Pressure from the CPU cooler question

[Aviv]

Do you think it is safe to use the NH-U14S (weight 940g with the fan) in an horizontal PC case such as the HAF XB EVO , because I wonder if putting this 940 g right down on the sector of the motherboard that have no stand off support will harm the motherboard.

Seems like the pressure distribution is much different on vertically mounted motherboard cases and the HAF XB EVO , do I have something to worry about if I put the NH-U14S on my motherboard in the HAF XB EVO ? ?

My worries are that the 940g will make the motherboard curve down into the large CPU backplate cutout and eventually will harm it in the long run , what do you think ?


Am i better off with an regular vertical PC case, because the mounting system is probably optimized for this cases ?

 

[herrwizo]

Frankly, I consider it is quite the opposite. Heavy coolers are more likely to bend the vertical mobo than the horizontal one. Motherboard quality also plays a big role here - many cheap mobos have very thin PCBs and are more prone to bending issues. Get a quality one, use a backplate and you have nothing to worry about.

 

[Moonstick2]

You'll be fine.

A motherboard is pretty stiff - if you were to grab it at either end, you'd struggle to flex it at all (don't try too hard though!)

Compared to the length of the board, the area covered by the cooler is far smaller, so far less leverage. Try holding the motherboard at two points along one edge about the separation of the cooler anchor points and then bending - you won't be able to do it.

There'll be no curving into the cutout. To be honest when it comes to board damage I'd trust a horizontal mounting of a large, tall cooler more than a vertical mounting, and if they design these things not to damage the board when vertical, it'll be fine for horizontal.

 

[Akarin]

Totally agreed with herrwizo. I actually have a Corsair 300R and I don't like to see my heavy GPU (Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Gaming) and CPU cooler (NH-D14) on the vertical, and as I didn't find a cheaper and better looking with good airflow horizontal case yet (meaning, I want a perfect piece of hardware hahah), I use my case on the horizontal. Feels better, I don't like to put physical stress on my components, even when those are good quality hardware (actually, especially with the good quality [expensive] hardware). But that's me being paranoid, I could use it in the vertical just fine, those components are designed to be used like that.

 

[Aviv]

I have the vii hero waiting here for a case.. , i build the pc for the long run like 5-7 years and i am especially concerned about the longevity of the motherboard.

I am worried that the relatively small footprint of this 940g cpu cooler that I got will push the motherboard into the motherboard cutout like I said in the main post.

And yeah in a vertically mounted motherboard there is more pressure but as I see it it seems like the pressure vectors is much more dispersed all around the motherboard..

I don't get it , how a backplate can relief pressure from the motherboard in the HAF XB EVO because it just attached to the motherboard in the backplate cutout section in the air ,and doesn't disperse all this downward pressure to anything.

try to picture it http://elitegamingcomputers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_1484.jpg.

edit: I just now saw all the comments , tnx for the answers guys , feels like i don't have too much to worry about.