PC cooling thread.

[piper]

Starting this thread for discussion of good practices for keeping a PC running cool. General suggestions, tips and tricks, dos and donts from experienced members would make this a good thread, and all good suggestions would be kept in the first posts.

 

Specific queries are most welcome as well, like mine below.

 

My setup :

 

Cabinet : Cooler Master Elite 430 . The variant I purchased does not have a windowed side panel, it is a regular metal panel with two 120mm fan possibilities.

Processor : Likely the FX 8120 with stock cooler

GPU : MSI 6850 OC edition

Fans :

1. Front (120mm) : intake towards HDDs

2. Rear (120mm) : intake towards processor

3. Top (120mm) : exhaust

4. Spare (80mm) : Not fitted yet.

 

Now the queries :

 

1. Is the fan setup fine because I have zero experience in which fans should serve as intake and which ones as exhaust.

2. I've read that except for the rear fan, all are supposed to be intake. Is that correct? Because I was thinking that fan(s) on top should be the only exhaust (as hot air rises).

3. Is an aftermarket CPU cooler mandatory for overclocking, or only for extreme overclocking?

4. Should I opt for a RAM cooler, like the GSkill Turbulence ? It is priced at under 1k.

[piper]

Reserved for updates and FAQs.

[piper]

Reserved #2.

[Big Boss]

Cooling solutions by using fans can be understood by knowing type of airflows:

 

1. Positive airflow: When number of intake fans are more than number of exhaust fans. It means more air is coming IN and less air is going out. This results in slightly higher temperature than using other methods, but it takes care of dust problem. I am using this now. This with side panel open gives me great cooling and less dust. It is recommended for non-overclockers.

 

2. Negative airflow: When number of exhaust fans are more than intake fans. This gives less temperature as the hot air is blown out and is good during hot summers. However case requires frequent cleaning. This is recommended for OCers.

 

3. Neutral airflow: This is perfect balance between the above 2 airflows, but very difficult to achieve. The fans should have same CFM ratings and equal number of fans should exhaust and intake air, also the position becomes crucial.

 

CFM= Cubic Feet per minute, i.e the amount of air a fan can take/push air per minute. This value should match for fans if you want neutral airflow.

[piper]

^Good info, repped.

 

I've also had a look at CPU fan controllers like the Deepcool Rockman, available at TheITWares and can help with controlling the fans' speed which will assist in balancing the airflow, as well as keeping noise down to an acceptable level.

[s1renlord]

An aftermarket cooler is generally recommended for overclocking as it helps in stabilizing the temps of the CPU.There are 2 types of CPU cooling systems ;

 

Liquid Cooling :

 

A liquid cooling system circulates a liquid through a heat sink attached to the processor inside of the computer. As the liquid passes through the heat sink, heat is transferred from the hot processor to the cooler liquid.It is generally recommended for extreme overclockers.

 

Pros#

 

1.More Efficient

2.Relatively Quiet

3.Allows extreme overclocking

 

Cons#

 

1.Expensive

2.Require more space

3.Installation is pretty complex

 

Good Liquid Coolers :

 

1.Corsair Hydro H100

2.Corsair Hydro H80

3.Antec Kuhler H20 920

 

Air Cooling :

 

Air cooling is a method of dissipating heat. It works by making the object to be cooled have a larger surface area or have an increased flow of air over its surface.It is generally recommended for overclockers to prevent damages to the CPU due to dissipation of heat.

 

Pros#

 

1.Cheap

2.Easy to install

3.Requires little space

 

Cons#

 

1.Noisy

2.Overclocking is limited when compared to liquid cooling systems.

 

Good Air Coolers :

 

1.Noctua NH-D14

2.Thermaltake Frio

3.Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme

4.Cooler Master V8

5.Cooler Master Hyper 212+

 

Some info on case fans ie choosing a quiet case fan :

 

#Case Fans with a db rating of around 30db is generally considered to be bearable.

#Case Fans with a db rating beyond the 40db level is considered to be annoying.

#Case Fans with a db rating below 26db are generally quiet

 

db : A logarithmic measurement unit that describes a sound's relative loudness.

[piper]

^Quick read and good info there, man. Repped.

 

Some el cheapo fan controllers from eBay.

 

Rear (PCI slot)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Way-Fan-Speed-Controller-Computers-CPU-pci-3pin-three-rpm-/330741821467?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d01bfb01b#ht_2017wt_1271

 

Front (3.5 slot)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-LED-4-Channel-Fan-Speed-Controller-For-PC-CPU-HDD-Fan-Controller-/261043436265?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc766bae9#ht_6597wt_1037

 

To buy or not to buy... And if to buy, which one ?

