Is it safe to bend or cut heat sink Cooper pipe?

[Divaksh]

I've already band them little bit.
Here is the pic:
http://i.imgur.com/ZXSQx6l.jpg

I have Spec 03 and 78LMT USB 3 motherboard because of that cooler master hyper 212x heat sink location is near top of case. You can see the pic.

Now 4 copper pipes have 1cm clearances but 4 touches the case, I them little bit but they still touch the case.

My question is if I cut or band them more will it effect on cooling much?

Thanks.

 

[BadBoyGreek]

Cutting the pipes could have a significant impact on cooling since those heatpipes are all you have drawing heat away from the processor socket. As long as they maintain their structural integrity and they don't crack or break, bending them somewhat, theoretically, shouldn't have too much effect, but it's a risky proposition and I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Eximo]

Well they were press fit into the fins of the heatsink, so bending isn't a good idea.

Heat pipes are actually fluid filled, so you could potentially break one with interesting consequences.

For 1mm I would personally try filing the tops down a little, but you will want to do that well away from the computer.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Bending or cutting the heat pipes can render the cooler useless. The heat pipes have a small amount of wicking fluid or gas mixture in them that is necessary to allow efficient cooling of the heat pipes. If there are any heat pipes open due to cutting or bending to the point where the copper has been rent (opened), then the unit is worthless, in which case it will need to be replaced. The Spec03 does not support 160mm CPU coolers. You should get a different case or shorter cooler.

 

[Divaksh]

Thank you so much guys.

So I should sell it and get another one?. I've already bended it little bit. Now it only touches the case, is it fine or I should take any other action? The pictures days I posted in OP says all story. Now I'm worried. I thought it just a copper pipe full of copper.

 

[Eximo]

Not sure who would buy a damaged product.

If you can already get the side panel on, damage done. Though not sure I would want that extra force being applied to the CPU if there is any remaining interference.

 

[BadBoyGreek]

I agree with Eximo. The fact that you're already forcing it into a case that's not designed to handle it is already a problem. I'd definitely recommend getting a smaller cooler.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'm going to assume you're one of our Indian members, judging by your user name, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Since I know that your hardware availability is not great and tends to be very expensive, I understand it's difficult to just get new stuff, unlike a lot of other countries, however, looking at that image, which is very difficult to tell from, it looks like the tops of those heatpipes have holes in them from being clipped off or filed down. If there are ANY perforations in the heatpipe, at all, stop using the machine until you replace the cooler.

Check your operating temps in the BIOS. If the temps are more than 40°C at idle or 75° while running applications, stop using the unit until you replace the cooler.

Finding a good cooler that will fit that case is problematic due to the limited selection in your market, but this is probably the best choice out of what's available.

It's 14mm shorter than the 212EVO and outperforms it anyway. A better option all the way around.

http://www.newegg.com/global/in/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF2DZ6565

 

[Divaksh]

I'm going to assume you're one of our Indian members, judging by your user name, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Since I know that your hardware availability is not great and tends to be very expensive, I understand it's difficult to just get new stuff, unlike a lot of other countries, however, looking at that image, which is very difficult to tell from, it looks like the tops of those heatpipes have holes in them from being clipped off or filed down. If there are ANY perforations in the heatpipe, at all, stop using the machine until you replace the cooler.

Check your operating temps in the BIOS. If the temps are more than 40°C at idle or 75° while running applications, stop using the unit until you replace the cooler.

Finding a good cooler that will fit that case is problematic due to the limited selection in your market, but this is probably the best choice out of what's available.

It's 14mm shorter than the 212EVO and outperforms it anyway. A better option all the way around.

http://www.newegg.com/global/in/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF2DZ6565

Hey you are right, I'm an Indian and lucky that I my cooler is working fine!!
Don't know if I'm wrong see http://i.imgur.com/fUkcc9d.png

Now I'll sell it, Could you please suggest ma a cooler which is available in Indian market?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I did. I posted a link to it. If you can't order from Newegg India or Amazon then your choices for a good performing low profile cooler are slim to none. Flipkart, Snapdeal and most the others deal mostly in low end, off brand coolers.

I'd really suggest the Cryorig H7 as your best choice for a low budget unit that has good performance. The Deepcool Gammaxx 400 is not bad either and is about 5mm shorter than the 212 coolers.