October 28, 20214 yr Apparently these two are very good cpu coolers for small cases: The M22 Kraken water cooler provided the lowest temps. But the Noctua NHU12S was very much quieter. (NHU12S will only fit into some larger SFF cases). The Kraken is smaller and more likely to fit @6:32 graphs show about 2.5 C lower temps with Kraken at 100% fan speeds (not a whole lot cooler). And graph shows Noctua was 8 decibels quieter (actually that is a lot quieter). He recommends at 3:22 to remove motherboard to mount Kraken impeller head onto the cpu, because the backplate behind the motherboard at that point will be loose. But I don't think that has to be an issue. Here's a method I used recently... There is a recess on the underside of a MB where the backplate fits in there. You need something thick but less tall and wide than the recess, a boxed deck of playing cards is the ideal size to fit inside the recess. You also need something else that is also thick but larger, but still less wide and tall than the case side opening. A book is ideal. The book is laying on the table, the deck of cards is laying on top the book, and the case lays on top of the card deck so that the card deck fit into the motherboard's backplate recess. The front of the case is now facing up with the top of the MB exposed for easy access, and the backplate will be held firmly when you apply the thermal paste on the cpu and screw down the impeller housing onto the cpu. 5800X3D, RTX4070, 600 Watt, one or two 1440p 32" screens, 64 GB RAM, 4 TB PCle 3 NVMe, Warthog throttle, VKB NXT EVO stick, Honeycomb Alpha yoke, CH quad, 3 Logitech panels, 2 StreamDecks, Desktop Aviator Trim Panel. Crystal Light VR.
October 29, 20214 yr Well, I STILL have a pile of components on the floor to my right because I haven't gotten around to building yet. Am trying to make my mind up on a case. Currently have a Phanteks Evolv TG, but that will be passed on to my daughter. Do I go for the Phanteks Evolv X (the original plan) or a different ATX mid tower. Can't decide. The issue is that the Phanteks cases are big heavy beasts. I'm guessing getting on for 20 KG when fully loaded. So yes, I have thought about a Mini ITX build. I built a Mini ITX system for my daughter a while back and in regard to the cooler issue I went for a Corsair 240 AIO. Wanted to stick to air, but the space just wasn't available. Although I'm a fan of Noctua's air cooling, AIO does seem to be the right approach for space limited enclosures, as long as you can fit at least a 240 rad. Personally I would never opt for a 120 rad, couldn't stand the noise levels and sub par cooling. I have a 3090 though, not sure if there are any mini ITX cases that can fit a 3090. ATX power supply too. Edited October 29, 20214 yr by martin-w
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