Question PA 120 SE Ram Clearance and weight concerns, overthinking or valid?

Mar 19, 2025
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I have an msi b760m pro Wi-Fi bulk it's an mATX mobo that has 2 ram slots. I have the peerless assassin 120 se and I have to raise one of the fans a little higher to clear the ram. I have t force ram, and the heat spreaders are kind of tall as well as the rgb modules on the ram. I have tried moving the front fan to the rear to make it a push pull config, it ran a little warmer than normal config with fans. I also notice the cooler is quite heavy, not as heavy as other CPU air coolers, but I'm concerned for my motherboards longevity. I did use the brackets and plastic backplate it came with, tightened everything nice and snug, applied even force. it looks level. it's not just going to fall off is it lol?

i did three logs, one with stock cooler, one with new cooler and another with new cooler and fan moved to rear. the new cooler and original fan configuration showed the best thermals.

my set up:
intel i5 14400f
rtx 4060 msi ventus 2
32gb ram
thermalright pa120se
 
You can move the front fan to the rear of the cooler but due to how heat and airflow works, you will see a slight bump in temps.
I have tried moving the front fan to the rear to make it a push pull config, it ran a little warmer than normal config with fans.
You either turn it that way or you have the front most fan elevated or you swap out the rams for something lower in profile or you swap the cooler for something angled away from the CPU's socket...or better yet, an AIO.

I also notice the cooler is quite heavy, not as heavy as other CPU air coolers, but I'm concerned for my motherboards longevity.
+
weight concerns, overthinking or valid?
Yes you're overthinking it.

You forgot to mention the make and model of your case. Does your case have a rear exhaust fan?

32gb ram
Might want to pass on a link to your ram kit.
 
You can move the front fan to the rear of the cooler but due to how heat and airflow works, you will see a slight bump in temps.
I have tried moving the front fan to the rear to make it a push pull config, it ran a little warmer than normal config with fans.
You either turn it that way or you have the front most fan elevated or you swap out the rams for something lower in profile or you swap the cooler for something angled away from the CPU's socket...or better yet, an AIO.

I also notice the cooler is quite heavy, not as heavy as other CPU air coolers, but I'm concerned for my motherboards longevity.
+
weight concerns, overthinking or valid?
Yes you're overthinking it.

You forgot to mention the make and model of your case. Does your case have a rear exhaust fan?

32gb ram
Might want to pass on a link to your ram kit.
Ram team force delta RGB ddr5 6000mhz
Yes I have a rear exhaust fan
The case description jsut says “ABS Cyclone mATX gaming case obsidian (black)”
https://streamable.com/d5l4i6 I tried it a the fan in the rear

My current set up:

https://streamable.com/xbtuwj
 
You can move the front fan to the rear of the cooler but due to how heat and airflow works, you will see a slight bump in temps.
I have tried moving the front fan to the rear to make it a push pull config, it ran a little warmer than normal config with fans.
You either turn it that way or you have the front most fan elevated or you swap out the rams for something lower in profile or you swap the cooler for something angled away from the CPU's socket...or better yet, an AIO.

I also notice the cooler is quite heavy, not as heavy as other CPU air coolers, but I'm concerned for my motherboards longevity.
+
weight concerns, overthinking or valid?
Yes you're overthinking it.

You forgot to mention the make and model of your case. Does your case have a rear exhaust fan?

32gb ram
Might want to pass on a link to your ram kit.
Also by logs, I meant I did HW info logs with my old cooler, the new cooler, and then the new cooler with the fan in the rear. The best thermals came from the correct fan configuration, even though it’s slightly off the radiator.
 
Is it ok for the GPU to barely touch my ram? It doesn’t appear to be pushing the GPU. The GPU looks level as well. One ram stick barely touches the cooling shroud.
 
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