FX-55 Upgrade, need cooling advice!

[Stokes]

With the recent deal on the FX-55 for $139, I decided to jump on it to replace my 3200+. Now I'm looking to get the most out of my system to make it last awhile longer as I don't plan on upgrading anytime soon (It's a solid system as it is).

Currently I'm on standard voltage on my FX-55 and I'm looking at 40 C idle temperature in a room averaging around 23 C temperature. I used some rubbing alcohol (70% not the best, but its sufficent), to clean both the heatsink and the chip using cotton swabs and artic silver 5, and I redid this process three times only to recieve the same results each time. Based on my current temperatures I can't overclock this chip at all without it being unstable or too hot.

I'm wondering what I should do for cooling. I've always been intrigued with water cooling and wondering if there is some cheaper setup just for my CPU that would be worthwhile and help me get some good overclocking results while holding temperatures? Or should I just stick to air cooling?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Thermalright Ultra-120 is nice if you can find it. Otherwise a Scyth Mine.Ninja/Infinity, or Thermaltake BT is good.

 

[hennethannun]

probably not worth worrying about now, but coffee filters are definitely better than cotton swabs for cleaning electronics: they are lint free.

as for cooling, are you idling at 40C with C'n'Q enabled? stock speeds. If so that is a bit high, but not much more than i would expect.

First of all, before buying anything, check to make sure that your heatspreader and heat sink are both flat . if one or the other is concave, then you will have temp issues.

if that doesn't work, you could definitely get a water system, but it is too much money and trouble IMO. as for better air coolers, the Scythe series is good as is the tuniq tower, thermaltake BT, zalman 9500 series and the thermalright XP-120 (although the thermal right C variants are even better). but the real problem is that all of those hs/fs are VERY big, so make sure they will fit in your case before buying...

 

[thegimp03]

Sometimes AS5 takes time to cure and temperatures will go down. I'd wait a week and see. I bought one of the FX55s as well and got a Zalman CPNS fan to go with it. It currently runs at 37C idle. It's only been running for two days.

Edit: Booted up last night and the FX55 was running at 34C idle. It seems like things are finally starting to settle. When I get some time, I'll probably start ocing this baby soon to see what it can do.

 

[Rockhound1]

Originally posted by: thegimp03
Sometimes AS5 takes time to cure and temperatures will go down. I'd wait a week and see. I bought one of the FX55s as well and got a Zalman CPNS fan to go with it. It currently runs at 37C idle. It's only been running for two days.

I also got the FX55 and an "open box" Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. The cooler cost me less than $20. My idle temperatures range between 36C and 38C, depending on the ambient room temperature. The cooler came with MX-1 paste, so I didn't replace it with AS5. I haven't overclocke it yet - I am letting the MX-1 paste cure. I have heard that AS5 needs time to cure as well.

 

[Texun]

What was the temp before the CPU change and how is your air flow in the case? I bought the same chip and used my XP-90 with a dab of AS3 (3 was all I had) and run it at 8 volts. The highest I've seen under a 100% load test with Prime95 was 44C. With CnQ enabled it idles at 27C. I have front and rear case fans, plus the OCZ power supply pulls hot air off the CPU.

I thought I may have to bump for the XP-120 or something better but so far I can't complain. Also, I don't really trust MB sensors. I'm using an Abit AV8 and have no way of knowing if my readings are really accurate.

 

[Stokes]

My temps on my 3200+ were great.. I remember when I first got it I was idling somewhere around 27-30C, real low like that. I had voltage up to 1.6 and the processor running at 2.5Mhz and never saw the load temp go above 55C. So of course when I first got the FX-55 I was a little worried about the higher temperatures I was recieving.

It seems like things take awhile to cool down for me. For example if I play Madden on my stock settings, I will see around a 52C load temp, and then idle to 40C. While right now after not gamed or done anything to push the CPU I'm seeing 35C idle (web browsing).

My case isn't terribly cluttered and I've stared at it for awhile looking for ways to improve it without redoing the setup, but airflow is decent in there.

I decided that I was so intrigued with Water Cooling that I wanted to give it a try and without putting in an arm and a leg, so I read some reviews and found a deal on the COOLER MASTER RL-HUC-E8U1.

I'm not expecting phenominal performance from it, but I'm expecting it to be slightly better then some of the top Heatsinks and fans, of course I know people will shake their heads and argue over that its a mistake, but I wanted to try water cooling out and just give it a shot and I felt like the Cooler Master would be a good fit. Some people report some good results with it, so I will report back after I get things done.

Also since I am getting the cooler master I decided that I would 'rewire' my comp to make it cleaner inside and see if I can't improve airflow.

 

[Mucker]

First thing, download and run Core temp:

Core temp

It will give you a very accurate reading of the cpu temp.

I wouldn't expect much if any over 3000 MHz with these chips. Stick with a good air cooler and AS5. Water is a waste of money unless you are planning to get extreme with the chip. My Big Typhoon is a great performer, though mounting sucks.....

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Stokes
I'm wondering what I should do for cooling...

You probably won't like this, but here's what I would do... really!

Get yourself a can of 100% mineral spirits (paint thinner) and a tube of MX-1.

Clean everything up with the paint thinner, and apply a THIN coat of MX-1.

That's it!

 

[Texun]

Dayum! I DL'd Core Temp and it shows my CPU 5C lower than Speedfan. 22C Vs. 27C.

Stokes: Wish I could offer some help but it sounds like you covered all the bases. I've got a generic 90mm fan running at 2000 RPM on my SK-90. According to what I read your NExus fan should be around 1500 RPM @ 27CFM. Do you have another fan you could try?