How to determine the side a cooler will face on the mobo?

Ozpa · Dec 10, 2011, 10:43 PM

Hello everyone!

I will be upgrading to a 2500K and an ASRock Pro3 Gen3 but still not sure on the cooler. Funny to me that I never thought about it, but I have no idea how or what determines which way the heatsink's fan will be facing (facing RAM and pulling the air to rear of the case OR facing the PCI slot and pushing the air to the top of the case).
I'd prefer if the fan pushed the air from RAM to the back of the case

Starla · Dec 11, 2011, 12:08 AM

It is going to depend on the case intake/exhaust arrangement.

I use a HAF 922 with a Noctua NH-D14 (2 Noctua NF-P14 fans).

- front: 20 cm stock fan. Cool air first passes through HD array, then ascends until it reaches CPU front fan.
- side: 20 cm Cooler Master MegaFlow 200 Red LED. Cool air right at the CPU front fan, GPU fans (MSI GTX570 Twin Frozr III PE) and Z68 chipset (Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3)
- bottom: 12 cm Tacens Ventus. Cool air right at GPU fans, Z68 chipset, contributes to expected case airflow and front case intake redirection.
- top: 20 cm stock fan. Hot air exhaust right after CPU second fan, contibutes to expected case airflow.
- rear: 12 cm Noctua NF-P12. Auxiliary hot air exhaust, right between both CPU fans.

So for me, optimal arrangement is CPU fans intake facing the PCI-E slots. I have no direct front case intake aligned with CPU fans.

Side and front fans probably to be replaced with 2x12 cm Tacens Ventus or Noctua NF-S12B FLX each.

BarbaricSoul · Dec 11, 2011, 12:20 AM

you would be better off with a intake case fan blowing air from outside the case directly into the intake fan of your heatsink, even if that means you have to have the computer pulling air in from the back of the case.

Starla · Dec 11, 2011, 09:47 AM

Yes, why not. The rear 12 cm fan is now an additional cool air intake for the CPU.

de.das.dude · Dec 11, 2011, 11:10 AM

its best for following bottom to top flow.
its better for the heatpipes as well.

Ozpa · Dec 11, 2011, 04:15 PM

Umm let me rephrase the opening question

When I buy new motherboard and cooler I want to know which side the cooler fan will face. I really want to get the Thermalright Archon but it's 155mm wide (that's a lot imo) and it would probably interfere with more than 2 RAM slots (out of 4) if the fan would face the PCI slots. But if the fan faces the RAM slots then all is dandy.
I used to think that you could rotate the heatsink however you like but I certainly can only install my Titan Fenrir to face the PCI slots

Black Panther · Dec 11, 2011, 04:42 PM

Assuming you're posting about the cpu cooler, you're saying that your options are to have it blow either towards the pci slots or towards the ram slots. Is it possible you make it blow towards the back of the case?

It all depends on your pc case ultimately, and what other fans you have.

Originally I had installed my cpu cooler blowing towards the back. I had a 60mm exhaust on the back, 60mm intake on the side and 120mm intake at the front, apart from the 120mm exhaust of the psu.

I discovered I could get ~ 5 degrees lower by making the cpu cooler blow into the psu's 120mm exhaust, and switching the 60mm side fan to exhaust instead of intake, as per diagram below. Sounded crazy, but it worked...

Here's a diagram showing the airflow (red arrows). It isn't showing the side exhaust though since the side window isn't there.. Keep in mind that it all depends on your case. My solution might not work for you.

de.das.dude · Dec 11, 2011, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozpa

Umm let me rephrase the opening question

When I buy new motherboard and cooler I want to know which side the cooler fan will face. I really want to get the Thermalright Archon but it's 155mm wide (that's a lot imo) and it would probably interfere with more than 2 RAM slots (out of 4) if the fan would face the PCI slots. But if the fan faces the RAM slots then all is dandy.
I used to think that you could rotate the heatsink however you like but I certainly can only install my Titan Fenrir to face the PCI slots

generally on intel boards, its possible to change the orientation.

Ozpa · Dec 11, 2011, 05:23 PM

My case is the Antec 1200 V1 (2x 120mm rear blow out of the case, 1x 200mm top blows out of the case), motherboard ASRock Pro3 Gen3 and still can't decide on the CPU cooler since I'm scared I'll have to fit it facing the PCI slots and it will block too many RAM slots.

newtekie1 · Dec 11, 2011, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozpa

Umm let me rephrase the opening question

When I buy new motherboard and cooler I want to know which side the cooler fan will face. I really want to get the Thermalright Archon but it's 155mm wide (that's a lot imo) and it would probably interfere with more than 2 RAM slots (out of 4) if the fan would face the PCI slots. But if the fan faces the RAM slots then all is dandy.
I used to think that you could rotate the heatsink however you like but I certainly can only install my Titan Fenrir to face the PCI slots

Since Intel's mounting holes form a perfect square, you can rotate the cooler either way and mount it however you want.

