Quiet AM3+ Cooler

[SamD23]

Hey there...

I currently have an AMD FX-8350, and I'm looking for a cooler which will be upwards facing (i.e. firing the air directly up, perpendicular to the motherboard) but which is quiet and efficient. I'm not gonna be overclocking, just looking for something to keep it cool and quiet while I'm gaming and which doesn't blast my other components with hot air.

I'm also looking for two 80mm case fans which are as close to silent as possible; been looking at Noctua fans (http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=9&lng=en) and wondering if they're any good. I'm also wondering how the hell I connect the fans to my PSU (I have a Corsair VS450).

Any suggestions are welcome, not looking to spend an absolute fortune and I have a reasonable amount of space for a cooler.

Thanks!

 

[clutchc]

Fans are connected to the Molex connectors on all PSUs with something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=CM-J9_jZ8boCFe1FMgodZGMAEA&Item=N82E16812311003&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Internal+Power+Cables-_-N82E16812311003&ef_id=UoQjhgAABOA5cjzK:20131119203639:s
Your fans may come with adapters, most do.

While small fans like those 80mm are always noisier than large fans, Notuas will probably be the quietest.

I've never seen a cooler with a fan that exhausts upward from the CPU. The stock fan, for instance, blows down. I suppose you could do a re-wire and reverse its direction. But I doubt it would be as efficient. Why not a conventional cooler that exhausts parallel with the MB?

 

[JOOK-D]

At least on my cooler you just clip on a fan and can choose where it intakes and exhausts from, not sure if that's standard or w/e.

The Hyper 212 EVO is great. Cheap, effective and surpisingly quiet. If you're looking to spend a bit more then by far the best is the Noctua NHD14. Again, not sure where it can exhaust to.

 

[SamD23]

Why not a conventional cooler that exhausts parallel with the MB?

Because most fans I've seen will either be moving the hot air onto my graphics card, or if I put them the other way around, into my PSU (which, obviously, I'd rather not do).

It also helps that there's an 80mm fan slot directly above my CPU so it could straight out remove the hot air from the CPU and then some.

I've got a Cooler Master 432, and to be honest the cooling options are pretty damn poor. A 120mm on the front, an 80 on the back and an 80 on the side... I guess my best option is to have the 120 pulling in cool air, and the back and side pushing out the hot air?

 

[clutchc]

You didn't mean the Cooler Master 342, did you? If so, most folks would direct the fan on a standard cooler (like the 212 EVO) to exhaust out the back. But AMD retention brackets only give you 2 directions to mount a cooler that is designed to use the stock retention bracket. Is that your problem?

Yes, intake from the front and exhaust out the rear is probably preferable. The side fan option is usually designed to bring in cool air to cool the gfx card if needed. If you replace the rear 80mm fan with a large 120mm fan, that will help move more air.

 

[SamD23]

You didn't mean the Cooler Master 342, did you? If so, most folks would direct the fan on a standard cooler (like the 212 EVO) to exhaust out the back. But AMD retention brackets only give you 2 directions to mount a cooler that is designed to use the stock retention bracket. Is that your problem?

Yes, intake from the front and exhaust out the rear is probably preferable. The side fan option is usually designed to bring in cool air to cool the gfx card if needed. If you replace the rear 80mm fan with a large 120mm fan, that will help move more air.

Yeah, 342, my mistake. There isn't a fan on the rear at the moment, but it only supports an 80mm unfortunately. The stock AMD fan was facing the way I want but it was louder than a jet engine!

 

[clutchc]

The stock AMD cooler blows air down over its heat sync, not up like you mentioned above. Unless I'm misunderstanding you.

As far as air flow in that small case with its top mounted PSU, you have it about the best you can do. Front fan intake, rear fan exhaust. Add a side fan intake if needed.

For the CPU cooler, I would mount a cooler like the CM 212 EVO... if you have the room for it. It is about 6.3" tall: http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-212-evo.html
You would remove the AMD retention bracket and use the mounting kit that comes with the CM cooler. Then you can face the 212 EVO in any of 4 directions.

 

[SamD23]

The stock AMD cooler blows air down over its heat sync, not up like you mentioned above. Unless I'm misunderstanding you.

As far as air flow in that small case with its top mounted PSU, you have it about the best you can do. Front fan intake, rear fan exhaust. Add a side fan intake if needed.

For the CPU cooler, I would mount a cooler like the CM 212 EVO... if you have the room for it. It is about 6.3" tall: http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-212-evo.html
You would remove the AMD retention bracket and use the mounting kit that comes with the CM cooler. Then you can face the 212 EVO in any of 4 directions.

Nice, that sounds great. Thanks a lot for all the help!

 

[JOOK-D]

I said that earlier :lol: I guess I wasn't clear enough, sorry!

 

[SamD23]

I said that earlier :lol: I guess I wasn't clear enough, sorry!

Ah, I see now! I thought you meant you could choose which way up the fan was facing (i.e. pulling in air or pushing it out). Oh well, thanks for the help anyway! Appreciate it.