# ThermalTake Contac 29 in Xion Mid ATX case



## FriedPC (Jun 28, 2009)

Hello,

Well like an idiot I bought this new CPU cooler assuming it would fit into this case. I didn't take proper measurements before I chose a CPU cooler and now I am stuck because of it. Basically I guess I just didn't account for how far the heatpipes stick out on the top of the cooler, they did not seem like they stick out as far as they do. But when I got the cooler I notice the heatpipes stick up out of the top of the cooler way to high.

Anyways when I set the cooler into place and try to secure the side panel, the Heatpipes sticking out from the top of the cooler hit the side panel and prevent it from fastening down. It is only about 1/4 inch or less clearance issue. The main body of the heatsink fits perfectly fine, but at the very top of the heatsink they decided to have the heatpipes sticking up so far.

The case I am using is a Xion Dazl and as mentioned before I am trying to find a way to fit the ThermalTake Contac 29 cpu cooler.

Anybody have any suggestions how I might be able to get this thing to fit.

I have never modded a case in my life, and as of right now I have NO tools to do anything extreme, I wonder if anybody can think of a simple solution not requiring me to buy another cooler.

Also I am just posting general information for now, if you like me to post links to these products or anything of that sort and you think you can help I can do that.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Other can cutting a hole in the case side for clearance I don't see any other alternative using that cooler with that case. A Dremel tool is the best tool for modding a case.
From the pics I see on Newegg, it looks like the top of the fan is almost even with the tops of the heat pipes. If the top of the heat pipes is the only problem, you could very (carefully) mash down the tops of the heat pipes to gain the needed clearance.


----------



## FriedPC (Jun 28, 2009)

Yea the pictures on newegg are deceptive. The heatpipes actually stick up a lot higher then they look. About 1/2 inch higher then the fan. If the heatpipes were even with the fan it would fit with room.

Based on the little knowledge I have on how Heatpipes work it would completely mess up the cooler if I were to (accidentally) pop a hole in the Heatpipes. If I were to attempt to mash down the tops of the heatpipes they would need to be mashed down a very good deal and I can guess already that I would end up opening them up in one way or another.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

It would not demean the efficiency of the heat pipes to trim them off.


----------



## FriedPC (Jun 28, 2009)

So if I just took a file or even a hack saw and cut the tips off of the Heatpipes so that they sat even with the fan it would function just as good as it would have if I didn't cut them?


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Although they're called 'heat-pipes', they're just solid copper rods bent to shape :wink:

You'll need to remove the cooler from the card and fix it securely with something (wooden blocks in a vice type something), but just file carefully, so as not to loosen or catch the vanes and damage them, then clean off every trace of filings afterwards :smile:


----------



## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

They aren't solid rods, they contain a wick of some sort and liquid. Cutting open a heat pipe will reduce it's effectiveness.

edit - dug up a fast link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe


----------



## FriedPC (Jun 28, 2009)

grimx133 said:


> They aren't solid rods, they contain a wick of some sort and liquid. Cutting open a heat pipe will reduce it's effectiveness.
> 
> edit - dug up a fast link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe


Yea exactly, this is what I have been reading everywhere when I look up heatpipe designs. That is why it kind of confused me to receive a response saying it would be ok to cut them. I read something about them being vacuum sealed as well so if it gets pierced at all I would assume it would render the heatpipes useless.

Anyways I am going to try to trade the cooler in to a local shop for store credit and buy a smaller one. If all else fails I can try my first attempt at case modding. I would like to try this option but first I would need to obtain materials and tools to do it. I wonder if I could get a couple basic mid-atx side panels to work with rather then start cutting into my original case panel, that way if I should fail it won't ruin my case. All I would need to do is cut a hole for a window in the side panel, cut a piece of plexiglass? with a lip around all the way around the edge so when I mount it on the side panel it will stand out about an inch. How would that be?


----------



## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

They'll use inert gases inside the heatpipes.

Check out the tutorials and worklogs for modding techniques.
http://mnpctech.com/


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

My apologies, I read somewhere, ages ago, that they were solid copper - Technology has moved on from then









Still, today's a good day, I've learnt something new :grin:


----------



## FriedPC (Jun 28, 2009)

WereBo said:


> My apologies, I read somewhere, ages ago, that they were solid copper - Technology has moved on from then
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yea no problem. I was never planning to hack them off as I had read about the way the heatpipes work before this. I was more ready to start hacking into my case over anything else. I really wouldn't have been that hard to mod the case to accommodate that cooler if I had the proper tools, materials and workspace to do it. But knowing my "abilities" with that sort of thing I would have an idea in my head on how it should turn out and instead I would end up messing up the whole thing.

Anyways I managed to trade in the ThermalTake cooler at a local PC shop for store credit and paid the difference on a smaller cooler.

I ended up with a Zalman CNPS7500-CU using Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste. The cooler is working great compared to the cheapo generic Mass Cool heatsink I had in the system before.

The reason I really needed to upgrade my cooler in the first place is because of my replacement video card. I had a Sapphire HD 4870 1gb card with a really nice cooler on it that kept the card down in the high 30s to low 40s Celsius on idle. However I had to return that card for a warranty replacement and the card they sent back to me is what they have called a "Reference design" version. The heatsink on it is considerably smaller and doesn't scale the entire card like the old one did. The new video card sits at 60 degrees Celsius on idle. This in turn heats up the rest of the system by a drastic amount. My CPU had gone from 33c idle to 50c idle ever since I installed the replacement video card. Now with this new Zalman cooler it sits at about 36c idle.


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

I was lucky when I upgraded my graphics-card to an NVidia GeForce 9800 GT, the CPU didn't noticeably rise in temperature from it's standard 42C-44C on idle to 48C-50C fully loaded.

The NVidia however rose sharply when I started running the '[email protected]' software, using the graphics-card - It shot up from about 38C-40C to 70C+. I fitted an 'Arctic Extreme' cooler and it's now back down to 45C-48C.

I ordered an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ today, I'm hoping that my stock AMD cooler does just as good a job with the new CPU. I don't really want to have to remove the mobo, to fit a new cooler - It's a hassle with my case cos everything is just in the way of everything else.


----------



## FriedPC (Jun 28, 2009)

WereBo said:


> I was lucky when I upgraded my graphics-card to an NVidia GeForce 9800 GT, the CPU didn't noticeably rise in temperature from it's standard 42C-44C on idle to 48C-50C fully loaded.
> 
> The NVidia however rose sharply when I started running the '[email protected]' software, using the graphics-card - It shot up from about 38C-40C to 70C+. I fitted an 'Arctic Extreme' cooler and it's now back down to 45C-48C.
> 
> I ordered an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ today, I'm hoping that my stock AMD cooler does just as good a job with the new CPU. I don't really want to have to remove the mobo, to fit a new cooler - It's a hassle with my case cos everything is just in the way of everything else.


Well with AMD CPU's you shouldn't have to remove the motherboard to replace the cooler. The bracket that comes with the cooler should snap right onto the mount that is already on your motherboard. With the cooler I bought it fit right onto the motherboard the way it was. Didn't have to remove anything. Just placed the thermal paste, positioned the cooler into place and snapped the bracket into place.


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

That's what I'm hoping for, if I need to replace the stock-cooler for the CPU :wink:


----------

