Im about to buy a server 1155 motherboard xeon, but am unsure if the aftermarket cooler (StarTech FAN1156PWM) is compatible. I know that its 1155, the thing is I had a quad core am3 fan that didnt work on another one of my computers that was bulldozer(am3+), so im kinda confused. I know it wasnt the same socket*, but it did install just didnt keep it cool enough I guess. So the startech cooler im looking at has the highest airflow but it says its for the i series cpu. Will it keep work with xeon. I really hate intel cpu fans, there a pain, but as long as an aftermarket works it shouldnt be a problem. I assume the motherboard comes with a backplate, I already have a i7 920 and i took the fan off to see how if it had a backplate and it was saudered in. Looks like theyre all saudered on the intel boards anyways. Also Ive looked at a few build videos on youtube and I dont trust the stock fan. So basically my i7 screws into the motherboard and I want to buy one exactly the same as its so easy. Should it matter what kinda cpu as long as you have the socket right, cause I did mix am3 with am3+ and it was no go, I figure thats where I went wrong. fans on newegg if you want to look at it.

ASUS P8B-E/4L is the motherboard is processor Xeon E3-1270 just fyi

so obviously i was missing exactly what the tdp meant, as i just find cpus with stock coolers, so yea i did take it into account, just didnt know the meaning.

This may not help much, but just make sure the cooler is designed for X CPU.

---

Well I started looking at the thermaltake website. Since a computer is only as strong as its weakest link Im going to get a good one, and it has alot of information on cpus, i think people should definatley buy thermaltake cpu fans after seeing there website.

Also when it comes to xeons some are thinner than others i figured out which is something else to take into account.

That heatsink will work either on the previous generation LGA1156 boards and also the present generation LGA1155 boards. Intel didn't change up the mounting hole spacing between the 2. But,if you can go $30 delivered, Newegg has a very good deal right now on the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO heatsink, which is much better than that Startech thing. And I can verify that the EVO will mount on LGA1155.

Well the problem here is expansion, I dont like buying all the extra stuff, moniter, keyboard, mouse, cd rom, hard drive. So basically I did alot of research on it and am pretty sure it will work, but with expansion and no experience with backplate install, tho I assume* it would be easy, Im going with the gigabyte ud7. That way I only have to pay 300 dollars one time on a power supply to support four 570 gtx's for gpugrid.net. I would have liked to try it as xeon is built to run 24 hours a day and do math really well, its just expansion kinda got to me.

Well the problem here is expansion, I dont like buying all the extra stuff, moniter, keyboard, mouse, cd rom, hard drive. So basically I did alot of research on it and am pretty sure it will work, but with expansion and no experience with backplate install, tho I assume* it would be easy, Im going with the gigabyte ud7. That way I only have to pay 300 dollars one time on a power supply to support four 570 gtx's for gpugrid.net. I would have liked to try it as xeon is built to run 24 hours a day and do math really well, its just expansion kinda got to me.

Back plates are EASY PEASY as long as you take the motherboard OUT of the box to do it. Alot of people do what you are doing, keep some parts and build a new pc with a new motherboard, cpu and ram. Windows could be a problem though as it will see new parts and you may end up calling India, depends on the version you install.

If you have not done multiple gpu's before you most likely will have 'issues' as it is not always intuitive! One at a time with many reboots along the way! Also a cc_config.xml file WILL be needed. Do NOT cheap out on the cooling if you do plan multiple gpu's though!!!

Yea ive done multiple gpus, i find that as long as the fan is 100% unlocked its fine. Ive had no problem with evga and gigabyte but asus was locked at 85 %

Yea ive done multiple gpus, i find that as long as the fan is 100% unlocked its fine. Ive had no problem with evga and gigabyte but asus was locked at 85 %

Sounds like you will be up and running shortly then!