Question Creative solutions? 2U HTPC build

[Mr Bob]

Based on price/performance, I’m building an i5-26000k in a 2U rack mount form factor, but having trouble finding acooler that fits..

So space is fairly limited… and so are all the LGA 1700 coolers…

needless to say, with my GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 motherboard, I’ve found some compatibility issues with various coolers.

Theres no need for a dedicated CPU, or any 5.25 slots in this 2U chassis, so I’ve taken out everything since I just need the MB, m.2 stick that sits low on board, and a low profile x4 slot. Most ram is short enough to fit fine in 2U.

Most mATX MBs seem to have capacitors near the cpu, so more flush mounted fan based, low profile cpus won’t fit, as is the case with the Noctua NH-L9i-17xx.

I figured a shorter liquid cooled option would work, single fan and radiator fits wonderful in the 2U space with lots of breathing room and directly near a cool air intake! Now my problem is the linesfrom the cooler to the radiator are so thick and unable to turn enough to fit within 2U. I tried the Artic II 120 with the LGA 1700 bracket.

 

[Mr Bob]

I think this more flexible cooler will work better… a basic fan only provides about an inch of empty space whereas a radiator provies about 2.5 inches and sits behind a cool air intake.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082LK9YYQ?psc=1&smid=A2OFKT6GABPTWG&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

Although I would prefer to run a long tried and true Artic brand, looks like Ernermax has an option that should fit and maintain solid airflow throughout the chassis… still don’t like a limited 5 yr warranty, so this will probably sit at the bottom of the rack in case of leaks…

 

[sdifox]

Server chasis tend to use passive cooler for the cpu and a whole bunch of fans to draw air in from front and blow it to the back.

 

[Mr Bob]

It looks like the Enermax Aquafusion 120 fits just fine, mostly because the pipes are flexible in terms of being able to rotate left/right on the cpu cooler.

I'm leaving it out of the rack for a week to keep an eye on temps. So far my idle temps are around 32 C, about 40 C under normal loads.

 

[Mr Bob]

We’ll… this Enermax Aquafusion 120 can’t seem to keep the temps down under full load.

When trying to encode HEVC the CPU jumped from 32 to 100 C before I killed the process and shut it down. This is with a 32 C idle temp, fully open chassis, 3 80mm fans blowing the ambient air of 75 F around through the components.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I know it has been a month, but have you looked at the Noctua NH-L9x65 ? It is compatible with that CPU and motherboard, and should be low profile enough to fit in a 2U case (at only 65mm tall). It is also rated to be able to get the top turbo speeds on that CPU. Personally I have not used that cooler but I do use 2xNoctua's NH-U9DX i4 heatsinks in my 4U server.

The only other option I know of is the Dynatron Q5, but don't expect that to be quiet. It's fan hits 8000RPM in order to handle 125W CPU's (and the i5-12600k is something like 125 - 150W TDP, so this heatsink may even be a little undergunned).

 

[aigomorla]

im stilll lost in how you managed to fit an AIO in a 2U.