Solved Cooling

[seekermeister]

I finally got around to moving my Cooler Master Hyper TX3 to my new rig, replacing the stock fan, but I'm not impressed with the temperature difference. With the stock fan, I was running @ 36 degrees idle, and 56 degrees loaded. With the CM cooler I'm getting 34 degrees idle, and 54 degrees loaded...not much of a difference. At least not nearly as much as I got with that cooler on my old rig.

I have been wanting to experiment with some minor overclocking tweaks...primarily with the RAM, but since the max temp on this processor is only 62 degrees, I'm not comfortable with the idea. I don't even like it that close to max without overclocking.

Therefore, I'm considering something different in cooling, but am not sure what? Is there a fan type cooler that would make much of a difference over what I have? Would water cooling the CPU make that much of a difference? I would like to get the loaded temp down 20 degrees below max, if possible.

 

[Coke Robot]

Sometimes installing two case fans with really decent airflow (like 120mm or larger fans) will aid in getting the hotter air out. Also, replacing thermal paste can help.

Water cooling will definitely be the best solution if you want very cool temps with overclocking.

 

[Maxwell]

You are running pretty hot. I would suggest making your wire management inside of your case better, and upgrading your case fans. See what that does for you first, then if you don't get good results, look into possibly getting a better HSF, as the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 is sorta low end.

 

[Sardonicus]

In performance, I suspect that the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 is not going to be that much better than the stock cooler.

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is probably more what you're looking for.
Two 120mm fans can be mounted.

 

[Maxwell]

If your going to spend that kind of money, I would go ahead and just get a Thermaltake SpinQ, or a Cooler Master H50 if you wanted to go the watercooling route.

Newegg.com - Thermaltake SpinQ Performance Series cooler with ultra-lightweight aluminum and six heatpipes CL-P0466 CPU Cooler

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CWCH50-1 High Performance CPU Cooler

 

[seekermeister]

Sometimes installing two case fans with really decent airflow (like 120mm or larger fans) will aid in getting the hotter air out. Also, replacing thermal paste can help.

Water cooling will definitely be the best solution if you want very cool temps with overclocking.

Not sure what you mean by "case" fans, because I already have 3 x 200mm, 1 x 140, 1 x 120 case fans, plus a Noctua NF-B9 92 mm fan on the CPU cooler. I could add a second one, but I'm not sure that would help very much, because that Noctua is supposed to put out 64.3 m3/hours...whatever that works out to in CFM.

 

[seekermeister]

You are running pretty hot. I would suggest making your wire management inside of your case better, and upgrading your case fans. See what that does for you first, then if you don't get good results, look into possibly getting a better HSF, as the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 is sorta low end.

Cable management is not an issue.

 

[seekermeister]

For me to make any kind of intelligent decision, I don't need to know which is the best method of cooling, because I already have a fair idea of that, but I need to know how much of a difference in temps to expect from the alternatives?

 

[Coke Robot]

Sometimes installing two case fans with really decent airflow (like 120mm or larger fans) will aid in getting the hotter air out. Also, replacing thermal paste can help.

Water cooling will definitely be the best solution if you want very cool temps with overclocking.

Not sure what you mean by "case" fans, because I already have 3 x 200mm, 1 x 140, 1 x 120 case fans, plus a Noctua NF-B9 92 mm fan on the CPU cooler. I could add a second one, but I'm not sure that would help very much, because that Noctua is supposed to put out 64.3 m3/hours...whatever that works out to in CFM.

Ohh, did not see that, my bad! Yeah, it does look like either a different heatsink would help or going with water cooling.

 

[Coke Robot]

For me to make any kind of intelligent decision, I don't need to know which is the best method of cooling, because I already have a fair idea of that, but I need to know how much of a difference in temps to expect from the alternatives?

I've seen once an overclocked i7 processor with water cooling that maxed around 47 degrees C under load. With air, that would be WAY higher.

 

[LiquidSnak]

If you want some nice, cold temps from air cooling, I recommend a Zalman cooler.

Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS9900 NT 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

This one is nice and big, but take your pick, they are all nice

EDIT: I personally have this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118030

I max out around 37C today, and it's about 22-24 C in my room

 

[seekermeister]

The problem with the suggestions is that they are kind of like comparing apples and oranges. I guess that I can infer what kind of reduction to expect from HS/F to another, but not what to expect going from a top end HS/F to a CPU water cooler?

 

[seekermeister]

After posting this thread, I realized that I had installed backward from what I intended, with it sucking, rather than blowing, so I just reversed it. I ran another encode to load the processor, and again was surprised that the max temp ran 4 degrees hotter than before, @ 58 degrees. That is contrary to any reason that I understand, because the HS/F is oriented toward the top of the case, which has a blowhole fan. One would think that the cooler fan blowing toward the blowhole would be cooler, rather than it pulling in the opposite direction. The more that I experiment, the more confused I get.

 

[Sardonicus]

What fan speed is the cooler running at?

 

[seekermeister]

It is supposed to be running at 1600 RPM, but since my motherboard has two CPU connectors...one 4 pin and one 3pin, and the manual specifically states that the 3 pin connector is to be used with a 3 pin fan, fan speed is not sent to SpeedFan, so I could only guess.

 

[Sardonicus]

Are you using Arctic Silver 5?
http://www.arcticsilver.com/amd_application_method.html

 

[seekermeister]

Yes.

 

[Sardonicus]

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Home

I looked at the NewEgg reviews and the majority of people seem to be satisfied with the performance of the cooler. So please make sure you're following the thermal paste application instructions for AS5

 

[seekermeister]

p5bdkw,

You changed part of your question substituting a link. However, I do understand how to apply the thermal grease. The only thing I did differently this time is to apply it to the HS/F first, so that I could work it into the seams between the heat pipes. In any case, I do not believe that the reason for the temps is the grease application, and it definitely doesn't account for the temperature rise when I reversed the direction of the fan.

 

[Sardonicus]

Seekermeister, you're spot on. Just covering the bases.
Yeah, it's kinda odd that you're getting those kind of temps in the HAF 922.
Since you don't know what speed the fan is spinning at, maybe it too low.
I'd monitor it from the BIOS and maybe adjust the fan speed to a higher speed in the BIOS, if possible.