AMD's mounting system isn't as flexiable, which is why your current setup only allows you to mount the fan facing the PCI slots.

Of course Thermalright is one of the few genius heatsink manufacturers that have figured out mounting brackets for AMD that allow the cooler to be oriented either way.

sneekypeet · Dec 11, 2011, 07:24 PM

If you want to throw ThermalRight in a genius boat with NZXT and Thermaltake, go right ahead

Ozpa · Dec 12, 2011, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtekie1

Since Intel's mounting holes form a perfect square, you can rotate the cooler either way and mount it however you want.

AMD's mounting system isn't as flexiable, which is why your current setup only allows you to mount the fan facing the PCI slots.

Ahhh didn't know that, thanks!

de.das.dude · Dec 12, 2011, 07:13 AM

see i had said that already. on intel you can mount it anyway you like.

newtekie1 · Dec 12, 2011, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneekypeet

If you want to throw ThermalRight in a genius boat with NZXT and Thermaltake, go right ahead

Anyone that can figure out how to get tower coolers mounted in any direction on AMD, yes, I would put in the genius category after going so long with no decent solution for it...

de.das.dude · Dec 12, 2011, 05:20 PM

its hard because of the heatpipes on most coolers. and the need for the long clip thingy that keeps it in place. its possible, but you need to make it yourself.

Chevalr1c · Dec 12, 2011, 05:44 PM

I put a thermalright in my dad's pc when I built it, and I did not manage to get the TR cooler (that has the famous TR mounting mechanism mentioned above) aimed backwards. Only upwards.

Dec 10, 2011, 10:43 PM	#1
Ozpa Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 323 (0.21/day) Thanks: 167 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts System Specs	How to determine the side a cooler will face on the mobo? Hello everyone! I will be upgrading to a 2500K and an ASRock Pro3 Gen3 but still not sure on the cooler. Funny to me that I never thought about it, but I have no idea how or what determines which way the heatsink's fan will be facing (facing RAM and pulling the air to rear of the case OR facing the PCI slot and pushing the air to the top of the case). I'd prefer if the fan pushed the air from RAM to the back of the case

Processor:	Intel® Core™ i5-2500K (4.6GHz @ 1.28-1.33v)
Motherboard:	ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3
Cooling:	Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.C + Blue Vortex 140mm
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Dec 11, 2011, 12:20 AM	#3
BarbaricSoul Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Southeastern Virginia Posts: 3,735 (1.95/day) Thanks: 367 Thanked 1,082 Times in 797 Posts System Specs	you would be better off with a intake case fan blowing air from outside the case directly into the intake fan of your heatsink, even if that means you have to have the computer pulling air in from the back of the case. __________________ “Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.” “Amd....definitely a blond female.....not much on the cpu side, but always strutting about showing off her gpus......wow that was bad. I apologize.” -ensabrenoir

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Dec 11, 2011, 11:10 AM	#5
de.das.dude Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wild Wild East Posts: 4,543 (4.23/day) Thanks: 2,317 Thanked 1,330 Times in 910 Posts System Specs	its best for following bottom to top flow. its better for the heatpipes as well. __________________ my wallet isnt hashwell compatiple sad face

Dec 11, 2011, 12:08 AM	#2
Starla Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 4 (0.01/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	It is going to depend on the case intake/exhaust arrangement. I use a HAF 922 with a Noctua NH-D14 (2 Noctua NF-P14 fans). - front: 20 cm stock fan. Cool air first passes through HD array, then ascends until it reaches CPU front fan. - side: 20 cm Cooler Master MegaFlow 200 Red LED. Cool air right at the CPU front fan, GPU fans (MSI GTX570 Twin Frozr III PE) and Z68 chipset (Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3) - bottom: 12 cm Tacens Ventus. Cool air right at GPU fans, Z68 chipset, contributes to expected case airflow and front case intake redirection. - top: 20 cm stock fan. Hot air exhaust right after CPU second fan, contibutes to expected case airflow. - rear: 12 cm Noctua NF-P12. Auxiliary hot air exhaust, right between both CPU fans. So for me, optimal arrangement is CPU fans intake facing the PCI-E slots. I have no direct front case intake aligned with CPU fans. Side and front fans probably to be replaced with 2x12 cm Tacens Ventus or Noctua NF-S12B FLX each.

Dec 11, 2011, 09:47 AM	#4
Starla Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 4 (0.01/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Yes, why not. The rear 12 cm fan is now an additional cool air intake for the CPU.

