A case of G4 Cube fever

[spence4]

Will there be some give in the heat pipes? Otherwise then I run the risk of putting too much pressure on the CPU and/or processor, right? I assume that I want the heat pipes to go all the way to the opposite end from which it enters on blocks A and B. I can submit a drawing of what I mean if I was not clear, but I figure that maximizes the amount of area of contact between block and heat pipe which I imagined would lead to the most heat transfer.

While googling, I came across this

http://www.cooljag.com/INTEL/lga1156_11 ... 06C-0.html

Legitimate option or am I looking for a short cut? Feel free to tell me I'm being lazy.

 

[minihack]

Will there be some give in the heat pipes? Otherwise then I run the risk of putting too much pressure on the CPU and/or processor, right? I assume that I want the heat pipes to go all the way to the opposite end from which it enters on blocks A and B. I can submit a drawing of what I mean if I was not clear, but I figure that maximizes the amount of area of contact between block and heat pipe which I imagined would lead to the most heat transfer.

While googling, I came across this

http://www.cooljag.com/INTEL/lga1156_11 ... 06C-0.html

Legitimate option or am I looking for a short cut? Feel free to tell me I'm being lazy.

The attachment system for the copper block at the CPU end would need to be spring tensioned to the CPU in the same way as conventional heatsinks are [many ways to do that] but of course you must not over do the pressure on the CPU.

For the heatpipe to copper block connection I have seen sites that say that a through hole drilled to 6mm is a good way of attaching 6mm nominal diameter heatpipes (yes, pipe goes through). There are also clamp systems you can find as an alternative. HFX uses the clamp method for their kits.

The cooler you link looks interesting. I note though they say nothing about the cooling capability or TDP rating for which it is intended. I couldn't see a datasheet or a review of it anywhere which I think you really need to see.

 

[spence4]

Only review I saw was at frozencpu.com where a customer who had purchased one from the site basically said, "it's awesome.". He also said it kept him at 30 F which cannot be right unless he is in northern Finland. If I end up trying that would I be able to somehow still take advantage of the cube heatsink?

Looked up the Noctua fans. Is the 92 quieter than the 80? From what you said earlier, it seems that putting an 80 would be no big deal because the mounts are already there. I assume I would need to add the screw holes for the 92, yes?

 

[minihack]

Only review I saw was at frozencpu.com where a customer who had purchased one from the site basically said, "it's awesome.". He also said it kept him at 30 F which cannot be right unless he is in northern Finland. If I end up trying that would I be able to somehow still take advantage of the cube heatsink?

Looked up the Noctua fans. Is the 92 quieter than the 80? From what you said earlier, it seems that putting an 80 would be no big deal because the mounts are already there. I assume I would need to add the screw holes for the 92, yes?

If you were to buy that thing then it'd be instead of the Cube heatsink - and if it worked would save you a lot of hassle with mounting. It would also then let you cut the Cube heatsink out and give you more room.......I would try and find out a bit more about it though if I were you before buying.

And yes, go with an 80mm fan as it'll be easier to mount on the existing mount points.

 

[spence4]

So having done a little more reading I am thinking I may have been a bit ambitious. It seems that mounting the mobo on the original side makes it impossible to use the original switch. I saw Sleppek has a touch sensor but it is a third party solution. I figure if I flip the mobo around to the orientation of the cube motherboard it might make room, but then I have no connection to the heat sink and a really small cavity between processor and aluminum casing. I think I want touch sensor more than using the heatsink. Mostly because finding someone to make me the custom heat pipe set will cost a fair bit I think. Also without the screws like you have for fine tuning, I'm concerned about stressing the board or CPU with too much force. So here is the new plan. Buy that copper cooljag I linked in the previous post as well as an 80 mm Noctua fan. I'm guessing the copper heatsink is decent as it is copper and has a lot of surface area. The cube heat sink is huge but isn't copper and doesn't have the same proportion of surface area. See how it works with just the copper. If it is not coole enough, add the fan. Still not cool enough remove the heat sink to create more breathing room. I am optimistic that option two (copper plus fan) will do the trick. It just seems that all original cooling might be a pipe dream if you needed a fan even though you had more internal area and a good connection between CPU and heatsink. If you had been close without the fan... Maybe I would have a chance. But even if the i3 saves me 5 degrees, I would still be in the low 70s which is too hot.

