Opinion/advice wanted :-)

Hi folks!

I have just bought a Q6600 (stepping B, revision G0), 4GB PC5300 ram, an Asus P5KR and an Nvidia 8800GTS. I'm using a Zalman Reserator 1+ (by looking at other threads, I can see that I should have thought of a different kind of water cooling) which I used for my previous setup.

I have so far only cooled the CPU by water, but when using all 4 cores 100% I get temperatures of around 48*C. I planned on connecting the NB too (since I already have a block on the tubes) and the GPU. But is this advisable with the current temps? My system (i guess thats the temp around the MB?) is pretty hot too - around 48*C and it increases when stressing both CPU and GPU to 50*C and it might go even further.

I use SpeedFan 4.33 to monitor the temps, but I have read that it is inaccurate. I don't want to OC - just a stable/healthy system.

Can I ask of your opinion on my current system and do you have any advice for me?

I haven't done any other water cooling - thus my questions. It is not that I don't want to read the rest of the topics in the forum, I just need a starting point to work from

Kind regards Casper


More specs:
Case: Lian-LI PC6070 (2 fans in, 1 out)
PSU: Seasonic S12-430
HDD: Maxtor 120GB ATA, WD 500GB Sata.
Optical: 2xDVD-RW+1xFDD
Sound: HDA X-Plosion 7.1
Fans: 1 at SB/mosfet and 1 at NB (both just hanging and blowing air at them)
OS: Windows Vista 64bit

Well Speedfan uses a Tjunction of 85°C, which would lead to inaccurate temperature readings for your Q6600. Download Core Temp .95.4 for correct temperatures. Your temperatures will probably read somewhere around 63°C, which is pretty hot, but it isn't going to kill your chip.

If you want to water cool, it is advisable to make a custom loop using high quality parts. A block like the Apogee GTX or Dtek Fuzion, with a double or triple radiator, and a strong reliable pump such as the D5 would give you much better temperatures than your crippled Reserator loop.

Cooling the NB with water is an option, but for the most part, slapping a Thermalright HR-05 is already way more than enough.

ancalime said:

Well Speedfan uses a Tjunction of 85°C, which would lead to inaccurate temperature readings for your Q6600. Download Core Temp .95.4 for correct temperatures. Your temperatures will probably read somewhere around 63°C, which is pretty hot, but it isn't going to kill your chip.

If you want to water cool, it is advisable to make a custom loop using high quality parts. A block like the Apogee GTX or Dtek Fuzion, with a double or triple radiator, and a strong reliable pump such as the D5 would give you much better temperatures than your crippled Reserator loop.

Cooling the NB with water is an option, but for the most part, slapping a Thermalright HR-05 is already way more than enough.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your answer. I can recognise the parts you're mentioning (from this and other foras) and I have thought of building a system using various parts instead of Zalmans all-in-one. I currently don't have the money to build such a system - nor the time.
So... is the system I'm having now healthy enough - is the temps acceptable? Or is it vital that I do something about the heat to avoid destroying my hardware? I think I can accept to use air as cooling for my GPU.

Core Temp shows core temps in the range from 55*C to 59*C (while stressing all 4 cores). I might have put to much paste on the CPU

/Casper

The first thing you are going to want to do is download Core Temp, so you can gauge the temperature of you chip more accurately.

To increase the cooling capacity of you reserator you could consider rigging some largish fans to blow over it, which would help temperatures without adding too much noise. I believe I have seen someone add a stack of 120mm fans to it and increasing performance noticeably.

Personally, i would forgo the NB block, as the restriction it would add, particularly with the small pump in the zalman system is not worth the cooling.

Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions.

seamadan000 said:

The first thing you are going to want to do is download Core Temp, so you can gauge the temperature of you chip more accurately.

Click to expand...

I am using Core Temp - The varying temperatures are on the different cores.

seamadan000 said:

To increase the cooling capacity of you reserator you could consider rigging some largish fans to blow over it, which would help temperatures without adding too much noise. I believe I have seen someone add a stack of 120mm fans to it and increasing performance noticeably.

Click to expand...

I'll think about it or maybe place the cooling tower differently.

seamadan000 said:

Personally, i would forgo the NB block, as the restriction it would add, particularly with the small pump in the zalman system is not worth the cooling.

Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions.

Click to expand...

I would actually like to know, whether my current temperatures will cause damage to my hardware - both the temps on the MB and the CPU.

Thanks for your answers

/Casper

No, your current temperatures are not going to damage the hardware. Even 60 degrees or more is not going to hurt the hardware.

Frankly, with modern hardware, it is rather difficult to fry gear, as most of it will automatically throttle down or turn off. Your CPU will do that if it is in danger.