Upgrade for my gaming computer

[Veriitas]

Oke thanks! I will try to overclock tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

[Veriitas]

Hey,

I overclocked it at 4.5 GHz. Seems stable, put temps are not.

I tested it with Prime95. With my case closed the temps raised to 71C in 20 minutes.
Stopped testing, didn't want to destroy it, hehe.



After I opened my case, I decided to also test it for 20 minutes. The temps raise to only 61 C.



My case is kinda old. Is the airflow bad? Or did I put too much thermal paste on my CPU?
Idle temps are around 38C

Case looks like this while opened:



IF it's the case, I would like to buy Sharkoon Scorpio 1000. Is that good enough?

Thanks in advance!

 

[lehtv]

70-75C is acceptable IMO for an overclocked chip. But of course if you can lower the temperature with better airflow, all the better. Your speedfan screenshot says "Core 0" is 87C though - I wonder if that's accurate. What about the other cores? Could you use CPUID HWMonitor instead? Also, did you have to increase voltage to get to 4.5GHz, and by how much? Just curious.

It's common that a bit too much thermal paste is applied, but it shouldn't affect temperatures more than by a couple of degrees max. It can be worth it to apply the thermal paste more than once just to get optimal results. When you remove the heatsink you always get feedback of your previous attempt so you can improve the paste spread next time.

Yeah that case looks a bit old and dusty. Could've at least wiped off the dust before installing new components... Anyway, there are a couple of things wrong with the airflow.

The major thing is that your CPU cooler fan is on the left side. It should be installed on the right side, pushing air through the heatsink and out the back of the case. Your rear fan should be pushing air out of the case, I think it's already doing that. The other major thing is air intake. I don't see any intake fans. It's critical that cool air is actively pushed inside the case, otherwise you don't get enough fresh air to cool components adequately, and you create a negative air pressure inside the case, which will make it harder for hot air to escape the heatsink's fins and it will also increase dust buildup.

Finally, your power supply, being top mounted, has all those cables hanging down, which doesn't help airflow either. Would be better off with a bottom mounted PSU and optionally a fan on the top of the case as an exhaust.

 

[Veriitas]

Thanks for the feedback Lehtv. I overclocked to 4.5GHz with +0.020Volt.
I tested it with intel burn test and it was stable.. Don't know how much I can rely on that. But it works perfect at the moment.

I played some Battlefield: bad company 2 and it worked smooth.

I bought a new case, should arrive tomorrow. I will try to use your tips.
Make sure the back fan moves the air out and place a fan for fresh air.
I will also put the power supply on the bottom.

The case I was talking about is already mounted with three fans, I don't know how good they are though.

I'll try to install all the parts tomorrow and use Prime95 and CPUID to check the temps.

Thank you a lot, again!

Just one more question before I rip my coolermaster off to put the fan on the right side.
Do I have to put on new thermal paste when I rip it off? Or should I just leave the same amount on and only turn it.

 

[lehtv]

I've never heard of the Scorpio 1000 case but by the looks of it it has everything you need: cooling, cable management, and PSU fan intake hole at the bottom. I just hope the build quality is as good as its appearance. Sharkoon's fans are good, I have a couple of Sharkoon Silent Eagles myself.

The top fan slots will allow hot air to escape naturally. You should only add fans to them if you also use the 200mm side fan slot, otherwise you'll create negative air pressure. Even then it may not be worth it (I'll have to test that theory myself by removing my top fans )

 

[Veriitas]

I've never heard of the Scorpio 1000 case but by the looks of it it has everything you need: cooling, cable management, and PSU fan intake hole at the bottom. I just hope the build quality is as good as its appearance. Sharkoon's fans are good, I have a couple of Sharkoon Silent Eagles myself.

The top fan slots will allow hot air to escape naturally. You should only add fans to them if you also use the 200mm side fan slot, otherwise you'll create negative air pressure. Even then it may not be worth it (I'll have to test that theory myself by removing my top fans )

hehe, i read some reviews over the internet, seemed pretty nice.
Its a 21cm x 50 cm x 50 cm, big enough I guess.

So I should have the back fan move the air out and the front fan move fresh air in?

