Bulldozer FX-8120 Update

Oh well.I guess im out of options. Im trying to cool this darn cpu to max and i cant get temp down.I have AMD stock HSF(running at the speed of a b747) with temps of 51@ idle. Reapplied thermal no good.tried again no good.

I also have Artic Cooling Freezer 13 and reapplied and temp actually went 69@idle. Reapplied and reseated cooler like 4 times(same with stock hsf) and with the necessary amount of compound like artic cooling instructions states very clearly.

Temp never reach lower than 45@ Bios. I decided to return the arctic cooling freezer back for refund and get a better one.Stock HSF is unbareable running and hot as well.I even reduced Vcore to see if i get better temp and @ 1.2V(unbelivable) and still temp is right now at 52c in desktop

I have two options:
1.Return CPU to see if theres a problem with it(problably unlikely).
2.Get a new Cooler that meets the demands of the cpu.
I want someones advice on getting a new cooler for this darn cpu thats driving me crazy. Im willing to pay with one day shipping up to $100.

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Will order cooler today so i need would appreciate your feedback.

System Specs:

Gigabyte 990fxa-ud3
AMD FX-8120 stock speed
Corsair Vengeance 16GB(4 sticks) DDR3 1600mhz
1.5tb Hard drive 7200rpm
HD 6870X2 Dual GPU
Windows 7 64 bit
Case:Maxcube Vortex 3620 with 120mm fan front and back
PSU:1080W HEC Sli and CF certified
Coolers in my possesion:Freezer 13 and stock HSF.
Compound:Arctic Cooling MX-2

Freezer is packed for shipping not yet sent for return.

Ahhh the joys if heatspreaders. When you say your temps are high and you've re-seated it a bunch of times. Check the actual heatsink itself. Is it hot? If it isnt and the bottom of it is making good contact it likely is the CPU. Why you ask?

source: http://forum.xcpus.com/f45/k10-ihs-removal-16029.html

This is what it should look like:


This is probably what yours looks like:


See all that glop and how poor contact its making. Its actually more common then you think

Pictures resized and re-uploaded -- David

Holy giant picture batman!

OK, it's looking like BD is a hard SOB to cool so far. So you are going to have to go with high end air at the very least with it. Be aware that the following heatsinks I recommend I have tested on an i7 930 overclocked to 4 GHz and not a BD, but that proc is a heat monster in itself and I have test fitted these on an AMD board:

1. TRUE Rev C. Older heatsink design, but still hangs in there with the newer heatsinks in cooling ability. Good mounting system for AMD; one of the best, IMO. Doesn't come with fans though. I recommend a couple of Yate Loon Low Speed fans, which are a good compromise between noise and cfm. If you aren't too noise sensitive, you might want to get the Yate Loon Medium Fans instead.

2. Prolimatech Genesis. New design. I haven't written the review yet but I have tested it on the test rig. Very good performance and also has a very good AMD mounting system. It has good enough clearance for the ram modules as long as you don't need to remove them while the cooler is installed. Also doesn't come with fans and the fans I recommended above will also work just fine on this heatsink.

3.Noctua NH-D14. Design is around 1-1 1/2 years old and still a very good performer (one of the very best). Good design on the AMD mounting system. Comes complete with fans, so no other components needed. Does have ram clearance problems with most AMD boards if your ram has tall heatspreaders.

4. Thermalright Venomous X RT. Another great cooling choice and comes with the same AMD mount as the TRUE. This is a complete cooler with fan, but for a heat monster I would suggest getting a couple of Yates and run push pull on it also. You will also have to get a set of wire fan clips (which Sidewinder doesn't have in stock) or use zip ties and zip tie it on. You can also get in touch with Thermalright and get some wire clips or order them separately from another store. SVC also has it in stock for $9 more and they do have the wire fan clips.

I haven't run these yet on the test rig, but they should do the job just fine:

5. THERMALRIGHT SILVER ARROW. Another premium heatsink in the same vein as the Noctua. Expesive, but does come with fans and AMD mount. Another great cooling choice. Probably has the same problem with ram clearance as the NH-D14 though, but I haven't checked this.

6. Thermalright Archon. Another good Thermalright offering here too. A bit wider and taller than the TRUE and Ven-X but a good cooling choice. Also comes with a fan.

EDIT: If you are having temp problems with one of the above, then you do have a defective processor and need to get it RMA'ed with AMD.

Heatsink is actually hot(forgot to mention).Its driving me crazy how hot these SOB run.Ill look on to those coolers you mentioned.

zeroalliance said:

Heatsink is actually hot(forgot to mention).Its driving me crazy how hot these SOB run.Ill look on to those coolers you mentioned.

