# Heatsink for AM3 Socket



## mrx888 (Mar 18, 2012)

Hi guys!

I write because I'm looking for a new heatsink which allow me to overclock and doesn't require removing motherboard to install it. I can spend around $ 50. My idea: Arctic Freezer A30. Any comments about it?

Also, I would like some recommendations on how to improve the airflow inside the case.

*Case:* Asus Vento TA-D2 (Official Site - Review)
*Motherboard:* Asus M4A87TD EVO (Official Site)
*Processor:* AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE C3 (Official Site)


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 18, 2012)

honestly if ur gonna overclock do it the right way, just like vehicles u gonna have to get your hands "dirty"

Reason CPU coolers are now like that is due to bulkiness. If you want a good unit you will have to remove the board otherwise you risk damage to the socket retainers and plastic cant hold them taught enough.

go to newegg, xoxcide, frozencpu, directron.com for cpu coolers


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## Norton (Mar 18, 2012)

That AC A30 you mention should be able to be installed w/o removing your board. It seems to be a decent cooler and should allow you to overclock some.

Here's a Xigmatek option (need both pieces):

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU C...

and

XIGMATEK Crossbow Ack Ati775 Mounting Kit for AMD ...

Use the Intel mounts bolted onto the cooler and the adapter will allow you installed direct as well as turn the cooler in the proper direction. I did the same with my Xig Dark Knight in my rig so I know this will work.

In either case it will be a tight fit to get your hands in there and you will need to remove your PSU (I think the PSU is on the top side in an ASUS Vento?) and probably your ram to install the cooler.... pulling the board will give you many more options


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## sneekypeet (Mar 18, 2012)

The AC A30 is not meant to OC with, it is a factory replacement w/o noise.

As for finding one with mounting that does't require a back plate, they also don't offer the pressure needed to make great contact. If you plan to OC, I would take the road of removing the board for a superior mounting system.


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## erocker (Mar 18, 2012)

Many coolers will use the stock AMD backplate, you can unscrew the stock plastic retention pieces and the backplate should remain in place.


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## sneekypeet (Mar 19, 2012)

Erocker makes a very valid point. You may very well be able to get a cooler to go on without removing the motherboard. On my AM3 board the back plate isn't taped or mounted to the motherboard once the screws are out. So be careful as you may knock the plate out and have to remove the board anyways.


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## Rehernmas (Mar 19, 2012)

The Freezer A30 seems to be a decent choice for AM3 socket. I saw it on their website that you can even switch to any other case fan as well.

Will you also consider water cooling? Even though I'm not a fan of water cooling, but they actually do a good job to keep the CPU cool.


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## micropage7 (Mar 19, 2012)

you have many stuff, from 





DEEPCOOL ICE EDGE 400 FS, 




ZALMAN HCP -01, 




THERMALTAKE Contac 30, 




XIGMATEK HDT-S963, 




XIGMATEK HDT-S1284F,




DEEPCOOL ICE MATRIX 400, 




PROLIMATECH Samuel 17, 




NOCTUA NH-U9B SE2, 




THERMALRIGHT TRUE Spirit 140, 




THERMALRIGHT HR-02 Macho
and many more but i guess try noctua, they have nice performance


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## Aquinus (Mar 19, 2012)

I've used both of these cooler, honestly I like the CNPS9900MAX-B best, but the ThermalTake Frio (if you don't care about noise,) lets you swap out fans, which is what I used on my own Phenom II rig before I replaced it with a SB-E rig.

These are both tall HSFs, so make sure you have the room between your mobo and your case, however the ThermalTake could cover your first memory slot and will prevent you from using memory unless you:
A: Don't use a second fan.
B: Are using standard height memory.

Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B (Blue LED)
ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU C...

ThermalTake Frio (Push-pull)
Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready Intel Core i7 ...

This is what I mean about the size of the Frio though, notice the memory.


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## Mulderer (Mar 19, 2012)

almost all universal cooler from deepcool don't require removing motherboard.. i know cos i'm using several from them.. 
currently i'm using zalman cp-92a produced by zalman shenzhen,,only US 12.. LOL


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## NC37 (Mar 19, 2012)

Be sure to check installation instructions carefully. I've done 2 builds with a CM Hyper 212+. Its a great cooler but can be a pain to install. Plus I ran into an issue where one board had pins sticking through the coating on it's special backplate. The coating is just a thick sticker so its not super solid. This caused the system to be unstable. Fixed it by taking the plastic strip off the board's stock plate and applying it to the 212's.


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## Aquinus (Mar 19, 2012)

micropage7 said:


> you have many stuff, from
> http://www.quietpc.com/files/images/products/dc-ice-edge-400fs-large.jpg
> DEEPCOOL ICE EDGE 400 FS,
> http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/1512854/23146915/0/1314756093/Zalman_brand_CPU_cooler_HCP02.jpg
> ...



Are you just recommending these or have you actually used all of them all?


