Looking for a good AM4 cooler with size restrictions

[Darmok N Jalad]

Like the title suggests, I’m looking for a better AM4 cooler than stock. It seems there are many big tower coolers out there, but my case limits me to something under 140mm in z-height. I also have taller heatsinks on my DDR4, which makes side clearance a potential issue—unless I could just remove those heatsinks? Anyway, I just have a Ryzen 2400G, but things like encoding make temps ramp into the 80Cs, and I panick and stop the encode, and I’m sure throttling is not far behind. Anyone have a good suggestion? I read reviews and it seems like every cooler I pick has complaints. I also wasn’t sure if I had to make sure the cooler was listed as AM4 ready. My board does have the retention clip.

I was looking closer at a couple be quiet! models, the Shadow Rock Slim and Shadow Rock LP, and also the Arctic Freezer 12. Any thoughts?

Edit:
Here’s my case, a Thermaltake Core V1 —restricted to 140mm height.

Thanks!

 

[CandymanGR]

Arctic Freezer 33 eSports ONE. Pretty decent.
https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-33-esports-one.html

Exactly 150mm height. There is also a slightly more expensive version with 2 fans included instead of one, for push-pull setup.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Arctic Freezer 33 eSports ONE. Pretty decent.
https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-33-esports-one.html

Exactly 150mm height. There is also a slightly more expensive version with 2 fans included instead of one, for push-pull setup.

Thanks. Turns out my case limit is listed as 140mm. I revised my OP to reflect that. I think a 150mm might fit, but it might be touching the top window.

 

[CandymanGR]

You will propably have to go either for a top down cooler, or a tower cooler with 92mm fan.

 

[IceShroom]

You MAY check these, but don't know are they available your country or not.
Cooler Master Hyper H410R (H 136mm):
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13C-000X-002N0
Cryorig M9a (H 125mm) :
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13C-000U-00008
Arctic Freezer 13/ 13 CO (H 130mm) :
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835186065
Noctua NH-U9S (H 125mm):
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608067

 

[eidairaman1]

Here

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6635/thermaltake-core-v1-mini-itx-sff-chassis-review/index.html

 

[Athlonite]

If you can find one an Thermolab Baram is still a decent cooler and will fit nicely in your case and works really well in Push/Pull config

 

[eidairaman1]

http://www.scythe-eu.com/fileadmin/images/picture_for_forum/Ashura-Diagram-klein.jpg

 

[micropage7]

just questions, have you tried lapping the current heatsink or improving the airflow?

 

[HossHuge]

No chance of fitting in an all in one water cooler?

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

just questions, have you tried lapping the current heatsink or improving the airflow?

The design of the Wraith Stealth would make that really difficult. It’s all aluminum and the fins are level with the base that makes contact with the CPU. It’s only a 65W cooler and it’s buzzy so I was just planning to go with something with more heft.

No chance of fitting in an all in one water cooler?

I’ve thought about it, but I’m hesitant to go with liquid cooler just because of my fear of leaks and the cost is a bit more for my purposes. I just would like something that can help me with a mild OC. It seems my 2400G is good for somewhere around 4.1GHz with a small voltage bump, but I’d like to cool it better before I keep those settings.

 

[ne6togadno]

cryorig h7 event thou specs state 145mm it fit

 

[Bill_Bright]

What is your case cooling like? It is important to remember it is your case's job to provide an adequate supply of cool air flowing through the case. Can you add or upgrade a front fan to push more cool air in? Or add or upgrade a rear fan to pull more heated air out?

According to your case specs, it supports,

Front:
1 x 120mm or
1 x 140mm or
1 x 200mm
Rear:
2 x 80mm

While 80mm fans are not ideal (they don't move a lot of air and tend to make more noise) two 80mm top quality fans can move some air.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

cryorig h7 event thou specs state 145mm it fit

I actually think it would fit, too, based on my own measurements. I think if it comes in under 150mm, it will fit, but just be tight.

What is your case cooling like? It is important to remember it is your case's job to provide an adequate supply of cool air flowing through the case. Can you add or upgrade a front fan to push more cool air in? Or add or upgrade a rear fan to pull more heated air out?

According to your case specs, it supports,

Front:
1 x 120mm or
1 x 140mm or
1 x 200mm
Rear:
2 x 80mm

While 80mm fans are not ideal (they don't move a lot of air and tend to make more noise) two 80mm top quality fans can move some air.

The case already has a massive intake fan. Biggest fan I’ve ever seen, and there are vents everywhere. Plus this computer is in my basement and it’s now wintertime. I won’t see better conditions than what I have now. I’m not sure why the WS cooler lets temps get so high. I know the Tjunc is 95C, but it seems like the cooler is more than happy to let the CPU ramp all the way there.

I have tried a 150W tower cooler on this CPU before, and it does a much better job keeping temps down in the 60Cs, even with an OC. The problem is, the cooler doesn’t fit in my case! The AMD cooler is installed correctly, and under gaming temps are more reasonable. But Handbrake sends temps into the 80Cs.

 

[ne6togadno]

i have both the cooler and the case. it fits

 

[Bill_Bright]

I’m not sure why the WS cooler lets temps get so high.

Perhaps the TIM (thermal interface material) was not properly applied initially or the cured bond was broken. Are you sure the water is circulating?

If you reset all clocks to the default settings, what are your temps?

 

[HTC]

cryorig h7 event thou specs state 145mm it fit

If @ 145mm this cooler clears, then this one with 142 should also fit.

The only problem is you'll require an AM4 mounting kit which, shouldn't be a problem since i have the older discontinued version of this cooler and they sent me a kit after i requested it.

