Do I go sub-optimal cooling or sub-optimal case?

[MAXBattle]

I recently bought the parts to upgrade my ASUS x570-based system to an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X.  Unfortunately, I only noticed after purchasing (and too late to return) that my new bequiet Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU cooler is 3mm too tall for my existing case, a bequiet Pure Base 600.  While I checked motherboard compatibility with the cooler before purchase, I wrongly assumed it would work in the case - and nothing on bequiet's website talks about how some of their air coolers aren't compatible with some of their cases.  Now that I've found Noctua's immensely helpful Compatibility Centre database, that'll never happen again.

 

I don't game on this machine, but I crunch big databases and spreadsheets and also do some video and photo editing, so I use a CD/DVD/BR-R/W optical drive fairly regularly.  I bought the Pure Base 600 because it is one of the few modern cases I've found with a convenient optical drive bay.  For silence and aesthetics, I've used all black bequiet components where available.

 

 

My conundrum is this:  Do I...

• A. Buy a new bequiet Silent Base 802 case and use the Dark Rock Pro 5 cooler, but then have to use an external optical drive?  It's the best cooling option, the USB-C port (for the external drive) is right on top, and I can repurpose the old case for a secondary system. The downside - besides the janky external optical drive (that won't do BR) - is cost.  It's about $220 for case & external optical drive.
   
• B. Buy a Dark Rock Slim cooler and use my existing Pure Base 600 case?  The cooling capacity is lower, but reviews say it can handle the 5950X as long as I don't OC.  The upside is the price (only $60) and I can add a second fan to improve cooling by 1-3 degrees.  I also keep the optical drive as-is.  Besides cooling capacity, another downside is that I'd have to shelve the brand-new Dark Rock Pro 5 until I could use it in the future.
   
• C. Buy a Noctua NH-D15s chromax.black cooler and use my existing Pure Base 600 case?  This lets me keep the optical drive and the cooling is apparently between the Slim and the Pro 5.  The two downsides are cost (about $120) and the same shelving of the Dark Rock Pro 5.  I liked the idea of being all-bequiet, but it's not the end of the world to add this cooler since the aesthetics are close enough.  Also, this cooler is supposedly a little bit noisier than the two bequiet coolers.

I'm leaning toward A because it means no parts end up sitting unused on a shelf and it gives me maximum performance from the 5950X, but I'm open to others' thoughts...

[OhYou_]

3mm is not a lot, is this a value you read somewhere or did you assemble it and it did not fit?
 

[RevGAM]

Cooling is much more important than an expensive case. You can get cases for less than $100 that will make it easy to keep your PC from overheating with the help of a top-quality cooler. My suggestion is to buy one that has a lot of mesh. You don't need to overpay, even, Thermalright, for example, has the Frost Spirit 140 and the Phantom Spirit 120, for example and, if that's not good enough, there are others that are less expensive.

[Aleph256]

If you're willing to go for another case manufacturer, the Phanteks Enthoo line has optical drive slots.
The Enthoo Pro in particular can be found for about 100 USD and should have enough clearance.

[RevGAM]

55 minutes ago, MAXBattle said:

While I checked motherboard compatibility with the cooler before purchase, I wrongly assumed it would work in the case - and nothing on bequiet's website talks about how some of their air coolers aren't compatible with some of their cases. 

Why would you assume that every case was designed to hold every bq! cooler? That would mean that there would be no smaller cases, which just doesn't compute (pun intended). I mean, I get your confusion because the bq! compatibility page leaves something to be desired. I don't know if it's because I suggested to Noctua in 2022 that they improve the compatibility tool, or if a lot of other people complained, or it was already being worked on, but it's an improvement (but not as much as I would like to have seen).

55 minutes ago, MAXBattle said:

I bought the Pure Base 600 because it is one of the few modern cases I've found with a convenient optical drive bay.  For silence and aesthetics, I've used all black bequiet components where available.

Not a major concern. You can always get an add-on PCIe card and plug in a ODD through it.

55 minutes ago, MAXBattle said:

bequiet Dark Rock Pro 5

I'm surprised you didn't get the 4. The extra cost of the 5 just isn't worth it, imho. Then again, you could've gotten the DC AK620, the Zalman CNPS20x/10x, the DC Assassin IV or any of several other top coolers, most of which come in black. As I said, I don't think you should skimp on the cooling, but I don't know your full specs so maybe you already made a lot of great choices.

 

I guess the most pertinent question here is (assuming that you can no longer return anything), what is your budget?

 

The Enthoo idea is a good one. There are actually a fair number of cases out there, if you look, that can hold an ODD, too, although not nearly as many as in the past.

[OhYou_]

11 minutes ago, Aleph256 said:

The Enthoo Pro

they still make that? wew, I remember when it came out like 10 years ago

[8tg]

I am fairly positive that cooler will fit anyway, case clearance measurements are usually undersized.

 

[RevGAM]

34 minutes ago, 8tg said:

I am fairly positive that cooler will fit anyway, case clearance measurements are usually undersized.

 

The OP owns the parts, so it seems like they already tried...

[MAXBattle]

41 minutes ago, 8tg said:

I am fairly positive that cooler will fit anyway, case clearance measurements are usually undersized.

 

Best news I've heard all day!  Fingers crossed!  My other thought was seeing if there was anything to shave down on the cooler (e.g. bolt heads or something).  The case side is glass, so no give there.

