Quick questions for Temps.

Just got the system barely running. That is explained in the mobo section. Using a Kingwin thermal center I am checking temps on the CPU, HDD and GPU.

Using Swiftech CPU Chipset and GPU Blocks. Black Ice Micro 2 Rad and Swiftech Pump.

Not overclocked... what should I be looking at for temps? At idle. Just running system for about 30min not doing anything to it... CPU temps rise to 108* F. GPU is up to 118* F. That seems really high.

How else can I check my temps to cross reference the thermal center?

Any ideas or suggestions? Not looking to overclock just want a cool stable watercooled system.

Thanks

A few quick things.

1. What is your ambient temps around your system? The difference between your ambient, idle, and load temps is what matters the most. Pure numbers like the 108F dont really tell the story due to peoples different ambient temps as well as the +/- values on any temp reading.

2. The regular variables in WCing come into play- Is the system fully bled or could there be some air hiding in the radiator? Are there any constrictions like kinked hoses in your system? What mix is your coolant, does it possibly have too much additive lowering overall cooling? Is there any airflow constriction around your radiator? Etc. Could you post pics of your WCing setup for those with quite a bit of experience (not me btw) to critique it and make suggestions.

Without knowing more about your system the only solutions tossed out will be pure and simple guesses. Many of the people on this board have one heckuva lot of experience and can be very helpful BUT they must have information with which to work.

As a side note that does seem high. Prescotts run hot but I know I have seen plenty of posts where people had temps well below that when idle.

That Black Ice Micro 2 is a bit small to cool both your CPU and GPU. I wouldnt expect very low temps with it.

More info

Room Temp is 72* - 74*F.

Swiftech HydrX coolent. at 2oz to 1L as per instructions. I had light bubbles in system during initial startup and prime, but I worked them out. Does not appear to be any more.

I used artic silver paste. All lines are 3/8id, Dual fans pull air in. They are running at about 2100rpms.

Here are some pics maybe they will help.

Where are your probes placed you are getting your temps from?

Do you have shrouds on your radiator? putting a shroud between your fan and rad will help increase airflow over your radiator by decreasing the dead zone caused by the fan motor.

The probes... For the CPU it is on the block next to the cpu. The GPU is the same thing. On the block.

No I do not have any shrouds for any of it. Besides DIY, are there any Manufactured ones for 80mm Fans?

As far as the Black ice Micro being to small for both of them... what do you recommend. The Dual 80mm fits nice in the front. Just enough space to fit between the bottom and the Floppy drive. Can go wider but no taller. I have no more space in my 5" drive bays 1 thermal center 1 space for hard drive, 2 Drives, dvd and cdrw. Have enough space for another single 80 on the back of the case or to go outside of it.

To rule out replacing the dual 80 rad how can I make it more efficent? Dont have the cash to completely replace.

If needed I will go to the outside of the case or maybe a new case. Just drained all my cash just to buy this one so may have to wait.

Thanks.

Sorry... as far as checking the temps elsewhere... or How can I check them. Any ideas, nother program? something?

Thanks

I would probably agree with DarkJester on the rad. I know you are running a Prescott which runs pretty hot to start and if you video card is a high end one as well you are talking about quite a bit of heat. If possible you might consider putting a heater core (probably a '86 chevette type) rad in between your pump and the GPU/Chipset blocks. That CPU puts out alot of heat which is then pumped over your GPU and NB.

As Socket7 said a good shroud (approx. 1" standoff between fans and rad) should be used. I think it was one of the 'old wise men' here on the forums that stated you can see up to a 40% increase in performance of a radiator with a good shroud.

One other thing to consider....

While your tubing is 3/8" ID most fittings will reduce that to 1/4" ID fittings. That is a pretty small amount of flow considering the components its cooling. I would take a look at the T fitting used for the fillport and see if it might be constricting flow even more than the waterblocks.

I have to agree that does seem fairly high for what appears to be a Swiftech kit. It looks like their rock solid pump and components.

If I just add another 80mm or 120mm rad on the rear of the case, single, because of the case size, would that dramaticaly help the cooling? That combined with my dual 80 in the front?

Also should the fans be sucking air in? or pushing it out?

I have been looking at the design... Im going to open the front of the case more. I never removed any material from the front of the case. With that should I worry about the filter? remove it? leave it? Removing more material, adding a shroud will be the first steps. Followed by reseting the cpu, gpu and chipset blocks. Maybe I didnt have enough or to much Thermal Paste?

After all that is said and done I will probally add another rad in the rear. This case is very small the Kingwin 424 bk, so I cant add to much.

