Should I "Phase"

M

mrmodman

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
386
I mostly play games on my x2 [email protected] 1.4V zalaman 7700 full load temp 56C.
Im at a wall right now on overclocking my x2 at 2.5 its stable but anything past it causes reboot,ive thought about watercooling, looked around and........dont like the fact of water in my computer... so phase change seemed like a safe way to go.

Couple Questions
-Is there a cheap phase change unit? i dont need temps as low as -50C
id be happy with 20C full load
-If i did get a unit,up the Volts to 1.6 and maybe try to hit 3.0? or something close?
-Is there any reasons i shouldent phase change?

But there is a reason i want this highter overclock i play graw full settings but i average 35fps but sometimes it dips down to 20ish so id like a little performance and just the fact of haveing sub-0 cooling would be nice.thanks
 
Wouldnt phase actually be more dangerous than water?

Also to answer your question on do I need to overclock it more. There is and that is bragging rights :D
 
Phase change units are loud, take awhile to cool down and cost ALOT of money to use every year...

Condensation is much worse than a water leak (supposing you're using a good non-conductive coolant).

If you have the need to push your OC alot higher then go for it, but all the prep work... Jeez.
 
Don't bother yet. The zalman is a strange sink sometimes. Make sure to screw down the securing screws until it physically stops. Not when it gets tight. Add to that that phase change units will cost you about $650 and up, preparations for sub-ambient, loudness, and the fact that next to nothing will do G.R.A.W at respectable speeds on max details, it's a waste of money for you.
 
Another option for below ambient load temps but not sub 0c is a water setup using tec blocks. May be cheaper than a good phase change unit but not by much and also requires similar attention. Condensation can still be a problem so you have to prep everything, tec's are power hungry, and they're only as good as how effective your water setup can remove the heat they generate.

Honestly though, I would check out a nice water setup using standard blocks. You could put something good together for $300 or less and probably drop your load temps by 15c.
 
or get a window air con. and mod it to a chiller and dump the heat outside.
Tech's are not that bad on a power bill (maybe 20 a year) , still a PITA to insulate though.
 
I will tell you what. I built a watercooling setup a few years ago, swiftech blocks (cpu & gpu) with peliers (225w cpu/ 50w gpu) -- dedicated 125w 12v power supply for the pelts, etc. The rad was too small. I had 4x92mm delta fans (not SUPER high rpm but decent) scking through it (not directly there was an airbox to eliminate the dead spots).

My rad was the problem it was too warm the whole time..

If you do watercool make sure not to skimp on anything. But the one thing I learned is if you wanna play you gotta pay, and its a better idea to do a phase change setup from the get go. Get a kryo tech or something (do they still make those?) because you will spend nearly as much making a proper h20 setup but a phase change setup will work far better.

Oh and BTW I have had the water cooling gig go bad, and uhh those who say a leaking water cooling setup is BETTER than the condensation on a phanse change setup have never had a water cooled rig leak. Trust me it is bad news if water starts spraying all over in your case.

Granted condensation happens all the time (where as a leak only happens on "accident") but condensation can be protected against pretty easily if the setup is done right. (Water goes EVERYWHERE! :mad: )

I say go for it. Sure the phase change setup might suck down some power but I would assume you are expecting things like that. :p
 
The only thing I have against Phase is that it's LOUD and won't net you any more in-graw performance than you've already got. MAYBE 2-3fps, but I'm sure you're still GPU limited.

Oh and BTW I have had the water cooling gig go bad, and uhh those who say a leaking water cooling setup is BETTER than the condensation on a phanse change setup have never had a water cooled rig leak. Trust me it is bad news if water starts spraying all over in your case.
Click to expand...

Oh I bet lol... Im just careful to use some very high resistance fluids in my loop :). I've had water go EVERYWHERE before too lol.
 
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