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The Master Cooling Thread Sticky:

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muddocktor

Retired
Joined
Nov 1, 2001
Location
New Iberia, LA
To clean up the Sticky threads here in Cooling, I am just going to link all the Cooling Sticky threads except the Cooling Poll thread into this one and stick it. Some of the sticky threads here in cooling don't have much in the way of traffic but contain some dynamite information that deserves to be easily accessible, hence the inclusion into this Master Sticky thread. I'm leaving the Cooling Poll thread as a separate sticky since it is a yearly thread and gets a lot of traffic and response. Anyways, here they are:

FANS 101: Going Scientific. - bluezero5's explanation of how to select the right fan for your needs

All Known Fan Manufacturers Catalog of Links. - Electron Chaser's thread with links to many fan Manufacturer's sites. This is a great resource for looking up specs on fans.

Making high power fan controllers - guide - Ven0m's thread on building your own high power fan controller(s). A great resource for the modder that wants to build himself a custom fan controller.

Types of cooling - VAdept posted this back in 2004 and is still a very good guide on different types of cooling for our systems.

The Physics and Chemistry of Matter - David posted this thread for the people who want to get into the more theoretical side of cooling design. Another very good reference thread, especially if you are into designing and building your own cooling solutions.

TRUE vs WATER: Comparison on OC'd i7 Platform. - Last but not least by any means, baditude_df's thread comparing cooling results between high end air and a better than average water loop, which is very informative and actually shows just how far high end air has come in the last few years, even under high wattage loads.

Thermal Paste/TIM - I.M.O.G.'s brief explanation for applying and choosing thermal interface materials
 
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I'd encourage you to suggest material for inclusion, or create it. We'll need more than "what about TIM stuff" to go on. :salute:
 
General TIM application instructions (use the instructions provided by the people who made your TIM):

Use a pea-sized amount in the center of the CPU. This is about 5.5mm in diameter. Install the cooler to spread the paste. Run the PC for a bit to warm it up. If you aren't sure about the amount you used being right, remove the heatsink after mounting and check the spread pattern - if its good you know you did a good job. Now clean it off, apply the right amount again, and remount your cooler. You want to reapply fresh after checking the spread pattern, otherwise if you don't reapply you will have air pockets in the joint after remounting, and this will hurt the performance of the paste, particularly over time. Do not spread the paste, as many people like to do with a card - you'll get trapped air in the joint. A single dab of the right amount, spread by applying the cooler, is the best way to ensure air is squeezed out from the center and not trapped between the IHS and cooler.

The best brand is mostly up to preference. There are tests to reference for thermal performance, however testing TIM thermal performance is very error prone and most tests I've seen use erroneous procedures. Most TIMs perform similarly within a degree or two once broken in, but over time some pastes will hold up better than others due to consistency of the TIM and pump out after many thermal cycles.

Buy it at your preferred retailer. There is no magic here, compare prices, shop around, buy from a retailer you trust and want to support.

That pretty much covers it.
 
Tuning Ambient temperature for best overclock

For anyone that have an air conditioner can try this:

As we know the health hazards of the air conditioner to human body including respiratory problems,muscle spasms,joint pains and stiffness..ets

It's not the best way to lower the ambient temperature too much just for the sake of overclocking, which may be so harmful during a long gaming session.

Here is a way that i have found by accident for having the best of both worlds:
you should start by dialing in your favorite room temperature which should be around 23 c and let it run for at least one hour before starting to overclock.

my results:

1- room temp 16c ------- video card not throttling (which does as it hits 70c) at 1200 MHz, 150 TDP but my body was shivering and couldn't stand it for 10 min.

2- room temp > 25c ------ video card throttles back a good 200 mhz, and anything above 110 TDP would cause it to jump above 70c.

3- room temp = 23c ------ got it stable at 1150 mhz, 126 TDP and i just had the best Crysis 3 gameplay ever, my card was holding at 67-69c for the whole time. :thup:

Hope this helps
 
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I don't know yet man Pump came in but I didn't order the right tubing where really need like one end 6mm ID other like 8 or 10mm or some fittings..gonna go steal some more of those small injector clamps and will get fired up see hpw it does Lol...probally will do awesomely nothing wrong with bigger hoses more water.
 
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