Improving VRM Cooling with FX-8350

Hi guys,
I've installed a closed-loop watercooler on my 8350 but now I'm having problems with voltage drops and FPS spikes (even when simply watching a video, for example). As you can see in the attached picture, cooling around the VRM is less than ideal:

So I'm thinking of switching my ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 board with 4+1 power phasing to a Gigabyte GA990FXA UD3 R5 with 8+2 power phasing. Apparently it's a known issue with ASRock 970 boards as they need active cooling for the components surrounding the CPU, so switching to a 990FXA board with a better VRM and included heatsink/heatpipe should (I think) solve the drops in VCore.

Just wondering if I can get any input to how effective this might be as well as other ideas for improvement.

Current PartPicker List: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/FVP9Gf


Thanks all

That MB will handle the FX-8350 just fine.

WhitehawkEQ said:

That MB will handle the FX-8350 just fine.

Click to expand...

How about the VRM cooling? Kinda worried cause it's still a bit of a dead zone for air movement, thats why I'm hoping the heatpipe between the VRM and NB should help spread it out a bit but I'm not too sure if it's worth the upgrade cost

Stick a 92mm fan on the VRMs heatsink (I usually use thick double sided tape, or use a wood screw in any of the heatsink hole).

You can also use a fan at the back of the motherboard, like this (it is a x99 socket, but it works all the same on a AM3+). Socket temps dropped by 7/8c on my X99 Extreme6/3.1.

Tír na nÓg said:

Stick a 92mm fan on the VRMs heatsink (I usually use thick double sided tape, or use a wood screw in any of the heatsink hole).

You can also use a fan at the back of the motherboard, like this (it is a x99 socket, but it works all the same on a AM3+). Socket temps dropped by 7/8c on my X99 Extreme6/3.1.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas Tír na nÓg, but my ASRock board doesn't even have a heatsink on the VRM, tbh I think I expected a little too much for a relatively cheap 970 board

Might try sticking something on the back though, I was also thinking of attaching a fan to the back of the GPU to push air up and out of the top exhausts, but it really seems like just delaying the inevitable at this point

"but it really seems like just delaying the inevitable at this point"

get a better board, you going to let the magic smoke out of all your gear with the one you have.

Okay so I've ordered the 990 board and I'll let you all know how it goes, if it still runs a bit hot I'll have a look at some of these homemade options too

Actively cooling the VRMs when running a 8350 never hurts!

Not only will the 8+2 help but the ability to adjust llc. Does your 970 board allow llc adjustment? My mobo is a rev 1 and doesn't but later rev of my 970 mobo do allow llc adjustment.

I read somewhere my old board supposedly supports it, but I could never find it myself

New one's in and temps are much better, never above 60° on load and no more throttling. Still gonna have a look at some extra VRM cooling on the back though (could always be a little better!)