CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

[wallypiper]

I need to replace the Intel cooler on the CPU on my Gigabyte mobo but I'm a little bewildered by the array of choices.

I have Corsair Dominator ram which extends about 55mm off the board and is only 58mm from the center of the cpu.

Measuring from the surface of the mobo, the opposite wall of the case is only about 160mm so, allowing for the 10mm to the top of the cpu, it doesn't look to me like any of the many 160mm tall coolers will fit in this case.

So I'm looking for input/suggestions/experience of other Gigabyte mobo users. What coolers have you used? Any fit issues with tall ram or the rather large heat sink next to the cpu socket (I assume this is the P45 chipset). Any coolers that are close but will fit? Any to absolutely stay away from?

I tried asking this question in the cooling subforum but didn't get much feedback. Here's a link: cooling forum thread

Thanks for any input.

[artdrivers]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

Corsair H50 CPU cooler review

[profJim]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

I've found that very few vendors provide a mechanical drawing that clearly shows the dimensions of their cpu coolers, especially with a fan installed. A down draft cpu cooler will probably have enough clearance but you might need to install your memory before you install the cooler. With the cooler installed, you might have clearance problems if you need to remove your memory later. The best down draft coolers offer excellent performance, but their overall performance will be somewhat lower than the best upright tower coolers. Check out the Noctua NH-C12P.

Some tower coolers can be rotated 90 degrees so that the fan will be blowing air toward the top of your computer case. This isn't an optimal solution for most computer cases unless your case has a top mounted fan to exhaust heat.

Your best bet might be to read cpu cooler customer reviews at Newegg, and look for reviews where the customer includes which motherboard they have. Focus on reviews that use an EP45 Gigabyte motherboard. You might find useful reviews if you read memory reviews that deal with your exact memory model.

FWIW, I used memory slots #2 and #4 for several months while testing with my EP45-UD3P. There were no problems or performance issues, but this doesn't mean that this will work with every EP45/memory setup.

Let us know how you finally make out.

[Chike]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

Cooler Master V8 might fit, several forum members with the same CPU has it.
Thermalright Ulta-120 eXtreme and Thermalright Venomous X, would probably not block the memory slots, so may Zalman XNPS10X coolers.
Slight Tune Up: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme Rev.C, Cogage Arrow and Zalman CNPS10X Flex - X-bit labs
Thermalright Venomous X CPU Cooler Review - X-bit labs
Take into consideration the "L" baords are few centimeters narrower than UD3P/R boards.

[Jerm1970]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

I wouldn't recommend an Ultra ChillTEC...bulky and performance is lacking. It extends over Channel 1 on my UD3P and the RAM I had purchased was OCZ Reaper with the heatsink tube on the top...needless to say, it doesn't fit. In any case, I'm going to go with liquid as the waterblock on most liquid systems is smaller and more manageable than a fin based fan system. The Corsair H50 gets great reviews for a small, self-contained liquid solution and you can't beat the price!

[mv2devnull]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

Check out the Noctua NH-C12P.

Some tower coolers can be rotated 90 degrees so that the fan will be blowing air toward the top of your computer case.

Noctua C12P does have dimensions schema, and it can be rotated. However, it probably still has the "40 mm RAM" clearance issue.

I was not able to put Noctua U9B in default orientation into Asus AM2+/AM3 board, because the fan did not clear Mushkin DDR2 (not very high heatsinks, it was only a couple millimeters). Rotated, it fits. But those AMD boards seem to have the RAM sockets closer than what Intel boards usually have.

[CoolMaster]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

I really have been very impressed with my XIGMATEK HDT-S1284EE 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler, I run my rig 24/7 overclocked to 3.80 Ghz and never over 32C.

[wallypiper]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

It looks like I shot myself mildly in the foot with the Raidmax Tornado case. Despite what Raidmax's website says, the case is only 185mm wide. I've measured from the surface of the mobo to the acrylic panel on the opposite side and that's only 160mm, maaaybe 161. Assuming the dimensions given in the product data and reviews for heat sink height are measured from the contact surface that rests on the CPU to the highest point, the 160mm high units just won't fit in this case. The suface of the cpu is 10mm above the surface of the mobo (by intel's spec for 775 socket design) so there's only 150mm left, give or take a mm.

So I think I'm left with either a design that does not stand the heat sink straight up over the cpu (downdraft or some kind of angled thing) or a smaller one. There are some smaller heat sinks out there and I don't plan any overclocking or at least nothing extreme so a good performing cooler with a smaller fan and heat sink may be the only solution that will fit in the case. I mean, can any of these coolers actually be worse than the very small downdraft Intel cooler that came with the cpu? It was doing an adequate job of cooling but the fan itself is failing.

[b_rubenstein]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

From personal experience with the Q9550, either the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 or the XIGMATEK HDT-SD964 will fit and work fine.

If you don't raise the Vcc (set it to Normal) and keep C1E and EIST enabled when you OC, the CPU will only run a degree or two hotter at idle. Depending on the specific CPU and MB, I've been able to go up to 3.6 Ghz on stock voltage.

[wallypiper]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

Thanks, Rubenstein. Both look like they would fit in my narrow case, height wise, and also within the confines of the mobo layout.

Question for all. Neither of these coolers uses a backing plate on the mobo to help support the cooler. Both just use the standard intel pushpin attachment. I remember when I mounted the stock intel cooler on the cpu, I was stunned at the amount of force which was applied to the cpu and mobo by this attachment scheme. Has anybody had problems with warping the mobo or damaging it or the socket?

[b_rubenstein]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

Has anybody had problems with warping the mobo or damaging it or the socket?

Not yet.

[Ray422]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

I'm running (2)EP-45-ud3r and(1)EP45-ud3p, all at around 4ghz.

-(1)Thermalright eXtreme fits fine
-(2)Tuniq tower fits fine, if ya saw one edge of the mounting bracket to miss the mosfets.
(easy and quick hacksaw and the tuniq's cool best for me)

My problems are never with the boards anyway, always with side case fan clearances.

Save yourself some effort and get the H50 like artdrivers suggested. Plenty of room, and about 5 degrees cooler anyway....at 4.0ghz and above :)

[profJim]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 dimensions are 104 L x 58 W x 126.5 H (mm).
It is a decent mid-range cooler (about $30 USD) that should be fine for moderate overclocks.
It comes with an excellent 92mm fan. Installing a second fan for a push-pull setup will take some creative engineering.
I have one mounted in my P35-DS3L.
It looks like one of the mounting legs might require some minor surgery for an EP45 mobo.

It uses a custom push-pin setup that is a bit tricky. DON'T TWIST THE PUSH-PINS or they will break.
Check it out at the AC website and take a look at independent reviews.
You can download the PDF spec sheet.

[rumblpak]

[wallypiper]

Re: CPU cooling on a GA-EP45

The fan for the H50 replaces the normal exhaust fan in the case and Corsair recommends installing the fan in a "blow in" position, to blow cool outside air through the radiator. My case doesn't have a place for a replacement case exhaust fan. I'd be a little concerned about the amount of heat inside the case with the cpu heat being blown INTO the case and the case exhaust fan removed. I suppose that, again, I'm being somewhat hamstrung by the Raidmax case design. Cheaped out and got what I paid for I guess. I could possibly find a place to put an exhaust fan but there's really not any empty space that I see at the moment.