Hey,
has anyone tried (or even managed) to install a bigger cooler on the mainboard?
It might be worth it for desktop use. I know, the stock cooler is sufficient, but a bigger cooler might give you less noise for home server use.
Thanks for your help
You would need a custom cooler mount and a cooler designed for direct die contact.
I know about the custom mount, but I dont think you would need a specially designed cooler. People use normal tower air coolers on GPUs, which is also direct die. building a custom mounting bracket shouldnt be that hard I think.
I just looked on github, and I found the mounting point location.
The only problem is, that the cpu sits below some SMD components. There are only about 32mm of clearance in one direction. There is no air cooler I can find which fits. This leaves me with 2 options: buy a cooler and modify it to fit and buy a cooler and a copper shim.
I think both options could work, though the option without the shim might offer better temperatures and noise levels.
I had this idea too.
I tore out my old GPU heatsink but seems like the contact area might be still too big (maybe get a smaller die size GPU heatsink, but those have much lower TDPs).
My current thought would be to get a mini tower cooler or even those used for SSDs to try out.
Though with the cooler master case, I am just thinking to see if I can get a thicker thermal pad and use the metal surface as a bigger heatsink.