[devvfata1ity]

@OP Your set-up is good but since yours basically running a air-cooled set-up i would advice you to make the rear 12cm fan as exhaust for maximum effect.

 

In a typical enthusiast set-up these are the following things to remember:

 

1. Decide what kind of set-up you want & How much you are willing to pay for it.

 

2. All-in-one water cooling setups are not very efficient and gives almost the same performance as high end air-coolers.

 

3. Budget water-coolers are worse off in performance than budget air-coolers.

 

4. DIY water-cooling set-up is the most efficient outside of exotic cooling but needs patience to build.

 

5. Ambients influence the temps more than anything else so an AC room is always preferable.

 

6. Ensure that you have a good airflow in the case by virtue of requisite no of fans and proper cable management.

 

7. If you plan to OC you will need plenty of cooling and you should be ready to spend on it.

 

8. Proper application of TIM (Thermal Interface Material) can shave off a few degrees from the load temps of your CPU/GPU.

 

9. For Heat Pipe Direct Touch coolers TIM should be applied at the corners of the base and then spread evenly using a credit card. A little extra amt is advisable as you would want to fill the gaps between the pipes.

 

10. For Non-HPDT coolers TIM should be applied using the rice grain method where you apply a small drop of TIM at the center of the the Heat Spreader of the proccy and then spread it evenly using the base of the cooler.

 

11. For optimum case airflow u want the hot air to rise up (basic physics) and exhaust the case whereas cool fresh air should be coming in from the front and the bottom.

 

Here is a ranking of the most efficient types of coolers:

 

HPDT

 

1. Spire Thermax Eclipse II / 3R Ice Age Boss II

 

2. Tunic Core Contact Freezer

 

non- HPDT

 

1. Noctua D14

 

2. TR Venomous X/RT

 

3. PR Meghalems

 

Budget Coolers

 

1. CM Hyper 212+

 

2. TR Cogage True Spirit

 

AIO Water Cooling

 

1. Corsair H100

 

2. Antec 920

 

DIY Water Cooling

 

1. XSPC Rasa RX 360 (Triple 120mm Radiator)

 

2. XSPC Rasa RS 240 (Dual 120mm Radiator)

 

My Set-up:

 

Core i7 2600k @ 4.7 Ghz 24x7 1.375V, MSI P67A-GD 55, Corsair XMS3 4GBx4 DDR3 1600, HD 6970 X 2 @ 910/1400 at 1.125v, Corsair Force GT 120GB, WD Blue 500GBx2 Raid 1, Spire Thermax Eclipse II with 2 CM Xtra Flow Red LED Fans in P/P, NZXT Tempest EVO (2x 120mm Front Intake, 1x80mm Bottom Intake, 1x120mm Side Intake, 1x 120mm Rear Exhaust, 2x140mm Top Exhaust), Corsair TX850V2, Arctic MX-2

 

Load Temps:

 

Prime95 Blend - 73 C

Idle - 33 C

 

Battlefield 3 - 59 C

 

Crysis 2 - 56 C

 

Max Payne 3 - 60 C

 

Happy Gaming

[piper]

^Perfect points there, man. Presently I'm trying to OC my bottlenecker , the AMD X2 240. Bumped it up to 3.2 GHz and it was almost stable (49C CPU temp). This is on stock cooler.

 

Oh and generally, what would be the max temp one should allow motherboard to reach? Today my CPU was at 49 but motherboard sensor reported mid-fifties. And my motherboard manual has no specification on max temp.

[s1renlord]

^^ Anything under 60C is ideal for the AMD X2 240.You could overclock the CPU to 3.5GHz max using the stock cooler.

[piper]

^Yup, will give it a shot as and when needed. Oh and major issue, AMD Overdrive does not detect the chipset/CPU. I even installed the chipset drivers for my motherboard (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4N68TM/). Presently the only way to overclock is via the BIOS.

[devvfata1ity]

@piper..AFAIK you dont have a BE proccy so your best bet at OCing is using the base clock multiplier. Also try OCing the NB to around 2.5ghz. But make sure your RAMs can handle the added speed cause if you have got basic modules then you will be limited by RAM headroom. Also the idle temps mean nothing. Download Core Temp and monitor the load temps. Use Prime95 to stress the proccy and ram and see the max temps. For the X2240 any temps upto 65c is recommended. You can use 1.4v easily. Run a custom Prime95 blend test with FFT size of 1741 and 1344 for around 2hrs to check for stability and temps. The NB temp (Mobo) should be around 50-55C max.

