CPU Cooler Touching Capacitors

[BrotherStein]

Good day to everyone at the SFF Forum!

I purchased a Gigabyte H77N-WIFI second hand, and I am running into issues mounting a Cryorig C7. With every possible orientation, it rests on a few capacitors and the little black boxes (not sure what they are, excuse my ignorance). See picture below of the motherboard layout. I checked online and there are mixed feelings. I have a L9i coming in this afternoon to try as well, but wanted to see if anyone has run into this and what they have done.

My question is: It doesn't appear to damage any of the components when tightening the CPU cooler, but could I add thermal pads for extra protection? Or should I add electrical tape and gaffers tape?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Kmpkt]

Capacitors should be electrically isolated by their enclosures, but I'd probably add a bit of electricians tape because why not be extra safe. Have you considered shaving a bit of heatsink away with a Dremel, sandpaper or disc sander to make this a non-issue? The amount of material you'd lose would no doubt be small having no real-world effect on your cooling performance.

 

[BrotherStein]

Thanks for the reply! I might see if a family member has something I can use. Here's a picture of the bottom of a C7. It has that raised section running through the center. I think a few mm taken off will work. It's so close to fitting, but we'll see how the L9i fits as well.

Thanks again!

 

[jtd871]

I noticed the same thing with my C7 and my MSI H270 mobo. The clearances are very tight.

The black cuboid components are power regulators.

 

[BrotherStein]

The black cuboid components are power regulators.

Ah! Good to know! Thanks much for your reply. Yeah, the clearance is VERY snug against those, so it was making me nervous.

 

[BrotherStein]

The Noctua L9i fit perfectly. I will probably just use the C7 on a different build I have coming up. Thanks for the tips guys!