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Tower cooler for passively cooling an i3-2100 in a Bitfenix Prodigy

post #1 of 10
7/24/12 at 2:13pm
Thread Starter 
A friend of mine is putting together a small desktop rig in a Bitfenix Prodigy, and wants to have a nearly noiseless computer. Considering how low power the i3-2100 is, I was thinking a tower cooler relying on the 230mm fan at the front of the case would be sufficient, as load is unlikely to ever go above 50%.

What should I be looking at for a tower cooler that relies on case airflow, rather than a fan strapped to it? Thick, closely spaced fins, or wide spread out ones? Any suggestions on specific models to look at? Thanks!
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post #2 of 10
7/24/12 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lurikrunch View Post

A friend of mine is putting together a small desktop rig in a Bitfenix Prodigy, and wants to have a nearly noiseless computer. Considering how low power the i3-2100 is, I was thinking a tower cooler relying on the 230mm fan at the front of the case would be sufficient, as load is unlikely to ever go above 50%.

What should I be looking at for a tower cooler that relies on case airflow, rather than a fan strapped to it? Thick, closely spaced fins, or wide spread out ones? Any suggestions on specific models to look at? Thanks!

 



You should look for wide spread out fins.

 

Thermaltake HR02

NH-U12P - This worked very well for me in a passive setup (only using case fans in a FT03).

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post #3 of 10
7/24/12 at 5:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
You should look for wide spread out fins.

Thermaltake HR02

NH-U12P - This worked very well for me in a passive setup (only using case fans in a FT03).



Thanks for the suggestion.
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post #4 of 10
7/24/12 at 10:21pm
Prolimatech Genesis, Phanteks TC14PE, Noctua d14, Silver Arrow sbe are some of the best fanless heatsinks, the Phanteks being the best. BUT in my opionion it usually doesnt make Sense to use no Fan, if you use a case Fan. if you use a quality 120mm fan at lets say 500rpm it will be virtually silent and less noisy than the 230mm case Fan and the temps will be WAY better.

the best 'cheap' solution would be the Thermalright HR-02 Macho.
Edited by Elohim - 7/24/12 at 10:29pm
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post #5 of 10
7/24/12 at 10:23pm
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I would check out the nzxt havik it has lower fin density and separated heatpipes and is cheap. Good luck. thumb.gif

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post #6 of 10
7/25/12 at 1:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lurikrunch View Post

A friend of mine is putting together a small desktop rig in a Bitfenix Prodigy, and wants to have a nearly noiseless computer. Considering how low power the i3-2100 is, I was thinking a tower cooler relying on the 230mm fan at the front of the case would be sufficient, as load is unlikely to ever go above 50%.
What should I be looking at for a tower cooler that relies on case airflow, rather than a fan strapped to it? Thick, closely spaced fins, or wide spread out ones? Any suggestions on specific models to look at? Thanks!

entirely depends on what mobo you are using for the build. ITX boards do NOT have alot of room for large tower heatsinks.(unless you are building one w/o a vid card) so the starting point is what mobo you are using and then find the heatsink that will actually fit on that mobo.
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post #7 of 10
7/25/12 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by psyclum View Post

entirely depends on what mobo you are using for the build. ITX boards do NOT have alot of room for large tower heatsinks.(unless you are building one w/o a vid card) so the starting point is what mobo you are using and then find the heatsink that will actually fit on that mobo.

+1 for the info... RAM and GPU will influence the decision..

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post #8 of 10
7/25/12 at 1:30pm
A big heatsink fits on most itx boards, the VGA card is often a problem or rather the socket placement. normal sized ram should be a given on a ITX build . biggrin.gif
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post #9 of 10
7/25/12 at 6:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elohim View Post

A big heatsink fits on most itx boards, the VGA card is often a problem or rather the socket placement. normal sized ram should be a given on a ITX build . biggrin.gif

will it physically fit? yes, will it block your ability to use a vid card? THAT is the real question. so technically speaking any of the big tower coolers will fit if you don't use a vid card smile.gif but most people in OCN have a bad habit of wanting a vid card biggrin.gif
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post #10 of 10
7/27/12 at 5:56pm
Thread Starter 
There will be no video card, this will be running off the integrated GPU in the i3. Thanks for the suggestions.
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