How close can a capacitor be to a heat pipe?

[Fibbles]

Would anyone happen to know how far a heat pipe should be from a capacitor?

It might be an odd question (and I wasn't sure where it fit) but I have a slight issue with my Sapphire HD 3870 (blue PCB) and Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev 2 passive heat sink. It doesn't fit, because the card does not use a reference design: on the reference design there are memory chips located where 2 caps are on this card so the cooling fins get in the way.

If I cut off a small portion of the 2 fins over the caps the heat sink will then fit, but one cap will be around 2-3mm away from and directly underneath a heat pipe.

Is that bad or do-able?

This is the S1: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=147

This is the 3870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102719


For the time being I'm using my old Zalman VF900

[zittware]

I can think of no reason the cap couldn't touch the heat pipe.

I'm ASSuMEing that it's an electrolytic cap; with insulation on it... so it should be fine.

Just make sure heat pipe is electrically insulated from the cap and you should be fine.

[Reitau]

Will add that heat pipes work because the heat naturally travels through the easiest route, the density of the pipe means it runs through that as a good conductor, and not the air very poor conductor, like wise the capasitor has a lower density and will not transfer the heat as its a poor conductor too.

Am i making sense? that didnt 100% to me when i read it back? lol