Water Cooling CPU Temps?

[kinghong1970]

hey guys, just a noobie question again...

what temperature range is acceptable for WC'd CPU?

what temperature should i be panicking?

thanks!

[HammerSandwich]

Is it throttling? Crashing? No? Then it's fine.

[Brians256]

What temp is OK? Same as for an aircooled CPU. Look at the manufacturer's website for that CPU. Is 60C OK? Maybe. Is 50C OK? Probably. Is 40C OK? Certainly. But!!!!!!! Look at the AMD or Intel website for specs on THAT particular CPU.

[Brians256]

Originally Posted by HammerSandwich

Is it throttling? Crashing? No? Then it's fine.

I mildly disagree but only because there aren't enough caveats with that statement. I am afraid that he might be trying to only look at one number and say the whole system is OK.

You can get problems with watercooled CPUs that don't crash immediately. One, the surrounding components don't get cooled down well and you burn out the voltage regulators over time (exploding capacitors anyone?). Two, the CPU itself has a shorter lifespan at higher temps. Three, the hard drives get too hot because you aren't removing heat from the interior cavity and you lose your file system in six months.

So, look at all the components and see that they are ALL cooled down sufficiently.

[kinghong1970]

thanks for your replies guys.

I am afraid that he might be trying to only look at one number and say the whole system is OK.

you know, being such a noobie, yea, that would be a great solution and perhaps someting i was kinda hoping to hear... just a simple thumbs up, thumbs down sign that will tell me all's good...

i have build couple of air cooled systems in the past and this is my first time venturing into the watercooling. as soon as i started my system, went into bios and checked the hardware monitoring... i saw the number around 23C ish... then 23/24, then 24/25 ish... and it keeps going up till bout 29/30 ish...
this is where i got a tad nervous and shut it down to re-check.

i know it is normal for the temps to rise in a steady and visible rate but i was wondering if there is a specific line that i should not cross.

You can get problems with watercooled CPUs that don't crash immediately. One, the surrounding components don't get cooled down well and you burn out the voltage regulators over time (exploding capacitors anyone?). Two, the CPU itself has a shorter lifespan at higher temps. Three, the hard drives get too hot because you aren't removing heat from the interior cavity and you lose your file system in six months.

So, look at all the components and see that they are ALL cooled down sufficiently.

my case (Lian-Li PC-V1000B) has ample ventilation, but i dont think that is sufficient.

the radiator is mounted in the front lower side where there is a 120mm fan and it provides decent airflow thru the radiator to the HDD cage. the

the PSU fan is pointed down and pulls air from the vents at bottom of the case.

the case has a barrier between the HDD cage/Radiator/PSU area to the MB tray area.

The MB area only has one 120mm fan at the back of the case that blows air out of the back of case.

when i had the system on, i felt a certain amount of warmth near the CPU socket area (voltage regulators (?)) where there is a system of heatpipes and heatsinks.

i dont know if the 120mm fan is providing ample airflow thru that area...

as for the 7900GTX, again, this is relying basically on the ventilation on the case and the standard fan & heatsink that came with the card.

so in all, i am just a tad nervous...

ok, i got the water flowing... what am i to look for or keep in mind to enjoy my water-cooled rig longer?

fyi, i do not overclock at this moment...

[Brians256]

30C is fine for your CPU. I know people running their CPUs at 50C (which I feel is too hot). Check your other temps too. Is your mobo chip running at a decent temp? I would feel better if it was 60C or below. I think it can take higher temps. Check your GPU temps too. I don't know what they should be though, so ask around. For hard drives, I prefer 40C and below.

To enjoy your water cooling goodness, just drain and refill the coolant every 6-12 months. Oh, and watch for leaks. I don't like to run a water cooled system unattended, but I'm paranoid. Unless you have the reservoir uncapped (or allow for pressure to stabilize with respect to outside air pressure), you can build up pressure that blows a tube right off of its barbed fitting.

[billbartuska]

Originally Posted by kinghong1970

as soon as i started my system, went into bios and checked the hardware monitoring...

Monitoring temps in the BIOS is useless. There is little load on the CPU. Water cooled systems take a while to reach equilibrium. This depends on the individual system components. Get something like CoteTemp, SpeedFan, Everest, etc. Load the CPU with CPUBurn-in, OCCT or some other stressing program. It wil ltake somewhere between 15 min to 2 hrs for CPU load temps to stabalize.

The advice about case cooling is good. Airflow (CFMs) into the case should be about equal to exhaust. And more CFMs are always better for cooling.