What have I got wrong - High temps

[Chez]

What have I got wrong? - High temps

First off, here's my system -

P4 2.4B (B0 Stepping)
512Mb Corsair XMS3500 CAS2
Abit IT7-MAX2 Rev2 (PE Chipset)
Gainward GF4 Ti4200 Golden Sample
Maxtor 80Gb D740X (via Serillel adapter)
Enermax 431w PSU


Here's my cooling setup -

OCPC Atlantis CPU, NB and GPU Waterblocks
OCPC "The Deep Rev2" Radiator
120mm YS-Tech 125CFM Fan
Eheim 1250 Pump
1/2" ID Silicone tubing throughout.
3 x Adda 80mm Case Fans


The Radiator is mounted at the front of my case in place of the 2 fans which came fitted in the case (below the 3.5" Rack), with the 120mm YS-Tech on 7V attached to the back, pulling air through it.

I have one of the 80mm fans in the top of my case blowing air out. The other 2 are "stacked" together at the back blowing air out. These are all on 12V.

The adjustable fan on the PSU is at full power.

The watercooling setup goes Pump -> T-Line -> Rad -> CPU -> GPU -> NB - > Pump.

The blocks have all been lapped to 1500 Grit and mounted using AS3

With this setup, I am getting these temps (all measured through the Winbond Hardware Doctor provided by Abit) -

133 FSB and 1.5V BIOS Vcore -

Idle System = 30*C
Idle CPU = 42.5*C
Idle Vcore = 1.44V

Load System = 32*C
Load CPU = 47*C
Load Vcore =1.44V


167 FSB and 1.85V Bios Vcore -

Idle System = 31*C
Idle CPU = 48.5*C
Idle Vcore = 1.79

Load System = 34*C
Load CPU = 58*C
Load Vcore =1.76

Ambient Temp is 21*C


Do these seem high to anyone else or is it just me??

On top of this, my GF4 won't overclock at all now and occasionally crashes at Stock Speeds in 3DMark (It used to do 330/610!!)

Thanks
Chez

 

[Lithan]

If you ask me the radiator is probably just crappy.
No reservoir
GPU comes after cpu which means whatever heat you're getting off the cpu is reducing the efficiency of your gpu cooling.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

if the radiator is the problem (assuming everything is installed right, thermal grease and what not) if you replace the radiator you have with a normal $20 heatercore from a local auto place you might fix all your problems.

 

[Chez]

From various people I've spoken to here in the UK, the OCPC kit is supposed to be amongst the best around, so I doubt that the radiator is "crappy". Here's a link to the specs for it - The Deep

A lot of people using the OCPC kit report idle temps a few degrees above ambient and a load temp a couple of degrees higher.

Does a reservoir make that much difference?? I've got a D-Tek Bay-Res on it's way to me anyway, so I hope that helps!

I know this way of cooling the GPU is not optimal, but I would still expect my kit to perform at least as well as the stock air-cooling, even set up like this!!

I've also got a manifold on order, due in the next few days, I plan to have separate feeds and returns for each block, this should (hopefully) sort the GPU problems out!



IMOG - I know heatercores are better than Radiators, but I had to fit it all into a mid-tower case!!!

 

[Lithan]

Way to tell. Stick a thermometer in the reservior when you get it (make sure it's not going to block the intake or output lines) And see what your water temp is. Set it up this way for the test Res, Pump, Stuff you're cooling, Radiator, Res.

Yes, the pumps heat wont have a chance to be dissipated before you hit your cpu, but this will give you a much better Idea of how well your radiator is doing. (Water should be at most a few degrees above ambient in my opinion.)

 

[Chez]

Is there nothing I can do in the meantime??

The res isn't due until next wednesday!!

 

[Toysrme]

Damn!!! My post just got eaten LoL! Anywho... First off if by stacking those exhaust fans you mean one on top of the other right? This won't give you any better temps, but you'll be moving a lot more air with a slightly lower pitched noise from the two fans by just cutting another exhaust hole somewhere else. Stacking fans is very inefficient.

Put a shroud on the fan pulling air through the heater core. Keep in mind that most 120mm fan's have a 51mm hub. Basically that means you're not moving any if *very* little air through a 50mm circle of the heater core. Which btw is even more compacted by the fact that it will be the same two-/three channels in the matrix that don't get cooled as well.

You can always try lapping and re attaching the block also.

Lastly right now he's using an En 1250 in an inline setup. That's adding very little heat to the equation, so I don't see how the res will help him.

Other than that all I can say is play around with it for awhile until you figure it out. Just be careful because this is the time that a lot of people chip cores and squirt water everywhere. (i.e. messing with a setup and making a mistake.) So take your time with it. If you're stable now you shouldn't be in a rush to get everything you can out of it. Good Luck,

-Toysrme

 

[Arkaine23]

temp

Aim a fan at the socket ansd see if the reported temp drops. Often the sensor under there reads higher when you switch to H2O becasue the air movement froma standard hsf is taken into account for the sensor's calibration.

