Decided to repost my results both here and on XS. I have some updated temps now that CL Ultra has had some time to "settle in". Here is approximately what I posted on XS:
To begin with, my system is as follows:
3570K
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
2xHD4870 Crossfire
WC loop - Apogee GT on my CPU + MCW60 on GPU1 + Black Ice GT 360 (3x120mm) rad + Laing DDC w/modded top (1/2" intake)
2x 4GB G.Skill Sniper DDR3 1600 1.25v
Intel X-25M G2 80GB
BFG LS 680w
+ some other stuff that isn't terribly relevant to this post.
Throughout most of my testing, room temperature has had little variation. When I say "Prime" I am generally referring to Prime small FFT testing done for at least 5-10 minutes to get my water temperature up to peak. Voltages are all the lowest drooped voltages (ie under Prime or Linpack) as reported via CPU-Z. Temperatures are all reported via CoreTemp or RealTemp and are taken after the paste has had at least 24 hours to cure.
To begin with, my chip seemed to be one of the worse Ivy Bridge i5's. It needed slightly above average voltage to hit a given clock and had well above average temperatures. After reading Idontcare's post on Anandtech I decided to delid my chip and see if I could improve my temperatures and/or lower my operating voltage.
Before delidding, I had been using Phobya HeGrease between the IHS and my waterblock, a compound that
reviews generally agree is among the best non-metal pastes. I had the following temperatures loaded with Prime Small FFT at a room temperature of approximately 25c:
4.4ghz - 78c (1.192v)
4.6ghz - 89c (1.304v)
Post-pop Prime Small FFT temps, with the IHS remounted over the die (secured in place with the stock processor retention bracket) and having replaced Intel's stock paste with Phobya HeGrease, I had the following temperatures:
4.4ghz - 79c
4.6ghz - 94c
^
Temperatures actually got
worse after replacing Intel's TIM with HeGrease. Seemingly, my temperature woes were not a result of either excessive gap or poor thermal compound used between the IHS and die, which were the two leading hypotheses on Anandtech for high temperatures on Ivy Bridge chips.
I decided to check the flatness of my waterblock's base and the surface of the IHS, and discovered that the IHS was more than a little concave. I thought about lapping the IHS, but lacking sandpaper I decided just to mount my waterblock directly to the die.
^ Initial temperatures right after delidding, before TIM had a chance to settle in. Due to increased temperatures I had to increase voltage to get stable.
24 hours of cure time later (after my bare die mount), my Prime temperatues dropped to around 4c below where I had been before delidding (78c -> 74c). This still seemed very high for a bare die mount, so picked up some sandpaper and went at my waterblock.
Before:
After (1000grit max):
Lapping my waterblock brought my load temperatures down to 71c at 4.4ghz, and down to 84c (from 89c before delidding) - I was again stable at 4.6ghz. IBT load was down to 91c from 98c before delidding (~1.3v), but this still wasn't anywhere near the results I wanted.
I ordered some CoolLaboratory Liquid Ultra, and applied it:
Which brings me to where I am now.
Prime loaded -
4.4ghz:
78c unmolested
71c lapped WB + bare die mount
61c using CL Ultra instead of Phobya HeGrease
4.6ghz:
89c unmolested
84c lapped WB + bare die mount
70c using CL Ultra
4.7ghz:
?? unmolested
100c lapped WB + bare die mount
78c using CL Ultra
IBT loaded -
4.6ghz:
98c unmolested
91c lapped WB + bare die mount
77c using CL Ultra
______________
I hope this is useful!