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Motherboard:	ASRock 990FX Extreme 4
Cooling:	CM Hyper 212 EVO push:pull+ 1 panaflow 113CFM + 2 x 120mm NZXTs
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Dec 11, 2011, 04:15 PM	#6
Ozpa Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 323 (0.21/day) Thanks: 167 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts System Specs	Umm let me rephrase the opening question When I buy new motherboard and cooler I want to know which side the cooler fan will face. I really want to get the Thermalright Archon but it's 155mm wide (that's a lot imo) and it would probably interfere with more than 2 RAM slots (out of 4) if the fan would face the PCI slots. But if the fan faces the RAM slots then all is dandy. I used to think that you could rotate the heatsink however you like but I certainly can only install my Titan Fenrir to face the PCI slots

Dec 11, 2011, 04:42 PM	#7
Black Panther Senior Moderator™ Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 7,058 (3.23/day) Thanks: 2,167 Thanked 1,837 Times in 1,103 Posts System Specs	Assuming you're posting about the cpu cooler, you're saying that your options are to have it blow either towards the pci slots or towards the ram slots. Is it possible you make it blow towards the back of the case? It all depends on your pc case ultimately, and what other fans you have. Originally I had installed my cpu cooler blowing towards the back. I had a 60mm exhaust on the back, 60mm intake on the side and 120mm intake at the front, apart from the 120mm exhaust of the psu. I discovered I could get ~ 5 degrees lower by making the cpu cooler blow into the psu's 120mm exhaust, and switching the 60mm side fan to exhaust instead of intake, as per diagram below. Sounded crazy, but it worked... Here's a diagram showing the airflow (red arrows). It isn't showing the side exhaust though since the side window isn't there.. Keep in mind that it all depends on your case. My solution might not work for you. __________________ *My Great White Bengal build* Join the techPowerUp! Official Group on Facebook.

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Dec 11, 2011, 05:23 PM	#9
Ozpa Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 323 (0.21/day) Thanks: 167 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts System Specs	My case is the Antec 1200 V1 (2x 120mm rear blow out of the case, 1x 200mm top blows out of the case), motherboard ASRock Pro3 Gen3 and still can't decide on the CPU cooler since I'm scared I'll have to fit it facing the PCI slots and it will block too many RAM slots.

Processor:	Intel Core i7 875K@4.0GHz(200x20)
Motherboard:	eVGA P55 FTW 200
Cooling:	Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme w/ Corsair SP120 High Performance Edition
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Video Card:	ASUS GTX 670 4GB DirectCU II @ 1015/3600
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Software:	Windows 7 x64 Professional

Dec 11, 2011, 07:24 PM	#11
sneekypeet Unpaid Babysitter Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 19,003 (7.32/day) Thanks: 3,035 Thanked 5,487 Times in 3,950 Posts System Specs	If you want to throw ThermalRight in a genius boat with NZXT and Thermaltake, go right ahead __________________ Hers: ASUS Maximus V Gene / i7 3770K / Swiftech H220 / 4X8GB Corsair Dominators / ASUS GTX660 / Corsair AX-760 / Windows 7 64bit / Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 Test: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 / i7 2600K / A lot Of Coolers / Ripjaws Currently / HIS HD7950 IceQ Turbo / Silverstone SST-ST85F-G / Windows 7 64bit / InWin D-Frame Limited Edition

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Dec 12, 2011, 07:13 AM	#13
de.das.dude Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wild Wild East Posts: 4,543 (4.23/day) Thanks: 2,317 Thanked 1,330 Times in 910 Posts System Specs	see i had said that already. on intel you can mount it anyway you like. __________________ my wallet isnt hashwell compatiple sad face

Dec 12, 2011, 05:20 PM	#15
de.das.dude Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wild Wild East Posts: 4,543 (4.23/day) Thanks: 2,317 Thanked 1,330 Times in 910 Posts System Specs	its hard because of the heatpipes on most coolers. and the need for the long clip thingy that keeps it in place. its possible, but you need to make it yourself. __________________ my wallet isnt hashwell compatiple sad face

Dec 12, 2011, 05:44 PM	#16
Chevalr1c Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Tilburg, Netherlands Posts: 2,055 (2.07/day) Thanks: 4,945 Thanked 785 Times in 531 Posts System Specs	I put a thermalright in my dad's pc when I built it, and I did not manage to get the TR cooler (that has the famous TR mounting mechanism mentioned above) aimed backwards. Only upwards. __________________ My FS/FT thread (EU only) \| DynMap of the TPU Minecraft server \| Quick monitor calibration guide \| Boot Failure Troubleshooting Chart \| Solar Team Eindhoven Family Car Project Using BOINC I crunch numbers for World Community Grid, Climateprediction, Free Rainbow Tables and POEM@home; hence assisting research.

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