New build using Antec P180 and Thermalright

[Hauk]

I'm putting an E6600 / 8800 GTX system together and chose the nVidia 650i chipset. After some research I've decided on a 100% Thermalright cooling solution.

Upgrading the cheap passive heatsink on the Asus P5N-E SLI is first order of business. Reviewers said the heatsink gets blazing hot Asus P5N-E SLI nVidia 650i Motherboard. The naked southbridge gets warm too, so I'm slapping this on it: Alpha 35x9.5mm Heatsink.

I selected the Thermalright HR-01 for the CPU and the HR-05 for the chipset:
Thermalright HR-01
Thermalright HR-05

I'm upgrading the CPU retention mechanism: Upgraded Bolt-Thru Retention Mechanism.

The HR-01 can be connected to a 120mm case fan by a fan duct. After taking some measurements, I'm confident either of my Antec P180 fans will work, though I intend to hook it up to the top fan: Antec P180 120mm fans.

The HR-01 with Intel fan duct

Here's it working

Here's how the HR-01 and HR-05 will look together

I'll update with pics after the build.

 

[BassBomb]

it should work very well actually, because of the fact your NB cooler will be in line with the air too

my suggestion would be use the top fan duct, but flip the fan so it is an intake

 

[Hauk]

Yes, having the chipset cooler fins in line with the cpu fins will work well I hope.

I thought about reversing the top fan for use with the duct. That would prevent hot air from the 8800GTX from being sucked in. I might try it both ways and take some temp readings. Thanks...

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: SteelSix
Yes, having the chipset cooler fins in line with the cpu fins will work well I hope.

I thought about reversing the top fan for use with the duct. That would prevent hot air from the 8800GTX from being sucked in. I might try it both ways and take some temp readings. Thanks...

PLEASE and i say PLEASE look at cable management, or how the guys did it SPCR b4 you go ahead and build.

Well not unless ur already a cable management guru. I cant stand newbies that say the P180 is hard to do cable management, when me and tons of other people have done it fine. It just takes a bit of work and some time in planning.


Also i did a simular layout of your design with my brothers b4 i migrated him to water. I used a Scythe Ninja with a closed duct system thats in SPCR. It was close to dead quite with yates and the cpu never broke 35. MB temp, and not core temp. I did not know of coretemp when i built his computer.

But you should seriously check out SPCR. SilentPCReview.com incase u dont know

 

[idiotekniQues]

i have a very similar build with the same mobo comin up in a couple days. i also have the HR-05 coming - but instead of the HR-01 i have a scythe ninja rev. b. will that duct work with the ninja?

 

[idiotekniQues]

the ninja is 110mm on each side. im really hopin that it will fit with a hr05 on the NB. it should be close but ok i think from eyeballing it. otherwise id have to get a different heatsink.

anybody that has this board can you measure how far down a ninja will go towards the NB chipset?

to the OP, the HR-01 is 110mm x 60mm. can you just see if an hr-05 will fit on the nb with the hr-01 110mm side heading down towards the NB chipset?

thanks.

 

[Hauk]

I'll post a couple pics with the HR-01 mounted both ways to show clearance.

I'm gonna keep the top fan pointing out with the duct hooked up. The back 120mm fan should pull a good bit of heat out from the GTX. I like the idea of air being sucked up from the chipset cooler thru the CPU cooler and out the duct.

As far as cable management, yea I'm anal. I've built with the P180 before. It's not that big a deal. I have a good modular psu, and a drawer full of zip ties...

 

[idiotekniQues]

oh cool. so if you are posting pics with the hr-01 both ways that means there is clearance both ways?

if so then i am golden

ive been worrying about this all week since i made the order.

cant wait to see your pics and see your temps. im goign to build patient with the p180 and get good cable management. i can see taht a lot of noobs just dont have patience and call thsi case a disaster.

 

[idiotekniQues]

pics


sorry for being impatient

 

[Hauk]

I'm waiting on parts.

