absic: Will your cooling setup work in a 890-UD5?

[CanUK]

Hello again.

I have sucessfully got my computer set up and running, the ram is at 1333 with 7-7-7-21 timings giving a WEI of 7.5.  I am sure that I can get more out of it but I am happy right now.

I have a question about cooling now.  The aftermarket cooler I bought is actually not very good for the 965, when I use Prime95 with stock settings my core temp goes above 55C.  I want to get better cooling, but the layout of the board leaves me with limited options.

Google brought up a thread with pictures show how you have an Noctua NH-D14 with the fins for your ram removed to make it all work.  Now will this work with my board?  I was also looking at a H70 setup, but on my Antec 900 case I just can not find a spot to mount the radiator (unless you guys can help with that).

What would you recommend for good cooling?  I will overclock my CPU, probably not much more than 3.8.....maybe try push 4.0 but from what I have read it will take work.  If the D14 is the best solution, then I would just buy another set of rip jaws, removed the fins and go to 8 GB of ram so I would not have to touch it again.

Any thoughts or suggestions? D14, H70, or another cooler?

For reference, here is my ram and cooler:
RAM: G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V, link: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490
CPU Cooler: Scythe Shuriken Quiet Low Profile Socket Link: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148079
Case: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268

[absic]

Hi,
can you wait about 24 hours for an answer to this question?

Reason, I have just taken delivery of a GA-890FXA-UD5 and will be doing some set-up and testing of it over the next couple of days.

I am going to install a 965BE CPU with stock cooler first and then swap it out for my 1090T and Noctua Cooler so I will have a proper answer for you, probably tomorrow morning. I am fairly confident that there won't be an issue with the Noctua and fitting it despite all the heatsinks on the Motherboard.

I am a big fan of the Noctua cooler and I am running the NH-D14 which is a really big but the cooling power is pretty impressive. When I first installed it I posted this item on the forum: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,1784.0.html that you might find interesting.

[CanUK]

I have time, I will not be ordering for a few days yet.

Thanks and good luck!

[absic]

Hi,

to answer your question, YES it fits OK with plenty of room around the motherboard heatsinks. You'll probably have to do the same as me and remove the cooling fins from the top of the RAM but there were no real problems with fitting the Noctua NH-D14 on this motherboard.

Will upload some pictures in a few days (if they have turned out OK).

[CanUK]

That is good news.  I have a follow up question.  How much room between the ram and the fan?  Do I just have to cut my fins off or will further modifing be needed?  I only ask this because my HS on my ram are not mounted with a screw, so cutting with need to be done.

Cheers.

[Dark Mantis]

That is good news.  I have a follow up question.  How much room between the ram and the fan?  Do I just have to cut my fins off or will further modifing be needed?  I only ask this because my HS on my ram are not mounted with a screw, so cutting with need to be done.

Cheers.

Cool! Sounds like a chainsaw job

[absic]

Now why didn't I think of taking that measurement before I put everything back together?

Will post back tomorrow with the necessary details for you.

[CanUK]

That is good news.  I have a follow up question.  How much room between the ram and the fan?  Do I just have to cut my fins off or will further modifing be needed?  I only ask this because my HS on my ram are not mounted with a screw, so cutting with need to be done.

Cheers.

Cool! Sounds like a chainsaw job

Haha, yeah, it is looking that way.  That is the downside for this MB, there is very little room for cooling.

Thanks for taking some time to help me with this absic, it is greatly appreciated.  I will most likely end up ordering a new cooler and ram tomorrow if all goes well.

[absic]

Hi again,

Before I got the PC going this morning, I took the side off the chassis to try and get the measurements that you wanted. Turned out to be a little harder than I expected but I got them in the end.

My RAM, without the extra heatsink on the top is 43mm in height. That is the total height of the module.

When it is in the memory slots on the Mobo it comes to approximately 48mm (sorry I can't give accurate figure but this is pretty close).
There is about a 2-3mm clearance from the top of the RAM to the underside of the aluminium fins on the cooler, which covers the first two RAM slots. The fan that sits over slots 3 & 4 is adjustable, so for my set-up there is approximately 5-8 mm clearance but this could be greater if I wanted it to be.

The following image will give an indication for you but please note, this picture was taken before I fully seated the cooler or adjusted the fan sitting on the RAM. The measurements that I have given above were taken after I had full installed the cooler. You can also get an idea from this image of the clearance over the motherboard's heatsink.



Hope this helps

[CanUK]

The picture is very useful.  What I have to do now is go measure the height of my ram to see how much I will need to cut.  I have seen othere people using the same cooler but off setting the fan a bit to keep it from touching anything.  See how things turn out today, if all measures out fine, then I will order the cooler.

Thanks.

[CanUK]

Second question.  What version of BIOS are you running?

Edit:  I just measured my ram from the MB to the top of the HS and it is about 42-44 mm, which means no modifying should be needed.  This makes me happy and I think I will go order the cooler and extra ram right now 

[absic]

Hi
the board shipped with F4 but when I first put it together I flashed to F5, using the QFlash Utility, as I like to have the latest BIOS running on a new build.
There were no problems with the flash and everything seems to be running OK.

[CanUK]

Yeah, mine has shipped with F2 I believe, so I will go out today and buy a USB stick for the flash to F5.  Just want to use something fresh.

For reference sake, I measured my ram module with the HS on it it came to 40mm exactly.  This is why everything should fit, I got lucky enough to buy short ram.  Bad thing is I will have to pull this all apart to install the new cooler when it arrives.

Thanks again for you help.

[CanUK]

Well, I did another check of measurements and I would most likely lose my side fan if I bought this cooler, actually I know I would.  To make this work I think mounting my side fan outside the case would help keep air flowing around the bottom.  Lots of lessons learned here with this first build, but an H50/H70 may be a smarter choice though more money due to room.

[absic]

Oh the joys of pulling things apart.

If your PC case is large enough you will probably be able to leave the motherboard in place. You will have to remove the old cooler first so be careful as the Thermal Paste can make it stick to the CPU. The first time I removed a cooler I didn't realise this and just yanked it off pulling the CPU from the socket. I have since learnt that once you release the clip it is a very good idea to give the cooler a gentle twisting motion as you do this to remove it. You will need to clean the old thermal grease from the top of the CPU. I use a piece of soft kitchen towel. You don't need to spend money on cleaners just make sure you wipe all the old grease off.

When you come to install the Noctua you will need to remove the blue retention bracket so that you can fit the ones needed for the new cooler. The only real note of caution here is not to let the screwdriver slip. Also, there is the possibility that the plate behind the motherboard that holds the retention bracket can slip away. If it does, that you can use one of the screws to pull it back up.

Don't be tempted to use a lot of thermal grease you only need a little about a 2-3mm bead when reinstalling the new cooler. Too much is as bad as not using enough.

The fans on the Noctua don't like the ramped voltage from the motherboard so DON'T use the CPU fan header. I have found that you can use the System Fan_2 and PWR_Fan headers on this board without a problem, just remember to disable the relevant power saving features in BIOS. The fans will run at full speed but they are very quiet. On my old motherboard I used to run the fans directly from the PSU, which is another option.

EDIT: As I was writing this you posted about the H50 or H70 instead of the Noctua. As you can see from the following image, there is actually quite a bit of room between the cooler and the back of the chassis.