Air cooler suggestion? Read Description - Page 2

Thanks for the help, but this cooler only has AMD mounting clips, so it only allows to install the cooler this way. I was trying to find an additional mounting bracket as to change the orientation of the cooler, but unfortunately I can't find one so I am stuck with this flow or the only other option is to change the heatsink itself.

As for the GPU, I have a PCI-E x4 lane (so I am sure the low bandwidth will throttle the card), the minimum fps in Battlefield 3 I get is around 28, so I take i moving from x16 to x4 will effect performance?

I don't know if you can see on the picture, but I have two 140mm intake fans on the front of the case, I have one space for my DVD drive, the whole front is fans it cools my HDD well, I have moved cables to get at least some air through the HDD area. But the visible fan blows air freely to the CPU area with no obstructions.

Also I tried with the bottom fan, it didn't do much except for noise, its difficult to get space under the case.

Think I should change the airflow completely? Or buy a new cooler to allow for horizontal mounting?

I have a lot of dust filters so dust won't be a problem, I have fan controlling so noise would never be a problem also.

It is a shame some coolers only come with the standard AMD mounting clips, thats the only problem I have with AMD, only allows one installation direction.

With the CPU fan on it does actually help cool the CPU down, but I can see where you're coming from, its basically sucking hot air from the GPU. Happy days for the GPU though

So, think its worth getting a new cooler or completely swapping the airflow around?

Thanks for the help!!
Edited by mikeo01 - 11/6/12 at 1:35am

Also, I bought my board for £85 it dropped to £65

The ASUS M5A99X EVO is now £85, heres the differences to my current board:
3 PCI E lanes, two can operate at x16
990X chipset
5.2GT HT link (my current is 4.8GT)

My question is, is it worth selling mine? I mean what benefit will a faster HT link and 990X chipset do for overclocking? The Phase is the same, 6+2.

I am thinking, it gives future room for crossfire (which I would probably do with dual HD 6850s). Gives a nice gap for airflow and also has a quick HT link and 990X chipset. If it gives better OC capabilities may be worth it? I also think it has more fan headers which I could use to my advantage.

Ahhh, that makes sense, thank you

Yeah, it is actually about 20mm gap. I will remove it and see if it helps. Just a pain that my heatsink is so huge, I literally have no space between the fan and the actual 4-pin header going to be a squeeze. If that improves it then I am happy.

Is the side fan even necessary you think?

The only place they sell the Crossbow ACK ATI 775 bracket for changing the direction is sold on Newegg, which unfortunately doesn't ship to UK.

Any alternative coolers? I may have to change my cooler in the end. The max height would be about 170mm, my thors hammer is 160mm and its close to the side panel.

Even the cheaper CM 212 may be OK? Because the only other way may be to get a new motherboard for another x16 lane for a bit more space.

A new cooler may be cheaper in the end.

A bit too expensive over here unfortunately, the Scythe Mine 2 is only £27 over here but I fear it'll be a bit too big for my case.

Been looking at other options such as the Xigmatek Gaia and Hyper 212 EVO, they're both pretty cheap and both can be installed in any direction for suitable airflow, they're tiny compared to my Thors Hammer though.

I may go with one of those above. I tried without the pull fan and it makes no difference for airflow. I think the airflow is all over the place due to the heatsink.

Reckon I should ditch the side fan? If I have two intakes (140mm x2 @ 63CFM max) and a rear, maybe I could change one of my top fans to intake because the front top fan is blowing out freezing cold air (and I mean very chilly, making me cold right now ), that is whilst running prime. CPU is at 54c, and the top front fan is icy cold. The rear fan is also icy cold.
The only fan that is exhausting warm air is the top back?

In other words, I am so confused what to do with my fans, what to use as intake, what to use as exhaust, and what to ditch.

I think my setup will benefit more from a smaller cooler that I can manage a lot better, such as the Gaia or Hyper EVO. The massive heatsink is probably obstructing airflow a bit, it's a big chunky object in the middle of the board basically touching the side panel.