If all that doesnt work then I will bite the bullet and purchase another case. Larger one of course so I can use 120's.

Any other ideas and or concerns? Any are greatly appreacated.

Thanks

Also what if I get rid of the chipset cooler al together? Do I really need it? could I just go for fan cooling on it?

thanks

Or?

Sorry, I am brain storming... What about this?

Couple of quick things...

The dual 80mm fans you are using for your rad are probably pushing somewhere in the area of 30cfm for a total of 60cfm. If you dont mind a bit of noise I would probably look for some slightly higher performance ones.

Adding a single rad in the back that would handle a 120mm fan would be a nice gain in performance. A mid-line 120mm fan pushes around 80cfm so the cooling power would most probably at least equal or better your dual 80mm rad.

The fans generally should pull air through the radiator for the best effect.

While the NB will add heat to the loop it will not be even close to the heat added by your GPU and CPU. I wouldnt worry too much about removing the block depending on your pump. BTW, what pump are you using? Depending on the loop some pumps may have large flow ratings but not be able to crank out the pressure required to get decent flow through the loop. If this is the case I would first remove the chipset block and see if things improve. If not you will probably need another radiator/heater core to gain the performance you want.

Lastly make sure to use some 1" standoff shrouds. This has a large impact on how effective your rad/heater core is at dissipating heat. If you think of how the fans look without the shroud you will only get airflow through the rad where the fan blades would leave a 'footprint'. The shroud allows the air pressure to basically equalize and pass through the entire rad which will up your overall performance.

The fan holes in the case should be open. The standard gridwork of holes that comes with most cases is terrible for airflow. If possible cut that out to leave an empty hole which your fans can push/pull air through. Just make sure to leave the metal needed to connect the shroud or fans to the actual case.

I never removed any material from the front of the case.

Click to expand...

This has me wondering. Did you mount the radiator directly to the front of the case with no removal of metal? Can the air only enter/leave via the predrilled grillwork for 2 80mm fans at the front of the case? If so remove the metal not needed to clear the area for better airflow and check your temps after doing so. Also make sure you have enough exhausts to stop from building up too much positive pressure inside the case which will decrease airflow through your radiator.

Don't put that T in that position where you got it in the second pic or you'll end up with water every where. lol. I got it figured out. This is what you need to do. Run your loop like this.
Pump outlet->rad->cpu->gpu->nb->pump inlet OR
Pump outlet->rad->cpu->nb->gpu->pump inlet which ever is easier for you.

1.)
The T is ok where it's at now. Rearranging the order of the loop like I stated with those two options will eliminate some tubing length. The way you got it now, pump outlet->nb->gpu->rad->cpu->pump inlet is a bit of tubing there. Make the tubing runs as short as possible. The difference between inlet and outlet water temps with each block isn't going to no more than or roughly around .5C. Water has a nice heat capacity, so no need to cool the water after the gpu , and nb then to cpu. Just make the tubing run as short as possible.
2.)
Get you a couple more 80mm fans and add them to the front of the rad along with the ones you got on the back of the rad. The two front ones will push air through the rad while the back ones will suck the air through the rad. OR, you could replace the fans you got now for some stronger fans. Removing the front metal fan grills in the front will help also.
3).
Check your case airflow. Make sure you got some good air flow through the case to remove that heated out of the case. How many fans you got in the back? 2 80mms? 1 120mm? How about adding a fan at the top of the case to blow air out? Side intakes?
4).
Last, check to make sure you got a good cpu to block contact.

With that dual micro, isn't going to get you stellar temps but atleast try what I listed and you should see a bit better. 42C isn't to bad considering what your cooling with that setup so don't expect a miracle. Can you tell us what the diode reading is? Where you got the temp sensors now isn't the best or even close to being reliable right now.

Thank you guys very much I will start working on this ASAP. Alot of good information. and ideas. Hats off.

Bugsmasher - No I did not remove ANY metal from the front of the case. I just mounted the rad to the stock holes for the dual 80mm fans. I removed the HD Mounts and installed it in the Upper bays. That opened up the bottom of the case.

SysCrusher - I will give that a shot. There is only 1 80mm fan in the rear of the case. I will try to put a 120 in there if not then a better 80 and one in the top of the case. All the fans being used are stock fans that came with the case.

With that what are some good reliable performance fans?

And for your last question... No I can not tell you what my diode reading is. Honestly I dont even know what that is. Sorry. But I am here to learn.

Where do you suggest to put the sensors. With the Kingwin thermal center I can check 3 temps and 3 fan speeds.

Once again thanks alot... you guys are great.