watercooling and 6600 vcore

[gp813]

Been spending the last few days tweaking my new system.
Pics:
http://i52.photobucket.com/alb...gpitpitan/DSC_0253.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/alb...gpitpitan/DSC_0251.jpg

So heres the data ive gathered in the last few days:

Idle shot:
http://i52.photobucket.com/alb...g8/gpitpitan/idle3.jpg

TAT shot:
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8/gpitpitan/tat3.jpg

orthos shot:
http://i52.photobucket.com/alb.../gpitpitan/orthos3.jpg

I have it rock stable at those settings you see above.

3.8ghz was no boot even at 1.6vcore. =(

heres a shot of 3.7ghz
http://i52.photobucket.com/alb...pitpitan/OCorthos1.jpg

i can run orthos blend all day using that, but when i tried TAT i blue screen in a few seconds.

All tests conducted in sync mode with my ram running at 5-5-5-15 2.4v
All tests conducted at around 3-4pm on a hot afternoon in so cali.

At night i hover at or just under 30c idle.

So is TAT instability a bad thing even if i can run orthos blend for long periods of time? (so far)

watercooling questions:

whats the highest vcore some of u are willing to go with watercooling?
should i add a chipset block?


any other tips, advice or suggestions are appreciated, always looking for new ways to improve my rig building and setup.

Also, big shout out to the wiring guide, helped me out a lot from the pics u can see.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I've got my own [technically conservative] opinions about this.

I've explained my own E6600 setup and we're using the same chipset, but I have the Striker board. I'm just shy of going up to 3.3 Ghz -- currently at about 3.275. I may find -- given some reviews I've read over the last couple months -- that I'll either have to loosen my memory timings (currently 3,4,4,8) to 3,4,4,10, or run a divider. Your settings are much looser.

I get good bandwidth with tight settings, so my philosophy on this is to open bottlenecks down the pyramid, and over-clock as far as I can while balancing those things. But others will have different opinions to offer you. AigoMorla has an E6600 running at 3.6 Ghz, but he runs a divider so he can get the memory to 1,000+ Mhz [DDR2 rate]. He has quite tight timings for that speed -- with (I think) a CAS = 4 setting.

At least on the Striker 680i board, the initial BIOS did not either report, or show through other measurement, that the "set" values were a ball-park approximation to what actually arose while the system was running. You could run the VCORE up to 1.55v, while reported values were closer to 1.44, and the actual values were closer to the latter. Then they issued a BIOS revision -- one after another.

And again, it's a matter of philosophy. If Intel says their warrantied range is between 1.3-something and 1.3725V, it means that they don't want to take a chance on RMA replacements beyond that level. Even so, an increase of some 0.07V probably doesn't threaten processor longevity -- too much. And, as I understand it, it is the load voltage value that counts. Since my board -- and probably your board -- show voltage droop under load -- a common observation, a setting of 1.44 that leads to an idle value of 1.425 and a load value of 1.40V probably won't do much harm, or even cause that much additional heat -- IF -- IF-- you can trust the monitor readings, or that the settings result in good actual approximations to the BIOS menu choices.

That's just my humble opinion. I should get back to work and reduce my profile here for a while.

 

[aigomorla]

MCR-220, D5, ApogeeGT

:thumbsup:

Very nice basic system you got there.

Your temps seem great. I dont think you can tweek it any with your current eq. Your loop order is perfect, and your layout is very clean and simple.


Enjoy your rig, if you want to upgrade it later on, i would recomend a MCW60, and upgrade that 120x2 to a MCR320.

You should be a even happier camper then later on.

 

[gp813]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: aigomorla
MCR-220, D5, ApogeeGT

:thumbsup:

Very nice basic system you got there.

Your temps seem great. I dont think you can tweek it any with your current eq. Your loop order is perfect, and your layout is very clean and simple.


Enjoy your rig, if you want to upgrade it later on, i would recomend a MCW60, and upgrade that 120x2 to a MCR320.

You should be a even happier camper then later on.</end quote></div>

i know from reading some of your other posts that the mcr320 is a must have for a quadcore setup. I know ill wanna add a mcw60 later on, especially if i SLI, so the 320 will be a must have there as well.

