SOLVED New heat sink won't fit.

[Distractor_Beam]

I'm going to go into detail, but I hope that doesn't deter you from reading.

The problem:

My new heatsink sits on top of the RAM preventing it from seating properly on the CPU.​

What I'm using:

CORSAIR A70 120mm Dual-Fan CPU Cooler
http://www.corsair.com/cooling/air-series/air-series-a70.html

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B. 2 sets for a total of 16GB.
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-8gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9-279.html

ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/Crosshair_IV_Extreme/

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDE00ZFBGRBOX.
http://www.overclockers.com/amd-phenom-ii-x6-1100t-review​

What I've done:

A little research that all points to using a different heatsink.​

What I'm going to do:

One of 2 things.

• Either snip the A70 so it fits over the RAM, or
• Snip the RAM

The long version:
At this point I'm stuck with the components I have, so I'm either going to use it or leave it in a box for a future build or sale.

I'm happy with the temperatures I have with stock cooling, but I wouldn't mind getting them a bit better, so enters the A70.

The trouble I ran into just before I was about to grease my CPU and drop the fan on, was I looked at the RAM and noticed it was a bit close to the CPU. So, I did a un-greased check and found to my dismay that the fins from the A70 sat on the fins from the RAM. It also held the A70 at an angle. If the RAM was about 3mm shorter, or the heatsink about 3mm taller it would've been a perfect fit.

If this was an Intel build I could use the Intel installation bracket and swivel it 90 degrees. This would allow me to leave 1 fan off and it would fit in a North-South direction with the RAM free on one side as shown by someone else's picture below.

However, because it's an AMD build, the bracket will only allow it to fit in a West-East direction.

I have confirmed that I shouldn't have to take it out for some time, so I believe I'm ready for a modification.

My first thought was to trim about 3/4 of a centimeter off of a few fins on the A70 so that it would then fit. My reasoning being that there's still plenty of fins to go around. I would also have to trim some off of both fan housings, but that shouldn't cause a problem. The problem would be that if I did that I would then of course be losing efficiency on a well designed product, and also that the RAM would then be much closer to the heat pipes than they would like.

After running this by my friend I was given the suggestion that I should consider instead trimming off part of the fins on the RAM as they don't really help much anyway. The fins themselves are already pretty flimzy (I've read that some people have broken them off on accident) and I imagine it wouldn't take very much effort to snip them. There's 2 things that concern me in this operation.

• That long block in the middle that I perceive as the handle. What are the chances that there's a critical piece of hardware inside?
• The heatsink is easier for me to replace than the RAM if it is destroyed in the process.

Your thoughts please.

 

[Conumdrum]

That bit on top of the ram is just pretty stuff. Cutting the HS fins like you show won't hurt either.

Up to you?

A dremel could do either cut just fine. I gots one if you need it.

 

[Automata]

I would bend the fins on the processor heatsink before modifying the RAM. Otherwise, if the stick dies down the road, your warranty is invalid.

Looking at the heatsink, you could simply bend the fins down.

 

[vdgamer]

its hard to tell from pics if bending the fins on cooler will give you enough room, but its the best option

if bending them isnt enough just cut that corner with dikes or hand saw, that little bit wont affect cooling and even thou it will woid your warranty, what are the chances of needing warranty for heatsink?

i woulnt touch ram since that would woid warranty and its logical choice loosing heatsink warranty vs loosing ram warranty, its pretty easy choice

 

[Bobnova]

Don't touch the ram, you want that warranty intact and run a real risk of destroying it trying to shorten the spreaders.

Feel free to hack up the heatsink, you might cost yourself .05*c doing it, not worth worrying about.

Do not bend/dent/cut the heatpipes, they're fragile little suckers. The fins are fine to mangle.

 

[shinkansen]

I'm an aerospace guy that used to deal with plate-fin and tube-fin heat exchangers. You will never notice a performance change based on the amount of adjustment you need to make to the heat exchanger.

Definitely leave the RAM alone. Corsair has a lifetime warranty on them, so don't risk it. Go with thideras' and vdgamer's suggestion of bending the fins rather than clipping them if you can get enough clearance by doing so. Try not to bend them at the point of attachment to the heat pipes so you don't break the tube-to-fin joint. Use a narrow pliers to hold the fins fixed at the heat pipe and then use a second pliers to bend them

 

[Conumdrum]

Okay.. sorry, LOL. I didn't mean for him to touch the ram. At work he slapped me upside the head thinkin I was fool' and stuff. Not really, he's a gentle giant.

Yea, because of a silly warrenty, tweak the HS.

You got's good advices from the folkessss here.

 

[Distractor_Beam]

Thank you for all of your replies.

I trust and value your opinions so I decided that I would bend the fins on the heatsink.

I posted a bad video on youtube for anyone searching on it here:

I originally wanted to try that trick that Shinkansen mentioned, but I found that I suck at life. So I used the screwdriver instead.

I'm happy to report that the A70 with Arctic Silver 5 dropped my Prime95 prolonged burn-in temp by 12C from stock, as-well-as made for a much quieter computer room.

 

[Conumdrum]

WOOT! GoodYob!

Some of the video wan't bad. She makes you do it on the back porch? I know the weather was nice tho.

Glad it worked out, 12C on a AMD is a big big help for the soon to be overclocking when you need more. Like Duke!!!!!

Duke
Duke, "Why do they always take the hot ones?"