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Disapointing WC Performance. How to fix?

V

viruszero

n00b
Joined
Jul 15, 2005
Messages
8
Hello! I just finished putting together my first watercooling system and after testing it, I am very disapointed with the performance. Here are the parts:

Danger Den TDX CPU block
Danger Den nv-68 Rev. 1 GPU block
Danger Den DD12V-D5 Pump
Dual 5 1/4" Bay reservoir
Black Ice Xtreme 3
3x Evercool 120mm aluminum fans pulling from the BIX3
1/2" Tygon Tubing

I am cooling
1x Athlon FX-53 940 socket
1x 6800 Ultra

Idle, my temps are:
CPU: ~33C
GPU: ~60C

Load my temps at the highest are:
CPU: 36C
GPU: 89C

I am fine with my CPU temps but my GPU temps I think are a bit high. 60C Idle is about what I had before on my stock cooler. The funny part is, the moment I take it out of load, it goes back down to ~60C in 2 seconds. Could it be that its not mounted correctly?

I know the water has good flow because there is a lot of turbulence in the reservoir. Controlled turbulence though so there are no bubbles as a result. I know there are no bubbles in the system.

I am using Arctic Silver for the GPU and surrounding ram. The coolant am using is a 90% Distilled water 10% Zerex anti-freeze/coolant mixture.

The loop goes pump -> GPU -> CPU -> Radiator -> Reservoir. The radiator is mounted outside the case on the side.

I do not know what I am doing wrong! I have no L bends, I have nothing bad that I can see, what is wrong?! Maybe I should have the fans push air through the radiator? Maybe I did a bad thermal paste job?

Please! Any help is really appreciated! :(
 
There is a well known problem with the NV-68 waterblock. Due to a mismatch of ram to GPU on a lot of different boards your GPU may not be contacting the waterblock. Did you check the imprint of the AS-5 on your block after bolting it all up?
 
Hmm no I have not. But if the GPU is not touching the block, wouldnt it get higher temps or even burn up? What could I do if it IS not touching the GPU? By the way, the video card is a EVGA 6800 Ultra.

Oh and thank you so much for replying!
 
I would check to make sure you have good contact, though it sounds like you do, just to be on the safe side. The fix depends on what isn't touching and where. What setting do you have on the pump and what set of nozzles are you using?
 
I would definitely reseat the GPU block. Just because it is not positioned perfectly doesn't mean your card is gonna burn up lol... :p

Other than that seems like a real good setup.
 
Ok I reseated the block because EVGAs seem to have a problem with the NV-68. Temps are now ~47C Idle and 56C Max load. Not sure if that is good but its better than before.
 
So what did the contact squish look like? Did you have a good squish or were there parts that were not contacting the GPU or the ram?
 
It was not totally on the ram and GPU. You REALLY need to put a nice layer of AS5 on the EVGAs. You also have to tighten the screws until the springs are like 90% compressed. I am not sure if Its perfectly running right now but its better.
 
That contact issue is why many people, myself included, have ditched the NV-68 and gone to a GPU cooler with RAMsinks. Cheaper and in most cases more effective :)
 
I've seen several people say to tighten the nuts until the springs are touching(coil bound), just touching, for the best contact.

I'm running a Maze 4 GPU block myself and I get 50c load temps and 43-44c idle temps with my 6800nu with the core unlocked (16p-6v) and running at 385 on the core so depending on your particular speeds you might be right where it should be. I must say though with the cooling potential of your loop it does seem a bit high to me.
 
viruszero said:
It was not totally on the ram and GPU. You REALLY need to put a nice layer of AS5 on the EVGAs. You also have to tighten the screws until the springs are like 90% compressed. I am not sure if Its perfectly running right now but its better.
Click to expand...

That is also a problem with that much AS5. You can easily get a short :( Better to use a separate GPU cooler and ram sinks or use a combo GPU/RAM cooler where the GPU sink floats in the block. Also I would tighten down the springs till you can just slip a piece of paper between the coils.
 
or use AS Ceramique. Non-conductive, same cooling.

remember to tighten a little at a time and rotate around the screws. If you were tightening one a lot then moving on the the next then I can almost guarentee you it was a bad contact issue. Those temps seem pretty good to me!
 
I don't know why that rumor is still floating around.... AS5 is *not* conductive. It is slightly capacitive, that's it
 
Is your loop free of all air bubbles? That's the only thing I can think of that might give you noticably better temperatures, otherwise it definately seems like you had bad contact with the core. If still think your NV68 isn't making good enough contact, try CAREFULLY squeezing the block against the core a little but (make sure you're grounded, I would hate to see a $500 die from gettign shocked) and see if your temps improve while the gpu is under load. Otherwise, nice setup, and nice temps.
 
Vertigo Acid said:
I don't know why that rumor is still floating around.... AS5 is *not* conductive. It is slightly capacitive, that's it
Click to expand...

If AS5 isn't conductive why did this guy have the problems he did when he got it on his cpu pins? I've managed to get a smear of AS3 which is also reportedly non-conductive on one of my AXP's connecting a couple of the traces on the L paths together and it wouldn't boot...now if that's not a short I dunno what is...
 
Well lets see...capacitive means that a stored charge makes a jump across two places separated by a insulator correct. So that means it will conduct electricity....

Silver conducts electricty. Artic Silver 5 is made from silver, right? So how does AS 5 not conduct electricity? When they say it is slightly capacitive they must mean that electricity will jump from one particle of silver to the next particle of silver through the insulating medium that hold it all together in a goop. Bottom line...don't use a lot of AS 5 or you may get a capacitive short. ;)
 
Well the bottom line is it can short your components. That's why I suggested Ceramique
 
Top Nurse said:
Well lets see...capacitive means that a stored charge makes a jump across two places separated by a insulator correct. So that means it will conduct electricity....

Silver conducts electricty. Artic Silver 5 is made from silver, right? So how does AS 5 not conduct electricity? When they say it is slightly capacitive they must mean that electricity will jump from one particle of silver to the next particle of silver through the insulating medium that hold it all together in a goop. Bottom line...don't use a lot of AS 5 or you may get a capacitive short. ;)
Click to expand...
No, that's not how a capacitor works :rolleyes:
A capcitor consists of two poles and an insulator.
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:68W72lZ5XDwJ:class.phys.psu.edu/212Labs/05_Capacitance/How_Capacitors_Work.pdf+how+does+a+capacitor+work&hl=en&client=firefox-a
The reason it is considered "capacitive" is because it is an insulator of electrical current. Current doesn't flow through it, so charge can build up on the opposing sides, which can then be discharge if there is a circuit connection between the poles.
I'm not even going to try to address why it could possibly be non-conductive even though it is made from silver :rolleyes: I think my head might explode

I don't doubt that smearing AS5 all over your CPU, RAM, mobo, socket, etc. will cause it to malfunction. But it is *not* conductive, plain and simple
 
Bottom line: Don't paint your mobo with AS5 :rolleyes:

Back on topic, your temps seem fine now viruszero. Post some pics for others to drool over now that your loop is cooling well :D
 
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