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I'm always awed in the size of the NH-D15 when I see it installed.

Did you see Linus cram one into a small form factor case? He originally tried using the Noctua passive CPU cooler, but it was too big.

Cued up at the point where he pulls out the fanless and slaps the NH-D15 in there. BTW: Nice to see there's now a black version of it, not that I care, but some people do:
https://youtu.be/PJHIZa7tMl4?t=741

FlyingPenguin wrote: ↑Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:24 pm Did you see Linus cram one into a small form factor case? He originally tried using the Noctua passive CPU cooler, but it was too big.

Cued up at the point where he pulls out the fanless and slaps the NH-D15 in there. BTW: Nice to see there's now a black version of it, not that I care, but some people do:
https://youtu.be/PJHIZa7tMl4?t=741

I like how the video cuts when he's trying to put the fan clip on. LOL I've always wanted to do a small form factor build but then I realize how much I like being able to move around in my case.

I wonder what your electric bill is with that monster setup including all those fans.

Another follow up. This is a high end gaming mobo with two M.2 SSD slots. On some cheaper boards, you can only use one or the other, or using one disables a PCI-E channel, and sometimes some SATA ports. This one fully supports both ports, though, as do most x570 chipset mobos.

There is a performance difference between them. The one closer to the CPU communicates directly with the CPU. I ended up using the bottom one for ease of access, but that one goes through the a PCI-E lane and thus the mobo chipset and there is some latency.

I didn't think is would matter much, but I just read an article that did some benchmarking and found there was a 3-10% performance difference depending on the use case. So I think I'm going to move it since this rig and the workstation both have super fast 7000 MB/s SSDs. Maybe not so important on the workstation, but why leave performance on the table, and also this will let the chipset run cooler.

I'll have to remove the CPU cooler temporarily to access it. May take the opportunity to put a bigger heatsink on the SSD as well. That sucker runs hot.

Here's that article:

Primary M.2 Socket vs Secondary M.2 Socket Which is Faster? The FPS Review
https://www.thefpsreview.com/2021/09/28 ... is-faster/

Okay, done. Very simple. I can confirm that on my mobo, the Asus TUF Gaming X570-PRO (WI-FI), swapping the NVME SSD froom the secondary to the primary M.2 slot was a snap. Mobo did beep and complain it couldn't find a bootable drive on first boot, but then the BIOS automatically searched for a bootable drive and configured to boot from that itself, so I didn't have to change boot order in BIOS myself. Very nice mobo.

Installed the Sabrent's own fancy copper heat pipe heatsink on the SSD when I moved it. It's $25. They sell cheaper ones that are all aluminum for $20 or a bit less.

Some reviewers of that Sabrent heatsink complained that the screw to attach the NVME to the mobo is not long enough, but I think they're just doing it wrong. They're probably taking the standoff off the mobo because they think they don't need it. You leave it on, and the heatsink has a recess for it. They also include a slightly longer screw with the heatsink, although the original that came with the mobo does fit.

I didn't have to take off the CPU cooler. I just took out the GPU, and I had plenty of room to work.

About a 7% improvement in performance on the Sequential read test. I'll take 7%.

Heatsink that comes with the mobo (just a flat aluminum plate with heat conducting tape, no fins) on left, drive in the middle, and the new Sabrent heatsink on the right:


Bad boy mounted in the Primary M.2 slot. You can see the secondary slot at the bottom. My mobo has some pretty wide wings on the PCI-E release lever, so it was a tight fit:

Very Nice

Did the same for the workstation today but faced a dilemma that this SSD has a label on it, as opposed to the Sabrent SSD on the gaming PC which didn't.

I've been doing a lot of research, and the consensus seems to be to leave the label on, so that's what I did.

- Unlike CPUs, these devices never get over 60C, even without heatsinks, except in extreme cases.So it's not like it has to make perfect heat conduction like a CPU cooler.
- Removing the label will likely void the warranty.
- Most labels are made of foil, or have an embedded wire mesh, and actually are designed to act as a heat spreader.
- Surprisingly, some of the thermal tape that comes with SSD heatsinks can be conductive, so you don't want it touching the bare board, unless you know for sure it's not.

They actually did some testing here:
https://www.hwcooling.net/en/should-you ... -heatsink/

The SSD heatsink knocked 5 C off the temperature when under heavy load (running CrystalDisk Mark 8) and by using the primary M.2 slot, the northbridge should be running cooler since none of the SSD data passes through it.

Well the restricted air flow in this Corsair 100Q is finally biting me in the ass.

The GPU is happy enough. It never goes above 80C, but the CPU is now hitting the 90C thermal limit, but only while playing the Dead Space Remake. In most other games it never goes over 85C, but Dead Space is running that CPU at 40 - 60% utilization, and the GPU is just dumping too much heat in the case.

It's definitely restricted airflow. If I pop the front panel off, the CPU temp drops 12C or more.

So I'm doing what I should've done in the first place, and ordered a Corsair 4000D Airflow case. Will transplant everything after Wednesday night's game.

I am going to go with two 140mm intake fans instead of the three 120mm fans. I expect airflow will be fine, but if I need to, I can also put two 120 or 140mm exhaust fans on the top of the case.

I'll save this Corsair 100Q for someone who needs an office PC build. It's fine if you don't put a modern GPU/space heater in there.

Transplanted the system into the new case. Nice case, VERY roomy compared to the old one. Really nice cable management system.

CPU temp is 10 degrees cooler in this case, so boom.

Nice. I miss working on desktops. It's been all laptops lately. Today, I'm working on a Dell OptiPlex 7450 All-In-One that belongs to my Optometrist. They stated that a fan was making a lot of noise and had a burning smell. After removing the back cover, it was the GPU fan that crapped out. Dell does not even stock a replacement fan - only the CPU fan. So I had to order one from Ebay via China.

Looks much less cramped.

The two Noctuas are for CPU and RAM?

Front fan sits above the RAM, so not doing much for them.
The cooler is designed for two fans. It's made by Noctua. It's a beast:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NC06ZYT/