It will be a tight fit but I think you'll be okay. I have an Asus P5N 570 with the same layout as the Asus 650i. My Freezer Pro 7 is 104mm wide and there's clearance at the northbridge heatsink, which is wider vertically than the HR-05. The HR-05 is only 19mm wide

Current clearance pic

Regarding the P180 and cable management, it's a versitile case that has maybe too many features. I liked the lower 120mm fan, but had a hell of a time working around it. I removed it and routed cables through the opening.

One last thing, there's room for an 8800GTX with upper drive cage installed.

 

[imported_browsing]

After looking over that link, would a full lower cage require the middle fan? Right now my 320s are settled at 33c with the fan there (pain the ass, I'm using a silencer 610, which is long)... any idea how much I could let them heat up before it became a problem?

If you wouldn't mind taking a few more pictures given that your build looks pretty clean to me so far and I could use a bit of inspiration.

 

[Hauk]

I started taking it apart already. On heat from drives in the lower cage, take a look at the cable routing pic again. Notice I removed the plastic thingy that closes off the compartment openings. My thinking was, if any heat comes from the drives, it would find it's way through the openings before it found it's way to my bottom located psu fan. There's sufficient air flow in the top compartment to handle a little heat leaking up from the lower area IMO.

 

[88NovaTwincam]

Sweet set-up OP! I don't like how the bottom of the HR-01 is Nickel plated.. Isn't copper better!
or if you don't mess with the IHS is - nickel to AS5 to nickel - better way to go?

 

[thilanliyan]

I have the HR-05 on my DS3 and it cools very well. Unfortunately, my Big Typhoon rests right up against it.

 

[theangel24]

can u even fit an 8800 gtx? i've read from some people that it's too long to fit inside the p180 and that u have to remove the upper HD cage to make it fit.

 

[idiotekniQues]

a lot of misinformation about that card and this case is out there.

in fact in a thread at the maximumpc forums they still list the p180 as a case that CANNOT fit this graphics card at all - ever after i posted links showing people that had put it in.

you can actually fit it with the hard drive cage still on, but with only 1 not 2 drives in it:

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=1061418&postcount=38

 

[VooDooAddict]

Originally posted by: idiotekniQues
a lot of misinformation about that card and this case is out there.

in fact in a thread at the maximumpc forums they still list the p180 as a case that CANNOT fit this graphics card at all - ever after i posted links showing people that had put it in.

you can actually fit it with the hard drive cage still on, but with only 1 not 2 drives in it:

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=1061418&postcount=38

I've always seen that the P180 will fit a 8800GTX with concessions.

- Some have said the Hard drive cage needs to be removed.
- Some have said the optional fan simply can't be installed.
- You say that it even fits with one HD in the cage.

I think listing the P180 as a non-compatible case for the 8800GTX is still valid. I've not seen anyone state that they can fit a 8800GTX and still fully use that HD Cage and optional fan.

If it's a raw "Yes/No" for compatibility the P180 gets a No with a 8800GTX ... sure give it a No*** with a footnote but the fact remains that it's not perfect.

 

[idiotekniQues]

that is completely unreasonable. a simple NO is not a valid answer.

the fact remains is that this card will fit in this case with one of some VERY minor conditions.

if somebody has a p180 and sees a NO answer to their query, they might just run out and get a new case when all they have to do is relocate a hard drive, if they even have one there in the first place. what is valid about that?

it should always be noted that the p180 CAN fit the card but with certain minor stipulations that do not involve any hard modding.

what is amusing is that in the same thread designed to be informative, they list other cases where the card will fit but with some stipulations as well, or some minor modding - but the p180 gets the straight up NO label.

 

[VooDooAddict]

Originally posted by: idiotekniQues
what is amusing is that in the same thread designed to be informative, they list other cases where the card will fit but with some stipulations as well, or some minor modding - but the p180 gets the straight up NO label.

