A cheap passive am4 cooler?

[BoggledBeagle]

Can we stop writing essays about what thermodynamics is, and help the OP instead?

Yes! OP should understand, that passive coolers work only when they get pretty hot (and the CPUs as well) and decide if it is worth it.

 

[BoggledBeagle]

Anandtech review of the best passive cooler available (Noctua NH-P1) states:

The Noctua NH-P1 can handle loads lower than 100 Watts rather well. The temperatures will be high, but modern processors should happily operate at temperatures up to 50°C above ambient – assuming that the internal temperature of the PC case is relatively close to that of a typical household room (~22°C). Prolonged loads greater than 120-140 Watts will have the temperature delta widening too far for the NH-P1 to keep a chip from thermally throttling.

 

[SL2]

Yeah, I think we can rule out the P1. It's 110USD, or €120.

 

[BoggledBeagle]

That Alpine AM5 Passive can handle just few tens of watts. And it is quite a large chunk of metal.

And the expensive passive Noctua with heatpipes runs CPUs at their maximal allowed temps with 120W heat load.

What options are left and why does OP want to bake CPUs???

 

[freeagent]

That Noctua cooler is disappointing. Why they chose to stick with 6mm pipes is beyond me. That cooler would have been better off with 8mm pipes, or a combo of 6 and 8mm. I don't think the thick fins were necessary either, but I am no expert

I do know that my LGMRT was able to run Linpack on my 3600XT at 4500MHz with no fan on the cooler, and case fans on low with my Meshify C. It also ran my 3770K at the same speed on a breadboard. Any good cooler should be able to handle a good load with no fan.. but that is jmo.

 

[SL2]

I think the OP has to decide on case first, before getting a better cooler.

For all we know, that box could cause resonance (pardon my hypotesis), making the noise worse.

As of now, we simply don't know what to suggest, even with a fan, as we don't know what fits.

Case first.

 

[Bill_Bright]

and case fans on low with my Meshify C.

Probably worth pointing out that the Meshify C is a great, well designed case and FD fans are excellent, capable of moving a lot of air even at low speeds, thus very quietly.

 

[freeagent]

Probably worth pointing out that the Meshify C is a great, well designed case and FD fans are excellent, capable of moving a lot of air even at low speeds, thus very quietly.

I think I was running 5x 120x38s at 5v, kinda cheating a bit I guess.. but 5v.. you could push more air by whispering

 

[damric]

It's definitely not cheap, but those ICEGIANT Prosiphons work really well passively from my own testing. Too bad they are huge and expensive

 

[Ferrum Master]

It is impossible within the said budget. There is no point looking.

 

[freeagent]

It's definitely not cheap, but those ICEGIANT Prosiphons work really well passively from my own testing. Too bad they are huge and expensive

I really wanted to test it, I should have.. I chickened out. I think someone stole it anyways so..

 

[SL2]

It is impossible within the said budget. There is no point looking.

I was thinking the same thing. I hope the OP understands that fans can be quiet.

Another alternative is forget all about it and buy a pair of headphones.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Another alternative is forget all about it and buy a pair of headphones.

Or get some pets.

 

[damric]

I really wanted to test it, I should have.. I chickened out. I think someone stole it anyways so..

lmao we had 3 of them stolen before the company finally gave up on us

edit: I mean it was in the middle of covid so I guess it's possible the people passed away and not ghost us

 

[Bones]

Has anyone considered instead of worrying about the fan on the cooler, instead worry about the fan(s) in the case if using a passive cooler?

I've seen the OP's setup and it's really open but even with that, a good, low CFM 120mm fan will help with cooling as in just getting the heat to go out of the case, which translates to more heat energy being transferred to atmosphere which is the ultimate destination of any heat energy removed from the system anyway.

One that has a speed controller would be ideal so the OP can set it for whatever noise level (If any) they can tolerate and still get the job done.

Yes - I have an Icegiant cooler myself and it's really quiet at it's lowest speed, cools well and all that but the expense to get one (As the OP has already said) rules it out.

 

[LabRat 891]

IMHO:
Look @ the Thermalright Peerless Assassin series, pick one you like, and use only the fan in-between the radiators (on low).

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Shockingly cool and quiet, less than $40!

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Has anyone considered instead of worrying about the fan on the cooler, instead worry about the fan(s) in the case if using a passive cooler?

Yes.

At best to my knowledge, you'll be looking @ "Semi-Passive". Meaning case still needs active flow.
My FSP Windale 6 atop my 3600 and 5600, was sufficient cooling w/ no fan attached. (Top fans pulled air thru it).

IMO, get a 'big tower' cooler (in black) that you can afford, and leave the fans off it. (just make sure the case is actively moving air)

 

[SL2]

Has anyone considered instead of worrying about the fan on the cooler, instead worry about the fan(s) in the case if using a passive cooler?

No.

As we can't find a matching heatsink (cost), and the OP doesn't have a case, there's no point.

 

[Bones]

5600g 70w
I sorta miss a case also, no cheap solutions a cooler block that serves also as a case ? Currently I just packed everything in a wood stand to not have stuff all around, but I can't stand to the noise
View attachment 337330


I had the half idea to do something diy, but... I fucked up and I am tight on money, so I can't play too much

No.

As we can't find a matching heatsink (cost), and the OP doesn't have a case, there's no point.

OK - So what is that it's in here?

