Undecided on low-profile CPU cooler

[Parappaman]

Well it's me again
Now I need to cool down my ITX CPU. As usual when dealing with these tiny machines, space is rare and precious stuff.

I fitted a side 120mm fan, this leaves about 4,5 cm to the cooler. Thanks to this configuration though, I can leave the CPU cooler without an additional fan, so I'm looking for a good enough cooler having its block (fan excluded) tall as much as 4,5 cm. My first choice would have been the Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 Pro, but I can't find information about its height without the fan anywhere on the web. The GT is a sure fit, but I don't know if it will be good enough.
Browsing around, I found two interesting pieces of coolers: Spire BlueStar 1000 and 2000. They feature HDT technology and a promising block of fins, but still no information about height without a fan...
Any help will be highly appreciated, again!

[Parappaman]

Just a little update on this if anyone is interested.
I went for the Spire Bluestar 1000 as I have been able to measure it prior buying and it was a perfect fit. However, there was a catch: this cooler is CRAP in any concievable way.
Performance is WORSE than my stock, all-aluminum Intel heatsink, and it gets EVEN WORSE when only using the aforementioned big side fan (it's slower after all). I was expecting something better from a quad heatpipe, DHT cooler: the problem is its fins are not absorbing the heat away, so it gets unbelievably hot even at full fan speed.

[SebRad]

Hi, you might take a look at Zalman VF2000. If's a hybrid CPU and VGA cooler and only 45mm tall so may fit. It's rated for all s775 Core 2 Duo and Quad CPUs. With 4 heatpipes and a load of thin fins it looks like it could be an effective cooler. Whether it can cool quietly...
The Scythe Shuriken is 64mm tall inc 12mm fan, I guess that leaves the base at 52mm, too tall?
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 LP is 53mm including the fan so the base should fit your case.
Alpine 7 GT lists as 64mm tall and fan at 30mm so I guess the base is 34mm, the picture suggests this is about right. As far as I can tell the Alpine 7 pro will be too tall even with the fan removed, unless you want to "trim" it down!
Regards, Seb

[Parappaman]

Hi SebRad, thanks for your recommendations!
The VF2000 will probably fit, however: 1) it's EXTREMELY expensive; 2) I think on the Zotac 9300 there will be clearance issues with the memory modules; 3) I don't think I will be able to use it with the side fan alone, as it surely relies on its tiny and fast fan to move air through the cramped fins. It's not an option, too many drawbacks.

The Freezer LP is not an option as the block is a few millimeters too tall: the frame can't be completely removed, it holds the mounting hardware. Too bad as it was one of my primary choices...

Finally, the GT is a sure fit, but I really don't know if it will be cooled enough by the big fan alone, its design is really simple and may be ineffective... I may as well go for my stock cooler fanless!

However, maybe the Shuriken will be fine if I forego the side fan. But I might as well go for the Big Shuriken when doing it, or one of the others... Argh! My brain is melting!

[florinp3]

I was in a similar situation not long ago, I had 45 mm of clearance in my mini-ITX system for a semi-passive cooling. I'm now using the heat sink from this cooler: Asus K8A4-8LB3 (or K8A4-8SB3, I'm not sure what the difference is). It's a perfect fit and the fin orientation matches my airflow direction.

LE: Oh, it looks like you're looking for a LGA775 cooler, you didn't mention it in the first post. Maybe this one then.

[Parappaman]

Hi, thanks for reminding me to specify the socket, it totally passed from my mind

Anyway, that cooler looks pretty bad to me, it should at best equal the stock cooler. Maybe that's the one I need to use...

[Merlinen]

Go for the Big Shuriken, it works geart for me on my ITX htpc.
Cool my E7200 silent and cool

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