Noctua NH-D14 Clearance

[chenw]

Hey all,

Looking at the reviews for the Noctua HSF, i found that it was quite big and encountered what might be an issue with my planned build:

I am planning to use Thermaltake Armor Revo full tower case, with Gigabyte Z97x-Gaming GT mobo. The reason I chose that mobo was that the first PCI-E x16 slot is moved closer to the CPU, leaving one extra lane between the second one in the second PCI-E X16 slot (they are non-ref GTX 970's).

But...the pictures of the installed Noctua seem to go quite near the GPU. Since I have never seen the HSF before, is there enough space for the Noctua on that board? Or are there smaller HSF alternatives to make the build fit better?

I am only considering air cooling at the moment, and I will OC whatever my setup allows, but I won't be looking to squeeze every drop of performance, so if I have to drop my OC down a few notches for components to fit better, I have no problems with that.

oh, I will be using it for i7-4790k

Many thanks

 

[iamlegend]

This is NOT GOOD set up buddy.
You will have heat dissipation issue.

The heat dissipated by the GPU will be exhausted to your CPU cooler which will lead into more stress/work for your cooler.

I will suggest to get a smaller cooler, you won`t need the Noctua if you will OC until 5.00+ speeds.

 

[chenw]

Well as far as I know, usually the PCI lane directly next to the CPU is a x1 lane, not a full x16 lane, where as the Gaming GT the X16 lane is right next to the CPU, with all other lanes being equal, meaning that instead of the usual two lane spacing between the GPUs, on GT it's 3. But of course, now I realise it isn't such a great idea lol.

I would have considered asus mobos if it wasn't for the fact that none of them offers more than 4 usb3.0 ports at the back, while GT has 6. My other Mobo choice was one of the UD's (possibly UD7 or UD5H), but the layout of GT was what sold me (for now of course).

I did consider adding PCI usb3.0 cards on Asus boards, but since I am going to add an asus wireless PCE-AC68 as well, it would seem like a crowd to install all those cards on the same board...

Also, just checked the price, bizzarely in Taiwan, Gaming GT is actually cheaper than Maximus VII Hero lol... (I am based in Taiwan)

 

[chenw]

What about NH-L12? Seems to only cover the immediate area around the CPU, doesn't seem to come near even the first PCI slot, but doesn't blow hot air directly into the back exhaust fan.

Edit: belated hey again Tetsuya 😛

 

[chenw]

Scratch that, I think I will go for Thermalright MUX-120, it is 7mm narrower than D14, so if D14 can (albeit barely) fit, 7mm more gap should be more than enough, I think.

EDIT: A miscalculation and MUX-120 is discontinued. Going with Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, 1cm should be enough room, i think

 

[iamlegend]

Go for water cooling.

 

[chenw]

As much as I love the idea of watercooling (basically solves all of my CPU cooler space issues), I have several other issues with it (these issues arises purely from my own understanding of PC cooling, if I have a misunderstanding, please let me know, I am still a newbie 😛):

1. I don't like how its radiators completely block off several ventilation ports on top of the case, I much rather have those help with ventilating heat from my GPU as well as my CPU. Relying solely on the rear chassis fan for dual GPU setup to get rid of the heat doesn't seem enough to me. (This view is based solely on my understanding that top chassis fans also help with GPU cooling)

2. I am rather skeptical of having running water in my system lol. I know how water cooling have matured and leakage would/should not be a problem at all, I feel that the worst case scenario of a water cooler malfunction (whole rig shortcircuited and broken) is much worse than an air cooler malfunction (CPU shuts down due to heat), even if the chances of it happening is much more remote. Besides if a watercooler breaks, I have to disassemble the entire rig to replace it, where as for the Noctua or Hyper 212 plus for example, if the fan breaks, I can simply replace the fan without touching the assembly. (This view is from my understanding that to replace a water cooler, the motherboard must be taken out in order to remove the cooler attached to the CPU, and that an air cooler fan can be replaced without doing so).

3. I don't feel the need to use watercooling, because if the worst comes to the worst, I am quite content with stock intel cooler. While I'd like a little bit more oomph with a better cooler if practical, but CPU OC isn't something I am prioritising. Longetivity of the system and all of its parts is my main concern.

I think it's down to my own personal preference...

 

[chenw]

I decided to go for UD5H, Hero is, weirdly, more expensive than GT in Taiwan 😛 (don't ask, prices are somewhat convoluted here). But I don't think I want cut it that close to the CPU HSF anymore, so I decided to go with UD5H, and a smaller Noctua NH-U12s (which from what I hear is almost as good as a D14, especially if you install a second fan, and it's a fair bit smaller and lighter). If there is enough space, I'll put my PCE-AC68 between the HSF and GPU.

Thanks again!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I have the UD5H BK nice board.