Question New build. Is a bit of CPU cooler sag bad? Need urgent answer.

[Deleted member 2720853]

Just finished my first build 2 days ago. I am really happy with the results, everything went smoothly, and the temperatures are finally better than they were on my previous pre-built. I thought it would be harder but it was infact very simple. The most stressful thing was installing the CPU cooler due to it not snapping to its mount correctly, however after a bit of forcing I made it work. Everything else was relatively easy to install.

Anyway, I just noticed while looking inside my PC through the window side panel that my cooler (Thermaltake UX200) is sagging very very slightly downwards by a few millimeters. The motherboard (Z390 Aorus Pro) isn't bent (from what I can tell anyway), I mounted it on all the 9 standoffs it required, I installed the cooler and its components according to the manual and double checked that everything is sturdy, applied MX-4 paste before placing it, and when I look below the cooler with a phone flashlight it looks like it makes contact with the CPU just fine. But when I look on the "top" of the cooler and try to align it with the rear exhaust holes, it is indeed bending by a few millimeters downward.

I tried AIDA64 and Prime95, CPU temps didn't surpass 65C whereas before they would jump into the 78C on the stock cooler in the pre-built case with no airflow, and so far the CPU is the chillest piece of hardware in my PC, not struggling or throttling in games. I have my case fans set to ramp up with PCI Express x16 heat instead. Idle CPU temps are 28-34C compared to my previous 41-48C on the pre-built, and CPU doesn't go past 60C while gaming.

Should I be worried about this very slight sag? I attached a few pictures, however my phone's camera quality is bad, and it's more noticeable in person.

https://imgur.com/a/JivR7Fy

View: https://imgur.com/a/JivR7Fy

 

[grimfox]

Was there a back plate? If you push up does the cooler move or does the board flex? A few mm of movement out at the end of the heatsink, only translates to a fraction of a mm at the baseplate. It looks like the mounting mechanism is pretty springy, you might just need to tighten it down a bit more.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

Was there a back plate? If you push up does the cooler move or does the board flex? A few mm of movement out at the end of the heatsink, only translates to a fraction of a mm at the baseplate. It looks like the mounting mechanism is pretty springy, you might just need to tighten it down a bit more.

It did not come with a backplate. It is screwed in as tight as it can get, can't screw it in any tighter. Everything is in place, cooler is mounted right, the base of the cooler is touching the cpu entirely. Yet the sag is still there. Should I ignore it and move on?

 

[grimfox]

It's probably board flex then. I did some simulation. If your cooler is 150mm high and the base plate is 25mm wide there is about a 14:1 ratio of movement. So 7mm of sag is .5mm of board flex. Assuming the cooler and socket are rigid.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

It's probably board flex then. I did some simulation. If your cooler is 150mm high and the base plate is 25mm wide there is about a 14:1 ratio of movement. So 7mm of sag is .5mm of board flex. Assuming the cooler and socket are rigid.

I was able to push it up slightly, board did not flex. However, I can't get the mount in any tighter, and the cooler is correctly mounted on it. The base plate of the cooler does not change at all when pushing up the cooler, it seems attached to the CPU perfectly. I also tried taking it off and on again and the thermal paste was applied and spread correctly on the cooler.

With all these in mind, and my monitoring software showing accurate CPU temps even under load, should I just leave my cooler sagging by 1-2mm like that?

The board has all 9 standoffs correctly screwed in, not too tight and not too loose.