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SOLVED Recommendations on good AMD east/west oriented CPU cooler?

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RoXQi3x

Member
Joined
May 5, 2012
Location
Norway
I bought a Arctic Freezer 13 Pro as it looked nice on price/noise and performance, but I didn't realize that I had to mount it north/west. As I have a Antec Sonata III case, there's no top fan and the varm air blowing upwards is not what I really wanted.

I'm looking at the Noctua NH-D14 as I see it will mount as I wish, but i'll have to take out the motherboard. Is there something else that will do roughly the same job but mount directly?
 
I can't think of a really good heatsink for AMD that doesn't require you to remove the motherboard for the initial mount of the RM hardware that I have tested. But it's no big deal to remove a mobo to install that hardware and once installed, you don't have to remove the mobo again just to remove and reinstall the heatsink. Arctic does have a newer model for AMD called the Freezer A30 and it looks like you can install the retention hardware without removing the mobo from the case from looking at the install manual.

For some good and cheaper alternatives (but require removal of the mobo for the initial install), you can also look at the Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO, Thermalright True Spirit 120 and True Spirit 140 and NZXT Havik 120 and Havik 140, besides the NH-D14.
 
Thanks for all suggestions - I went ahead and ordered the Noctua after checking availability.

PS Aberration - clicking the newegg link directed me to a malicious site emjcd.com according to Symantec - did see the Sunbeam by copying the link but something's wrong somewhere..
 
Thanks for all suggestions - I went ahead and ordered the Noctua after checking availability.

PS Aberration - clicking the newegg link directed me to a malicious site emjcd.com according to Symantec - did see the Sunbeam by copying the link but something's wrong somewhere..

Then you have a virus or malware, as there's nothing wrong with the link.
 
I recommend the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, Ultima 90, Ultra 120 or Ultra 90.

They have hardware that will allow you to mount the heat sink in any direction you like (the scissor bracket, not the one-piece bracket) and it doesn't require you to remove the motherboard if you have a metal back plate (Asus does have this, so should be no problem). Just remove the stock retention bracket and then use Thermalright's to screw down the heat sink and secure it to the motherboard.
 
Just installed the Noctua, and I can only recommend this heartily.
I have a fairly non-ventiltated case, and adding this cooler fits the system very well!
Yes, it's bit of a pain to tabe out the mobo, but hey - you love your system, right :) And the box, tools - even instructions are top notch, and it feels very solid.
Pricewise, now it's at a price which tells me there's no point in getting the cheapest option.
And the temps? Well, I'm currently testing but so far i'm at 19,5x and still below 48C. Very comfortable noise levels also!
 
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