Low profile silent heatsink+Fan for HTPC

[lirsch]

Hi All "Coolers" ...
I'm going to build an i3 (530/540) or i5 (750) HTPC system which will be used mostly for watch Full HD movies, hearing lossless music (attached to Onkyo-607 receiver) and playing a low/mid level graphic games.
I'd like to find the optimal CPU heatsink + fan (low profile) and case fans which will fit an HTPC case (if you can write me the case's model it will even be better) which will be as silent as it can be (water cooling is not an option) and will spread the hot tempratures as best as it can be.
I was looking for many hours for the optimal solution in this site, at frostytech.com, quietpc.com etc ... but haven't find the best solution yet.

 

[MadScientist]

I'm using a Scythe SCSK-1100 SHURIKEN Rev.B low profile CPU cooler on my i3-530 in a Lian Li P-P37 HTPC case. Cheapest I found it shipped - Bing cash was here: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=...pes-CPU-Cooler Google for reviews.

Pics of my HTPC in this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=45364&page=30

The Scythe cooler was fairly easy to install. Due to top of the push pins being so close to the bottom of the fins it almost impossible to install it in the case. I'm not a big fan of push pins, but since this cooler is light and sits horizontally they will do.

If my TV stand shelf was a little higher I would have used the Silverstone Grandia GDO5 case; bigger fans, more room, and cheaper, $89.99 shipped from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Silverstone+Grandia+GD05&x=17&y=11
Review: http://www.silentpcreview.com/silverstone-gd05

 

[Yellowbeard]

Purely out of curiosity, why have you ruled out water cooling?

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Shuriken and big shuriken are good options. Another option is to rip the fan off the stock heatsink and rig a quiet 120mm fan onto it (temps should be better than stock, plus quieter).

 

[lirsch]

Purely out of curiosity, why have you ruled out water cooling?

Well, first, I am newbie to it and I'm not going to handle it anyway so ... It's opt out

 

[lirsch]

MadScientist thank you for the reply, I'll take a look at it ...

Any other options?

 

[HumblePie]

Ever look at the corsair h50?

 

[lirsch]

Ever look at the corsair h50?

Sorry, no water cooling...

 

[frostedflakes]

Chalk up another recommendation for the Big Shuriken. Just be careful about compatibility, the heatsink is low profile but very wide. It's tall enough to clear normal sized RAM modules, but if you buy ones with tall heatsinks you'll probably run into issues.

Also, if you don't plan on overclocking, you might consider undervolting the CPU to further reduce heat and noise.

 

[lirsch]

Chalk up another recommendation for the Big Shuriken. Just be careful about compatibility, the heatsink is low profile but very wide. It's tall enough to clear normal sized RAM modules, but if you buy ones with tall heatsinks you'll probably run into issues.

Also, if you don't plan on overclocking, you might consider undervolting the CPU to further reduce heat and noise.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Do you think the Big Shuriken is the best heatsink out there? What is the best silent fan I can add for it?

Do you have any idea for a compatible case?

 

[Yellowbeard]

I have really enjoyed the case and cooling combo I used here: http://www.corsair.com/systembuild/report.aspx?report_id=1157274

In fact, I'm still "testing" it daily in my living room. The case looks good with my other equipment and is simple yet functional.

Good luck with your build.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I would chime in to help, but I am of the opposite camp, get a huge case with huge heatsinks and huge slow moving fans to stay silent....