how much power needed for freezone?

[jimmsch]

I am thinking of buyig a Coolit Freezone, but not sure my PSU will be enough. I am using the Corsair HX620W. My system currently has.

5 x SATA HDDs all 7200rpm
3 x 120mm fans w/LED's
1 x 80mm fan w/LEDs
2 x 20mm fans w/LEDs (I think they are 20mm, took them off TT Cyclo)
1 x floppy
2 x DVD burner (occassionally used simultneously)
1 x X FI front console
1 x 6pin PCI e GPU
1 x inverter w/ 12" CCFLs

even with all this there is still one empty spot on PSU for modular molex and one empty PCI E

1.55v MCH
1.30v FSB term
1.03v ICH
2.0v RAM
With Frezone will prob have CPU near 1.5v

So does anybody think this will have enough left in it to power a freezone?

Thanks -Jim

 

[mcoleg]

you have plenty.

i've ran it fine with ocz 520.

it's not really "Extreme Cooling" btw , just somewhat chilled water...

 

[jimmsch]

it's not really "Extreme Cooling" btw , just somewhat chilled water...

LOL...I almost put this is the PSU category. Thanks for the reply...now to find me the best price!

 

[mcoleg]

yah, i suppose it's a good place to put it; watercooling might be another, methinks.

so, why are you getting it anyways?

 

[jimmsch]

My X6800 needs close to 1.5v to run at 400*9 and it gets too hot for my Zalman. I don't want to go through all the trouble to create a water loop, this seems like an easy solution.

You have had one...why did you get rid of it? How did it perform? How loud is it? All the reviews I read have it close in performance to a stock cooler at low speeds...a little better on medium...and good performance at LOUD. hehehe Is it worth it?

 

[mcoleg]

i didn't get rid of it, still have it. i've been thinking of moding it but i suck with plumbing .

the performance will be similar to tuniq with fan at max for load temps and lower for idle. at full blast it is as noisy as tuniq's fan, m/b just a touch more.

it's a very good cooler. the problem is - the max temps it can comfortably handle is about what an average c2d at 3.6-3.7 with 1.5-1.55v will produce. at this point it stalls and the performance becomes compatible to a high-end air cooler. if you had lower goals or even were overclocking current amd chips, i'd advise you to get it since it would have been better than most air coolers. for what you are aiming at - it will loose its efficiency just around your mark.

get and try a tuniq first. even if you won't like how it performs, it's easier to sell than the freezone.

another thing - you have to re-think what you concider too hot. remember, it's tjunction temperature, not tcase as we are used to. there's almost 20c difference between those two.

 

[jimmsch]

LOL I just sold my Tuniq. I had it for about 6 weeks but didn't like the look and to get max performance from it it was too loud for me. I like my Zalman, it is about 3 degrees warmer than the Tuniq at the same settings, but much quieter. I was hoping the TEC would give me better temps at higher voltages and compare to the Zalman db level. I guess not. I will hold my money and maybe go with water when summer starts to warm things up more.

Have you any experience with Ultra chilltec or Titan Amanda?

Thanks for your honest input. -Jim

 

[LordFrank]

My X6800 needs close to 1.5v to run at 400*9 and it gets too hot for my Zalman. I don't want to go through all the trouble to create a water loop, this seems like an easy solution.

You have had one...why did you get rid of it? How did it perform? How loud is it? All the reviews I read have it close in performance to a stock cooler at low speeds...a little better on medium...and good performance at LOUD. hehehe Is it worth it?

I was running my XEON 3070 at 1.52volts (like 1.49 after 680i vdroop), I held 30ish c at idle and 40-50c under load.

At max setting it will be the loudest fan in your system, I guess it depends on how quite your room/house is on if you'd really notice it or not. You will be able to hear it, but mine just blended into the background noise of kids and a nagging wife.

I really liked mine, good system. But I want to push my system further, and the Freezone has a major breaking point. Meaning that when you push a high heat thru it, it just fails to do anything. The problem is that it keeps idle heat down well enough, but loaded heat there is a MAJOR difference in temps.

So lets say a WC loop would keep your stuff idle at 39c, and load at 45c (example). Where the Freezone would keep your stuff idle at 20c and load at 45c (huge difference)... there were a few things I've done to try and boost performance.

I bought a 92mm Delta Screamer. Hooked that bad boy up, temps dropped anywhere from 4 to 10 degrees... though the fan sounds like an industrial strength hairdryer... soooo loud... So I didn't keep that in there.

In which case I had to start weighing my options. Do I continue to experiment and mod the Freezone, or do I experiment and make a liquid chiller... what will my spent price versus resulted performance give me?

So, I'm going the liquid chiller route with a window AC unit (or if I can ever get intouch with Jin, I'd buy one of his).


I guess I'd have to close with this, I think future versions of products like this one will only get better. This is a good product, but has its flaws. Are you the type of PC user that pushes a system to the point that flaws really begin to matter? That would be the question of the day.

 

[mcoleg]

jim, no clue about those other coolers.

frank, i still think an additional rad in the loop prior to the original would make all the difference for the freezone. if some of the heat is taken out before water is chilled, the unit should greatly extend it's potential.

 

[LordFrank]

I tossed that idea around for some time.

I do think it would help the system out... as long as the system was being pushed hard. Because if it wasn't being pushed hard, you'd actually be heating the liquid with a radiator to room temp.

That being stated, the idea I toyed with for some time was; would the Freezone in a loop with a radiator be better or insignificant and might as well not have the freezone...

A radiator in loop with a chiller would heat the water, but if the water was higher then room temp anyway... but how much would it really effect the entire system as opposed to a just a good rad setup.?

What I would love to do is get a 2nd one and machine them both together... but I have a hard time justifing the price of two units as compared to a phasechange unit.

EDIT:
Other ideas that would improve its performance:

Replacing the heatsink it comes with, with a copper one.
Removing the heatsink all together and replacing it with waterblocks and running a WC loop for that.