EDIT:
I found this picture, should help me

BUT: Should I put on new thermal paste when I turn the fan around (CPU Fan)?

 

[lehtv]

I found this picture, should help me

That's the general idea, yeah

but: Should i put on new thermal paste when i turn the fan around (cpu fan)?

Can you not just detach the fan and attach it on the other side?

When reseating a heatsink, you absolutely should clean both the CPU surface and the heatsink base. You need a lint-free cloth (Do not use toilet paper!) and a liquid meant for dissolving the paste (Do not use water!). Commonly used liquids are thermal paste removal substances from manufacturers like Akasa and Tuniq, or isopropyl alcohol (disinfectants often contain isopropyl alcohol but they're mixed with water...). Your best bet is to order the Akasa, Tuniq or similar removal liquid online, or ask around from a local computer store.

You put a couple of drops of the liquid onto the surface, let the thermal paste soak it in and dissolve for a while (say, 15-30 seconds), then carefully wipe it off with the cloth. In addition I use the Q-pads to remove thermal paste from the edges of the CPU because I don't want the cloth to touch anything on the motherboard.

 

[Veriitas]

That's the general idea, yeah

Can you not just detach the fan and attach it on the other side?

When reseating a heatsink, you absolutely should clean both the CPU surface and the heatsink base. You need a lint-free cloth (Do not use toilet paper!) and a liquid meant for dissolving the paste (Do not use water!). Commonly used liquids are thermal paste removal substances from manufacturers like Akasa and Tuniq, or isopropyl alcohol (disinfectants often contain isopropyl alcohol but they're mixed with water...). Your best bet is to order the Akasa, Tuniq or similar removal liquid online, or ask around from a local computer store.

You put a couple of drops of the liquid onto the surface, let the thermal paste soak it in and dissolve for a while (say, 15-30 seconds), then carefully wipe it off with the cloth. In addition I use the Q-pads to remove thermal paste from the edges of the CPU because I don't want the cloth to touch anything on the motherboard.

I am not sure if i put the thermal paste on propely..
I'm going to go with the pea size method. I did the vertical line the first time...

Good idea, or?

 

[mfenn]

I am not sure if i put the thermal paste on propely..
I'm going to go with the pea size method. I did the vertical line the first time...

Good idea, or?

The pea-sized method is what I use (and I change a lot of server CPUs). Quick, easy and gets the job done.

 

[Veriitas]

The pea-sized method is what I use (and I change a lot of server CPUs). Quick, easy and gets the job done.

Ok I did it. Received the new case this morning, applied new thermal paste and installed all the parts.

I took another test with Prime95. Again 20 minutes, not longer(just to compare with my old case and old thermal paste).
Previous results (old case):


New results (new case):



Temps were still going up, but I decided to stop to compare.

What do you guys think? Will it get too hot eventually, or is this oke?

Thanks again!

 

[lehtv]

It'd be more accurate to compare before and after shots from the same program, but that still shows an obvious improvement. 10 degrees better just in HDD temperatures! That's the front intake fan doing its job. Over 4 degrees less in CPU temperature is also very nice. That's probably more due to better airflow than reapplied thermal paste. You have the CPU fan pushing air to the back now, right?

Odd though that your core #0 is 6 degrees lower than cores #2 and #3. Can't say if that's normal... But the temperatures overall are what I'd expect at 4.5GHz with Hyper 212+. GJ

 

[Veriitas]

It'd be more accurate to compare before and after shots from the same program, but that still shows an obvious improvement. 10 degrees better just in HDD temperatures! That's the front intake fan doing its job. Over 4 degrees less in CPU temperature is also very nice. That's probably more due to better airflow than reapplied thermal paste. You have the CPU fan pushing air to the back now, right?

Odd though that your core #0 is 6 degrees lower than cores #2 and #3. Can't say if that's normal... But the temperatures overall are what I'd expect at 4.5GHz with Hyper 212+. GJ

Thank you! I'll try to test it with speedfan tonight.
And post the results.

Yes, I changed the fan, moving air out of the case now.

BTW isn't it 15 Celcius cooler on the CPU? 56 versus 71?

 

[lehtv]

BTW isn't it 15 Celcius cooler on the CPU? 56 versus 71?

