Best coolers that will fit in Antec900 case?

efistrategy · May 8, 2009

I just completed my first build, used for a combination of gaming and office work.

My issue is with cooling: I have installed the CoolIT Domino but I am getting pretty poor cooling performance when I push the OC at all.

System specs:
CPU: i7 920
MB: Asus P6T Deluxe V2
RAM: 12MB Corsair 1600
Case: Antec 900
GPU: GTX260 (probably going to upgrade this, 285 was DOA so I picked this up as a holdover)
PSU: Corsair HX1000 modular
Boot/application drive: Intel X25M 160GB SSD
Data Drive: 1TB Barracuda

Currently completely stable at just shy of 3.6 CPU OC. I can get stability up to about 3.8, but it seems to run VERY hot (85 realtemp under load).

Good airflow in case, reasonable ambient and case temps, but CPU seems to be much hotter than it should be. Not affected much by settings on fan or pump speed on Domino unit.

Perhaps the Domino unit wasn't the best idea...

So the question: If I stick with air, what's the best cooler for this case/MB combo? And is it worth going to a "real" water cooled system? Stability is crucial for me and I'd like to push this a bit more given the (lack of) other constraints in this build.

Any and all advice appreciated... learned a lot from reading already.

erocker · May 8, 2009

I personally would go straight for a good W/C setup. Core i7's are hot, and if you really want to get good OC's with stability and good temps you need a good cooling solution.

MoonPig · May 8, 2009

Lol, with the money you've thrown at that rig - Water Cooling is the only option. Go all the way

Sean8 · May 8, 2009

cooler master v8 fits, barely.

efistrategy · May 8, 2009

MUCH appreciated thus far...

... so W/C seems to be the consensus.

Remember, this is my first build and despite everything going smoothly, I'll admit that I find the idea of w/c to be a bit intimidating. I have looked at the koolance "drop-in" systems, but I'd really rather not give up on this case.

Any specific advice on the best (both in terms of effectiveness and ease of use) way to go about doing this?

I think I'd start just with a simple CPU-only loop, right?

fullinfusion · May 8, 2009

erocker said:
I personally would go straight for a good W/C setup. Core i7's are hot, and if you really want to get good OC's with stability and good temps you need a good cooling solution.

I second that.... just ask CP about his temps on air than under water

He had a huge drop

Kursah · May 9, 2009

My xigs1283 fit vertically (never tried rear exhaust direction w/the xig in that case) with a fan in the side panel till I replaced the fan with a 120x38mm scyteh fan on the xig. Still had plenty of room between the top of the cooler and the sidepanel though. This HAF is insane in comparison, so much larger and so much more space.

Sejanus47 · May 9, 2009

I would honestly invest in a larger case such as a HAF 932 or ATCS 840 and read up on W/C. You will have far better luck overclocking on water as well having an overall quieter case and not to mention a cleaner look.
I'm actually buying either a HAF or an ATCS this weekend and brush up on some W/C guides myself since I plan on going the i7 route here pretty soon.

System Name	First Build
Processor	i7 920
Motherboard	Asus P6T Deluxe v2
Cooling	(Domino ALC atm, up for debate)
Memory	12GB Corsair 1600
Video Card(s)	260GTX
Storage	X-25M SSD boot; 1TB Barracuda data
Display(s)	30" Dell primary, 23" Samsung secondary
Case	Antec 900
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling	EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory	32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 4090
Storage	WD m.2
Display(s)	LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case	Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s)	Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Tester84
Software	Windows 11

System Name	Build 1
Processor	i5 2500k
Motherboard	Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling	Cooler Master 212
Memory	Corsair DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Corsair AX750
Software	Windows 7 Professional

System Name	First Build
Processor	i7 920
Motherboard	Asus P6T Deluxe v2
Cooling	(Domino ALC atm, up for debate)
Memory	12GB Corsair 1600
Video Card(s)	260GTX
Storage	X-25M SSD boot; 1TB Barracuda data
Display(s)	30" Dell primary, 23" Samsung secondary
Case	Antec 900
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000

System Name	Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition \| Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor	R7 5800X @ Stock \| i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203\| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 \| Stock Cooling
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v \| 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB \| CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage	4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD \| 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s)	Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 \| 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case	Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low \| Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s)	Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) \| Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply	EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 \| 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse	Logitech G502 \| Logitech M330
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Core RGB \| Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 \| Windows 11 Home x64

Best coolers that will fit in Antec900 case?

efistrategy

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erocker

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MoonPig

Sean8

efistrategy

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fullinfusion

Vanguard Beta Tester

Kursah

Super Moderator

Sejanus47

New Member

Processor	Q6600 @ 3.4ghz 1.4v
Motherboard	GA-P35-DS3R Rev 2.0
Cooling	Zalman CNPS9700
Memory	4gb Corsair Dominator @ 888 mhz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	eVGA Geforce 9800 GTX 512mb
Storage	WD 160gb 16mb Cache x2
Case	Antec 900
Audio Device(s)	X-FI Titanium PCI-E x1
Power Supply	Zalman 750W
Software	Windows 7 RC 7100 64 Bit