[SOLVED] Water cooling for Zalman Z1 and CPU compatibility

jirikcz147

Prominent
Jan 29, 2021
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510
Hey,
I am upgrading both CPU and cooler and want to go for Ryzen 5 5600X (accepting suggestions on this as well).
This is what my final build should look like:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8VsvYg

I have 2 questions:
First, I understand that Celsius S24 is too big for my case (I understand that the max height of a cooler is 160mm in Zalman Z1 Neo), do you have any suggestions for a best water cooler that would fit?
Second, it says that my mobo (ASROCK AB350 Pro4) is not compatible with the Ryzen 5 5600X CPU. I chcecked that though and I dont see the problem, both seem to have AM4 sockets, is there anything else that is going wrong?

Thank you
 
Solution
I would worry more about your pc working properly,rather than mess with the cooler.
First of all,why B350?
B450 and B550 are much newer,packing more features.
Second of all,why mix ram sticks?
They are not even the same frequency,rather than exact model.
I suppose you already have the 1060 6GB.
Do you already own the case?
Why a VS unit?
They are known to be one of the worst Corsair's psu models.
Here is how i would build your pc:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory:...
I would worry more about your pc working properly,rather than mess with the cooler.
First of all,why B350?
B450 and B550 are much newer,packing more features.
Second of all,why mix ram sticks?
They are not even the same frequency,rather than exact model.
I suppose you already have the 1060 6GB.
Do you already own the case?
Why a VS unit?
They are known to be one of the worst Corsair's psu models.
Here is how i would build your pc:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($190.76 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB AMP Video Card
Case: Zalman Z1 NEO ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Lenovo L27m-28 27.0" 1920x1080 Monitor ($238.48 @ Amazon)
Total: $888.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-29 10:45 EST-0500

You dont really need a AIO for 5600X,and in your case,it wouldnt even look good imo.
For a AIO to look good you want a nice,open case.Zalman is neither of that imo.
I put a B550 in there since you are going to need a BIOS update for 5600X to work,and AORUS B550 boards come with something called Q Flash Plus,which lets you update the bios without ram and cpu installed.You can find more about that on youtube.
The ram you put in wouldnt work,even if it did,you would have problems with frequency.Not to mention 2133/2400mhz is terrible for ryzen cpu's,especially high end ones like 5600X.
A 2x8gb 3600mhz CL16 should be perfect for your 5600X,and the motherboard will have no problems supporting it.
The storage is good.
The GPU as i said before is a good idea if you already own it.
The zalman case is not good in my opinion,i would switch it up for a P300A Mesh from Phanteks if you cant afford Lian Li Lancool Mesh II,or Corsair 4000D airflow,which is the most beatufil case out there in my opinion.
The PSU is a tragedy,i replaced it with a solid CX650 which should be more than enough for your build.It is way better than the VS unit.
 
Solution
I would worry more about your pc working properly,rather than mess with the cooler.
First of all,why B350?
B450 and B550 are much newer,packing more features.
Second of all,why mix ram sticks?
They are not even the same frequency,rather than exact model.
I suppose you already have the 1060 6GB.
Do you already own the case?
Why a VS unit?
They are known to be one of the worst Corsair's psu models.
Here is how i would build your pc:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($190.76 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB AMP Video Card
Case: Zalman Z1 NEO ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Lenovo L27m-28 27.0" 1920x1080 Monitor ($238.48 @ Amazon)
Total: $888.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-29 10:45 EST-0500

You dont really need a AIO for 5600X,and in your case,it wouldnt even look good imo.
For a AIO to look good you want a nice,open case.Zalman is neither of that imo.
I put a B550 in there since you are going to need a BIOS update for 5600X to work,and AORUS B550 boards come with something called Q Flash Plus,which lets you update the bios without ram and cpu installed.You can find more about that on youtube.
The ram you put in wouldnt work,even if it did,you would have problems with frequency.Not to mention 2133/2400mhz is terrible for ryzen cpu's,especially high end ones like 5600X.
A 2x8gb 3600mhz CL16 should be perfect for your 5600X,and the motherboard will have no problems supporting it.
The storage is good.
The GPU as i said before is a good idea if you already own it.
The zalman case is not good in my opinion,i would switch it up for a P300A Mesh from Phanteks if you cant afford Lian Li Lancool Mesh II,or Corsair 4000D airflow,which is the most beatufil case out there in my opinion.
The PSU is a tragedy,i replaced it with a solid CX650 which should be more than enough for your build.It is way better than the VS unit.

Hi, thanks for the answer.
I am looking to only upgrade the CPU, as the PC is already several years old, I got is somewhere start 2018, so I think neither B450 or B550 were released at the time. In other words, this means I already own all of the components except the CPU and HSF - I currently run with Ryzen 5 1600 with stock fan.
Those double RAM sticks is my fault, I got the second pair some time after I already had the PC and didn't know any better. However, they work well-ish, I guess?
Anyway, if you looked at this in a "damage minimisation" sort of problem, how would you upgrade, what parts are absolutely essential to upgrade so it would work with the 5600X, while minimising costs?
Thank you so much
 
AM4 is the socket. B350 is the chipset. Not the same thing.
Amd said IT would support all the cpus, and it does, as far as they are all AM4, but the vendors are not willing to do so. Basically the bios written for the chipsets does not include information to accept them.


Due to overwhelming consumer backlash, some B450 chipsets Will be 5000 series compatible, and B350 will accept 3000 series.

A B350 (with bios update) will be upto 3000 series compatible, but will not accept 5000 series, regardless of socket.

X570 uses all pcie4.0 lanes or lower. B550 has some pcie4.0, the rest are pcie3.0, B450 is mostly pcie3.0 with some Pcie2.0 and B350 is 2 pcie 3.0 mostly Pcie2.0.

No point in sticking a cpu designed for pcie4.0 use on a motherboard designed not to use it. Your 5600x will end up performing like a 2600x.
 
Last edited:
AM4 is the socket. B350 is the chipset. Not the same thing.
Amd said IT would support all the cpus, and it does, as far as they are all AM4, but the vendors are not willing to do so. Basically the bios written for the chipsets does not include information to accept them.


Due to overwhelming consumer backlash, some B450 chipsets Will be 5000 series compatible, and B350 will accept 3000 series.

A B350 (with bios update) will be upto 3000 series compatible, but will not accept 5000 series, regardless of socket.

X570 uses all pcie4.0 lanes or lower. B550 has some pcie4.0, the rest are pcie3.0, B450 is mostly pcie3.0 with some Pcie2.0 and B350 is 2 pcie 3.0 mostly Pcie2.0.

No point in sticking a cpu designed for pcie4.0 use on a motherboard designed not to use it. Your 5600x will end up performing like a 2600x.

Good info, thanks!