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Improve water cooling loop for 3960x

post #1 of 36
9/11/12 at 7:08am
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I got a water cooling custom loop for my core i7 3960x with these specifications:

- EK Supremacy waterblock
- XSPC EX360 radiator
- EK Advanced reservoir
- Swiftech mcp655 pump

This is installed internally in a Coolermaster HAF-X case. The radiator is on top intaking cool air. There are 2 coolermasters megaflows fans on top of the case and 3 XSPC 1650rpm fans mounted on the radiator.

When overclocked to 4.7GHz my temps are on the 70s, peaking 76C.
I still think that I can bring this temps a bit down improving stability, my room temperature seems to have considerable influence in core temps.
If I turn on air conditioning on that room I can bring temps 5C down easily.

My question is, can I reduce temps considerably with another radiator on the loop? Maybe a smaller one.

A externally mounted radiator makes a big difference compared to inside of the case?

Any suggestions?
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post #2 of 36
9/11/12 at 7:11am
The radiator is enough for the CPU :/

Be sure the waterblock is touching the CPU block fully.
If that doesn't work, try to replace your TIM.
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post #3 of 36
9/11/12 at 7:32am
You really won't notice much of a temperature drop if you added another radiator. What voltage are you running at and what is your room temperature? Any drop in room temperature will result in an equal drop in load temperature, so if your room is warm then there's not a whole lot you can do. Also, if your voltage is pretty high then you can expect high peak load temperatures. mid 70's isn't entirely unusual although it sounds high for the speed you're running at.
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post #4 of 36
9/11/12 at 9:14am
Thread Starter 
The waterblock was correctly installed and I am using arctic cooling mx-4.

The voltage is 1.424V maximum if I put 100% full load stress test. At this moment, room temperature is 23C.
But sometimes I can expect 28C, and more than 35C in the summer.

I would like to do something to overkill a bit and keep everything cooler even during summer.
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post #5 of 36
9/11/12 at 9:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlandersen View Post

The waterblock was correctly installed and I am using arctic cooling mx-4.
The voltage is 1.424V maximum if I put 100% full load stress test. At this moment, room temperature is 23C.
But sometimes I can expect 28C, and more than 35C in the summer.
I would like to do something to overkill a bit and keep everything cooler even during summer.

A 360mm rad is overkill for just a cpu loop. But yeah, those temps seem 10'C over what normal should be at that voltage and speed.
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post #6 of 36
9/11/12 at 9:27am
  • GingerJohn
  • The trick to flying is to fall and miss the ground
To get an idea of how much improvement you can expect you need to measure your water and air temperatures.

Get a thermometer and place it in the res. Run a load test until the water and CPU hit a stable temperature. Record the water temperature, then record the temperature of the air going into your rad.

This is known as the air - water delta. Realistically you can get this down to 2°C at load without going for crazy amounts of radiators so take that as a base line. Anything <5°C is good (you should be around here), <10°C is reasonable and <15°C is acceptable, although room for improvement.

Over a small range you can say that 1°C lower water will give 1°C lower CPU temperature. So if your air - water delta is, say, 5°C realistically you could drop your CPU 3°C on load by adding more radiators.

Probably not worth it.

Other ways to drop temps are to cool the air going into the rad, increase fan and pump speeds (up to a point on the pump, your D5 is fine) or look into other forms of cooling like bongs / TECs.
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post #7 of 36
9/11/12 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 
Yeah... I considered TEC...

But is there something comercial that could be added in the loop?
Because everything I saw is DIY and generally do not look very good, dont you think?
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post #8 of 36
9/11/12 at 9:46am
oh well. the 3960x heats up alot tho
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post #9 of 36
9/11/12 at 9:55am
  • GingerJohn
  • The trick to flying is to fall and miss the ground
Well Mindchi|l makes a drop in TEC waterblock for 1155, I'm not sure about 2011 but it is worth shooting him a PM or having a look at his store.

There are a few people out there who will make the TEC block and controller for you but I don't know too much about that side of things. If you are considering it best make a thread on the TEC forum to ask about specifics.
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post #10 of 36
9/11/12 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrTOOSHORT View Post

A 360mm rad is overkill for just a cpu loop. But yeah, those temps seem 10'C over what normal should be at that voltage and speed.

Yeah, I probably get like 10C less doing IBT Very Hight/Maximum and I even have my graphics and mobo included in the loop.

I use the Prolimatech PK1 thermal paste, which I have been very happy with. Usually when you have the right cooling, and somehow get higher temperatures, it's almost always the application of the TIM or the tightening of the waterblock. I have a hard time imagining what else might be the cause - I'm not really buying a hotter processor - not by that margin at least.
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