I have two 3U rackmount cases in a studio that I've been trying to get really quiet. We unfortunately couldn't go for 4U cases due to space limitations in the rack.
The rackmount CPU heatsinks that I've seen for sale as passive aren't really. They are counting on a high noisy air flow through the case.
I'm now looking for a large CPU heatsink that can either run passive or with a low speed quiet fan for an AMD AM2 4800 or an Intel E6600.
I was hoping to get one that could blow through and not up/down to/from the motherboard.
Height is the limitation though. To get one in "comfortably" it needs to really be not more than 100mm.
Thought I could possibly make the mini-ninja work as the one I got measures about 105mm but the caps on the heat pipes just barley rise a few mm too high.
Tempted to try and take the caps off (if that's even possible) as if I recall they are decorative and the pipes themselves are crimped but don't want to ruin it either. Have been tinkering with modifying the cover somehow without messing up the 3U mounting space.
In the meantime I'm looking for any hints as to what heatsinks might work for this.
Thanks.
Passive 3U CPU heatsink
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
hello,
I think that fitting a mini ninja in your case is worth the effort as it is the only low airflow h/s in this height. Removing the caps may or may not shave those 5mm off the height so I vote for modifying the top cover. You could easily drill a few holes above the cap positions to make room for them. You could install the ninja, put a little paint on the tips of the caps, allign the top cover and let it slightly touch the painted parts, the marks left should allow you to drill the holes in the correct positions.
best of luck!
I think that fitting a mini ninja in your case is worth the effort as it is the only low airflow h/s in this height. Removing the caps may or may not shave those 5mm off the height so I vote for modifying the top cover. You could easily drill a few holes above the cap positions to make room for them. You could install the ninja, put a little paint on the tips of the caps, allign the top cover and let it slightly touch the painted parts, the marks left should allow you to drill the holes in the correct positions.
best of luck!
Yes, I really do like the idea of using the "Minja" now that I have one.
Thanks for the idea. Hmmm.. as it is I can't have anything sticking up through the top cover as these are rackmount cases where one system sits on top of the other in the rack. There's less than 1mm clearance between the two systems (enough to let them slide out on the rails).
And of course now that I say that I realize I would have the problem either way (padding the cover edges to raise it up or the hole in the cover for the Minga). I'd probably use a 120mm hole saw I have instead of trying to drill the 12 holes for the heat pipe caps if I went that way.
Need to look again and see if I could move things around or if there is enough slack in the rails and other equipment to accommodate.
Wish the MB standoffs were just a smidge shorter to help this out.
It would probably interfere with the cards not seating correctly though.
Thanks for the idea. Hmmm.. as it is I can't have anything sticking up through the top cover as these are rackmount cases where one system sits on top of the other in the rack. There's less than 1mm clearance between the two systems (enough to let them slide out on the rails).
And of course now that I say that I realize I would have the problem either way (padding the cover edges to raise it up or the hole in the cover for the Minga). I'd probably use a 120mm hole saw I have instead of trying to drill the 12 holes for the heat pipe caps if I went that way.
Need to look again and see if I could move things around or if there is enough slack in the rails and other equipment to accommodate.
Wish the MB standoffs were just a smidge shorter to help this out.
It would probably interfere with the cards not seating correctly though.
You've got nothing to lose by taking the decorative nuts off the Mini, so you might as well start there. They're only held on with hot melt glue. All you have to do is twist/pull on them with a pr of pliers. I barely shoehorned a Minja into an nMediapc case by doing this.
If removing them doesn't get you the clearance you need, you could always just glue them back on - good as new.
If removing them doesn't get you the clearance you need, you could always just glue them back on - good as new.