56C is the temperature for CPUTIN. Which is a sensor on the motherboard, not on the CPU itself. The temperatures of the CPU cores are shown in the "i5 2500K" section (surprise!). It says 61C for core #0, 67C for cores #1 and #2 and 64C for core #3.

 

[Veriitas]

56C is the temperature for CPUTIN. Which is a sensor on the motherboard, not on the CPU itself. The temperatures of the CPU cores are shown in the "i5 2500K" section (surprise!). It says 61C for core #0, 67C for cores #1 and #2 and 64C for core #3.

Oh wow, and that is not too hot, if I only tested for 20 minutes?

BTW I have the cooler master TX3, not the 212+.
Didn't buy the 212+ because my case was too small. I got a bigger one now though.. Is the 212+ a lot better?

Also, I used the standard thermal paste that I got with the TX3, is that good enough?

 

[sm625]

We still have no idea if or how the new AMD specific instructions in BD will enhance AMD's video drivers. BD could very easily become the best gaming cpu, if AMD was even remotely competent...

I would not make any large purchases without knowing how this is gonna go.

 

[Veriitas]

Already bought an i5 2500k + Z68

 

[lehtv]

BTW I have the cooler master TX3, not the 212+.
Oh wow, and that is not too hot, if I only tested for 20 minutes?

Oh right, TX3. It's only a 92mm fan so those temperatures are certainly not higher than I'd expect. My CPU temperatures in prime95 stabilise within 10 minutes or less so I don't think you'd see change in temps after 20 minutes. That's probably dependent on how good your exhaust airflow is... But with your new case I don't think that's a problem.

According to the HWMonitor screenshot your fan is spinning at the maximum of 2800RPM... That's a bit loud, don't you think? Personally I'd prefer to stay well under 2000RPM, and adjust the overclock accordingly to keep it at around 70C load. It may be perfectly safe to keep it at higher than that but since I'm not 100% sure, I don't want to give advice that will degrade your CPU prematurely

Do you have any fan profile enabled in the BIOS? It would automatically adjust fan RPM according to CPU load (or temperature, not sure).

The 212+ is of course better, but not alot. The 120mm fan moves more air at a lower RPM and noise level, and the bigger heatsink can take advantage of that.

Also, I used the standard thermal paste that I got with the TX3, is that good enough?

Good enough yes, but nowhere near the best. You could probably shave off several degrees with Noctua NT-H1 but a tube of it costs $10. Not really worth it given how cheap the heatsink itself is.

 

[Veriitas]

I don't think the fan is loud, but if it's bad that it runs so high all the time, I will check it.

Also; my Prime95 version runs 12 tests on 1204k after that it goes up to 8000k... that's why the temps are raising.. I don't know what the difference is between those two.

 

[lehtv]

I think you should enable a standard or high performance fan profile in the BIOS to take advantage of the fan's PWM (pulse width modulation, allows the motherboard to adjust voltage supplied to the fan and change RPM according to need). In my experience with my mobo, standard and high performance profiles will still spin close to max RPM at load, and the silent profile will keep the RPM in check even at load. Could be different with your mobo, just experiment a bit and you'll find out how it works

 

[Veriitas]

Ok i put it on auto... but the "SYSTIN" is always around 48/50C now on idle..
Isnt that too high for idle?

 

[lehtv]

Mine is at 45C on idle ... Been like that for 1.5 years, and this mobo was bought used. I don't think you should worry about it. Maybe someone else can give you some expert info on that

 

[Veriitas]

Yes please!
Thank you SOOO much lehtv for answering ALL my questions lately
They should have a "thank you"-button on anandtech, so you can thank the people who always help you

 

[lehtv]

My pleasure ^^

 

[Veriitas]

Been stress testing for the past two hours..

First hour:



Two hours:



What do you guys think? High, normal?
Please give me feedback

 

[mfenn]

Looks fine to me. Upper 60's is perfectly normal for a Sandy Bridge at load.

The reason the different cores are at different temperatures is probably because the HSF isn't mounted with equal pressure on all four corners. Since the TX3 uses pushpins, it is really damn hard to get the mounting to be perfect.

A bolt-through cooler like the Hyper 212+ is much easier to mounted evenly because you can just torque the screws down the same amount on each corner.