4790 idle temps little high

[elkido122]

I'm using stock cooling and idle at 35-38c I'd like to get a prebuilt water cooler setup. Anyone got suggestions? I have the corsair 300r case. Thanks

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm using stock cooling and idle at 35-38c I'd like to get a prebuilt water cooler setup. Anyone got suggestions? I have the corsair 300r case. Thanks

I wouldn't use those idle temperatures as a justification to buy a new cooler. Nor would I consider them "too high." In fact, I wouldn't use idle temperatures as a measuring stick for that decision at all.

To quote someone's very recent remark on these forums: The Intel stock cooler is a P-O-S -- a piece-a-S***. It's adequate -- nothing more, nothing less.

Any number of air-coolers and AiO water-coolers (what you call "pre-built") will lower stress-test load temperatures on that processor by about 20C degrees from what develops with the stock cooler.

What do you want to DO with the 4790? Is it the "K" Processor? If not, and you simply want a new cooler and the money is burning a hole in your pocket, a Hyper 212 EVO air-cooler would be just fine.

Otherwise, there are a whole range of options, best chosen to fit your computer case. I'll let someone else make a suggestion, but I'm sure the Corsair H110i will come into the discussion.

One member did some mild modding (adding an exhaust duct, mostly) to his i7-4790K system in a small Corsair C70 case, with an H80 AiO cooler. He limited his load temperatures below 70C, but decided not to overclock the processor beyond its stock 4.4 Ghz "For all cores." It didn't make a difference in benchmarks.

 

[bonehead123]

Well FWIW, I run an Evo212 on a 4790K @4.8ghz and get nearly constant idle temps ~28c-30c, and loaded ~60c-70c, but this is when I'm doing real work (ie video editing/database/downloading/photoshopping etc), not benchmarking or stress tests

But I have excellent airflow, with 7 case fans in a Carbide Air 540 too though....

 

[elkido122]

thanks for the responses.. Im not sure if the evo 212 is a good option considering i have on and it doesnt fit with this case to well, to tall!! anyways maybe adding some fans will help but that's hard to since on the top its to close to the motherboard and the side panel would hit my gpu. so maybe just a corsair water cooler will help, problem is mounting it and having to sacrifice intake or exhaust airflow since i only got 2 fans in the case itself. thanks again guys sorry for rambling on.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

thanks for the responses.. Im not sure if the evo 212 is a good option considering i have on and it doesnt fit with this case to well, to tall!! anyways maybe adding some fans will help but that's hard to since on the top its to close to the motherboard and the side panel would hit my gpu. so maybe just a corsair water cooler will help, problem is mounting it and having to sacrifice intake or exhaust airflow since i only got 2 fans in the case itself. thanks again guys sorry for rambling on.

Are you sure? Did you install it and find this to be the case -- about the case? Or at least measure from the processor cap to the edge of the case?

I just find it hard to believe that the 212 EVO won't fit. Maybe it won't. Either way, I'd ditch the stock Intel cooler. There can't be many air-coolers that perform as well and measure as tall or taller. Maybe you should look carefully at AiO coolers, but they'll still need to fit that case.

 

[elkido122]

How should I go about installing an aftermarket water cooler setup? What one should I get

 

[XavierMace]

The 300R is unfortunately a bad platform for liquid cooling which is a pity because I like the case.

To mount a radiator at the front, you would have to sacrifice your 3.5" drive bays and take a hacksaw to it. Ditto for the bottom except you'd need a drill. Side panel uses non-standard spacing, so can't mount a 120mm there either.

That leaves the top and rear. Rear will allow you to mount a 120mm radiator. 120mm radiators are meh. Go 240mm or stick to a good air cooler. The top will allow you to mount a 240mm radiator, however depending on your motherboard, there may not be room for fans. I'm 0/3 for having fans clear the mobo. This means mounting the fans on the top of the case OUTSIDE and cutting a hole for the fan cables. And you still can't do a push/pull. Too tacky for my taste.

IF buying a new case is an option, the HAF XB Evo and NZXT H440 both offer excellent radiator mounts and don't break the bank.

I'm running 50-55c real world loads on my 3770K @ 4.4Ghz with a Kraken X61 in the H440.

 

[elkido122]

i wasnt thinking it was to good for anything hardly.. i could go for a case i suppose that would be a nice upgrade.. would getting the h440 help with temps considering it has better cooling right out of the box? thanks

 

[XavierMace]

I really, REALLY, like my H440 and I consider myself pretty picky when it comes to cases. I've owned several different higher end Lian Li's, half a dozen or more Silverstone, and even a Mountain Mods case. The H440 allows for 3x120mm (or 2x 140mm) front and top and a 140mm rear. The reason the 140mm options are important is that allows you to use a 140mm/280mm radiator without mods (Kraken X61 in my case).

The only two things to be aware of is if you front mount, you will be sacrificing some 3.5" drive space (no permanent mods though) and there's no external drive bay of any type. The rear I/O lighting seemed like a gimmick before purchasing it, but I've ended up using it several times instead of digging up a flashlight. All the panels come with sound dampening preinstalled which is REALLY nice.

My experience is with the Razer edition, but as far as I know it's identical save for the finish and lighting setup.

 

[lehtv]

35-38°C is fine. You're literally worrying about nothing. If upgrading the cooler makes sense, it's because
(a) the stock cooler is too noisy
(b) you have particularly high ambient temperatures which make the CPU throttle at load, or
(c) you have the 4790K model and want to overclock it.

Idle temps aren't a reason to upgrade CPU cooling even if they were higher than normal which is not the case here.

For (a) and (b), water cooling makes no sense. Air coolers are cheaper, typically quieter, compatible with a greater number of cases, often easier to install, and cannot suffer from pump failure. For (c), AIO water cooling usually isn't worth it either because high end air cooling achieves very close to the same performance but at a lower price and lower noise level.

 

[XavierMace]

For (c), AIO water cooling usually isn't worth it either because high end air cooling achieves very close to the same performance but at a lower price and lower noise level.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Tim]

I had that exact setup, Elkido. I7-4970k, Corsair carbide 300r. I was using the corsair h80, and it seemed to keep the temps in check just fine. From what I've read, you can mount a corsair h100i to the top if you buy slim 120mm fans to replace the corsair fans.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I had that exact setup, Elkido. I7-4970k, Corsair carbide 300r. I was using the corsair h80, and it seemed to keep the temps in check just fine. From what I've read, you can mount a corsair h100i to the top if you buy slim 120mm fans to replace the corsair fans.

don't disagree, but I STILL can't imagine why he can't fit a 212 EVO in that case. But I also mentioned another project in a thread here from last year, using an H80 at rear exhaust -- C70 case with sufficient case-intake airflow on a 4790K. Like I said, with the good intake and minor ducting for the H80, I was impressed with the overclocked temperatures, and at stock clocks, I think it showed maximum temperature around ~56 to 58C -- maybe at 4.4 Ghz "on all cores."

Personally, I'm a bit tired of large cases. For my next project, a HAF X or HAF 932 would be ideal, but it's too . . . damn . . . big -- for my tastes.

I'm really thinking to do what XavierMace noted as being "aesthetically displeasing:" mount fans on the exterior top. since a HAF 922 (the case I have in mind at the moment) has a "front end" which is higher than the rest of the top panel, I think I could merely "extend" the top with some perf steel or perf aluminum shaped in a rectangular box to hold the fan(s).

Lotta trouble, even so . . .