 

When I asked bequiet tech support (before I tore everything apart), they apathetically said, "buy a new case."

[MAXBattle]

51 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

they still make that? wew, I remember when it came out like 10 years ago

That's an interesting possibility.  Amazon still has them.  Are they pretty quiet? 

[MAXBattle]

13 minutes ago, RevGAM said:

The OP owns the parts, so it seems like they already tried...

Yes and no. I started, but then stumbled across a random comment online talking about how the cooler didn't fit in some other average-sized case and my brain went, "oh, noooooo." So far, it has just been reading the tiny specs and messaging bequiet support.

[MAXBattle]

1 hour ago, OhYou_ said:

3mm is not a lot, is this a value you read somewhere or did you assemble it and it did not fit?
 

It's comparing the written specs for all involved components, plus that's the number bequiet support stated.  I'm hoping they were just reading paper specs, too.

[RevGAM]

1 minute ago, MAXBattle said:

Yes and no. I started, but then stumbled across a random comment online talking about how the cooler didn't fit in some other average-sized case and my brain went, "oh, noooooo." So far, it has just been reading the tiny specs and messaging bequiet support.

Please attempt and report back, in that case.

[MAXBattle]

1 hour ago, RevGAM said:

Why would you assume that every case was designed to hold every bq! cooler?... You can always get an add-on PCIe card and plug in a ODD through it.

... 

The Enthoo idea is a good one. There are actually a fair number of cases out there, if you look, that can hold an ODD, too, although not nearly as many as in the past.

Had the case been narrower, that would've crossed my mind, but I assumed (yeah, I know) it was OK because it looked like a burlier version of my existing cooler.  Bequiet doesn't even mention that it uses bigger fans in the marketing copy on their website.  The only place that's listed is in the fine print of all of the tech specs (behind a button).  I checked the motherboard compatibility and (stupidly) didn't give it another thought.  Lesson learned.

 

Connecting the optical drive isn't the issue.  It's not having a 5.25" bay for the drive.

 

That Enthoo looks promising.  I have seen other cases with 5.25" bays, but they often had poor airflow, bad noise control and/or looked trashy.  If there's one thing the Germans do well, it's minimalist design.

[Aleph256]

8 hours ago, MAXBattle said:

Yes and no. I started, but then stumbled across a random comment online talking about how the cooler didn't fit in some other average-sized case and my brain went, "oh, noooooo." So far, it has just been reading the tiny specs and messaging bequiet support.

So if I get this right, you already have the CPU and the cooler, but haven't done the upgrade yet due to that clearance risk?

An option to check the fit would've been to measure the height of your current cooler and how much clearance it has to the side panel, then compare it to the DRP5.

[TatamiMatt]

I mean, as stated, try it, if not return (should be within return period?) and get a thermalright as Rev suggested? Same performance, smaller and should be cheaper

[Aleph256]

1 hour ago, TatamiMatt said:

I mean, as stated, try it, if not return (should be within return period?) and get a thermalright as Rev suggested? Same performance, smaller and should be cheaper

Stated in the OP that the return window is over.

 

11 hours ago, MAXBattle said:

Unfortunately, I only noticed after purchasing (and too late to return) that my new bequiet Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU cooler is 3mm too tall for my existing case

 

[TatamiMatt]

14 minutes ago, Aleph256 said:

Stated in the OP that the return window is over.

Oops, missed that

[MAXBattle]

9 hours ago, Aleph256 said:

So if I get this right, you already have the CPU and the cooler, but haven't done the upgrade yet due to that clearance risk?

An option to check the fit would've been to measure the height of your current cooler and how much clearance it has to the side panel, then compare it to the DRP5.

Yeah, I was ready to pull everything apart for the new build when - totally randomly - I somehow stumbled across a post saying the Pro 5 cooler height was a bit taller than some others.  My existing cooler, a bequiet Pure Rock 2 Black, is much smaller at 155mm.  What bequiet doesn't mention in the body copy of their Dark Rock Pro 5 web page is that its fans are not the more common 120's, but are a combination of a 120 and a 135.  Complicating things is the fact that I use this computer for work, so if I pull it apart and stuff doesn't fit, I have to put it all back the old way because I can't wait a couple of days for a different case or cooler to arrive.  I have zero PC parts retailers nearby and I don't want the bad karma of sticking the online retailer (or me) with the return for stuff I bought "just in case."

 

BUT... here's the good news:  You guys have inspired me to try anyway, just in case that 3mm happens to be inconsequential.  Also, it came to mind that maybe I can swap out the 135mm fan on the Pro 5 for another bequiet 120mm fan that I have - just in case that gets me those 3mm.  While I'm not about to go "full Linus" and hit my machine with an angle grinder, I need to dig deep and rediscover my old school PC nerd brain that figured out how to make a 14.4 internal modem work in my 80286 machine in the early 90's.  THANK YOU!

[Aleph256]

3 hours ago, MAXBattle said:

Also, it came to mind that maybe I can swap out the 135mm fan on the Pro 5 for another bequiet 120mm fan that I have - just in case that gets me those 3mm

Depends on how thick the aesthetic cover for the middle fan is. Looking at the product pictures, it might work but I would bet the bolt head will almost be touching the glass.

[freeagent]

If you aren't looking at Thermalright coolers, you should be. For that CPU I would look at Frost Commander 140, or Phantom Spirit 120 Evo.