passive xp-120 vs xp-90/c?

kentc · Post by **kentc** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:44 am

hej igen,

so i'm building a custom case and i wanna cool the cpu passively. because of size of the case i cannot go for a tower cooler.

in the spcr recommended list it is presumed that the xp-90c would cool as well as an xp-120; what are your takes on this passively? how much less effective would the al xp-90 be in this application? the heatsink would be ducted via the cag so that the cases actual only air intake is through the heatsink - thus creating a decent airflow through the heatsink.

gut feeling is the 120 would be better but i might have to go for the xp-90 due to mobo restrictions or do you guys have another suggestion for a (relatively) low profile cooler that can handle a venice 3000+ passively?

just-dont-know-what-to-do-kent.

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:19 am

for passive cooling, you want lots of space between the fins on the heatsink. id say the xp-120 would work best. if you cant fit it you might try the si-120. they perform within 1c of each other, but the si version is slightly taller and is compatable with almost every motherboard.

kentc · Post by **kentc** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:47 pm

for my application 90mm versus 63mm is just too much. the si-120 would actually stick out of the case; something i've actually considered incorporating in my design. but the fact that i might need an intake fan on the hs in case the cooling of the mobo just isn't enough with just the one exhaust-fan would spoil the whole look. with the xp-120 and xp-90c atleast the ugly fan would stay within the case.

an xp-90c sure is a beauty sticking out the side of the case though.... i'm thinking almost like the airintake on an sixties/seventies american muscle car 8)