I need a HSF recommendation

[Vertaxis]

Soon I will be building a server with a socket 1155 Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 Ivy Bridge processor. Can anyone recommend a good heat pipe heatsink that can fit in a 3U rack chassis?

Thanks

 

[Carson Dyle]

What's the goal? Overclocking? Quiet?

Do you have a max amount that you want to spend?

 

[Vertaxis]

What's the goal? Overclocking? Quiet

I want to replace the stock heatsink with something more efficient. Quiet is nice. I will not be overclocking. Don't worry about money; I'm looking for options at the moment.

 

[Carson Dyle]

3U is 5.25" or about 133 mm externally, less internally, and then subtract the motherboard offset. That rules out any tower HSF with 120mm fan. I just got a Xigmatek tower with a 92mm fan and it measures 135mm tall, so I'd also guess that few, if any, towers with 92mm fans will fit. Going smaller than a 92mm fan isn't going to be particularly quiet.

That mostly leaves HSFs with horizontal, down-blowing (or angled) fans. You can't use one that just fits, because it would be up against the top of the case and you'd have poor airflow. So you may need something relatively low profile. I'd try to keep it under 100mm. A Noctua NH-L12 would probably work well, but I haven't used one.

 

[lehtv]

I want to replace the stock heatsink with something more efficient. Quiet is nice. I will not be overclocking. Don't worry about money; I'm looking for options at the moment.

I just bought that CPU for a mini-ITX rig. Temps (off the top of my head) 40C idle, 75C-78C in Prime95 with a GPU right next to it and a single 120mm 800RPM intake. Quite alright. The idle noise is engulfed by the other fans (GPU - his 7850 iceq @ 20%, front 120mm, PSU) and the load noise is alright.

I suggest building the PC with the stock cooler first and only then deciding if you want to change it up. If you find the noise level too high, a low-profile Scythe Shuriken should fit in the case.

 

[DSF]

I've used the Shuriken in a fairly cramped case and it does a great job.

That said, I agree with lehtv. I'm not sure what you mean by the stock cooler not being efficient enough. If it keeps the CPU cool it's doing its job...whether that's at 70C or 80C doesn't matter much.