i7-4790 CPU Upgrade from i3-4130 and the HP OEM MOBO bracket has the 3 screws to hold the socket in place & the main cpu holes

[Randym1]

I tried to fit the stock cooler that came with the i7 4790 in my HP pavilion 500-223w

http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Pavilion-500-Desktop-PC-series/5399647/model/6529847/document/c04119419/

The stock cooler has those plastic push pins and my board has a metal bracket on the back of it that has the 3 CPU socket screws mounted in it along with the 4 CPU cooler screws. So when I take the bracket off, the CPU socket (LGA 1150) clamp can't be closed securely without the 3 screws. And I want to just buy a better cooler but all the suggested coolers are way too big for my HP Pavilion case. I basically have a square 6-inch radius left in my case for a cooler. From my GPU in the center then that bottom corner is all I have left to fit the cooler and the biggest problem is if I get a new cooler I'll have to unscrew the back bracket which keeps the CPU socket in place and I haven't found any coolers with the same style bracket that has the 7 screw holes to hold the CPU socket down along with the 4 main mounting screws to hold the cooler. I've been searching for almost 2 weeks now and still cant find any help. I've asked my local bestbuy, which was no help because I know more about this stuff than they do. All they could tell me was to bring the whole computer in for them to "check it out and see if they can help me" which is just a way for them to get you to pay for their stupid 250$ service fee just to try and take a look at it which I already know what's wrong I just don't know what I can do about it aside from having to buy a completely new motherboard and case. I stupidly bought this computer last year because at the time I didn't know as much as i do know and I've basically taken out everything that came with it and upgraded all the parts. So it sucks really because it was a 500$ computer and altogether I've spent about $1200 upgrading(counting the initial 500 for the computer itself) and I don't really have any "local computer stores". And best buy doesn't even sell coolers or motherboards in store. I even went as far as calling HP. Which actually the same day I received the CPU from amazon was the last day of my warranty. So out of the entire year, I've had the computer I've never called them for anything. I've figured it out myself. Now I finally call them for help and they had the nerve to tell me because I took out the main components that voided my warranty so they couldn't help me. Smh. Typical. So I'm pretty much on my own. And the CPU has been working GREAT! But the only problem is that I have it in the same cooler my computer came with (designed for an i3 4130) so I'm not sure that it's going to be a very bright thing to do, to continue using it with this old cooler. Which is twice the size of the one that came with the CPU all aside from the little copper that's on the stock i7 cooler but I've been having great temps. Just basic stuff on the internet with a ton of pages open on chrome and a bunch of add-ons, I get around 23c to about 30c. When I open a bunch of audio programs like PreSonus studio one 3 and open a bunch of Kontakt libraries and other VST's and virtual instruments the CPU hasn't gone passed 40c. But what has me a little worried is when I start playing video games (which I wasn't why I bought the computer I actually haven't played any video games since I was 15 and I'm now 27 I just recently started because of how much I put into the computer and figured why not) and when I play older games like assassins creed revelations it starts getting up to about 50c and GTA 5 it has gotten as high as almost 70c while driving in the city and what not. but I did the intel extreme tuning stress tests and I passed with flying colors and it didn't even get passed 68c. then I ran a Prime95 stress test and it got all the way up to 87c and I only ran it for 40mins. I just don't know what I should do, if I should leave this stock Coolermaster that the computer came with or should I get a better one, but if so what could I get that's smaller than 6 inches that can fit in my pavilion case. I don't know what I should do. So if anyone could help me I would greatly appreciate it! I really don't wanna burn out this CPU with this i3 cooler. Even though I haven't been seeing THAT bad of a temp increase compared to most of the other people I've read on here that say theirs is up to almost 100c just idling or doing basic tasks. And the performance is AMAZING! Like when I would play GTA 5 on my i3 it would be at like 95-99% CPU in task manager THE ENTIRE TIME. Now its only at like 20-35% CPU in task manager. So if anyone has any recommendations for me on a cooler that would be sweet! Cause the main ones that are recommended for this CPU like the hyper 212 EVO and pretty much EVERY single other good cooler is all too big. the 212EVO is literally 9 INCHES LONG! Sticking out of the case! That's CRAZY! like why? lol its insane to me. I get the reason for it but who can actually fit that thing in an average sized case.. blows my mind.


This is the bracket that's on the back of my motherboard attaching both the CPU cooler as well as the CPU socket clamp.

http://imgur.com/TPvNvpk

and the front

http://imgur.com/fEyfY4M


SPECS*
Intel Core i7-4790 3.60ghz (Upgraded from Intel Core i3-4130 3.40Ghz)
GPU PNY Geforce GTX 960 XLR8 OC 2GB
16GB RAM PNY XLR8
SSD PLUS Sandisk 240GB
Seagate HDD 1TB
Toshiba 5TB HDD
Thermaltake TR2 600w PSU


This is the cooler that I'm using now that came with the computer.

http://imgur.com/LthnRES


And I'm sure we all know what the stock Intel coolers look like but if not..

http://imgur.com/5pTHvno

 

[clifford64]

I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Stress testing a CPU will always bring out the worst case scenario with temps. You will pretty much never see temps that high when gaming. Custom coolers are really only for enthusiasts and overclockers. Seeing how you have the non "K" version, you cant overclock. As long as you are getting good temps like that, there is no reason why that cooler won't work. It will not burn out your CPU or anything as long as its keeping your temps down. If you are deadset on getting a new cpu cooler, you will just have to do some research. a website such as PCpartpicker is very helpful when looking for PC components. They have all sorts of coolers you can look through. You can even sort by the height of the cooler which will make it even easier. I skimmed your full essay you wrote so I may be wrong on this, but it looked like you were having issues finding a cooler that will fit the motherboard because of the bracket on there. If this is the case, it may not be worth the hassle of trying to mod the motherboard to get a cooler to fit. Like I said, as long as the cooler you are using is getting you good temps, there is nothing wrong with it.

