CPU Heatsink Configuration

[Postoasted]

I have a standard PC case which has the side cover permanently off. My heat sink a Thermalright Ultima 90 is too tall to close the cover. My computer has a Core 2 duo E6300 clocked at 3.2ghz. At idle the temperature is about 35c. Under load it will go to 72c. I have a 120mm fan connected to the heat sink which cranks up to 1600 rpm when under load. I was wondering because the case is a typical tower style case the heat sink is not really above the CPU. Of course it's bolted down on top of it, but when in the case it's really on its side in relation to the floor. I think that a lot of heat sink reviews are conducted with the motherboard laid flat on a workbench and not sitting in a tower case where the orientation of the motherboard is perpendicular to the floor. Is there a noticeable difference in heat dissipation between a heat sink mounted on a cpu where the motherboard is laid out flat to that of one where it's situated in a tower case and perpendicular to the floor? Is it possible to see some reviews with pictures taken in the infrared spectrum of heat sinks functioning in the configurations mentioned? In my thinking, I don't think tower type cases present the ideal cooling solution. Something more like a HTPC case but designed with overclocking in mind seems to me to be the better design for heat dissipation. Any ideas?

 

[RallyMaster]

Laying the heatsink down vs having it vertical should play a very small role considering the design of heatpipes. The heatpipe uses something called a wick to allow hot vapors to rise away from the hot CPU base and cool liquid to fall. What case are you using?

There is, in my opinion, no HTPC that caters toward overclocking. They're all catered towards silence and ease of use. And we all know that silence, unless you go water, isn't going to allow for the best overclocking results.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

First, there's no reason to leave the access panel removed. Just cut a hole for the top of the CPU cooler to protrude through. Unless you also have some sort of desk fan sitting next to the case, blowing into its open side, the missing door is quite likely to be creating assorted hot spots of dead air that wouldn't exist otherwise, with the side panel helping to guide the air flow.

The BTX design was a superior arrangement for air cooling that the potential of still greater heat from proposed 4 GHz-plus Intel P4 CPUs was created to deal with. Then, the fastest P4 ended up being the 3.8 EE. BTXes had the MB facing left instead of right, so the access panel was on the opposite side. But it was for a tower case, and the tower most definitely is the best arrangement for air cooling (any shape at all, of course, is more or less equally appropriate with a water cooled system).

I'm in the bedroom, awake, using a game-oriented machine in here, so I can't be sure, but "Frozen PC" seems to sound right for a place that tests heat sinks thoroughly, including taking zone temps in systems while testing.

 

[mpilchfamily]

You'll find you get better airflow and cooling if you mod the side cover to fit onto the system. Then the system will be able to properly vent the case. Or you need to place a desk top fan blowing into the side of the case.

 

[toadeater]

Originally posted by: Postoasted
Is there a noticeable difference in heat dissipation between a heat sink mounted on a cpu where the motherboard is laid out flat to that of one where it's situated in a tower case and perpendicular to the floor?

No, only a couple of degrees if you're talking about tower-style coolers. But there is a difference with top-down heatsinks if you mount one with the heatpipes facing up instead of horizontally. This can cause as much as an 8c difference, and has resulted in some top-down heatsinks getting unfair reviews.

Horizontal vs. vertical tests:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/in...2&limit=1&limitstart=6

Top-down heatsink installation:

http://www.bjorn3d.com/Materia...lation-orientation.jpg