 

[Chez]

OK, that's weird!!!

I put a fan in there, pointing at the waterblock and the cpu temp stayed the same, but the System temp dropped 3*C!

 

[Chez]

bump - anyone got any suggestions how to sort this out??

Thanks
Chez

 

[JML]

I doubt its the radiator, if the radiator was the only problem, you could tell by comparing your temps within the first ten minutes and see how high it slowly climbs. If your computer starts off with a very high temp, its not your rad.

Have you tryed reseating the block?

 

[Chez]

Yes, I took it off, re-lapped to 1500 grit and then re-fitted it.

 

[JML]

hmm...

I'm not really familiar with the block you are using, do you have it mounted with enough pressure on the cpu?

 

[Chez]

Here's a pic of the block.

It's mounted with 4 rods, bolted through the motherboard, the block is then secured with springs/thumbscrews.

I have tried this once with a little gap between the spring coils and, then when I re-mounted it, with the springs fully compressed.

 

[trex]

hi chez.......i can imagine how frustrated u r.....cause at the moment i got similar set up but nime is silverprop cyclone 5.......my cpu idle is 37.5 C with 1.7 V and full load around 39-40 C..
i want to get to low 30 C but i've tried everything from rebuilding the system and put more pressure to the chip........
One time i just finished rebuild my system.........and i got a leak. Luckily that time i hadnt switch on my system..as u can imagine what would have happened.......
ATM this is the most i can do........and i am rebuilding my system again.......cause it's pain in the arse to do it..........
what i havent tried is to lap the wb as i dont want to do cause i dont want to ruin my wb.........
So i just live with it..........

 

[Overbrazil]

Hi chez, i know this block and it is very good. You have to check the water temperature. But i think it is the wb mounting...
[]´s

 

[I.M.O.G.]

GPU comes after cpu which means whatever heat you're getting off the cpu is reducing the efficiency of your gpu cooling.

I know this way of cooling the GPU is not optimal, but I would still expect my kit to perform at least as well as the stock air-cooling, even set up like this!!

the water temp after it passes over the cpu will not be more than .3C higher than the average water temperature in the loop. That slight difference would not cause the gpu to become unstable, it would still be getting good relatively cool water and should be cooled fine. the increased flow from having the components in series probably negates the slightly higher temperature, so that may not really be a "not optimal" setup (but i dont want to make this a series/parallel discussion). my point is that it seems there may be a few possible problems... Some said it was probably the seating of the waterblock, and i think they had an army of stars under their name, so maybe i would believe them but, i doubt you are continually installing it wrong. it may need more pressure though. your radiator may not be giving you cool enough water temps, or maybe you have too much thermal goop on them. too much thermal goop has proven to be a better insulator than conductor, you want the smallest amount possible. i know you probably know all this but just gotta cover the bases. the most likely solution is probably just the onboard sensor sucks, ive heard people complaining that temps were off by as much as 10 degrees from actual temp. and did you say that the radiator is mounted in front with air blowing from the outside through the radiator into the case - then it gets sucked out of the case by exhaust fans? it sounds like its quite possible that before the warm air is getting sucked out of the case it may be blowing around your temp sensor and messing up temps. have you tried taking the side of the case off and putting somehting to direct the flow of the radiator warmed air directly outside the case and then see what temps are?

 

[Chez]

trex - it is very annoying, especially having spent this amount of money on the system!


overbrazil - I have heard nothing but good things about the OCPC stuff, that's why I went for it!!

What can I be doing wrong in the mounting? I've re-mounted it a few times and no change!?


I.M.O.G - I've got the springs compressed as far as they'll go, so the only way to get more pressure would be to hard mount it to the motherboard, wouldn't it?

I'm using AS3, I rubbed a small amount into the WB then wiped it off, applied a thin layer to the CPU (are there pics of how much you should use anywhere - I followed the instructions on the AS3 website) and then pushed them together and screwed the block on using opposite corners, to ensure that it stayed level.

I've taken the case side off and no change in temps, but I'll try directing the radiator air out of the case.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

i would hard mount it personally, i dont like springs. of course you probably dont want to crush your die but if you are careful that shouldnt be a problem. As for the arctic goop i would not apply it then wipe it off with something, what did you use to wipe it off? it could leave particles behind that would look pretty big on the microscopic level, and they could allow tiny air pockets possibly too. thats probably bullschist though. they say the full proof way of applying goop is if you have an old credit card or library card cut a square out the size of your die and place it over the bottom of the heatsink, apply a small dab of AS, and then smooth it off down to even with the card. you want the bear minimum on there. if you dont want to do that, it atleast gives you an idea of what amount they say is ok, but i would say that amount is a maximum really. and definetly see if directing the rad air out of case has any effect.

 

[bigben2k]

Everything points to a lack of airflow through your rad.

What's your water temp?