Unless the mounting kit raises the cooler, you should be OK. I'd ask Noctua, just to be sure, before going ahead with it.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Perhaps the TIM (thermal interface material) was not properly applied initially or the cured bond was broken. Are you sure the water is circulating?

If you reset all clocks to the default settings, what are your temps?

I’m running default clocks now, and I have reseated and installed new TIM. It’s not a water cooler—it’s the stock Wraith Stealth, only rated for 65W, a relatively small all-aluminum HS with a decent sized fan on it. Temps are high 60s in games, but it shoots well up into the 80s under encoding.

 

[kapone32]

The design of the Wraith Stealth would make that really difficult. It’s all aluminum and the fins are level with the base that makes contact with the CPU. It’s only a 65W cooler and it’s buzzy so I was just planning to go with something with more heft.



I’ve thought about it, but I’m hesitant to go with liquid cooler just because of my fear of leaks and the cost is a bit more for my purposes. I just would like something that can help me with a mild OC. It seems my 2400G is good for somewhere around 4.1GHz with a small voltage bump, but I’d like to cool it better before I keep those settings.

You definitely should look at AIOs they are not that much more expensive than air but for your purposes it would go much farther in giving you a satisfactory experience.

 

[silentbogo]

If you don't wanna spend much, just look up some local ads, see if anyone is selling their Wraith max after H2O upgrade. That thing is similar to old sAM3 coolers from FX CPUs and it's good for up to 140W dissipation. That should be more than enough to keep your CPU cool and your system quiet. Wraith Spire also will work. Both aren't cheap comparing to Intel box HS, but still cheaper and better than buying a brand-new aftermarket solution. Locally I can get Max for around $20-25. Spire costs around $10 or sometimes less.
Also, 80C at full load isn't too bad. My i3 can hit over 90 if I push it to the max with XTU or linpack. Just check your fan profiles in BIOS, sometimes OEM make some very unfunny stock profiles, which can cause CPUs to overheat a bit more than they should.
My MSI B150I wouldn't go over 60% max RPM unless my CPU was broiling in its own juice. Had to adjust both CPU and chassis fan graphs manually. Also check if your CPU fan is running in PWM or voltage-controlled mode.

 

[Batou1986]

The BeQuiet Dark Rock TF is 140mm tall and clears all ram easily, its also dead silent and does a very good job of cooling the VRM as well as the CPU.
I have mine rotated 180* to blow more on the VRM and it still clears my Gskill trident X ram which is kinda tall.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

You definitely should look at AIOs they are not that much more expensive than air but for your purposes it would go much farther in giving you a satisfactory experience.

I’ve considered it, but I don’t know if the radiator would fit in my mini-itx case without having to remove the giant intake fan. It is tempting though, as I’ve never messed with that type of cooling system before.

 

[kapone32]

I’ve considered it, but I don’t know if the radiator would fit in my mini-itx case without having to remove the giant intake fan. It is tempting though, as I’ve never messed with that type of cooling system before.

If you have an 120mm exhaust port you could install it there I think I have a 120MM sitting around from Corsair. As long as you don't live too far I could send it to you.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I’m running default clocks now, and I have reseated and installed new TIM. It’s not a water cooler—it’s the stock Wraith Stealth, only rated for 65W, a relatively small all-aluminum HS with a decent sized fan on it. Temps are high 60s in games, but it shoots well up into the 80s under encoding.

As seen here, and as you previously noted, the maximum temp allowed for your CPU is 95°C. So technically, your temps are fine. But I would not like them either. What are they at idle?

As for that OEM cooler only being rated for 65W, as seen by those CPU specs, that is a 65W CPU so technically, the cooler is properly sized for that CPU.

What are you using measuring with? It should be noted those sensors are very low tech and not precision measuring devices. Check with a different program, perhaps HWiNFO64. When using for the first time, the amount of information provided can be overwhelming so I recommend you select “Sensors only” when prompted. Then scroll down to your motherboard’s section to see the temps. I also like Speccy (from the makers of CCleaner) for monitoring temps (but not voltages). It has a notification/system tray applet too for real time monitoring too.

You might try opening the side panel and blasting a desk fan in there. If that does NOT help, then either your CPU just runs very warm, or your sensor(s) are not accurately reporting the real temps.

To be sure, if your CPU was throttling back in speeds due to overheating conditions, this would be a much bigger concern than it is now.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

As seen here, and as you previously noted, the maximum temp allowed for your CPU is 95°C. So technically, your temps are fine. But I would not like them either. What are they at idle?

As for that OEM cooler only being rated for 65W, as seen by those CPU specs, that is a 65W CPU so technically, the cooler is properly sized for that CPU.

What are you using measuring with? It should be noted those sensors are very low tech and not precision measuring devices. Check with a different program, perhaps HWiNFO64. When using for the first time, the amount of information provided can be overwhelming so I recommend you select “Sensors only” when prompted. Then scroll down to your motherboard’s section to see the temps. I also like Speccy (from the makers of CCleaner) for monitoring temps (but not voltages). It has a notification/system tray applet too for real time monitoring too.

You might try opening the side panel and blasting a desk fan in there. If that does NOT help, then either your CPU just runs very warm, or your sensor(s) are not accurately reporting the real temps.

To be sure, if your CPU was throttling back in speeds due to overheating conditions, this would be a much bigger concern than it is now.

I use HWinfo, and that’s the temp from the CPU diode. When I had a 150W tower cooler on this 2400G, it never got above the 70Cs, but with the stock cooler, temps keep climbing, and I get nervous once it’s at 85C. I know 95C is max, but I can’t bring myself to let it get that high!

If you have an 120mm exhaust port you could install it there I think I have a 120MM sitting around from Corsair. As long as you don't live too far I could send it to you.

I think the only exhausts are dual 80mm.