I have recently purchased a Sunbeam Theta fan controller that comes bundled with 7 temp probes. Sunbeam shipped some smallish thermal tape to use for installation of the thermal probes, but it is not apparent exactly how it should be used in each of my instances. I will first give some system info and then on to my questions.
System data:
Gigabyte DS3-Rev 3.3 mobo
C2D e6400- Lapped mirror smooth
2X1 Gig OCZ Plat Rev2 PC2 6400 C4 RAM
2X1 Gig Corsair XMS2 PC2 6400 C4 RAM
WD Raptor 150 boot/gaming
WD 250 gig storage/porn drive
EVGA 8800 gts 640 meg
Lite-On DVD burner
Corsair HX-520 PSU
Case and Cooling info:
Thermaltake Armor case (2-D12SL fans front intake, 2-D12SL fans rear exhaust)
Titan Amanda TEC cooler for CPU- Lapped mirror smooth
Thermalrite HR-05 for NB- soon to be lapped mirror smooth
Thermalrite HR-05sli for SB- Soon to be lapped mirror smooth (custom mount)
Sunbeam Theta TP-101 Fan controller
Logisys 3.5" LCD temp monitor
My questions relate to the proper mounting of the Thermal probes from the Theta and the LCD monitor in each of the following instances:
C2D e6400 CPU with Titan Amanda: I know that C2D chips have a top heat-spreader with the core chip in the center oriented in one direction as you can see on page 4 of the Arctic Silver 5 installation instructions. I have always lapped my HSF to insure perfect contact across the chip, but with the C2D cores being located in the center of the heatspreader, is it imperative that the HSF maintain perfect contact across the entire chip heatspreader or is mirror to mirror important only in the center? Can I insert the tip of a thermal probe in between the e6400 heatspreader and the bottom plate of the Titan Amanda, as long as I keep the thermal tip away from the center area where the core is located? Or should I mount the thermal tip beside the CPU heatspreader and sandwich it between the Amanda HS base and the metal retainer assembly? Should I mount the probe in between the metal retainer clip and the side of the CPU heatspreader or would that cause to much potential pressure/damage? Should I mount the thermal probe to the bottom of the Amanda HSF and not have it touch the CPU heatspreader at all??
NB with HR-05: The NB is a much smaller core/surface than the CPU heatspreader, so I am pretty sure that I need to mount the thermal probe adjacent to the NB core as close as I can get without blocking any heat transfer. Or should I mount the thermal tip on the bottom of the HR-05 off to one side of the NB core? Could I sandwich the thermal tip between the top side of the HR-05 and the mounting clips? Is the temp at the top of the block the same as the bottom of the block?
SB with HR-05 sli: The SB core is almost as large as the CPU heatspreader. I will have to mount the HR-05 sli using a custom bracket at an angle so it clears the 8800gts, the SATA ports and the pci slots. This leaves the very tips of each SB corner exposed . Will this be a problem? The thermal probe mounting for the SB is perhaps the most intriguing of the mounts. Should I sandwich the thermal probe tip between the HR-05 sli and the SB since the SB is so large? Should I mount the thermal probe to the bottom of the HR-05 sli on one of the "exposed corners"? What would be the effect if I sandwiched the Thermal probe between the top of the HR-05 sli and the custom mounting bracket I make? Would the temp on the top of the block be the same as the bottom of the block? Is it even worth putting a thermal sensor on the SB??
RAM: For RAM, I have always mounted my thermal probes to the outside of the RAM heatspreader with the supplied mounting tape in the middle of RAM chips. Are there any other methods suggested for mounting thermal probes on RAM? Ideally, I would like to mount one probe on the Corsair and one on the OCZ RAM to see which runs warmer.
HDD: For HDD, I have always mounted the thermal probe using the supplied tape to the top of the Hard drive in the center of the top panel. Is there any method suggested that is better to mount the thermal probes onto the HDD? Is there a "warmer"/"better" spot on the HDD that the probe should be mounted? Is it worth it to put a probe onto the HDD with 2-120 mm fans blowing across them?
8800GTS w/stock cooler: Where would be the best place to mount the thermal probe to my GTS card? Is the backside of the card directly opposite the GPU the best place? Should I try to mount the thermal probe on the bottom side of the factory cooler near the GPU core? Is there an aftermarket cooler for the 8800 in the under $50 range that is worthwhile? I will probably do a mild OC on the 8800gts once I get the CPU stable where I want it.
System temp: Where in the case do you recommend mounting a probe to monitor the ambient case temp? This probe will be used to increase and decrease the 4-120mm case fans.
General: On the thermal probe tips, is it just the very tip that is important to be secured against the "hot surface" or is it important for the entire "skinny part" on the tip to make contact?
I have seen reference to not applying to much pressure to the thermal tips or they could be damaged. How much pressure is to much pressure?? Is Sandwiching between items held together with "spring screws" to much pressure, how about push pins with springs on them?
