XP-120 compatability issue and how they were solved

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Sun May 29, 2005 3:14 pm

I have a Thermalright XP-120 (and panaflo fan) not in use at present because it does not fit any case / mobo combination that I own (at present).
I was wondering If anybody had had issues and found soloutions and/or workarounds to solve these issues?
Asus P4G8X-deluxe --- just will not fit.
Gigabyte GA8IG1000mk - fits board but not the case due to overhang above the board fouling PSU.
Asus P4P800-vm ----fits board but not the case due to overhang above the board fouling PSU
Soltek SL86MIP-L ---fouls capacitors around socket .
my other board is an Athlon XP so it is not an option (A7N8X-vm/400)
So I figured that if I was interested in hearing of workarounds an soloutions others may be interested too.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun May 29, 2005 5:38 pm

Hello:

The mobo's with the socket close to the PS -- you need to get a taller case! What case(s) do you have?

One the mobo's where it hits the capacitors, have you tried rotating the XP120 around 180 degrees?

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Sun May 29, 2005 5:48 pm

Cases are InWin V500T / Aopen H450 a / Antec Sonata .
I would change my heatsink before I would even consider changing a case.
But all the above cases (and two empty Lian Li cases that I have) have the psu within a cm. or two of the Mobo.
I was looking to see other peoples experience with this cooler .
It gets pretty good temps even on a 3.4gig P4 but I have only ever run it on a bench as the gear I have just does not play nice with it.

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Sun May 29, 2005 5:55 pm

Well I haven't tried this myself, but it might work in those cases there aren't enough room for attaching the hooks becasue of capacitors being in the way: Attach the HS to the bracket, and then attach the bracket to the mobo. You might need screws and nuts for this. Just an idea I think I've seen somewhere...

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Sun May 29, 2005 5:56 pm

One the mobo's where it hits the capacitors, have you tried rotating the XP120 around 180 degrees?

Sorry I missed the scond part .
on the soltek the mounting is horizontal and would leave the heatpipes the wrong way up .
It was bought for the Asus P4P800 m board as Thermalright listed it as compatible.
I am hoping that it fits on my new project an A8n-sli (so far just a motherboard) Iam getting it piece by piece as funds permit. most likely another Sonata case but not sure

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Sun May 29, 2005 11:24 pm

Because ThermalRight uses heatpipes with wicks, it doesn't make any significant difference which way up you mount it.

If you really can't make the XP-120 work, the XP-90 is almost as good, and is much more likely to fit.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Mon May 30, 2005 5:59 am

pony-tail wrote:
One the mobo's where it hits the capacitors, have you tried rotating the XP120 around 180 degrees?
It was bought for the Asus P4P800 m board as Thermalright listed it as compatible.

And Thermalright was 100% correct, it does fit on the board, as you noted earlier:

pony-tail wrote: Asus P4P800-vm ----fits board but not the case due to overhang above the board fouling PSU

I think you'd agree that Thermalright can't possibly address the potential fitment issues that arise from installation in a particular case. Your particular situation seems like it would be more troublesome than the average install. Two of the three cases you tried it in are quite small mATX cases, and the other is a case that's famous for being pretty cramped inside.

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Mon May 30, 2005 10:54 am

I would not have considered the Sonata as cramped.
I used to have SLK 3700AMBs not that much difference .
But I do admit that the InWins are pushing things a bit -
but do you know of another small mATX case with a 92mm rear fan?
They are pretty quiet out of the box and easy to silence (although their new "prescott ready" ones have fan holes in the side door.
So what mATX case has the PSU 27mm above the edge of the mobo.
Not many ATX Cases do.
I was hoping to find out how people got around these issues.(and any other issues that have cropped up)
Thermal right have been my first choice in heatsinks since the SLK-800 ( I have only just retired it due to the SI-97) .

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon May 30, 2005 5:28 pm

Hello:

Many mobo's have the socket very close to the top edge -- so yes the Sonata and the Evercase are too cramped for an XP120. There are (maybe) a few cases that could fit it on those motherboards, but it is more likely that you will need to consider a more compact HS: the XP90 was already suggested, but in extreme cases, you might have to resort to the Alpha or an earlier 80mm Thermalright.