Carterjj Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 Which air cooler would you recommend? I've looked at a few but am worried about the size. I'm running a ATX in a midtower its a 990fx sabertooth. I'm just worried about it covering ram slots Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyll Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 To make a recommendation I need to know CPU clearance, RAM height and what your budget is. Also where you live affects avaliabilty and price. your 990FX has plenty of PCIe socket clearance for GPU so no problems there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carterjj Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 OK well I am at work currently so I will have to measure everything when I get home. Budget wise though is under a hundred bucks. I live in Indiana so basically i get everything though New Egg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyll Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 That give lots of choises. Top air is less than $100. Just need ot make sure it whatever you get fits with no problems. I've put together a list of most of the top coolers and their size / clearance measurements. You might find it interesting. Cooler size comparison (Width x Depth x Height looking from front of case with motherboard laying flat) Cooler Heatpipes Size W/O Fans Fans RAM Clearance* CPU-Frt** CPU-PCI-E*** Akasa Medusa 8x 6mm OD 144 x 129.5x163mm 140mm & 120mm PWM fans 54.6mm 64.3mm Cryorig R1 Ultimate 7x 6mm OD 140 x 142.4x168.3mm XF140(140x25) fans 45mm 8mm *2* 70mm Cryorig R1 Universal 7x 6mm OD 140 x 130 x 168.3mm SF140(25mm) & XT140(13mm) 45mm 8mm *2* 70mm K2 / Assassin 8x 6mm OD 140 x 128 x 158mm 120mm & 140mm PWM fans 48.2mm 64mm 70mm*4* Dark Rock Pro 2 7x 6mm OD 138 x 124 x 166mm 120mm & 135mm PWM fans Dark Rock Pro 3 7x 6mm OD 137 x 150 x 163mm 120mm & 135mm PWM fans 44mm 51.5mm 69mm*4* NH-D14 6x 6mm OD 140 x 130 x 160mm 120mm & 140mm fans 49mm 62mm 70mm*4* NH-U14S 6x 6mm OD 150 x 52 x 165mm + fans 46mm 26mm 75mm*4* NH-D15 6x 6mm OD 150 x 136 x 165mm 2x 140mm fans *1* 67.5mm 75mm*4* PH-TC14PE 5x 8mm OD 140 x 159 x 171mm 2x 140mm fans, PWM adaptor 45-50mm 72mm 70mm*4* Megahalem 6x 6mm OD 130 x 74 x 158.7mm + fans 39.50mm 37MM SS HE01 6x 6mm OD 140 x 119 x 160mm 1x 140x38mm PWM fan 47mm 47.5MM *2* Archon SB-E 8x 6mm OD 155 x 53.6x170.2mm + fanS 42.35mm 26.8mm 77.5mm Archon IB-E 8x 6mm OD 155 x 53.6x165.2mm + fans 48.2mm 26.5mm 69mm 8.5mm*** Silver Arrow 4x 8mm OD 147 x 123 x 163mm 2x 140mm fans 45.87mm 61.4mm 73.5mm Silver Arrow SB-E 8x 6mm OD 155 x 105 x 164mm mid 150mm/frt 140mm PWM 36.9/44/51mm*3* 51mm 77.5mm SA SB-E Extreme 8x 6mm OD 155 x 105 x 164mm mid 140mm/frt 140mm PWM 36.9/44/51mm*3* 51mm 77.5mm Silver Arrow IB-E 8x 6mm OD 154.6x103 x 164mm*** 2x 140mm 1300rpm fans 46.95mm 51.5mm 67.8mm SA IB-E Extreme 8x 6mm OD 154.6x103 x 164mm*** 2x 140mm 2500rpm fans 46.95mm 51.5mm 67.8mm TRUE Spirit 140 Power 6x 8mm OD 155 x 53.4x170mm + fan 49.3mm 26.5mm 77.5mm HR-22 8x 6mm OD 150 x 120 x 159mm + fan 41mm -1mm 70mm 5mm*** * add 3mm for motherboard to bottom fin ** center CPU to front of cooler W/O fan *** Center CPU to PCIe side (base is off-center for better PCI-E slot clearance) *1* recessed lower fins, the NH-D15 provide 64mm RAM clearance *2* offest back for better RAM clearance *3* fins are at 3 different levels *4* fan clips add additional 3-5mm If you notice any error or have any suggestions, please let me know. Here's a basic guide to case airflow and cooling Case airflow and cooling is not hard to do but can be time consuming.Setting up the case for optimum cooling is often the hardest and most time consuming part of a build... And often the most neglected. There is much more to cooling than good cases and good CPU / GPU coolers. Add the fact that many GPU's make more heat than CPU means getting that heat out of the case and keeping a cool airflow to components can be a challenge. There must be more air flowing through case than component fans are using. If the CPU cooler uses 70cfm and GPU uses 80cfm fans we need 180-220cfm. Cases, especially those with filters, usually benefit from fans with higher static pressure ratings than stock fans... "cooler" fans instead of "case" fans.Intakes are typically have more restricted than exhaust because of air filters, more restrictive grills, HDD cages, etc. I prefer more intake than exhaust. And don't confuse number of fans with amount of airflow... or airflow with airblowairflow is flowing cool air from intake to component and flowing hot air from component out of case without the hot air mixing with the cool air. airblow is lots of fans blowing air with some of hot air from components mixing with cool air making it warmer resulting in warm air not cooling components as well as the cool air will. Putting fans in case as intake and/or exhaust is only the first step. These fans only move air in and out of case. This does not mean heated air is not mixing with cool air. Nor does it mean cool air is going to where it is needed. Getting the air to flow inside of case properly is even more important. We still need to manage where the air flows inside the case. We can do this several ways; deflectors, more intake fans.. & exhaust fans, removing PCI slot covers, removing vent grills, removing HDD cage, using fans with higher pressure/airflow, building ducts to or from CPU/GPU cooler, etc. Using a remote temperature sensor to monitor what air temps are is the key to finding out where the cool air is flowing and knowing heated air is not mixing into it. By monitoring this we can than make changes to get airflow the way we want it. How to monitor air temperature different places inside of case: A cheap indoor/outdoor thermometer with a piece of insulated wire and a plastic clothspin works great. Made up with floral wire and tape. We don't want anything to short out with metal. Clip and position sensor where I want to check the temp. Make it easy to see what the air temp going into components actually is relative to room temp. When system is working air temps going into coolers will be 2-3c warmer than room.. up to about 5c is okay. Almost all of my builds now use CPU and often GPU PWM signal/s to give case fans automatic control. This allows the fans to slow way down for most use / load and speed up as load and heat increase the demand for more cooling / airflow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick2500 Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 Only thing you should have to worry about is the cooler hitting the side of the case with the Sabertooth, there is plenty of room for even the NH-D15 on there and that thing is huge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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