If you have made it this far through the post, my most sincere thanks. Hopefully the answers that arise from this thread can help others when they need to install their own thermal probes.
System data:
Gigabyte DS3-Rev 3.3 mobo
C2D e6400- Lapped mirror smooth
2X1 Gig OCZ Plat Rev2 PC2 6400 C4 RAM
2X1 Gig Corsair XMS2 PC2 6400 C4 RAM
WD Raptor 150 boot/gaming
WD 250 gig storage/porn drive
EVGA 8800 gts 640 meg
Lite-On DVD burner
Corsair HX-520 PSU
Case and Cooling info:
Thermaltake Armor case (2-D12SL fans front intake, 2-D12SL fans rear exhaust)
Titan Amanda TEC cooler for CPU- Lapped mirror smooth
Thermalrite HR-05 for NB- soon to be lapped mirror smooth
Thermalrite HR-05sli for SB- Soon to be lapped mirror smooth (custom mount)
Sunbeam Theta TP-101 Fan controller
Logisys 3.5" LCD temp monitor
My questions relate to the proper mounting of the Thermal probes from the Theta and the LCD monitor in each of the following instances:
C2D e6400 CPU with Titan Amanda: I know that C2D chips have a top heat-spreader with the core chip in the center oriented in one direction as you can see on page 4 of the Arctic Silver 5 installation instructions. I have always lapped my HSF to insure perfect contact across the chip, but with the C2D cores being located in the center of the heatspreader, is it imperative that the HSF maintain perfect contact across the entire chip heatspreader or is mirror to mirror important only in the center? Can I insert the tip of a thermal probe in between the e6400 heatspreader and the bottom plate of the Titan Amanda, as long as I keep the thermal tip away from the center area where the core is located? Or should I mount the thermal tip beside the CPU heatspreader and sandwich it between the Amanda HS base and the metal retainer assembly? Should I mount the probe in between the metal retainer clip and the side of the CPU heatspreader or would that cause to much potential pressure/damage? Should I mount the thermal probe to the bottom of the Amanda HSF and not have it touch the CPU heatspreader at all??
NB with HR-05: The NB is a much smaller core/surface than the CPU heatspreader, so I am pretty sure that I need to mount the thermal probe adjacent to the NB core as close as I can get without blocking any heat transfer. Or should I mount the thermal tip on the bottom of the HR-05 off to one side of the NB core? Could I sandwich the thermal tip between the top side of the HR-05 and the mounting clips? Is the temp at the top of the block the same as the bottom of the block?
SB with HR-05 sli: The SB core is almost as large as the CPU heatspreader. I will have to mount the HR-05 sli using a custom bracket at an angle so it clears the 8800gts, the SATA ports and the pci slots. This leaves the very tips of each SB corner exposed . Will this be a problem? The thermal probe mounting for the SB is perhaps the most intriguing of the mounts. Should I sandwich the thermal probe tip between the HR-05 sli and the SB since the SB is so large? Should I mount the thermal probe to the bottom of the HR-05 sli on one of the "exposed corners"? What would be the effect if I sandwiched the Thermal probe between the top of the HR-05 sli and the custom mounting bracket I make? Would the temp on the top of the block be the same as the bottom of the block? Is it even worth putting a thermal sensor on the SB??
RAM: For RAM, I have always mounted my thermal probes to the outside of the RAM heatspreader with the supplied mounting tape in the middle of RAM chips. Are there any other methods suggested for mounting thermal probes on RAM? Ideally, I would like to mount one probe on the Corsair and one on the OCZ RAM to see which runs warmer.
HDD: For HDD, I have always mounted the thermal probe using the supplied tape to the top of the Hard drive in the center of the top panel. Is there any method suggested that is better to mount the thermal probes onto the HDD? Is there a "warmer"/"better" spot on the HDD that the probe should be mounted? Is it worth it to put a probe onto the HDD with 2-120 mm fans blowing across them?
8800GTS w/stock cooler: Where would be the best place to mount the thermal probe to my GTS card? Is the backside of the card directly opposite the GPU the best place? Should I try to mount the thermal probe on the bottom side of the factory cooler near the GPU core? Is there an aftermarket cooler for the 8800 in the under $50 range that is worthwhile? I will probably do a mild OC on the 8800gts once I get the CPU stable where I want it.
System temp: Where in the case do you recommend mounting a probe to monitor the ambient case temp? This probe will be used to increase and decrease the 4-120mm case fans.
General: On the thermal probe tips, is it just the very tip that is important to be secured against the "hot surface" or is it important for the entire "skinny part" on the tip to make contact?
I have seen reference to not applying to much pressure to the thermal tips or they could be damaged. How much pressure is to much pressure?? Is Sandwiching between items held together with "spring screws" to much pressure, how about push pins with springs on them?
If you have made it this far through the post, my most sincere thanks. Hopefully the answers that arise from this thread can help others when they need to install their own thermal probes.
