Anything better than a Shuirken?

pete6032 · Post by **pete6032** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:11 pm

System to be used for photoshop/video ripping and as my daily-use pc. No gaming.

Silverstone TJ-08
Athlon II X4 635
Earthwatts EA-430 430w
Gigabyte 785g board

I will try to undervolt the cpu. My case came with two fans but I will probably only have the rear fan running. Is a big Shuriken my best best for the noise level in this case? I'm a little worried about getting a larger cooler since the case is kind of small. I know that the Big Shuriken is tiny, but it seems to compete very well with other coolers in the $30 price range. Thoughts?

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:51 pm

pete6032 wrote:I know that the Big Shuriken is tiny, but it seems to compete very well with other coolers in the $30 price range. Thoughts?

I don't think you should have too many issues fitting a larger CPU cooler in. I think other people here have fitted 160mm tall CPU coolers in without much hassle.

Around your price range, maybe consider:
- Scythe Katana 3 (newegg) (SPCR review)
- ZEROtherm ZEN FZ120 (newegg) (SPCR review)

You might want to consider replacing the stock fan on these heatsinks with something more quiet, however. Both Nexus and Scythe make some good quiet 92mm/120mm fans.

Flanker · Post by **Flanker** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:48 pm

would it be possible to get the coolermaster 212+?

loimlo · Post by **loimlo** » Thu Jun 17, 2010 7:37 am

Silverstone TJ-08 is a normal M-ATX case which can fit most 120mm fan coolers like Thermalright HR-01, Xigmatek 1283, or Scythe Mugen 2. That said, Big Shuriken is no match to 120mm fan coolers and better suited for space-limited circumstances such as HTPC or Mini-ITX.

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Thu Jun 17, 2010 12:51 pm

Yeah, Big Shuriken is a pretty good cooler if you're limited in height, but in a case like that you should get a tower heatsink. You'll get better performance with less noise.

pete6032 · Post by **pete6032** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:10 am

I'm liking the Scythe Mugen 2. Has anyone fit that sucker in a mATX case? It looks huge from the pictures I've seen.

TokyoBrit · Post by **TokyoBrit** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 12:05 am

Hmm.

I have a Scythe Ninja Rev. B in my Lian Li PC-6077B case. That's a 150mm HS in a 200mm case with plenty of room.

Will be fitting a Mugen-2 (158mm) into my Antec Solo (205mm) this weekend.

Both the 6077 and Solo have quite a bit of space behind the motherboard tray for cable management, so effective internal dimensions should be about the same as your TJ08.

I would suggest measuring the height from the mobo to the case side, then subtract about 10mm for the socket and CPU. Any measurement below 170mm means you might be in trouble.

TokyoBrit · Post by **TokyoBrit** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:44 pm

After fitting the Mugen-2, I have about 15mm of space between the top of the HS and the case side.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UL ... directlink

pete6032 · Post by **pete6032** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:44 am

This would be quite a tight fit.

Going by the numbers (haven't measured yet), the Solo is 206mm wide and had 15mm of spare room with the HSF on.

The TJ08 is 195mm wide. Assuming the motherboard mounting situation is similar in each case, that would only leave 5mm of space between the side panel and edge of the HSF. And the TJ08 has a removable tray, which means that the distance between the side panel and motherboard will probably be even less, so a proper fit is doubtful. Are tower coolers significantly better performers than low profile coolers like the Shuriken?

TokyoBrit · Post by **TokyoBrit** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:14 am

Generally speaking, the best tower coolers are better at cooling than the best top-down coolers. For a top-down to cool as well as a tower, the fan usually has to run faster.

On the otherhand, you can fit a 140mm fan fitted top-down in a wider range of cases than a 120mm fan fitted tower cooler.

Put it this way, with my system now I can turn off the CPU and GPU cooler fans while browsing the web, writing code, or working with Office documents. The 2 x 92mm intake fans and the 120mm exhaust fan generate enough airflow to passively cool those components while they are underclocked due to low utilisation.

Yes, the temps get higher but not enough to cause concern.

pete6032 · Post by **pete6032** » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:18 am

I still haven't bought my gear yet, but I just read the Scythe Samurai ZZ review. The ZZ is a top-down cooler. Would I be dumb to get a top-down cooler like the Samurai ZZ when I could probably fit a tower cooler like the Mugen 2 in the case?

pete6032 · Post by **pete6032** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:54 pm

Any comment or am I overanalyzing?

Anything better than a Shuirken?

Anything better than a Shuirken?

Re: Anything better than a Shuirken?