Cooler clearance on Gigabyte AORUS Z370 Gaming 5

[aktorsyl]

Hello guys,

 

I have a Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 on the way, as well as a Phanteks PH-TC14PE air cooler (no Noctua's available where I am or shipping to my location, meh). However, something's bothering me about the air cooler clearance on this board. The Phanteks has a clearance of 43mm below its fins (according to the Phanteks rep, but the diagram shows 55mm clearance.. anyway). My issue however is that I have NO idea how tall that damn IO shield shroud is that Gigabyte crammed onto the board. This one:

 

 

I also don't know how tall the VRM's with their heatsinks are. This picture shows where i *THINK* the Phanteks will sit, based on measurements, reckoning and guesswork. I have dimensions for the Phanteks, but can find absolutely no dimensions for clearances or distances on the motherboard:

 

 

And the diagram for the Phanteks PH-TC14PE cooler: (this diagram was emailed to be by Phanteks support themselves)

 

So the big question at the end of the day is: will the Phanteks clear the VRM+heatsinks, and will it also clear the shroud from the IO shield on the top-left there? Does anyone have any experience with this combination... or more likely, does anyone have this board and can comment on heights?

 

PS: The cooler will fit inside my case, and I have LPX RAM so that's not a concern either. I'm just not sure about whether the cooler will fit on the actual motherboard with all of these protrusions below it.

[WoodenMarker]

Where are you seeing 55mm? I'm seeing either 45 or 47mm.

The shroud is pretty easily removed if it comes down to it. 

What case and ram are you using and where are you shopping/located? There might be a better alternative that definitely fits.

The motherboard is 12" tall. If I'm doing this correctly, it looks like it should fit. 

 

Moved to Air Cooling.

[aktorsyl]

3 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Where are you seeing 55mm? I'm seeing either 45 or 47mm.

The shroud is pretty easily removed if it comes down to it. 

What case and ram are you using and where are you shopping/located? There might be a better alternative that definitely fits.

The motherboard is 12" tall. If I'm doing this correctly, it looks like it should fit. 

 

Moved to Air Cooling.

I got the 55 by adding the 47mm from fins to CPU to the 8mm from CPU to motherboard surface.

This sketch is great, thank you! Looks like the VRM's and IO shroud will be fine. DIdn't expect that middle fan to be so close to the PCIEx16 though, that might be a bit too close.

 

[LogicalDrm]

10 hours ago, aktorsyl said:

I got the 55 by adding the 47mm from fins to CPU to the 8mm from CPU to motherboard surface.

This sketch is great, thank you! Looks like the VRM's and IO shroud will be fine. DIdn't expect that middle fan to be so close to the PCIEx16 though, that might be a bit too close.

 

Its not too close. Only if your GPU has massive backplate/heatspreader. If you are scared of contact, you can add piece of black cardboard between card and heatsink.

[aktorsyl]

Quite correct - I mistook the "Turbo b-clock" labeled chip for a fan in that sketch. There should be enough space for the GPU yes - even with the 1080ti's shroud at the back. And like you said - nothing a piece of cardboard can't fix if it comes to that!

 

[joedarryl]

Did it fit? Can you post a photo of the final product?

I am planning to install a cryorig r1 ultimate (http://www.cryorig.com/r1-ultimate_us.php) on the same motherboard. I'm very worried however about clearance issues around the vrm heatsink area

[WoodenMarker]

21 hours ago, joedarryl said:

Did it fit? Can you post a photo of the final product?
I am planning to install a cryorig r1 ultimate (http://www.cryorig.com/r1-ultimate_us.php) on the same motherboard. I'm very worried however about clearance issues around the vrm heatsink area

Just because one large cooler fits doesn't mean another will. 

There a tester you can print to see if it fits on your motherboard: http://www.cryorig.com/r1-ultimate_us.php#tester

That being said, it seems like it should fit. The R1 works here with a very similar motherboard: https://pcpartpicker.com/b/NTzYcf

[aktorsyl]

On 2018/04/15 at 7:19 AM, joedarryl said:

Did it fit? Can you post a photo of the final product?

I am planning to install a cryorig r1 ultimate (http://www.cryorig.com/r1-ultimate_us.php) on the same motherboard. I'm very worried however about clearance issues around the vrm heatsink area

No idea yet, the Gaming-5 is on backorder and there's zero stock in the country at the moment. Sigh.

The supplier promises before end-April though, so we'll see.

(Still better than my 1080Ti backorder, which has an ETA of 4 months. Luckily I managed to get it on backorder for its original price before the crypto price-silliness)