins. you could test this out with say the duorb, as it has more fan area than a thermalright or xigmatek, (2X80mm vs 1X 120mm) and seems to perform decently.

3. i don't think you're going to get enough cooling for that much of an overclock with any of the coolers listed.

 

[calinkula]

In a small case like that you will not be able to pull off a OC like that with air. Well..... technically you could, but the fans you would have to use would make your case sound like a leaf blower. Which defeats the purpose of a quiet HTPC. You need to consider water cooling if you want a big OC in a small space.