I got the full system with the Noctua fan included, but I cannot get the fan to fit over the mounting posts. It’s just a tiny bit off in the location of the Noctua fan mounting holes and the posts on the heatsink. I saw someone mention this in one of the Guild threads, but thought this issue could use more visibility.
Anyone else having this issue?
Any tips on getting it to go over the mounting posts?
What size hammer did you use?
Am I holding it wrong?
I had the same problem with my machine (batch 10). The studs on the heat sink are slightly misaligned. I got the fan on by making sure it sits above the studs completely level, then putting the fan screws in without the fan duct, alternating between all screws to keep the fan level. Once it was on, I removed the screws to add the fan duct.
So mounting screws == vice/winching tool?
And you have to first apply them without the duct so that they can reach the threading in the mounting posts?
I’m thinking it might be better to use a circular file or dremel tool to file out the fan mounts rather than put that much stress on the mounting posts. They are metal, but they are also attached to the heatsink fins.
Yes. The heat sink does not rest on the chassis, so pushing the fan on by force would put that force on the mainboard. Using the screws puts the force only between the heat sink and the fan.
I actually did not try, but I would guess that the screws would not reach with the duct.
The plastic around the screw holes is designed to take self-tapping screws, so removing a bit with a file or a drill bit also seems like a valid option.
Even tho you are able to create your own work around for the misalignment, the fact that there IS such a misalignment is pretty bad engineering/mfg. Worse, that this was not picked up by quality mgt ???
It’s got me thinking, though. I have a bunch of Noctua 140s laying around. I’m wondering if I can arrange a shroud that would mount a 140 against the side panel and funnel its air to the heatsink, then this comes down to a way to mount that shroud to the pins on the heatsink. The opening for the side panel is larger than a 120 and nearly the size of a 140.
The main obstacle would be the PSU cables that kind of stick up and slightly over the heatsink and almost crowd out the 120 mounting on the heatsink as it is, and they would become more of an impediment to a 140 in a similar position.
The framework specific Noctuas are rated at around 117m^3/h but a 140 moves 144m^3/h at a lower speed.
And the “r” round version of the A14 has the same mounting hole spacing as a 120mm fan. Hmmm…
I can confirm that the NF A14x25r G2 has the same mounting hole spacing as the heatsink and its round profile means that it actually has similar to less conflict with the PSU wires.
Also, the curved cutouts on the side of the case (not the side panel, but the case itself where the side panel mounts) perfectly match the outer diameter of the 140mm fan.
Update! I originally said that it had the same fitment problem that the 120mm fan had, but it turns out I just hadn’t lined it up well. I adjusted it slightly and it fell into place on the existing mounting posts. So, it’s a perfect fit and doesn’t require drilling out to get it mounted.
The fan I had does not have rubber mounting feet surrounding the holes so it may have a hard transfer of any vibrations, but I might give it a try and see how it goes.
The swept area does extend past the heatsink, though, so how much does blowing way more air onto the heatsink with a gap around it compare to blowing less air tightly against it?
TBH, I have two other issues with the machine (I’m in contact with support about them) and forgot about the misalignment after finishing the build. But yes, it should not have passed QC.
Photo of NH A14x25r G2 mounted directly on the heatsink.
No resistance to sliding onto the mounting posts.
The shroud would block airflow so I didn’t install it.
It overhangs on all 4 sides, but most on the top.
I probably shouldn’t have tightened the screws so far without a washer to take the space of the missing shroud - D’oh! - but there was no resistance as I tightened them.
I had the same problem, I’d been trying to fit it with the cable coming out of the side and wrapping around to the top of the case, changing the orientation so the cable comes out at the top directly towards the motherboard connector worked much much easier. I was very wary of using any force.
Do you mind share (or PM) what the other issues you have?
The first issue is not a fault of Framework. Over the years, I simply forgot that the cables that plug into the DisplayPorts on the computer side are in fact adapter cables. On the other end are are DVI monitors without native DisplayPort input. This no longer works with the Framework Desktop, except for one output in SVGA resolution before the AMD GPU driver loads (seemingly a fallback mode of the BIOS/firmware).
Today I got official confirmation from Framework that the DisplayPort outputs do not support passive adapter cables (DP++), so my monitors are officially obsolete e-waste.
My second issue is the noisy PSU fan, that turns 100% on / 0% off without the RPM ramp that was promoted in the PSU deep dive on the Framework blog. I’m currently in contact with support about that.
That’s actually bit of a surprise, thanks for the information. There are active converters to HDMI and one native port available, so HDMI-to-DVI cables should work and as annoying as it is having to buy new cables, should still be cheaper than buying new monitors.
Welcome to the club and good luck to all of us.
I was installing it in the right orientation and it didn’t fit at all. I tried both orientations just to see if it worked better in the other, but both were equally tight.
What’s odd is that the mounting holes on the A14x25r slip right on to the mounting posts with no resistance. Definitely not all Noctua mounting holes are designed with the same diameter.
At some point I’m going to want to do a comprehensive A/B comparison, but so far running with just a bare (no shroud) A14x25r G2 I’m seeing pretty good performance on Windows 11 using the default Balanced profile:
Cinebench R23 single CPU: 1985 at ~64c
Cinebench R23 multi CPU: 34274 at ~74c
Prime95 ran for 5 minutes with the CPU averaging 3.4GHz and 75c
The fan noise is never more than a quiet rushing of air.
