Re: AMD CPU cooler for SLIM line case?

"Paul" wrote in message...

If you look at the flash movie on the Aopen h360series web page,
it looks like the case ships with a cooler. But the cooler
(a wind tunnel design) is designed to fit a P4 retainer bracket.
So that won't help you, but it does show the design intent
of Aopen. (Wind tunnel exhaust goes right into the PSU intake.)

Your idea of using the Silverstone NT03 appears to be a sound
one. The Silverstone is a wind tunnel design, and if you only
install one of the two cooling fans on the Silverstone, the
exhaust air might go directly into the only exhaust on the
case, which is the power supply fan. If you try to fit both
fans on the NT03, the second fan might bump into the power
supply. It is hard to tell from the pictures. If there is
room, you can fit the second fan as well.

The AMD retail heatsink/fan might be short enough to fit
into the computer case, but as it blows down, might not fit into
the cooling strategy of that computer case quite as well.
There would probably be a bit more hot air sitting in
that corner of the motherboard.

With any computer case design, I am always suspicious as to
whether the cooling airflow design is a good one or not. I
don't see how the disk drive is cooled in the Aopen design.
The cases I've whipped together here, I like to have an
intake vent near the drive, so the drive gets room temp air.
Many of the other components in the computer, can stand heat
better than a disk drive.

The Aopen case doesn't seem to have enough vent holes, to
balance the size of the 92mm exhaust fan on the PSU. To get
the benefit from the fan, there has to be a total vent hole
inlet area to match it. My Sonata computer case, is an
example of a case without sufficient inlet area, and I had
to modify it a bit, to get a better balance between inlet
area and exhaust area. Again, it is hard to tell from the
pictures of the Aopen product, whether the balance is there
or not.

You can open some PCI slot covers, to get more inlet air,
but that may rob the disk or optical drives of what
little cooling they are getting.

I notice the H360E variant has a side vent. If you were using the
AMD retail heatsink/fan, that might be a nice option. That is,
if the hole actually lines up with the socket area of the CPU.
If you are going with the wind tunnel cooler, I'd probably use
one of the other cases with a solid side panel.

Another thought - I've seen some people mention that the
Southbridge chip on the A8N-VM CSM runs a bit hot, and it
doesn't have a heatsink. You might consider using a
Northbridge type cooler on the Southbridge, as I think
the hole spacing is appropriate for a Northbridge type
cooler. Here are some examples of Northbridge type coolers.
Basically designed to cool 35x35mm chips, with variable
arm geometry to account for small diffs in hole spacing.
You don't need to put a fan on these, but if you buy ones
with a flat top, that might be an option later, if a
fan is needed.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/code_list.asp?code=014

When you build up the Aopen case, run it for a while, switch
off and get a finger onto the Southbridge. If you cannot
keep your finger on it, then fit a heatsink on it.

HTH,
Paul

THANKYOU Paul for your very helpful & comprehensive reply.

I share your concerns re: case ventilation ... relying just on the PSU
fans isn't a good thing. However, I did find a Intel webpage (can't
remember it right now) that showed the case passed Intel's cooling
test ... CAG or something like that.

I really like the small size, etc. of the AOpen case but it needs
additional case fans. Plus it only uses low profile PCI cards and
comes with a small/low power PSU (which is probably enough given the
limited expansion options). Although I want a small desktop case, I
would prefer, at least, a taller case that allows full height PCI
cards to be installed and a ATX PSU.

Therefore, I've decided to look at another case.

The ANTEC New Solution case ... NSK2400 looks better.

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=92400

Specs: http://www.antec.com/specs/NSK2400_spe.html

Pics: http://www.antec.com/productImage.php?ProdID=92400&SetZone=en

It has 2x120mm side fans to expel the hot air from the motherboard
chamber, a ATX PSU, full height PCI cards, etc. The downside is it's
size .. I wouldn't want a desktop case any bigger, it's price .. more
expensive & it maybe harder to get one in Australia than the AOpen
case. One advantage, is that once the kids have finish with it, I
could reuse it as a HTPC (it's real intended purpure given the silver
front cover).

Paul, what CPU cooler would you use? I was thinking of still using
the NT03 or maybe the bigger NT02. My concern, is that the PC is
likely to be moved occasionally.

Finally, the ASUS mb comes with a PCIe-x16 & PCIe-x1 slots. PCIe
graphic cards need their own power connection, don't they? Do I need
to use a PSU that has a PCIe connector or is the v2.0 ATX PSU that
comes with the case OK?

Cheers
Barry...

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