Concerns about size of Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro

[rocketbubba]

Have an A64 3400+ and would like to replace the stock AMD cooler I'm using. I'm on a tight budget and have been looking for an inexpensive (read < $30 shipped) solution that would cool not only the cpu but also the ram that sits nearby. After doing a bunch of research I'm about to go with the AC Freezer 64 Pro but I'm concerned about its size. I'm ok with its height but it's the width that concerns me. I'm using a Chaintech VNF3-250 motherboard which doesn't have much room between the cpu bracket and the ram. In fact, the ram sits only about 22mm away from the side of the stock cooler I'm using now - it's close. It looks like the fan on the Freezer Pro would be right up against the ram. From the pictures it looks like the cooler might stand high enough that the fan might clear the top edge of the ram but I'm not sure. I looked on AC's webpage but didn't see a motherboard guide. Anybody out there using this cooler and could tell me if this cooler might work for me? If not, can anyone recommend a good cooler that might fit? Thanks.

 

[cdjr]

I have the Pro 64 and it does set close to the ram on my Asus board. But it sets high enough that even if it slightly overlapped the ram it would still clear the modules.
I just made sure to install the ram before the heatsink to make things easier.

One of the reviews I read showed a picture of how they had cut off the bottom ring of the fan guard so that it easily cleared their ram. It doesn't compromise the integrity of the fan guard to cut the bottom section. But they had Corsair ram with the "flashing LED" which is taller than most non-LED ram modules.
Looked around for the review so you could check it out but can't find it right now.

 

[jmke]

worst case scenario you'll have to cut into the Freezer a bit, nothing too drastic though, and the small change won't change performance.

 

[rocketbubba]

Thanks much for the input. I'll look for that review with the pictures. Are there any other solutions I should be looking at? I've been offered one of those new AMD heatpipe HSFs for a good price but I'm concerned about noise. The AC Freezer Pro is supposed to be super quiet. Any other help is welcome. Thanks.

 

[JasonSix78]

Here's a pic of mine to maybe give you some idea:

Text

I'm still able to remove and replace the RAM in the #1 slot without much of a hassle. It clears the top of the stick by about 10-12mm. I can take a closer pic if it will help you out.

This is a great cooler, BTW.

-Jason

 

[RallyMaster]

Mine sits right on top of two sticks of RAM, the fan guard as well as the blades clear the fan perfectly fine.

 

[rocketbubba]

Thanks very much for all the input. The picture was especially helpful. I think it'll work fine. Just one more question: since the fan sits almost on top of the ram, I'm guessing it'll do a good job of pulling heat off the ram - is that right? I have a temp sensor on one of my sticks of ram (attached on one of the heatspreader clips) that indicates the ram gets pretty warm in there. I had thought about getting a cooler that cools everything around it. Will this cooler work with that? Thanks again!

 

[RallyMaster]

From what I can feel, yes, it does cool the RAM. Whatever hot air that's rising up from RAM is sucked into the Freezer. However, I don't think RAM produces as much heat as people think, so it really shouldn't be much of a problem.