 

[minihack]

Sounds like you have a good plan!

 

[spence4]

We will see how good it is once I get started. One last question on my questionable heatsink choice... I noticed that the copper one weighs 521 g! The aluminum version only weighs 220 g. If the board were horizontal I would not be worried, but with it vertical, do you think the copper is too heavy? Am I just being a wimp?

 

[spence4]

Minihack, I hate to go back-to-back on you like this, but I just saw these two units which look very similar to the cool jag, but they have a chart. I don't know what it means but you might.

Copper
http://www.dynatron-corp.com/en/product ... d=190&in=0

Aluminum
http://www.dynatron-corp.com/en/product ... d=225&in=0

And one more

The SuperMicro SNK-P0046P

Be interested to know your thoughts... to me they all look the same

 

[minihack]

Minihack, I hate to go back-to-back on you like this, but I just saw these two units which look very similar to the cool jag, but they have a chart. I don't know what it means but you might.

Copper
http://www.dynatron-corp.com/en/product ... d=190&in=0

Aluminum
http://www.dynatron-corp.com/en/product ... d=225&in=0

And one more

The SuperMicro SNK-P0046P

Be interested to know your thoughts... to me they all look the same

No expert, but CFM is cubic feet per minute and is a measure of airflow.

Now the Noctua 80mm base fan on lowest (silent) settings gives (according to this: http://www.quietpc.com/products/80mmfans/nf-r8 ) 15.3 cfm. relating that to the chart for the copper heatsink you get a thermal resistance of about 0.287 degrees per watt and so for a 65W TDP full out you would get a heatsink temperature of around 18 degrees C + ambient = perhaps 40 degrees. Then assuming 5cfm you have about 25 degrees + ambient (47 degrees) max. There is no chart for zero cfm, and I have no idea what the cfm is for convection via the Cube "chimney" effect. It does though when you look at the chart and put in the numbers show that these heatsinks seem to be good.
For the Ali heatsink 15cfm gives around .36 degrees per watt, so that means 65 x .36 = 24C + ambient when using the Noctua fan slow speed. Again, no figure for zero cfm, but lowest cfm quoted is 10 which has degrees per watt of .448 which is basically about 30c + ambient for full wattage.
These seem good heatsinks that with minimal airflow across them will perform well. In terms of the noise of the Noctua fan I link (other quiet fans are available!!!) just look at the spec.s - 7db is below background noise in a dead quiet room. Honestly, the same as in my own Cube you will NOT hear these fans at minimum settings. The copper will perform best but weigh a tonne. The Ally one is less good, but still excellent enough - realistically you will never go full TDP except briefly and even then you will still be running cool.

Note: If you have no base fan at all, then of course "ambient" temp becomes the temp of the heatsink, so of course temperatures will build over time to above what they may seem to be in my simple explanation above. You always need "some" airflow.

 

[spence4]

I know that 20 bucks is "expensive" for a fan, but everything I have seen seems to say that the Noctua ones are the best, so I don't mind paying an extra 10 if it will be quiet and prolong the life of my components. With regards to the Aluminum vs. Copper question - since the heatsink will be right at the top near the proximity switch (if I try for keeping the mono on the slim side) would aluminum be less likely to interfere electrically? The copper has a 90 x 90 foot print whereas the aluminum has 95 x 95. The Cooljags have 85 x 85, but since they have no specs on their site I think I am leaning toward the Dynatrons. I'm sure they perform similarly, but there is something reassuring about stats and graphs, you know? Finally, you mentioned that the downside of the copper was that it would be heavy. Heavy like it is harder to pick up the computer or heavy like it could potentially damage things by putting too much stress on the board/CPU. As always thanks for your thoughts.