i7 Core WC setup - Unacceptable temps

[jtroutma]

Long time no see fellow PC members!

I am back from the dead and need all your guru advise as to what I am doing wrong with my latest and greatest rig.

I finally decided to build my MicroATX super system and watercool it at the same time.

Specs:

SilverStone SG03-B MicroATX case
Intel i7 9200 D0 Stepping
Asus Rampage II Gene
12GB OCZ 1600 DDR3
2x1TB Hitatchi HDDS (RAID 1)
Nvidia 8800 GTS 512 (reused from old system)
OCZ 700 Modular PSU
Lite-on BlueRay Drive

Specs for Watercooling: (NOTE: Most of these were chosen to be compatible with the case so some components are not top of the line)

1 x Swiftech APOGEE GTZ UltraWater-block
- Water Block Backplate: Add Swiftech Apogee-GTZ-Ci7 Hold-down for LGA1366
1 x Swiftech MCP355™ 12 VDC Pump
1 x Magicool Pro Slim Profile 2X120mm Radiator - Black
- Fitting Size: 3/8" OD
1 x Magicool 3 Port Plexi/AGB Reservoir - 250mm
- Fitting Size: Koolance Nozzle Pair, G1/4 Swivel Angled [10mm, 3/8"]
10 x Tygon 3603 3/8" ID (1/2" OD) Clear Tubing

I have successfully installed all these components and the system is running stable @ 4.0Ghz w/ Vcore 1.35 PLL 1.85 QPI 1.35 VDRAM 1.65.

The kicker is that all the cores are running @ 70-72C under full load. Using distilled water with no additives and the water is barely warm to the touch.

I have 2 x Noctua NF-P12-1300 120mm Case Fans on the radiator with about an inch separation. I can feel air moving through the radiator with my bare hand so the fans do have enough pressure to do the job.

Yes, I am not giving you exact numbers or pressure drops or specifics that we all want; right now the core numbers are IMO very high for a setup like this (my expectations were high 40Cs to low 50cs).

My hunch is that something is going on with the block. However I am bowing to the collective Gurus present here for advise and suggestions on what I am doing wrong or if these are the expected temps for this setup.

Thanks all in advance and hello to all the new people here


EDIT: Damn I need to update my sig....sadly that the same one that I am submitting this post on :P

[jaydee]

Remount the water block with fresh thermal compound. If results are the same try to check your water temp. The water temp should be around 5C cooler than the CPU temp. If that is not the case then the radiator isn't cutting it and/or it needs more airflow.

If the block is mounted ok and the water temp is ok then the temps are what they are. I assume you mean a i7 920? If that is the case that is a 130w CPU at stock speed? At 4ghz that is almost double the speed and that means some serious wattage output. I would not be surprised of those temps are normal for that CPU at that clock rate... One test would be dropping it back to stock speed and retest the temps with the same full load test.

[jtroutma]

I did go back and remount the block with new compound and triple checked that there were no kinks in the lines. Temps stayed roughly the same. At the same time, I replaced the mounting system for the GTZ block since one corner has stripped threads and didnt allow for it to lock down correctly. No change with that. I picked up a temp probe for the rez and have it reporting back as well.

Just last night, I updated to the latest BIOS and the temp ranges went up again (go false readings).

I have some more powerful fans that I can throw on there but I am going to test to see if the pump is not powerful enough for the GTZ. I am comming to this conclusion because almost instantly after I turn on the stress tests (OCCT), temps jump 25-30C and then creep up from there probably due to room temp going up (small room, it does get quite warm in there).

At least I have confirmation now that these temps can be normal.

Thanks for the feedback. Will post with more details as they come around.

BTW does anyone have some temps for air cooled solutions for the i7 920 so I can get an idea of what I should be expecting.

[jtroutma]

Reporting changes noticed:

I went ahead and found a spare older fan I used in my current WC setup and swapped it with one of the Noctua fans on the radiator. Currently running both fans at full speed, the water temps dropped 3-4C and the CPU load dropped about 4-5C which was expected but that just means that the CPU is now running at 77C instead of slightly over 80C.

The temp prob in the res. is registering around 32-35C depending on ambient and which fan combo I am running. The CPU temps are ~40C idle and 75+C under full burn mode. At this point, I am probably going to swap out the current pump (Swiftech MCP355) and try the Ehiem 1250 in the system to see if that makes a difference. If that gives me significant gains (10+ drop in temps maybe) then I will probably convert the whole setup from 3/8 to 1/2 and go with the Swiftech MCP655.

The difference in tubing and pump will make an already cramped enclosure that much more cramped but guess I underestimated the termal output of the i7 920 would be.

More to come as I continue experimenting.

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by jtroutma

The temp prob in the res. is registering around 32-35C depending on ambient and which fan combo I am running. The CPU temps are ~40C idle and 75+C under full burn mode.

I found some data on Swiftechs website http://www.swiftnets.com/products/APOGEE-GTZ.asp

Scroll down to the test data. Your CPU is hotter running (uses more wattage) than the one's tested so your temps might just be what they are supposed to be.

[HammerSandwich]

Is the system stable? If yes, then stop obsessing about the temperatures.

[jtroutma]

Let me clairify. I would prefer to have the temps much lower but obviously thats not going to happen. As far as obsessing about them, its more that I feel this chip is not maxed out as far as it can possibly go (within reason) and high temps are something I can correct to getting around that.

[HammerSandwich]

Gotcha.

I suspect Jaydee's right that the system's pulling a lot of watts. Would be useful to see Kill-a-watt readings.

Either way, I've found that more cooling has never improved my OC as much as I'd hoped, so I've moved in the moderate OC in a silent PC direction.

As you've already suspected, fans are the easiest place to start experimenting. If more airflow drops your temps enough to bump you up a little, you'll need to live with the noise or get a bigger rad. Better WBs or more pump could make a small difference, but it's likely to be really small.

BTW, what are your ambient temps?

[jtroutma]

Ambiant temps are around 24C. Water temps are around 28-30C. Am going to put on some Sanyo fans with thermal control to only spin up to 80% under full load to handle the noise problem.

Will report back when this is done.

[HammerSandwich]

Missed your reply until now.

IMO, your water temps are fine and leave little room for better temps with more airflow. My WCed single-core is near silent (single rad fan @ ~500rpm), and full load brings water temps to 10-11C over ambient.

[kolombo]

What you expect with this rad -1 x Magicool Pro Slim Profile 2X120mm Radiator - Black.
I use BI 2X120 in my loop only @ C2 5200 /4Ghz. and when it get load, I fill hot breeze wery soon from the rad . My temps are 35C on idle , and 75- 80C on IBT.Your rad is far away adequate for i7.

[kusojiji]

Is your radiator pulling fresh air across the fins or air from inside the case? I'm surprised to see such high temps from a swiftech product.

[jtroutma]

Sorry about the late response.

The dual fans are in the very front and I made a half assed attempt at a shroud that only gives them about 2 inches of clearance between them and the rad. The main design of the case would not allow me to put the fans on the inside otherwise I would have done a pull config.

System has been very happy though. It barely gets to 55C doing normal workloads; only in OCCT did the temps spike to 80C. Idles around 41C.

I posted a bunch of pics on the final design on my Guild board.

Check it out HERE.

[kusojiji]

That's a nice set up. As long as you're getting fresh, cool air from the outside of the case, it's fine. Some of the Swiftech stuff pulls hot air from inside the case through the radiator.

Seems like your system is settling down and temps are normalizing. It does take a few days for the thermal compound to work into the grooves between the processor and heatsink.

Makes me want to go water in my rig also. I have an Aspire case. Not much room... I have all the hardware already.