 

[Randym1]

I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Stress testing a CPU will always bring out the worst case scenario with temps. You will pretty much never see temps that high when gaming. Custom coolers are really only for enthusiasts and overclockers. Seeing how you have the non "K" version, you cant overclock. As long as you are getting good temps like that, there is no reason why that cooler won't work. It will not burn out your CPU or anything as long as its keeping your temps down. If you are deadset on getting a new cpu cooler, you will just have to do some research. a website such as PCpartpicker is very helpful when looking for PC components. They have all sorts of coolers you can look through. You can even sort by the height of the cooler which will make it even easier. I skimmed your full essay you wrote so I may be wrong on this, but it looked like you were having issues finding a cooler that will fit the motherboard because of the bracket on there. If this is the case, it may not be worth the hassle of trying to mod the motherboard to get a cooler to fit. Like I said, as long as the cooler you are using is getting you good temps, there is nothing wrong with it.

Yeah, that's what I'm having trouble with. Finding a solution that can hold the socket clamp for when I get a new cooler. For whatever reason HP decided to combine the latch screws with the stock CPU cooler back plate is beyond me. I just keep seeing all these other boards that just have their own separate screws for the CPU socket latch(if I'm even using that word right). Because once I take the stock one out, without finding another one to replace and do the same thing while also being able to attach the CPU cooler to... I'm basically beat. Apologies for my rambling rants of ADHD. It's hard getting to the point when I have so much I want to explain to try putting as much detail into it for the best help. I just don't know what else to do. I think what I'm going to have to end up doing is taking the screws and going to a hardware store and asking them for nuts that can fit to where ill be able to lock them in and hopefully the back plate of the next cooler will be able to go over top of the nuts or that will be thin enough for the nuts to screw over top of the plate. I really have no clue what else to do because I can't find any other cooler that can do both by locking down the CPU socket latch and mounting the cooler/heatsink/fan and at the same time making sure that it isn't too big for my square 6 inches of space I have for it. As well as being good enough to keep up with the i7 chip. The temps I've been seeing haven't been all that bad with the computer's stock i3 cooler, but I've also been trying my hardest to take it easy on it until i find the best cooler so I haven't really been playing any games on it or trying to do any heavy workloads with music production. I'm just mad that I wasted so much money trying to upgrade this OEM computer, that's so limited when I could've just spent the money on a way better custom build. It's been hell trying to get everything specific for this damn HP pavilion and even after it's all said and done I'm still only going to have 16GBs RAM cause the board only has 2 slots. And the case is so small I had to mount one of my 3 hard drives to the front case holes because there wasn't anywhere else for it to go. Yet the name on the box said "POWERFULL EXPANSION" lmao right. Granted it did come with 4 SATA ports and a few extra USB headers. Only one x16 PCI-E slot. 3 x1's but the one is under my graphics card. All that's left is another PCI-E half-length mini card. I should just say screw it and throw all the stock crap back into the HP and just go pay the $200 or so for a good board and buy a new case and take all the upgrades and make a new build but having two computers is pointless really. All I set out for was a good computer for production and with the lack of understanding I had at the time this OEM sounded like a good idea lol. Well, I suppose we live and learn. It is what it is I guess. I would still appreciate any assistance if anyone else has any other recommendation for what I should do with this weird backplate attached to both the CPU cooler mounts and the CPU socket latch itself. Sorry for the story books. I know, I'm terrible with it. Thanks by the way for telling me that PCpartpicker has a length option! That was definitely something I didn't see was an option! That'll save me a lot of time, randomly browsing and comparing coolers that won't fit! I appreciate that, sir!

 

[clifford64]

Again, if you are getting good temps, I really wouldn't worry about trying to replace it. When putting it under some load, It's very common to see 60-70C temps. I get that when playing games with a water cooler I have on my 6700k. Worrying temps would be in the high 80s and above.

Something that has been an issue for quite some time is the upgradability of OEM computers. They build it in such a way you have to use their stuff and all that and then many of the normal components are not upgradable because of this. If you can find some way to get the bracket for the stock cooler off so you can use a different cooler that will fit, then go right ahead. It will probably require some modding which can be a bit of a hassle. It would also be easier for you to just buy a new board and case to not have to worry about it, but that costs money as well. Like I said, it may just be easier to leave it alone if you are getting good temps. Your options seem to be leave it alone, try to mod it and get a custom cooler to fit, or buy new board and case for a different build.