WC'ed, now temps are higher
 

Hey there folks. Well I just completed installing a water cooling system in my computer and now according to the BIOS on my MSI board and nTune my temps are higher than before when I was on air cooling. Here are the system specs...

computer:
A64 3500+ (clawhammer)
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
1GB Patriot PC3200 low latency
ATi 9800pro 128mb
SB Audigy2 ZS
WD 80GB SATA HDD
Lite-On DVD-CD/RW combo drive
Ultra 500watt PS

Cooling:
DD TDX A64 1/2"
DD Maze4GPU Acetal-topped 1/2"
DD Dual-120 HeaterCore
DD Dual-5.25 Resevoir
AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12
(2) AOC 120mm Aluminum fans
Distilled water w/ 2 drops of anti-algea and 5 drops yellow UV dye
Arctic Silver 5

Before I installed this WC equipment I was running at 39C at idle, 45C load on a the stock A64 heatsink assembly w/ AS5. Currently with the watercooling system I'm running at 41C and 48C load.
These temps are according to the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum's BIOS and Nvidia's nTune. I've attached a Compunurse thermal probe to the side of the A64's heatspreader and its temps are way different than what the BIOS is reporting. The Compunurse thermal probe reads 26.5C at idle and 29.2C at load.
Now which one of these units am I to beleive? I've read of the Neo2's issues with reporting correct temps, but they can't be that far off. On the other hand based on the input of the Compunurse thermal probe, that would mean that on air cooling I would had been getting around 26C at idle and that seems a bit off. I would greatly appreciate any input you folks may have. Thank you!

Well two options come to mind:

1) Your mobo's CPU temp reading is being influenced by the hot air all around the socket now that there is no air cooling. You can check for this by pointing a 120mm fan at the CPU area with the wced setup running.

2) The wb isn't mounted with enough force. For the retail hs/fan it's putting something like 100 lbf right?

I wouldn't take any stock in temp readings at the side of the IHS.

Since your tubing is 1/2", do you have tight turns possibly torquing the block off the die?

Can you overclock more or less than the new rig?

What is your dT ambient air/water?

If you originally used the thermal pad with the OEM HSF, did you get all the crap off the IHS?

At stated, the stock fan was mounted w/ AS5. From what I can tell, the TDX is properly mounted and is flat on the CPU's IHS. None of the hoses are tweeked hard enough to cause any undue torge on any component. Here is a picture of the setup...

http://home.comcast.net/~jefftrexler/04200002.JPG

and in the dark....
http://home.comcast.net/~jefftrexler/04190007.JPG

er, how is there any airflow getting through that radiator?

The heater core with its temporary shroud/stand sits on top of the case. Its constructed of cardboard and duct tape. The fans sit about 2-1/2" away from the HC's surface. No worries, air is getting through the HC without any problems. :)

you tryed reseating it a few times?

Dude, that heatercore is sitting right on top of the case. I have no idea how adequate air-flow is getting through that. Sure, there's some, but you're really choking that air-flow.

did you get all the air out of the HC? try running the sys on it's side for a little while

Dude, the heater core is not sitting directly on top of the case. :) As I said, I built a shroud/stand for it.
Its totally ghetto, but it gets the job done...
http://home.comcast.net/~jefftrexler/04210005.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~jefftrexler/04210006.JPG
There is a 1-1/2" gap between the face of the HC and the case for air to get sucked up into the heatercore. There are 2 air inlet opennings, one as you can see in the picture on the front, and another on the back.

What are your water temps vs. ambient air?

Holy cow nice poster. Or is that wallpaper of some kind?

Has the ambient temp changed since you were air cooling?

My water temp went from 22 C a few weeks ago to 36 C the other day. Case temp was 42 C! Not a setup problem, it's just friggin hot in the bedroom now. Even downstairs my house thermostat read 81 F.

That is a totally inadequate amount of space for the air to get through. You are seriously hampering the ability of the fans to pull air-flow evenly through the core. You've probably gone and cut air-flow to about 1/4 of what it could be by having that radiator set up like that.

Really? Well, I guess I'll have to create a different stand for it. How much height would I need for the HC to get adequate airflow? I could recreate the stand so it would be taller and open up the sides. As I stated earlier, this HC shroud setup is only temporary until I get my other case completed.

Here are a couple pictures of that case's shroud...
http://home.comcast.net/~jefftrexler/03150006.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~jefftrexler/03150009.JPG

Well I constructed a new HC shroud stand using 3/4" angled aluminum, 1/8" aluminum rivets and 18ga. aluminum perforated sheet metal. Its dropped my CPU temps in the BIOS by 2c.

Here is a pic of the new stand...
http://home.comcast.net/~jefftrexler/04260001.JPG