The Intel Xeon E5-2600 is a large chip and can have 8-12 DIMM slots per CPU. In dual socket configurations, that means there is not a lot of real estate for heatsink assemblies. The standard square ILM is fairly large so there is an alternative, the narrow ILM. The big advantage of the narrow ILM is that it allows for a more dense layout. Just to illustrate the difference, here is a picture of both options.
The motherboard on the left (a Supermicro X9DR7-LN4F) has the narrow ILM. The motherboard to the right an ASUS Z8PA-D8) has the traditional square ILM. One can clearly see the size difference between the two mounting options.
When it comes to heatsink options, there are a few narrow ILM options available. On hand we had two different types from Supermicro. One is the Supermicro SNK-P0048PS (about $32), a passive 2U cooler, and the Supermicro SNK-P0050AP4 (about $40) an active 4U cooler. The two heatsinks are LGA 2011 only and meant to cool Intel Xeon E5 series processors in rackmount cases. The active Supermicro SNK-P0050AP4 includes a 4-pin fan, so a pair can cool an idle Intel Xeon E5 server and be barely audible.
One may notice that the Supermicro SNK-P0048PS is a sizable piece of aluminum. The narrow ILM is built into the base. Conversely, the 4U tower cooler Supermicro SNK-P0050AP4 uses a removable mounting clip design. 4 screws secure the Supermicro SNK-P0050AP4 mounting bracket in place and it comes with both the square ILM and narrow ILM versions. That allows us to look at the square ILM v. narrow ILM on the same heatsink/ fan assembly.
As one can see with the two Supermicro SNK-P0050AP4 coolers, the narrow ILM saves a good amount of room on the side of the LGA 2011 socket. One major note is that the square ILM has many more options available. The reason here is that many consumer heatsinks support the LGA2011 square ILM. The narrow ILM has significantly fewer choices. Still, one needs to take care to ensure to match the motherboard ILM with the heatsink for LGA 2011 platforms.
wish I read this a week ago
Just a reference for anyone wanting to water-cool a Narrow ILM socket-2011 chip: EK has put out a narrow ILM mounting plate.
Only found this AFTER struggling with a supposedly LGA2011 compatible heatsink for hours trying to fit it. Thanks for the info though.
This is bad move from Intel. The narrow ILM socket should have a slightly different name, perhaps LGA2011-N. This would denote the requirement for a Narrow ILM cooling solution, but still stipulate that it accepts LGA2011 chips.
Hard lesson learned after trying to fit a Watercooling with Squaree ILM to the X9SRL-F Narrow ILM base.
The narrow vs wide exists on Romley, too.
The “wish I read this a week ago” account certainly has a story to tell.
I agree with Passerby. Wish I had read this a week ago. Sigh!!!
I also wish I read this a week ago. Went through a CoolerMaster 212X and a Corsair H55 before getting the SNK-P0050AP4.
I also wish I had read this 2 weeks ago
Wish I’d read this two days ago
Thank the gods I read this today.
Supermicro BKT-0048L-RN Heatsink Part for Intel Xeon – Socket R Narrow ILM
EQUAL IN COOLER MASTER COOLER MODEL REQUIRE
I searched, and thanks STH and all of you, I’ll get the narrow heatsink :)