I have read many discussions about the pros and cons of fans sucking or blowing. Thought I would share my own experience.
My system is setup so:
Asus A7V133/Tbird 1.2@ ~1.4 /256 Mb PC133 CAS3@CAS2
I originally used a Vantec/Delta BL to cool the bird. I managed to get a rock solid system @ 135 MHz with default voltage.CPU temp under full load is ~50-51C. I can push the FSB a bit further to roughly 137 MHz, but Windoze would eventually freeze on me, even if I increased voltage to the max (1.85V),although temp did not go above 53-54C. So ,I thought, must be the cheap generic RAM that hold me back.
Then yesterday,I switched to a PAL6035/Delta BL,with the fan set to suck air from the HS as per instruction. The first thing I noticed is the noise. It's MUCH LESS intrusive although the fan is the same, probably because of less turbulence between the HS fins. I cranked the voltage to the max, set the fsb to 137, crossed my fingers and boot into windows. Opened hardware monitor, checked the temp. OMG, 49C at idle! Must have applied that AS wrong. But too lazy to dismantle everything and redo it, so just left it as is
Fired up Prime95 torture test, opened SSandra for some memory benchmarch at the same time, bracing myself for the CRASH. Took a peek at the temp, it has zoomed up to 55-56C! But still no crash ??! Went to bed,left Prime95 running, expecting to see a meltdown this morning
Turned on the screen. Prime95 is still going strong with no hiccup. Did some more benchmark, surfing, downloading a movie,... the sonovagun just woudn't quit! The temp has stabized at 55C for a while now.
So,from what I can deduce so far, a low CPU temp doesn't necessarily mean a stable system. If the fan is pushing all the heat from the core onto the adjacent chipsets, ram,transistors,etc, that could circumvent a successful overclocking. In my case, it means I can probably o/c more at lower voltage if I take the time to do it right : reapply AS and install some ducting to get the exhaust air away from the core.
That's a project to consider
My system is setup so:
Asus A7V133/Tbird 1.2@ ~1.4 /256 Mb PC133 CAS3@CAS2
I originally used a Vantec/Delta BL to cool the bird. I managed to get a rock solid system @ 135 MHz with default voltage.CPU temp under full load is ~50-51C. I can push the FSB a bit further to roughly 137 MHz, but Windoze would eventually freeze on me, even if I increased voltage to the max (1.85V),although temp did not go above 53-54C. So ,I thought, must be the cheap generic RAM that hold me back.
Then yesterday,I switched to a PAL6035/Delta BL,with the fan set to suck air from the HS as per instruction. The first thing I noticed is the noise. It's MUCH LESS intrusive although the fan is the same, probably because of less turbulence between the HS fins. I cranked the voltage to the max, set the fsb to 137, crossed my fingers and boot into windows. Opened hardware monitor, checked the temp. OMG, 49C at idle! Must have applied that AS wrong. But too lazy to dismantle everything and redo it, so just left it as is
Fired up Prime95 torture test, opened SSandra for some memory benchmarch at the same time, bracing myself for the CRASH. Took a peek at the temp, it has zoomed up to 55-56C! But still no crash ??! Went to bed,left Prime95 running, expecting to see a meltdown this morning Turned on the screen. Prime95 is still going strong with no hiccup. Did some more benchmark, surfing, downloading a movie,... the sonovagun just woudn't quit! The temp has stabized at 55C for a while now.
So,from what I can deduce so far, a low CPU temp doesn't necessarily mean a stable system. If the fan is pushing all the heat from the core onto the adjacent chipsets, ram,transistors,etc, that could circumvent a successful overclocking. In my case, it means I can probably o/c more at lower voltage if I take the time to do it right : reapply AS and install some ducting to get the exhaust air away from the core.
That's a project to consider
