Cases & Inverted Mobo Placement

[Yeungster]

I was flicking through some of the project logs (both on here and wcuk forums) and have noticed that a lot of you are going for cases where they reverse the motherboard into an inverted position.

I know that heatpipes do not like this type of positioning, but was wondering whether this limited your choice of motherboard, or whether the motherboard choice came first, then the case?

I see a lot overcome this issue by watercooling the northbridge etc, but was this planned, or was it the only solution to overcoming the issue of inverted motherboard trays?

Obviously the last thing I want to do is to make a new build, having to pull apart the heatpipe assembly and w/c it, but then encountering a problem and having to RMA the motherboard. Bit of an issue if the heatpipe assembly had been removed (or in some cases I've read they've been cut off)

 

[Raikiri]

Generally speaking the heatpipes used on motherboard work both ways (they have a wick rather than relying on gravity).

 

[markkleb]

Heat naturally tends to rise so wicking may work but wont be as efficient.

The best way is to remove the heatpipes (kind of a gimmick anyways) and use better quality coolers.

As to your RMA question its not like you are drilling holes in the mobo so re-installing the heatpipe would not be a big problem.

The big question (one I deal with quite frequently) is if you push the mobo to its limits "SHOULD" you RMA it. Kind of like buying a car and installing a Nitrous Oxide system and blowing up the engine. Than you take the Nitrous system off and return the car and say the engine was defective.

 

[Raikiri]

Well mine is currently sitting at 33c playing WoW in an inverted case, never had any heat issues with it. Might be a bit different if I was in Nevada

 

[markkleb]

Like I mentioned before it works but not as well. I use a Thermalright HR-05 and mine is in the mid 20S.

Another thing I noticed was on my Biostar Tforce 570 mobo when I removed the chipset cooler I noticed the backside was grooved quite a bit (like someone had sanded it with 60 grit sandpaper) I lapped it made it flat and smooth used AS-5 and the chipset temp dropped about 9C. Thats pretty good for a silly alum cooler.

 

[Rastalovich]

Heat naturally tends to rise ...

My old physics lecturer would have u out in the middle of the class explaining how magic works.

 

[markkleb]

My old physics lecturer would have u out in the middle of the class explaining how magic works.

They tell me its all "Smoke and Mirrors"

 

[Yeungster]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think what I'd do is keep a look out for great performing mobo's with built in watercooling or changable blocks. Using a HR-05 sounds like a good tidy solution too, but would involve the removal of the heatpipe assembly, so the debate regarding the car and a nitrous system still holds.

In a way I think I would prefer a HR-05 solution though over w/c

 

[markkleb]

the good thing about the Thermalrights are there are several different versions. If the Thermalright takes up too much space this looked nice.

http://www.overclock3d.net/news.php?/cases_cooling/coolink_introduces_chipchilla_chipset_cooler/1