Corsair H60 not performing on i7 920

[PrChaos]

Hi guys,

I'd like to get some advice if possible...

I have a Corsair H60 fitted to my rig running at stock speeds (2.8ghz) and on idle I get around 34c to 38c on all cores, and on full load it will hit around 65-68c when stressed for a good few hours.

Is there any reason why the H60 is not doing such a good job? I have never changed the thermal paste (just left the pre applied stuff that came with it on the cooler) and the ambient temperature is quite cool in my room.

Any ideas? Specs are below:

Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.8ghz (stock)
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R Motherboard Socket LGA 1366
Corsair XMS3 6GB RAM
EVGA GTX 660 Ti GPU
Seagate Barracuda 1.5 TB HD
Corsair H60 CPU Cooler
2 x 120mm Akasa Viper High Performance fans (Side and Rear Intake)
1 x 200mm top fan (Exhaust)
2 x 120mm front fans (Intake)
Antec 902 Case
Corsair 650w Modular PSU

 

[GTXJackBauer]

to OCFs.

You must have good case cooling and ambient temps would be the reason.

 

[PrChaos]

Is it not worth applying new thermal paste then? I thought I did has decent case cooling but clearly something must be wrong for it to be that hot when on full load.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

That's normal for AIO coolers. I think your high expectations had you thinking you were going to get great water cooling temps. That would be custom water cooling temps. AIOs and some air coolers perform about the same and even some premium air coolers will outperform AIOs.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

What's your ambient temp?

The H60 is "meh" at best, unfortunately.
You're better off with a good air cooler than a cheap AIO.

 

[Nebulous]

What's your ambient temp?

The H60 is "meh" at best, unfortunately.
You're better off with a good air cooler than a cheap AIO.

I concur. The 920's are space heaters to say the least. Don't expect a miracle with a H60 cooling that chip.

 

[PrChaos]

What's your ambient temp?

The H60 is "meh" at best, unfortunately.
You're better off with a good air cooler than a cheap AIO.

Ambient temps around 34-37c... Ish.

I thought they were decent for keeping things cool if you want an overclock? I bought new thermal paste already so I'm now doubting whether or not to even use it.

 

[Nebulous]

Try it, nothing wrong with that. But again the 920's are heaters and the H60 has a small rad thus is why it's really not designed to remove so much heat especially if you plan on overclocking it. You would have done better with an H100.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Ambient temps around 34-37c... Ish.

I thought they were decent for keeping things cool if you want an overclock? I bought new thermal paste already so I'm now doubting whether or not to even use it.

If your ambient temps are 34-37c to start with you can only expect so much from a heatsink.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

That ambient temperature is really going to hurt any overclocking you can do, with any cooling setup.
With that said, keep the core temp under 70°C at full load (Prime95) and you'll be fine.

 

[PrChaos]

Thanks all. I'll give the thermal paste a try. If that fails I guess I'll invest in an H100. Although I doubt it'll fit in my old Antec 902 case.

 

[AnubisOne]

I had an H60 in my last build. You could try and buy two fans with higher static pressure to put the radiator in push pull before investing in a new cooling system. That helped bring my temperatures down in my old rig.

 

[cozumel]

Ambient temps around 34-37c... Ish.

Is that the warm season or the cold season? What are average ambient max daily temps during the warm season?

If your ambient temps are often high during the year you might want to consider maybe putting your rig into closet with a portable aircon unit. Or maybe installing the rad inside a drinks cooler, small fridge or something. It might end up more cost effective than upgrading your PC cooling system. Sounds mad. But might be worth considering. Just something for you to think about lol.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Or maybe installing the rad inside a drinks cooler, small fridge or something. It might end up more cost effective than upgrading your PC cooling system. Sounds mad. But might be worth considering. Just something for you to think about lol.

Not sure if I would go that route. This can cause condensation than. lol All it takes is a drop.

 

[PrChaos]

Um... So I just put the thermal paste on and in my haste ended up tightening one of the thumbscrews too tight to the cooler on the H60 and it snapped off. So I now need a whole new cooler anyways. Sigh...

Anyone got any recommendations? Or shall I create a new thread? I will also be planning to overclock it again so preferably something to accommodate for that.

 

[AnubisOne]

Um... So I just put the thermal paste on and in my haste ended up tightening one of the thumbscrews too tight to the cooler on the H60 and it snapped off. So I now need a whole new cooler anyways. Sigh...

What were you using, an impact wrench!? haha, jk.

If you are planning on staying with the AIO water coolers I would suggest taking a look at an Corsair H100 or equivalent. Or if you wanna go the air cooling route a Hyper 212+ or Hyper 212 EVO, both are low cost with good cooling.

Or you could look at High end air, Noctua NH-D14 or 15 are really good, but are very large and need a large case to fit.

Hope this helps

 

[PrChaos]

What were you using, an impact wrench!? haha, jk.

If you are planning on staying with the AIO water coolers I would suggest taking a look at an Corsair H100 or equivalent. Or if you wanna go the air cooling route a Hyper 212+ or Hyper 212 EVO, both are low cost with good cooling.

Or you could look at High end air, Noctua NH-D14 or 15 are really good, but are very large and need a large case to fit.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the quick reply. Someone else suggested the Noctua. I have an Antec 902 (quite old now I know). I think it's the second version of it. There is no cutout at the back to get at the motherboard backplate so I may just buy a new case as well.

Do you reckon it would fit in the Antec 902? (Noctua NH-D14)

 

[AnubisOne]

If this is the correct version of the case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058). The case is 218mm wide, and assuming a total motherboard tray height of 1 inch (i'm over estimating, it should be lower) that would give you 193mm of space for an air cooler. The noctua nh-d14 is 160mm tall, so by the math it should fit.

I have had a cooler master elite 430 case which is 190mm in width, and I have emailed Noctua before questioning if the cooler would fit in my case when I was looking at buying one and they told me it would. So since your case is wider then I would say that it should fit fine.

 

[PrChaos]

Thank you so much for the help. I'll probably get one of these and see how I get on with it.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

The NH-D14 is a MUCH better choice than the cheap AIO's.
As AnubisOne said, I have no doubt that the cooler will fit in your case.