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## micropage7 (Mar 19, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> Are you just recommending these or have you actually used all of them all?


sorry too many coolers 
not all just some, for now i use xigmatek
with your budget you gonna have many cooler, so maybe you could go more specific like for OC, you need silent system, smaller cooler (maybe) since your case is small or like that
personally i would take noctua since their performance is good, thermaltake frio could in the list too
deepcool ice matrix is not bad especially compared to their price


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## Jeffredo (Mar 19, 2012)

Mulderer said:


> almost all universal cooler from deepcool don't require removing motherboard.. i know cos i'm using several from them..



I was looking at the Ice Wind model and it has a built in clip that points the cooler in the correct direction (vertically) and uses the two standard AMD posts on the motherboard.  Should be a simple installation.

http://www.deepcool-us.com/product/ICE_WIND/

I actually have a old Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and its hanging on the motherboard with the standard AMD retention mechanism.  Its pointing horizontally, but still gives good cooling.  I get high 40s in gaming and 56c on Prime95.  I'm sure bolting it to the motherboard with a backplate is better, but I don't toss my case around or move it too often.  Its stays put.


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## JrRacinFan (Mar 19, 2012)

Why is it such a bother to remove the motherboard? It's easy.....


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## Aquinus (Mar 20, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> Why is it such a bother to remove the motherboard? It's easy.....



It depends on how lax your computer setup is in terms of wire placement and things you have to reconnect. In mine it is a pain because I have a RAID-0 and a RAID-5 so I have to put all the hard drives in the same SATA ports as they were before. You have to make sure cables stay where they're supposed to go so it doesn't mess up your wiring placement. Just cleaning it back up afterwards can be a pain. It depends on how meticulous you are about having it look nice and clean and how much time you really have to do it.


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## JrRacinFan (Mar 20, 2012)

Didn't mean to disrespect or sound rude but really doubt that is the case for the OP.


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 20, 2012)

I have an old case myself n ya i have to remove alot to get to mobo. But is just as easy to put it all back due to velcro tape i use


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## Aquinus (Mar 20, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> Didn't mean to disrespect or sound rude but really doubt that is the case for the OP.



I was just giving a reason why a lot of people don't like doing it. I wasn't saying this was the case for him, but rather from my own experience. The OP didn't say he didn't like taking it out, did he? I wasn't quite sure who you were responding to, I just had an answer from my perspective.


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## JrRacinFan (Mar 20, 2012)

Of course I know what you are saying. Just mentioning it as the best coolers on the market, its near required to pull the board and use the 3rd party backplate/mounting.


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## Aquinus (Mar 20, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> Of course I know what you are saying. Just mentioning it as the best coolers on the market, its near required to pull the board and use the 3rd party backplate/mounting.



Not on LGA2011 where the bolt theads/backplate are built into the motherboard. A great move if you ask me.


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## JrRacinFan (Mar 20, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> Not on LGA2011 where the bolt theads/backplate are built into the motherboard. A great move if you ask me.



Very true. Must admit I do like its socket mounting.


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## mrx888 (Mar 21, 2012)

I evaluated several alternatives. I'm torn between:
- NH-U9B SE2 (Official Site)
- Scythe Rasetsu (Official Site - Review);

Concerning case fans:
- Front: ARCTIC F12 PWM - 120mm (Official Site)
- Rear: ARCTIC F12 Pro PWM - 120mm (Official Site)

What do you think?


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## Jeffredo (Mar 21, 2012)

You'll not get the Noctua installed without pulling the motherboard (requires a back plate).  The Scythe should if you have enough room to work around it.  All it requires is a couple of tool-less clips.


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## mrx888 (Mar 21, 2012)

About the Noctua, I read the FAQs and I found:
*Does the package include a backplate for AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3?*
No. As most AMD mainboards come with a stock backplate preinstalled, the cooler doesn’t include an AMD backplate. If your mainboard doesn’t have a backplate, please contact our support team at support@noctua.at.

So, I shouldn't pulling the mobo to install it while for Intel's mobos yes.


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## Jeffredo (Mar 21, 2012)

If you think you can get either on without pulling the motherboard, get the Noctua.


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## de.das.dude (Mar 21, 2012)

tuniq tower.


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## Norton (Mar 21, 2012)

mrx888 said:


> About the Noctua, I read the FAQs and I found:
> *Does the package include a backplate for AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3?*
> No. As most AMD mainboards come with a stock backplate preinstalled, the cooler doesn’t include an AMD backplate. If your mainboard doesn’t have a backplate, please contact our support team at support@noctua.at.
> 
> So, I shouldn't pulling the mobo to install it while for Intel's mobos yes.



  You may be able to swap the stock mounting with the Noctua mounting but it must be done in a specific order and with extreme care or the backplate will fall through the board and the board will need to be removed. If you don't trust yourself to swap the mounting it's best to pull the board anyway.... If you commit to pull the board then just about any well reviewed cooler can be installed easily.


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 22, 2012)

ya know what i have an idea, just pull the board so you have the easiest access to mounting the cooler and be able to see what your doing, otherwise if your scared of doing it yourself have a computer shop do it for you. or someone that knows what they are doing


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