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Case: zalman z9 neo
Cooler: deepcool gammaxx 400

According to specs it should fit, but it does not, probably because my motherboard is mini-itx and cooler located a bit to the left

I'm thinking that cutting off those tips of heatpipes on the left would solve that; if I do that, will cooler work worse, like heatpipes would transfer heat not as good or something?

does not fit[1]

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    "Leak all the coolant out" would be my first thought :/
    – Tetsujin
    Feb 1, 2017 at 18:41
  • It's an air cooler, so there is no 'coolant' to leak out of. Thermal paste is only on the cooler contacts where the heatpipes meet the CPU, however I would say yes, it would be very detrimental to cut off the tips of those heatpipes.
    – t a b designworks
    Feb 1, 2017 at 18:47
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    Maybe we can word it differently. "Heat ransferingflued/gas" or whatever the exact stuff in the pipes is. Point is if the tips get cut then the stuff escaped and your cooling is ruined.
    – Hennes
    Feb 1, 2017 at 18:52

1 Answer 1

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Heat pipes are a sealed tube in which liquid (contained inside the heat pipe) converts to vapour under heat, transferring the heat to the colder heat-sink end. As which point it cools, condensates back to liquid, and returns to the hot end (at the CPU).

If you crack/puncture them, then they will cease to function, wrecking the CPU cooler.

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  • Aha, so there IS something inside a heatpipe; the guy claims to hack-open the heatpipe and nothing was there: forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/…
    – Dannie P
    Feb 1, 2017 at 19:00
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    Just to clarify: the heatpipes will still work by conduction, but their performance will be severely reduced. It will probably be nearly useless for cooling a CPU, but will still conduct some heat.
    – Mokubai ♦
    Feb 1, 2017 at 19:01
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    @DannieP There may be some water vapour, but they will not be completely filled. On a first inspection it will seem mostly empty, then the coolant will evaporate making it actually empty.
    – Mokubai ♦
    Feb 1, 2017 at 19:02
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    @DannieP Of course there was something inside. :) Don't expect anything to pour out. In a heat pipe you want the liquid to boil instantly when heat arrives, so it's way under room pressure (which means partial vacuum at room temperature).
    – pkosewski
    Feb 1, 2017 at 20:28

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