Need Advice on Cooling

[whatishacks]

hey everyone

I have a decent gaming PC.

I only use it for games, and the case is medium sized.

I've already managed the wires to the best of my ability (Due to limited space).

I also installed 1 120mm fan to take are out, on the backside of the case.


My case came with a side panel cooling mod where there is a funnel to bring air directly to the CPU heatsink.

I overclock my GPU fan speed to about 40% (2800 RPM) which keeps my GPU no higher than 65C (its usually 45-60)

However, my Intel Q6600 is usually 55-70.

So my question is this, (KEEP IN MIND IM ON A LOW BUDGET)


should i get a better case for lets say $60. That way I would get better airflow all around. Keep in mind that my motherboard only has 1 more 3 pin connecter left. Not sure if there is any otherway to power the fans.

OR should i just buy a better cpu cooler. Right now im using the stock one that came with my build.

OR should i just drill some holes in my case.. its free lmao

This may seem like a simple question, but I have other things to upgrade while on a budget so every decision is drastic.


Thanks

 

[OlyAR15]

What are your issues? Why do you need improved cooling?

 

[whatishacks]

What are your issues? Why do you need improved cooling?

well on some of the more newer games the cpu hits 70 Celcius

and i feel like overclocking my gpu fan is just gonna make it die real fast

so even if i can lower it down by 5% for speed, it would be good in the long run.

Sorry if I seem uneducated, i just got into PCs and stuff recently.

 

[OlyAR15]

70 degrees isn't unusually hot. So I still don't understand what issues you have. Are you planning on overclocking? Is there something wrong that you believe is heat related? If you just don't like that number and want it lower, get a better aftermarket heatsink. It probably won't make a difference to the computer but it seems like it would put your mind at ease.

 

[whatishacks]

70 degrees isn't unusually hot. So I still don't understand what issues you have. Are you planning on overclocking? Is there something wrong that you believe is heat related? If you just don't like that number and want it lower, get a better aftermarket heatsink. It probably won't make a difference to the computer but it seems like it would put your mind at ease.

I might be over thinking it I guess. Again, not very experienced with computer parts and all the more advanced stuff so pardon my ignorance

I was planning on overclocking tho

not drastically.. Maybe to 3ghz

 

[BonzaiDuck]

My Q6600 never was -- nor is in its second incarnation -- much different at idle than my i7-SB's. The motherboard and CPU-idle temperature are close together -- maybe the motherboard a couple degrees higher. The reported BIOS and windows-monitoring software are fairly consistent for those idle values, accounting for a life-average of less than 40C, and usually in the low 30's. It depends on your room-ambient: mine is typically as low as 75F in winter and 82F in mid-summer.

If the OP is using the stock Intel cooler, it may say as much about the cooler as it does for his case and ventilation.

Options:

You can do sheet-metal work on your case side-panels or chassis, perhaps to ventilate larger (slower and more quiet) fans.

You can find a heatpipe cooler. The $30 Hyper 212 EVO would probably do marvelous service for a Q6600.

You can spend $100 to ~$160 + on an AiO "liquid-cooling" or water-cooling assembly, which you just bolt into the case.

Modding for better airflow could logically follow from any of the above.

Start with the heatpipe cooler.

Unless you want to spend more money, or anticipate a certainty that you'll use the same cooling apparatus on a subsequent computer upgrade.

JUST AN AFTERTHOUGHT: Especially if overclocking, the wise enthusiast might want to make an initial entry in his "overclock journal" after running a stress-test on any processor, any socket and motherboard -- to record those particular temperatures with the stock cooler.

We're always in a hurry to build our system when the new-gen processor has been touted as an overclock winner. We forget about having a reference-point, install the new cooler, and overlook the perspective of the stock equipment and speed.

I was recently stunned when I tried this with an i7-2700K and the stock intel cooler. After the initial readings, I tried to bump up the turbo speed to 4.2 Ghz while leaving the voltage settings at "auto." The test halted after a couple minutes. It wasn't because the settings proved unstable: instead, OCCT quit on me because the temperature of the lead core exceeded 85C, and the software default settings put the temperature limit at 85. And this was only 300 Mhz above the stock turbo speed, and no change in voltage settings. That's pretty toasty, when you consider how much an after-market cooler would bring those temperatures down for such a mild tweak!