low temps on watercooling? please advise

A

aldy402

2[H]4U
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Feb 23, 2005
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well this sucks, Im moving from a zalman 9700 and my temps are just slightly worse by a 1-3 degrees, my setup is as listed:

d-tek fuzion cpu block - 1/2" EK hi flow barbs
ddc2 + petra top - 1/2" danger den hi flow barbs
5.25 clear acrylic reservior
black ice gt stealth 120.1 radiator
cooler master uv silent fan

thermal paste was applied with zalman paste, a thin layer covering the entire core
I also tried a small dot of AS5 with same or worse results

I remounted about 4-5 times with the same results and even tried different fans with same or only a 1 degree in difference

im running vcore at a bios value of 1.4v, my asus p5b dlx vdroops to about 1.33-1.36
temps are idle 43-53, load is 60-65

what is going on?
here are some pics for reference

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8163/dsc02092mediumyg3.jpg
http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/362/dsc02093mediumnr2.jpg
 
aldy402 said:
well this sucks, Im moving from a zalman 9700 and my temps are just slightly worse by a 1-3 degrees, my setup is as listed:

d-tek fuzion cpu block - 1/2" EK hi flow barbs
ddc2 + petra top - 1/2" danger den hi flow barbs
5.25 clear acrylic reservior
black ice gt stealth 120.1 radiator
cooler master uv silent fan

thermal paste was applied with zalman paste, a thin layer covering the entire core
I also tried a small dot of AS5 with same or worse results

I remounted about 4-5 times with the same results and even tried different fans with same or only a 1 degree in difference

im running vcore at a bios value of 1.4v, my asus p5b dlx vdroops to about 1.33-1.36
temps are idle 43-53, load is 60-65

what is going on?
here are some pics for reference

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8163/dsc02092mediumyg3.jpg
http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/362/dsc02093mediumnr2.jpg
Click to expand...

I went from a 9700 LED to the same D-tek Fuzion block. I'm not overclocked however.

Idle on air, my temps were 62c stock, 42-44c on the 9700. On water idle I get about 32-33c, but I am using the HW Labs GTX 480 res, which is quite a bit larger than yours. For paste I use OCZ Ultra 5+ and it's super thin. Fluid is distilled water and Zalman coolant, 80/20 mix. My bay is the Swiftech, which is small than yours.

Under load on air I was getting 44-46c and on water I get about 39-40c.

I'm also using Silenx 14dba 72cfm 1400rpm fans on my rad.

Maybe it's the rad?
 
Your fan may have weak cfm. I have 2 rads in my system. A dual 120 with two SilenX 120mm fans in a push/pull, and a dual 80mm rad with a pull config with two Arctic Cooling 80mm fans. The SilenX fans are like 20 cfm (hence the push/pull), and the Arctic Cooling ones are like 25 cfm.

I hate pc noise, and with my rig, things are noisy enough. It idles at about 42. I have Black Ice Pros and the lower cfm fans barely push through them. You may want to get a dual 120 rad. One of my favorite rads is the old Swiftech 676. It has removable elbow barbs, and is thin. It has four mounting brackets. It was one of the earlier Swiftech rads, and is not as beefy as the current ones.

However, it is effecient, slim, and easy to stick anywhere. They are hard to find though. I think ATACOM still has them. You may want to change rads.

Also, what is your circuit. I would set it up where the pump goes into the rad, and then goes directly to your water blocks to give it the coolest water. Then put the res last.
 
Perhaps the radiator you are using is not large enough, while i generally would agree that a 120res would be large enough for that chip, A: maybe there is not enough air going through the rad, B: it just simply isn't large enough to accomodate the proc

just a few thoughts
 
how about close up of the block mounting, and the rad setup, I cant tell anything from the pictures you posted.
 
well i replaced the fan with a 120mm silenX 14db fan the temps improved a bit
im idling at about 43-46 flucuates quite often
and loading at about 60-62

weird, i think its probably the small rad and no exhaust fan = bad temps because of hot ambient air

here are some close ups

022007142800xr2.jpg

dsc02093zf4.jpg
 
If the temp of the water coming out of the rad tube is too warm (you can touch it and see), then you obviously won't get very good cooling pumping warm water back into the system. My 1/2 tubing leaving the rad is nice and cool so the rad is doing it's job. Maybe check that as well.
 
Don't have much experience with water, however in the past my observation has been that they way thermal paste is applied can have a huge impact on temperatures. With AS5 I've tried a thin layer applied all over with a credit card (dire result), a blob in the middle (better), and thin line down the center (best). You've probably read the instructions on the AS site but just in case you have not:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appinstruct/as5/ins_as5_intel_dual_wcap.pdf
 
new update:::

two silenX 14db fans in a push-pull configuration decreased the delta gap a bit
keeps loads at a stable 59C, no fluctuations during 10 minutes of orthos load

i hope this thread gives an idea of how just 1x120mm rad can cool even with the best water cooling components
oh yea i also have "PECI" disabled in the BIOS
 
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