I didn't read the other thread. If they list other cases that need minor modding as yes then they should also list the P180. I'm speaking from the perspective of a system builder / QA.

From an Official NVIDIA Hardware Compatibility list it should be a No*** with foot note.

 

[idiotekniQues]

to the OP - how is your build coming?

i have about 1/3 of my parts, i know the rest are being delivered tomorrow, confirmed with the shipping company. ill be workin on it in the evening.

 

[Hauk]

Slower than I want! I got my mobo and chipset heatsink today, get the cpu heatsink tomorrow. Impressions so far:

The southbridge has heatsink mounting holes which I wasn't aware of. I'm sure it doesn't need more than what I installed; but a push pin heatsink would have been nice. Seeing a design for a heatsink but no heatsink does make one realize how much mobo mfrs are skimping these days. Here's the Alpha heatsink I put on.

Removing the stock NB heatsink, I was pleased to see Asus using a quality thermal paste. The white part is a neoprene-like shim: Stock chipset cooler.

The HR-05 installed without a hitch. Be sure to use the included shim. I oriented it horizontally despite the chipset being diagonal. If you look at this picture, you can see the cpu heatsink dimension outline.. If the HR-05 was mounted diagonally, it would interfere with a larger cpu heatsink.

It has good balance the way it's sitting though and is centered on the die. I'm confident it will be fine in this orientitation. The retention clip rests on the heatsink until pinned in place, which allows it to move or fall off as your lining things up. A bit tricky, but I like to think of it as a space dock... down, down, left, click!

It's looking pretty so far

Probably Thursday with build pics and temps...

 

[idiotekniQues]

nice shots. i will also have to install my hr-05 that way as i have to fit a ninja on my core2.

its really good to see results a bit ahead of when i do them.

i have half of my parts here. i also got a black southbridge heatsink that will attach with thermal tape like yours. i figured as well that it would be enough considering there is nada on there now.

i just graduated with my bachelors so i just started sending out resumes now which means i really have no commitments tomorrow besides sending out some emails and making some phone calls and i can make building the main endeavor of the day.

i expect to dedicate all of my day tomorrow to this build. fed-ex confirmed on the phone all the rest of my parts are coming so i should have pics by the mid to late evening if fed-ex comes early afternoon - they usually come mornin to noontime anyways.

your build is ahead of mine, so good luck finishing it up! i expect we shall be posting from our new rigs 2morra.

 

[idiotekniQues]

build is all done and started up on the first click. bios sees everything a-ok.

this board does fit a scythe ninja and the TT HR-05 on the NB chipset with about 3/4 inch space between them.

taking off the nb heastink was a bit nerveracking till i figured out the best way with needlenosed pliers.

yes this case is a bit more time-consuming to get set-up. they really should have made the case a couple inches longer so you could have more room in the bottom compartment for cables. i have four hard drives in the bottom compartment and it is a mess. of course the one ide drive is not helping matters, gonna have to figure out something for this cable later.

but i think the rewards of the case are worth it. looks great and is super quiet. i even put an extra fan in the front. ill find out my temps later on.

i think this case is definitely not as hard to use as people make it out to be, it just requires a bit more patience.

 

[lopri]

I've started putting together my system, too. It's been sitting outside for sometime and I was just too lazy. My build is similar to the OP's yet different. Beautiful job, OP.

In my case, I'm trying to make the cabling as neat as possible. I swapped the NB with HR-05-SLI, and the SB with an EverCool twinky or something. Both fit fine with Scythe Infinty and 8800 GTX.

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/2830/dsc0126401rm9.jpg
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/8426/dsc0140201rl9.jpg

Didn't mean to hijack the thread. I appreciate OP's sharing of experience and wanted to confirm that most nForce-based boards are compatible with Thermalright HR-05(-SLI).

 

[Bobalude]

-edit-
nevermind, found an updated link answering my question.