Motherboards Mini ITX/CPU Cooler Combinations

Hi there i am after some advice on 3 mini ITX boards,

They are:

• Asus P8H77-I

• Gigabyte GA-H77N Wifi

• Asrock H77M-ITX

Can anyone tell me which after market air coolers fit on these boards WITHOUT obstructing the PCI slot?

I am open to suggestions of any other mini ITX boards.

Thanks in advance!

 

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productvideos&products_id=50
Or Scythe Kozuti

 

That noctua looks the badger's nadgers!

I can't believe i've never heard of it before!

Thanks atanum141

 

Its just been released thats why, silentpcreview have just done a review of it so look for it, TBH I dont think you can get any better than this, i was looking for myself and it seems perfect.

 

The Asus P8Z77-I is designed with the CPU slot more centered on the board in order to be compatible with high end coolers

H77 isn't really an enthusiast chipset anyway, this kind of feature isn't expected

For example:




Embed vimeo video

 

Thanks docodine. That's the sort of thing I was after. Did notice on that board that the sata ports are hidden by the PCI card . Poor design IMO

 

You generally have to get creative when you dip into mini-ITX

 

There's not exactly much space on it to put them elsewhere You just plug them in first then zip tie them together that's all Work from the inside of the board, outwards.

 

Do you need a giant cooler or are you looking for something that's simply better/quieter than the intel boxed heatsink?

If you want something inexpensive that cools better and operates very quietly I'd take a gander at something like this: http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/cpu/7/.html?c=2181

 

@Bindibadgi, I hear you about space issues but I have seen other ITX boards that have managed to plonk SATA ports near open edges.

@Neogumbercules, I don't necessarily need a monster cooler, in fact I'd prefer a smallish one! But yes as long as it is quieter than intel stock, I think for a HTPC, intel stock is simply not quiet enough IMO. Thanks for the linky, that thing looks decent!

My cooler choice is fairly important as it wil ultimately dictate which board I buy but it seems as though that will fit any SFF boards...

 

I've got a H77-I and have a Scythe Shuriken. You just have to make sure the heat pipes Pass over the RAM slots rather than the PCI-E slot. It does mean using low profile RAM, but that isn't really an issue

 

Thanks BeauchN. I intend to use corsair XMS3, which is pretty low as far as coolers go. What RAM sticks fit under your shuriken?

 

I'm using Corsair Vengeance low profile. I'll see if I can find a pic when I get home to show the clearance

N

Edit - This probably shows the clearance the best:

 

Thanks for that beauchN. Does the cooler over hang the PCI slot??

 

No, the PCI slot is fine as long as the shuriken is mounted that way. If you rotate it 90 degrees the PCI slot is covered and the RAM slots are clear.

 

Ok cool. That's reassuring should I eventually choose that cooler. Thanks again for taking the time to help me on ths one BeauchN!

 

Because they've put the CPU socket in the middle and the chipset on the outside, giving even less space between the CPU and PCIe slot They are H61/H77 boards with very few VRMs. And again, all mini-ITX cases have HDD/SSD going anywhere but 'normal' places and you'll still need to plug in USB 3 and 4-pin 12V power socket before everything else so it doesn't matter

 

http://www.asus.com/websites/Global/products/8rrhd5iJZMNojc2z/lkpq2whHjMbzUSAU_500.jpg

doesn't matter for a custom build anyway!

 

crucial released some VLP (very low profile) DDR3 memory that are not ECC memories
http://www.pcinpact.com/news/75416-...al-lp-onze-kits-ddr3-low-profile.htm?skipua=1

 

Yup. And for a H77 board your CPU will never exceed the 77W TDP so you can use the Intel stock cooler or something equally as small and it'll never overhang the PCIe slot next to it