problem with NH-U12P SE1366

[annapanagiot]

Hello

A company is building my PC containing the NH-U12P SE1366 cpu cooler, the i7 920 cpu, the Asus P6T Deluxe mainboard and the Corsair 6GB DDR3 XMS3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz (3x2GB) Triple Channel DDR3 memory.

They are telling me that there is a potential problem with the cpu cooler which could make the PC unstable and freezing often. They suggest instead to use the stock Intel cpu fan and they describe the problem in this photo

Any ideas or help please?

Many thanks!
George

 

[Tweakin]

First off, welcome to the forum.

As to answer your question, they may be right. I just cooked my chip due to the motherboard socket not allowing the chip to sit high enough above the rim to allow for the aftermarket coolers to make contact, whereas the stock one did as the base is much smaller.

I had the same setup you are talking about and mine is now in the RMA cycle. Not sure what I'm going to do, hopefully it was just that board.

 

[gorobei]

they're being overly cautious(typical corporate covering their backside) unless you are overclocking that thing, there should be enough airflow from the case fans.

if you are still worried, go to the noctua website and check the motherboard compatibility charts for the asus board.

if you are still worried then, get the down blowing noctua cooler "c12p" or something. available with skt1366 mounting brackets.

 

[zagood]

Sounds like a company that doesn't build "enthusiast" systems.

I won't say they're completely full of crap, because it is a valid concern in theory, but doesn't really make too much of a difference in practice.

-z

 

[annapanagiot]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome.

If I understand it correctly, then what you say is that there does seem to be a risk but it's pretty low and if I wanted no risk at all then I should go for the Noctua NH-C12P fan instead?

I spoke to Noctua as well and they actually suggested the same thing. Now I don't plan to do any overclocking so perhaps I should stick with the U12P fan but on the other hand I am thinking why should I take any risks with a new and expensive rig?

btw, here's a better photo

Thanks again!

 

[Tweakin]

Having had that exact same setup, there is no way I would go with the original Intel heatsink...but then again I wouldn't want them to ship my that board with any aftermarket HS installed...just too large.

Let them install the Intel sink, get the board in your hands, and if the temps start to get to warm for you, comon back and we can help you get a much better heat sink installed. IT's a win-win!

 

[wwswimming]

it's a completely valid concern - people don't watercool northbridge's for fun.

i know this system isn't watercooled, i'm just saying all those peripheral chips around the
CPU need to stay temperate if not cool, and some of them generate a lot of heat.

this is the problem with tower coolers in general.

one workaround is the use of a RAM cooler in addition to the tower cooler - but then,
notice how the system is getting more complex.

my personal favorite design is the Zalman 7700 Cu, because it has a VERY direct
route from the CPU heat source to the fins, and because it blows air (heated slightly
by the CPU) all over the surrounding components.

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?Item=N82E16835118115

granted, it doesn't perform the best, i just like the design.

http://www.frostytech.com/

has good performance charts, though they just measure CPU temperature,
not northbridge temp or RAM temp or power processing circuitry temp.

i have a Noctua NH-12P with a socket 775 system (E6850 CPU). it does
work fine, also.

 

[PCTC2]

If they give you all the accessories that come with the P6T Deluxe, then you'll get 2 standoffs for a 40mm fan to blow onto the northbridge if you wanted extra airflow. Also, you'll get a fan that's for when you watercool only, but you could mount it with your tower and it blows on the back PWMs. May interrupt exhaust a bit but it would redirect some air on the HS of the PWM circuitry.

 

[exar333]

Originally posted by: wwswimming
it's a completely valid concern - people don't watercool northbridge's for fun.

i know this system isn't watercooled, i'm just saying all those peripheral chips around the
CPU need to stay temperate if not cool, and some of them generate a lot of heat.

this is the problem with tower coolers in general.

one workaround is the use of a RAM cooler in addition to the tower cooler - but then,
notice how the system is getting more complex.

my personal favorite design is the Zalman 7700 Cu, because it has a VERY direct
route from the CPU heat source to the fins, and because it blows air (heated slightly
by the CPU) all over the surrounding components.

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?Item=N82E16835118115

granted, it doesn't perform the best, i just like the design.

http://www.frostytech.com/

has good performance charts, though they just measure CPU temperature,
not northbridge temp or RAM temp or power processing circuitry temp.

i have a Noctua NH-12P with a socket 775 system (E6850 CPU). it does
work fine, also.

He is building an i7 rig, so the Northbridge is a non-concern. If you want to OC your i7 (of course you do!) then the Noctua is a great option. If you don't want to OC, stick with the stock cooling, but you won't get above 3.0-3.2 with anything resembling low temps.

The Noctua works great.

 

[gorobei]

the c12p isn't a fan, it's a different heatsink cooler. the fin array points the fan down towards the board, so the airflow hits the surrounding m/b fin-pipe arrays. it functions the same way as the stock cooler without using a radial/orb array of fins.

the reason you don't want a radial/orb array is that the taper of the gap as you reach the core gets tighter and traps dust which accumulates and forms a big old insulating layer (reducing performance). that's why i will never use a zalman orb ever again. parallel fin arrays like the n12p have constant spacing so there is no choke point for dust.

and if this is a work machine, reliability and silence are more important than OC performance. the noctua is the better choice for those criteria.