Im gonna redo my tubing a little bit, i think i can run it around a bit neater, but i may just leave it until i get some more blocks and whatnot.

thanks for the info bonzai and aigo.

Oh and one more thing, this setup is a lot better then my old koolance exos AL

 

[BonzaiDuck]

AigoMorla --

Has anyone produced radiators for use with 140mm fans?

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
AigoMorla --

Has anyone produced radiators for use with 140mm fans?

thermochill has a prototype in the making. Its not available to public tho.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Thanks.

I just noticed that the system we'd been discussing on another thread for which you posted temperature data was a Q6600 -- not an E6600.

 

[gp813]

ok aigo, i want my system as cold as yours, if thats even possible here in so cal in the middle of summer.

41c at load on an e6600 is nuts. then again, you seem to have a nice cpu that doesnt need a lot of vcore.

since youve seen my setup, any other ways besides a 120x3 radiator to make it run colder?

 

[aigomorla]

that screenie was taken when it was kinda cold in my room. It was around 17-18C if i remember correctly. Maybe 1 or 2 C's lower.

If you want a more realistic photo, ambients around 73-75F.

http://s125.photobucket.com/al...urrent=Clipboard02.jpg

Theres my 8 hour stability @ 3636.

So your temps are fine as it is. The larger radiator is only needed if you drop in extra heat like your GFX. Radiators are also more efficient at higher temps.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Aigo --

I'm making contingency plans for farther down the pike. My case-mod features a case-bottom duct-box with an aluminum panel fitted for two 140mm fans. If the only radiators available three months from now are for 120mm fans, I'll either have to alter the panel or cut a new one (not a lot of trouble, though . . . panel can be unscrewed and removed).

Second, do you know if it is feasible to hook up two radiators in series? I was thinking that there should be no drawbacks to that, or that some have done it.

My case-build potentially has the capacity and fan-placement for a double-120mm external radiator, a triple-120mm (external or internal) like the MCR-320, and a single-120mm radiator. I'd think you could even fit three radiators together in series.

It would be nice if some company would release models for 140mm fans, but the fans can be adapted to 120mm intake or exhaust side applications, anyway.

 

[drakore]

Bonzai duck u are a madman... you can do 2 radiators in series... may need a second pump depending on your loops...

overall i think 2 loops may be preferable depending on your loops ofcourse

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm bucking the trend of the Intel "contest" of a couple years ago -- offering cash to people who could design the smallest HTPC case. Dumped all my midtower cases in 2003-2004. The current project is 4" higher and about an inch or two wider than most full-towers. I probably wouldn't use that many radiators, but I have the capacity with both intake and exhaust to blow air through about five or six 120mm-fans-worth of radiator-real-estate, and if I remove an auxiliary four-drive hard drive cage (leaving seven-drives-worth of quick-removable 3.5" drive bays), I could put in an ample reservoir. I think the pump, for needing a "place to go," won't find it cramped.

Just surged ahead of some other requirements, to paint the side access panel and install the side-window. 22"x18"-worth of Lexan. This . . . . is going to be good . . . . for me, anyway!

Here's some advance intelligence: I was thinking about the weight of the RAID array and that of the case, and so when I ordered double-wheeled casters with brakes, I got them in a 3"-diameter size. I think each wheel will sustain something between 175 and 200 lbs -- adequate if the whole enchilada weighs 800.

You better believe I ordered polished aluminum billet-handles, too!

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: drakore
Bonzai duck u are a madman... you can do 2 radiators in series... may need a second pump depending on your loops...

overall i think 2 loops may be preferable depending on your loops ofcourse

ahahahaha why do you think i call him crazy duck for?

Dual loops is definitely prefered, instead of droping them in a series.

 

[drakore]

ahhaa i can see that now....

crazy duck you should man up and get 2 x PA120.3 rads for ultimate cooling potential haha

 

[gp813]

did a whole lot more testing, and i got some odd OCing.

3.6ghz stable at 1.5vcore bios. 2.4v ddr2 @ 4-3-3-8 800mhz (this is 8500mhz reaper ram)

i have it on linked synced, and ive tried several combos today, including 5-5-5-12 1066 divider on the mobo at the same CPU settings as shown above but it got me only 30min of blend orthos.

i have a few more combos ic an try but this seems to be the sweetspot =