[piper]

Yes, I've been running Prime95 to stress and OpenHWMonitor to monitor temps. Max the CPU can handle is 75degrees as specified by AMD.

 

And for OCing, I use the FSB multiplier. As in, stock = 200Hz x 14 = 2.8GHz. I have increased that upto 230 to make it 3.2GHz. Since, I have scaled it to 215 = 3.0GHz and am running on that for the time being. I will OC it as and when any game demands so.

 

Next step is to test my rig with Counter Strike : GO. GPU is fine, but CPU recommended is more than 2 cores, so will see what kind of performance I pull with the X2 240 + 4GB 1333 RAM + 6850.

[Razpor]

A very revealing article on cpu cooler fans

 

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-EVO-CPU-Cooler-Review/1407/6

[AK77]

Me using no aftermarket cooler. CPU AND GPU are overclocked with GPU max temp went to about 60C and CPU about 47 under full load in games like FC3 and BF3.

 

Here are my case fans specifications-

 

- Front (intake) :

120 x 120 x 25 mm Red LED fan, 1300rpm, 17dBA

- Front :

140 x 140 x 25 mm

- Rear (exhaust) :

120 x 120 x 25 mm TurboFan, 1300rpm, 17dBA

- Top (exhaust) :

230 x 230 x 20 mm Silent fan, 800rpm, 15dBA

- Side (intake) :

230 x 230 x 20 mm silent fan

 

Maybe those 23cm fans provide good cooling overall and thus, maintaining a good temp.

[piper]

I have the I5 2500K, ASRock Extreme 4 and GSKill RipjawsX. I'm planning for an aftermarket CPU cooler. Budget is Rs. 2500 .

 

I'm thinking Hyper 212 Evo. Any other suggestions?

[AK77]

^^ Check PC ask the experts thread. Alekh bro asked the same question.

[ALPHA17]

I have the I5 2500K, ASRock Extreme 4 and GSKill RipjawsX. I'm planning for an aftermarket CPU cooler. Budget is Rs. 2500 .

 

I'm thinking Hyper 212 Evo. Any other suggestions?

 

If you are open to purchasing from Amazon OR abroad and bringing equipment to India, I suggest this --

 

Thermalright Cogage True Spirit 120 / 140 Cogage True Spirit 120 and 140 reviewed @[H]ard Forum / Thermalright Cogage True Spirit 120 review @Legit Reviews + $6 for a adapter kit that makes it compatible to the Socket LGA1155 package.

 

If that is not an option, contact Cooler Master India and find out when this shall land --

 

Cooler Master Hyper T4

 

If you can hold out on the purchase for a few months, then these are the options you can open up (after saving) --

• Thermalright Silver Arrow Thermalright Silver Arrow @Xbit Labs / Thermalright Silver Arrow @Benchmark reviews
  
• Noctua NH-U12P SE2 Noctua NH U12P SE2 @Hardware Secrets / Noctua NH-U12P SE2 reviewed @Legit Reviews
  
• SVG Tech HOC 40 SVG Tech HOC 20 & HOC 40 reviewed @TechEnclave, banging on Corsair's doors

Hope this helps, Cheerio!

 

^^ Check PC ask the experts thread. Alekh bro asked the same question.

 

Completely different needs. Alekh wasn't going over-clocking.

[piper]

In my case, the purpose of aftermarket cooler is to allow (much) lower full load temps than the stock cooler does. I don't need something that will keep my rig super cool while I OC it a lot or anything.

 

@Alpha : Just point me to a good cooler within 2.5k budget, or else a cooler that albeit costlier, is complete VFM. And I'll prefer something available in India, don't want to import it.

[ALPHA17]

In my case, the purpose of aftermarket cooler is to allow (much) lower full load temps than the stock cooler does. I don't need something that will keep my rig super cool while I OC it a lot or anything.

 

@Alpha : Just point me to a good cooler within 2.5k budget, or else a cooler that albeit costlier, is complete VFM. And I'll prefer something available in India, don't want to import it.

 

Best bet is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO but before purchasing, contact Cooler Master India and find out about the tentative availability of the Cooler Master Hyper T4.

 

I am adamant on the latter because the retention mechanism used by the Hyper 212 EVO is not good, it doesn't provide direct pressure contact at all points and the tower exhibits yaw even after fully tightening the screws.

 

All this comes through personal experience of owning the Hyper 212+ which has the same retention system as the EVO.