Is my cooler underperforming?

[Br00k]

Hey guys, long time lurker, this time I need your help

FX 8350 4.3Ghz @ 1.34v

Cooling:
Venomous X + Scythe Kama Flow 2
I've got the AM2 / AM3 Bolt-Thru-Kit Rev.2
Case is Corsair 400r, with a sickleflow on the HDD cage, bitfenix spectre as rear exhaust & the stock corsair rear fan as bottom intake.

Load temp ( IBT, 10 runs @ standard ) is 65C. It could go higher if I stress it even more.
Ambient temp is 30~33C

I know my ambient temp is very high, but still 35C over ambient seems a little bit high to me for just 1.34V.

I re-seated my cooler(dot in the middle), but the temps are still the same.

Is VenX a bad cooler for amd? or am I expecting too much..

 

[Darknecron]

Those temps are normal imo, especially with the ambient temp so high.

 

[manu2b]

^Yep.

You could try a reseat anyway, but these chips are heat monsters. Think you would have 55°C with a 20-23°C ambient...

 

[Boulard83]

+1 those 2 post above.

Your ambiant is really high so dont expect much lower.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Your ambient temp is higher than my normal idle temps. Without that coming down, don't expect any non-extreme cooling to perform that well.

 

[Conumdrum]

Yea, it's a good cooler. You could help it 3-4c with some really loudish great fans, push pull on the CPU. Have you tried running the same test with the case side off and a house fan blowing into the case? If you see a 3C drop then you need lots better case airflow and then consider Push/Pull on the cooler too.

Another thing, IBT is an unrealistic temp load test. It's good to stress the CPU for a bit to make sure, I do use it but no processor ever gets pushed that hard in reality..

Try running Prime 95 small ffts for 10 minutes with the case side on and compare. It's plenty good for load tests. Then try it with the case side off.

Lastly that is a HOT CPU with an overclock. You might have to dial it back due to your room temps.

 

[Br00k]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I'll try a reseat with a little less TIM, because last time I think I've used a little bit more than necessary.

@Conumdrum - yea, I had read somewhere that IBT AVX is very harsh
And yes, I'll be buying a second fan & also probably try the washer mod. Thanks

One more thing, with venX's convex base in mind, is dot in the middle the best way to apply TIM?
Any better technique?

 

[NiHaoMike]

It's your ambient temperature for sure. (And I thought 84F in my room during the summer is already quite hot!) Fight back the summer heat with some Delta fans. (You can count on Cindy Wu to slay those evil heat monsters, while only working as hard as necessary...) Don't just buy one since you'll soon want a second one to keep yourself cool.

 

[Conumdrum]

Yes a dot. Bigger than a grain of rice, smaller than a small pea.

 

[Br00k]

It's your ambient temperature for sure. (And I thought 84F in my room during the summer is already quite hot!) Fight back the summer heat with some Delta fans. (You can count on Cindy Wu to slay those evil heat monsters, while only working as hard as necessary...) Don't just buy one since you'll soon want a second one to keep yourself cool.

yeah, its hot as hell!
Delta fans are too loud, they sound like a hair dryer

Yes a dot. Bigger than a grain of rice, smaller than a small pea.

Got it, thanks.

 

[NiHaoMike]

That's the beauty of Cindy Wu sensorless FOC. At low speed, it drives the fan motor with sine waves so it can actually be very quiet when full cooling isn't needed. It transitions to trapezoidal waves at high speed, which is still quieter than square wave drive. (Actually, I don't know of any high power fans that are square wave drive.)

In summary, just get one with PWM and it should work great if your motherboard has PWM.

 

[Br00k]

Would I see a significant temp drop if I get 2 GT AP15's in push pull?

I ask this because the kama flow 2 seems to perform close to the GT AP15.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-2_10.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-1_14.html
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18272087

If I go by Muddocktor's testing, its seems like its best to stick with one fan. But maybe things would be different for my system.
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=629296

 

[Conumdrum]

Would I see a significant temp drop if I get 2 GT AP15's in push pull?

I ask this because the kama flow 2 seems to perform close to the GT AP15.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-2_10.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-1_14.html
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18272087

If I go by Muddocktor's testing, its seems like its best to stick with one fan. But maybe things would be different for my system.
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=629296

Only the last chart has a direct comparison between the two your asking about and they are both close. And made by the fan company, NIDEC. Scythe doesn't make them.

So pick one and P/P can help but if you want PWM get the AP-29 and use the Mobo PWM signal to adjust the fan speed in your bios or software that came with the mobo. It has plenty RPM if you need it and you'll only need one.