Better HSF for my Qpack than 7700?

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misterj

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Apr 23, 2007
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Hi all, I mostly lurk and use the search button to find info here but I got a question that's bugging me.

Looking for a cooler to beat my Zalman CNPS7700 Cu, which I currently have mounted on a P5K-VM in a Qpack.

I pretty much love this setup and I'm planning to keep the mobo and case for a good while (yeah I've said that before....) but the thing that's annoying about the 7700 is, the mobo tray won't slide out with the cooler installed. If I want to say, change a PCI card, the cooler has to come off too.

I want to keep things as simple as possible, and I'm not as handy as you modders out there, so for me there will be no cutting hard drive supports and putting Scythe Ninjas and stuff in, and no water cooling. Just a good cooler that lets the mobo tray slide in and out... and will keep a Q6600 happy at 3.2

Any suggestions? I see the CNPS8700 is smaller than the 7700, but any reports on whether it clears on the side? Scythe Shuriken perhaps? The cooler the better, and the quieter the better.

Thanks folks.
 
i have a Zalman CNPS8000 cooler in my qpack and it fits in the case while allowing it to slide in and out with it attached.
 
I stuffed this:

GTX2602.jpg


into my case without having to remove the mobo tray. If I can swap that in you can swap anything else into the PCI slots without having to remove the tray. All you have to do is remove your power supply screws and move your power supply out of the way........no need to unplug your power connections either (not talking about the AC power cord).

You may have to move your mobo tray back 1cm to access the PCI bracket hold-down screws for the video card, but that's about it.
 
@FiZuR: I've never seen that cooler. Wondering whether it cools better than what I have already... I do see you're overclocking your chip nicely. Thanks, I'll check out some reviews and stuff.

@MassiveOverkill: LOL you're exactly who I had in mind (definitely one of the people I had in mind, anyway) when I was talking about modders!

And funny you mention it, because the whole reason I asked the question is I messed up a nice PCI card, trying to remove it without sliding the mobo tray out. I guess I'm not as careful as you but I really botched the contacts at the bottom of the card, and couldn't figure out why it was malfunctioning, for a long time. Some defogger paint fixed it but that was a bad day for me. I should have just unhooked the Zalman and slid the tray out, would have gone much quicker. But I was trying to "take a shortcut" that day....

I have a CPU swap coming up, and remembered back to that day, so I figured if there's a nice cooler that fits real smooth-like, it would be a good time to switch coolers as well.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's super neat cutting the frame to fit a huge cooler in there. I just know if I try it, I'm going to mess something up. There will be a tiny metal shaving or something that makes an unwanted connection somewhere... I need this computer for work!
 
I hear ya misterj. If you're not comfortable with the cramped quarters, it's understandable. I did sweat bullets when I was doing the swap as things were tight, but one of the nice things about the GTX series is that since the cooler encompasses the whole card, there aren't any resistors or anything else to knock off.

When I cut my side rail, I took the case down to the bare chasis and washed it in my tub when I was done to make sure I got all the shavings.
 
MassiveOverkill said:
I hear ya misterj. If you're not comfortable with the cramped quarters, it's understandable. I did sweat bullets when I was doing the swap as things were tight, but one of the nice things about the GTX series is that since the cooler encompasses the whole card, there aren't any resistors or anything else to knock off.

When I cut my side rail, I took the case down to the bare chasis and washed it in my tub when I was done to make sure I got all the shavings.
Click to expand...


MassiveOverkill, I was looking at some of your pics and noticed you have the Micro Fly as opposed to Qpack. Wondering if the Qpack has the room for a tall cooler, even after cutting the side rail. Looking at mine now, it appears iffy....

I'm hoping somebody will chime in about the Zalman 8700 or the Shuriken, who has a Qpack
 
The Qpack and Microfly are essentially the same case. Look at the layout. They're extremely similar though I think the Microfly is a bit longer. But yes it does have room for a tall cooler if you cut out that side rail

Anyway, looking at the Will it fit FAQ, the dimensions of the CNPS7700 is 136x136x67mm while the Zalman CNPS8700 is 120(L) X 123(W) X 67(H)mm. So the CNPS8700 should fit just fine.
 
Yep, QPack 1 is about 1" shorter. It would fit, but just barely and you couldn't use your inner-most hard drive mounting location or your lower 5-1/4" bay. You could relocate a second drive to the lower optical bay though.

Personally, if I had a QPack1, I would get a Micro Fly. They can be had for $55 and sometimes even lower if they're on special. I didn't say QPack2, because prices on those things seem pretty high, like 85 bucks if memory serves. I think the Micro Fly's seperate panels are easier to work with as well.
 
hey MassiveOverkill, what are your temps in your current setup? What is your room temp? i found a buyer for my current rig and im thinking about building a mATX for my next PC, but since im in the Caribean with no AC during the day (only turn it on at night to sleep) my room temps can get to about 30-32 so im a little skeptic. I already have a Microfly and currently all i have in it as a J7F4K1G5D Mini-ITX board

The only thing i am going to keep will be my PSU. I would like to keep my Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (don't know if it fits). I will be buying a Intel Quad Core (still debating on which one) and a 4870 or a GTX260.
 
Max GPU temps with fan set to hit 100% when temps hit 60C is about 61C
Max CPU temps running Prim95.4 running small FFT's is 58/58/59/59 with fan on Performance profile and my TR Ultima 90 lapped with a 90x38mm fan

AC thermostat is set to 77F
 
thanks, Ive been looking at your previous ports, and im going to do the side panel mesh mod and im looking around to see if there is anyone that has modded the 80mm front fan to a 120mm one
 
looking at a youtuve vid, i see that if i make a 120mm fan mod in the front ill need to make a new front bezel because all ill need to change the place for my front buttons and ports, something that i do not want to do. what do you think about making one of the side panels have a 120mm intake fan? would having a front and side intake make any problems in a SFF case?
 
I used to have a 120mm mounted between the front of my video card and the front of my case, but haven't put it back in because my rear fan is a 120x38mm and it has enough power to create good airflow throughout the case.
 
I have a Sythe Shuriken in my Microfly and it allows about 1mm of clearance when I slide the motherboard out. For changing PCI cards and such, I've found that just unscrewing the power supply and turning it over so it can sit on top of the optical drive (top 5.25") is about the easiest way. That way you don't even have to disconnect the power connections. Hope this helps.
 
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