Maybe not a "Proper" PC case but it's still an encasement for their components and acts as a case with all the same applying to it.
Heat must get out no matter how you put it... Or what it's inside of.
A good, low CFM fan as suggested, mounted to one end of the enclosure would help air and heat to move along.

 

[BoggledBeagle]

It's definitely not cheap, but those ICEGIANT Prosiphons work really well passively from my own testing. Too bad they are huge and expensive

Prosiphon cooler will die as all weird and nonsensical products. It has maximal cooling power of 200W, as shown in reviews. That is what 600g $40 direct contact 4 heatpipe air cooler can do.

Prosiphon is 3,5 times heavier (a true motherboard breaker!), FOUR times more expensive, FOUR times bulkier. At least in weight and bulk you get what you pay for. Not in performance.

 

[dont whant to set it"']

@idkidk
I have looked into such a while ago for a passive am4 cpu cooling setup and found "options".

"Options": prerequisites and or some crafting-modding of parts, depending on compatibility luck.

There are am4 mbs that are also build with am3 cooler compatibility mounting holes, but it turned out the am3 mounting bracket for the Prolimatech Megahamlems (high performance air cooler not designed as passive) is not compatible with my mb as it would have sat/hit capacitors/coils. So I cut and drilled a piece of aluminium from some vga cooler off a dead card to make the piece that holds the cooler to the mounting bracket of another am4 cooler.

Performance was ok at reduced TDP , tested with an 5800X( no PBO , no boost , all- core freq 3600MHz-3800MHz because summer season.

True passive looked into but not tested, same from AM3 era coolers like cooler master hyper z600 , some Scythe ones.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Unless you're extremely sensitive to noise, IMHO the best choice is to buy something like the Noctua NH-D15S and use a super high quality fan (the one included works but you could probably get a fan with better acoustics) at a very low, inaudible RPM range. That way some air will circulate and you'll get better clocks, too.

 

[sLowEnd]

You aren't going to get a good passive cooler with a budget that small. Better to compromise and get a cheap Thermalright tower cooler and just run the fans at low speeds

 

[AusWolf]

Unless you're extremely sensitive to noise, IMHO the best choice is to buy something like the Noctua NH-D15S and use a super high quality fan (the one included works but you could probably get a fan with better acoustics) at a very low, inaudible RPM range. That way some air will circulate and you'll get better clocks, too.

You aren't going to get a good passive cooler with a budget that small. Better to compromise and get a cheap Thermalright tower cooler and just run the fans at low speeds

This... or just set up a semi-passive operation if your BIOS / fan control software supports it. My CPU fan is set at 0 RPM below 60 °C, and increase sharply until 80 °C. This is the best way, imo.

 

[BoggledBeagle]

OP could also get AMD Prism cooler, which was supplied with some CPUs and which he could get very cheaply. It is much better than the stock cooler for 5600G and it would run almost quietly. I presume that OP knows that fans can be configured in BIOS?

 

[Bones]

Prosiphon cooler will die as all weird and nonsensical products. It has maximal cooling power of 200W, as shown in reviews. That is what 600g $40 direct contact 4 heatpipe air cooler can do.

Prosiphon is 3,5 times heavier (a true motherboard breaker!), FOUR times more expensive, FOUR times bulkier. At least in weight and bulk you get what you pay for. Not in performance.

I must disagree with you on what reviews have said about the Icegiant since I've ran mine before with my FX-9590 (220W Chip minimum) and temps were good under load - Very good in fact.
Had to adapt the mounting plate to an AM3/AM3+ setup and that was really easy to do.
Now I can run this one with anything from an AM2 to an AM4 and it's not a problem.

All the rest however you are correct about - It's a really heavy cooler and I can only suggest it for systems that has the board lying flat on it's back when installed like mine is but the performance is there at least.

Unless you're extremely sensitive to noise, IMHO the best choice is to buy something like the Noctua NH-D15S and use a super high quality fan (the one included works but you could probably get a fan with better acoustics) at a very low, inaudible RPM range. That way some air will circulate and you'll get better clocks, too.

This is the basis of my previous suggestion with the current setup as seen in the photos of it.

A better cooler combined with a low CFM fan of at least 120mm in size at one side of the case/enclosure will make heat move along and out of the enclosure, like when a cop says "Nothing to see here - Move along" and it will work whether a different cooler is used or not.
Larger fans in size don't require higher fan speeds to move the same amount of air in CFM as a smaller one does so it's quiet in comparison to those.

To give reference about a larger fan:
I even have a case my dad is using ATM with a big 240mm single fan made into the side panel and it moves a ton of air, but it's barely audible at all.
You really have to listen for it to hear it running but the drawback of that one is the case it's in is narrow - You can't use a GPU card in the case due to inteference/contact from the fan so it's either onboard graphics or nothing with that one... But it works as said.
A wider case of the same size can make it work though and may do that one day but as is, my dad loves it and I probrably won't get that one back until he's gone himself - And that's OK.

He's 84 years old so you know if it was making any noise, I'd hear some noise of his own about it.

However I too have to say there are some good suggestions here that's not too expensive but will improve cooling - Combined with a fan as described you will see a real difference in temps across the board.

BTW I did see this and it's big yet it's not and is rated for about 38 CFM between all four fans so it should be a quiet fan set.
May not be what the OP is wanting for their own use but I'd bet someone else here would have interest.
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