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If the sink itself it hot; then sadly contact isn't the issue. The above sinks are quite good also see here:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Corsair...=1218343211061&skuId=2664005&st=h60&cp=1&lp=1

If you're lazy and need something immediately an LCLC like this will do quite well and cool better than the above mentioned air coolers.

nice choice but just wondering,will the coolermaster v8 work pretty good?

zeroalliance said:

nice choice but just wondering,will the coolermaster v8 work pretty good?

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How big is your case? If you have the money and the clearance in your case, I would go with the Corsair H100. It's one of those all-in-one liquid coolers. I have it on my PII x6 1090T. I'm running the CPU @4.2Ghz and my vcore is 1.5v, which is pretty high. At max load my temps are 45c, the H100 is the best cooler you can get without getting an actual full out water cooling system. It goes for about $100-120 depending where you get it. 45c max load at 1.5v is really ridiculous, but my H100 pulls it off easy. I could probably do 4.4Ghz @1.55v and still be under 50c.

But you need the room in your case, the radiator is large and uses two 120mm fans and takes up one 240mm fan slot.

zeroalliance said:

nice choice but just wondering,will the coolermaster v8 work pretty good?

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LCLCs are better, V8 isnt worth it.

That is quite strange to say the least. It doesn't seem like the BD actually gets that hot with it's own stock cooler. Oh, Zitnik... there is a guide to overclocking your BD. You have an unnecessary Vcore for your BD. I don't own one... so I don't take my judgement. But it's worth a look. Really, you can have lower temperatures and a higher clock.

http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/1...locking-guide-performance-scaling-charts.html

Also just because he has a dual bios, does not mean you can't unplug your system and pull the bios battery to reset your systems bios.

You may need to lower your voltage a little zero, it could be that your mother board has an unnecessarily high voltage.

I just purchased Antec Kuhler 620 LCS through amazon.Hope i made a good choice and ive seen some good reviews on the antec 620.

zeroalliance said:

I just purchased Antec Kuhler 620 LCS through amazon.Hope i made a good choice and ive seen some good reviews on the antec 620.

Click to expand...

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/03/10/antec_khler_h2o_620_cpu_water_cooler_review/



Looks solid to me one thing to keep in mind that they dont measure is case temps. When you use an LCLC all the hot air is removed directly from the case and doesnt radiate out like a traditional air cooler does. Therefor normally in the long run the LCLCs are better overall in almost every way compared to an air cooler.

With my 8150 @4.6GHz 8 cores (load) "crunching" Rosetta my temps are ~52/53 C. with a peak/high of 54 C. while running on an open air test bench. My ambient temps are at ~24.3 C. and cooling is with a TR Archon with push/pull. Prime stress temps would hit low 60's C.

My case temp is normally 28C since its tropical weather year round.Cant argue with my temp.Hope when it arrives and installation is complete,ill see what happens.I know it should run sweet on BD like i used to do on the old xigmatek AIO liquid with my am2 cpu

I've had serious heat problems with my 8120. Overclocked to 3.9 ghz, with 1.32 volts, I had the stock hs begging for mercy. I had to shut off Prime95 when it hit 71 Celsius with no sign of stopping.

My noctua C14 arrived. I installed it, expecting to instantly see better temperatures. Surprise! it shot up to 67 celsius. I've had to seriously experiment with undervolting to get this thing at acceptable temperatures.

Remember that you have to allow the thermal interface material to settle in, i.e allow for some thermal cycling (a day or two) before you make any judgements. I would run it at stock for a day and then decide if something needs to be changed or not. Hard to see instantaneous improvements.

Looking back to the efficency matter. I must say that it is quite efficient for an overclocker. Not watt wise, but what you can actually get with only 1.38 volts on water or air. I will say that the CPU is efficent for that matter.

Now back to the topic... if you have that thermal paste, yes give it a while to curr. But if you are using something like articsilver junk it shouldn't take long (PS you don't need it, it will tarnish your stuff and it will barely have an effect on temps).

I also recommend taking a look at how your fans are setup in the case. Heat will transfer in an upwards motion, and for a bulldozer. It is actually better to have the heat being pulled directly from the top. If you can't do that then set up a vacuum by making the exaust fan far stronger.

Or are you using a Water Cooling System?

Why is Arctic Silver, junk? I've used it for years with excellent results. I've used it not only in computer applications but also in other diverse applications such as thermal control of diode lasers (0.01 C stability) and even in a sample/target in a Bruker-SAXS (Small angle X-Ray scattering) machine. Arctic silver is certainly not junk!

i just went water cooling.unit will arrive on tuesday.