Motherboard recommendation, uATX H55 compatible with Zalman CNPS7000

[ionakana]

Hi all,

I am currently planning an upgrade to my HTPC. I have a Zalman CNPS7000 CPU cooler in my existing system, which I would like to continue using if possible as it is almost silent and fits nicely into my Antec NSK1380 case.

My question is, does anyone know of any H55 micro-ATX motherboards that can accomodate the CNPS7000? As you may know, the heatsink is enormous, and there cannot be any components more than 39mm tall within a 55mm radius of the centre of the CPU.

If anyone has any personal experience with this (or is willing to break out a ruler and check!), I would be most grateful to hear about it as I will probably be basing my choice of motherboard on this factor.

[SsZERO]

You really don't need a huge CPU cooler with an HTPC. I'd suggest using the HSF you get with the purchase of a CPU. It is more than adequate and by no means noisy, provided that your motherboard has automatic fan speed control...which most do.

[chibimovie]

i got a huge cpu fan and it fit on the motherboard I got. look for my other posts and i list what I got. the fan/heat sink just goes over the ram but doesn't touch.

[ionakana]

Thanks for your help with this.

I originally bought the Zalman because the stock cooler was way too noisy with the CPU I was using at the time (a P4 3.0Ghz). The Antec case naturally has limited airflow, and so despite its excellent sound insulation, the fan noise was very obvious.

I notice that the thermal design power of the CPU I plan to use - the i3-530 - is 73W, or only 11W less than that of the P4. However, I would assume that in practice the CPU loads would be considerably lower with the i3-530 than with the P4. Am I on the right track here? Can I expect significantly lower temperatures with the i3-530?

Thanks again.

[SsZERO]

The newer CPUs also have better power management features which should keep them running cooler in general, but a less powerful CPU like an I3 is going to be working harder to do the same thing that an I5 wouldn't even wince at - i.e. like decoding HD video.

[kcjack]

I also worried about how big on the CPU. I went i5 and am happy to have done so. Since I started doing some transcoding, I see some programs that task even my i5.

Doing stuff like going from BDMV to mp4 or in .mkv using DVDFAB for blu-ray will put my CPU usage in the 90% range. Some programs seem to not be written as good like Pavtube and will always task your cpu. As SsZERO stated, I don't see a blip in cpu usage when decoding HD video to play.

If you still have the chance, I would opt for a dual core i5 vs i3. I don't know much, but I have also read you should not go to a quad core as each individual core is smaller and will not help transcoding. If you do not plan on any transcoding, then even i3 may be overkill. Just one opinion, maybe good or bad. I would listen to SsZERO