Cool case...high temps?

D

DiddlySquat

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 6, 2004
Messages
164
Hey all. I'm pretty new to watercooling. I setup my first watercooling system about a month ago and my temps don't seem right.

Gear:
Rad - Thermochill 120.3
CPU - Dangerden TDX 64 (FX-55 is being cooled)
GPU - Dangerden Maze4 brass
Pump - Dangerden D5 12v pump
Res - Dual floppy bay

There are no kinks in my tubing there isnt any build up or anything like that. My case temp is reading at 31C but my cpu is at 57C idle and my gpu is at 56C idle. My temps were really low when i first installed this system. I am using MCT-40 cooling liquid.

I've also reseated the cpu and gpu block multiple times and the temps stay the same. Does anyone know what is going on?
 
Dust in the rad maybe?
How low temps did you have in the begining? How much water do you have in you system? Have you messured watertemp?
If you have much water in your system it takes some time to heat up all the water. I have 200ml in my system and it takes 1 hour to reach max temp when I'm going from idle to load on my cpu. If you have 1-2litre it can take up to 5 hours to reach the max temp.
Can you see if the water is flowing as it should? It maybe is some crap in the pipes or pump. You can easy test waterflow by messure diffrent in watertemp and cputemp.
 
I cleaned the rad out, it wasnt very dusty. I'm not sure how much water i have in there...maybe 2/3 of a gallon? Everything is circulating fine. I decided to flush the system out. Right now im running distilled water and a little alcohol to make sure everything is clean and if there was anything that its killed.
 
Did you clean the waterblocks and the processors after reseating each time? You need to clean off the old thermal paste with isopropyl alcohol (highest concentration you can get) or some other cleaner. Then you need to reapply the paste, I would recommend going to artic silvers website and looking at their instructions that will show you how to apply thermal paste to processors with the integrated heatspreader, and to bare processors (vid cards, AThlon XP).

After following those directions to the letter, as well as the directions provided with your watercooling gear as to how to properly tighten and fasten down the blocks, then you can rule out that.

Some people make really stupid mistakes that they later kick themselves for that result in higher temps. I have seen people who forgot to take off the protective piece of plastic on the bottom of the waterblocks, and the plastic then melted and interfered with thermal transference.

Basically I would check everything again. I would also check that your radiator is getting sufficient waterflow through it, as well as airflow. As a final way to help diagnose the problem, you could take a T-fitting, place an appropriate thermal sensor in it (one that is waterproof or you have waterproofed by dipping in a thin layer of silicone or something). Seal off the end of the T and place it in your loop in various places to test the water temperature in your loop.
 
I compltely finished rebuilding both my watercooling and my pc last night. I double checked everything. I redid every single little thing. My temps are close to the same. A little lower. CPU is still at 51C and Vid card is still at 55C. I have no idea what is going on. My rad is getting enough airflow. Even if i push the fans to their full 105CFM only 2 degrees gets knocked off the temp. I know that a clawhammer FX-55 runs hot but it was never this hot when i first got the watercooling.
 
when you "first got watercooling" how long did you run before the temps got high, and how low where they at first. If you can messure the watertemp, (I do it by just sicking a thermometer to the bottom of my T-line lookalike res) mesure the different in watertemp and cpu temp to see if the block is badly placed. A normal cpu block should have about 7-10 degree diffrent in temp between water and cpu all depending on waterflow.

Where is the rad getting air from and where is it blowing the warm air?
 
I ran the watercooling for a few days and took an average temp. The temperature didnt fluctuate too much, maybe 2-3 degrees warmer and few degrees cooler than around 98F.

I dont have a thermomiter...ill have to pick one up while at work tonight.

I'll post a picture of my airflow setup when i get home later too.
 
Hmm, which motherboard are you using? I know for example that Abit boards Temp Sensor can vary as much as 8c when comparing it via software to thermistor. Its quite possible that your temps are cooler than what the readout is reporting. How are you taking your temps?

-E
 
Im taking my temps using motherboard monitor.

Edit: Alright, quick question. Does it matter if all the fans are blowing the same direction on the rad? I know that coolance radiators usually have 2 blow and 1 suck so i was wondering if I should do something similar.
 
Not sure I follow. How are your fans oriented on the Rad? Do you have fans on either side of the rad in a Push/Pull config, or, are you pushing inward on both sides?

-E
 
What nozzles are you using in that TDX? Any? If you didn't put a nozzle in it and they didn't put a nozzle in it by mistake (mistakes happen) your CPU temps will be high because the nozzles are key to making a TDX work properly.
 
DiddlySquat said:
Im taking my temps using motherboard monitor.

Edit: Alright, quick question. Does it matter if all the fans are blowing the same direction on the rad? I know that coolance radiators usually have 2 blow and 1 suck so i was wondering if I should do something similar.
Click to expand...

You should move the air in the same direction.

__^___^__
||fan||||fan||
###rad##
__^__
||fan||

or

__^___^___^__
||fan||||fan|||||fan||
#####rad######
 
Just to clear things out. When you first got the watercooling you had about 37C (or 98F) on you cpu when the system had been on for some hours or weeks, not just the bootup temp. Then after about a month you have 57C (or 135F). Are you sure you didn't do anything between that time that can effect you cooling? Because that is a big change.
 
I'm wondering if he had flashed his motherboard's BIOS between then and now. Doing so can really change the temps in which the motherboard detects. A change in ambient temps could also be an issue. Is it hotter where you are now than it was when you first setup your WCing equipment? I too am wondering about the TCX's nozzle. Did you check to make sure one is installed? Another thing to consider is the potentiometer on the bottom of the D5 pump. Did it accidently get turned to a lower setting? Check those and get back to us with anything you find out. We are always happy to help. :)
 
I was supposed to recieve additional nozzles with my order..but i wasnt sure if one came preinstalled on the block or not. What does the nozzle look like when installed? Does it go inside the barb or over it or what? The D5 pump is set to the same setting (number 5). I haven't flashed my bios during the time ive had my watercooling.

Right now the fans are positioned like this:


#####rad#####
{{fan}}{{fan}}{{fan}}
--bottom of case--

All three fans are blowing up towards the top of the case.
 
Personally I have no idea how you install the nozzles but I know that looking down into the block you should see something in the inlet barb that has small holes in it running in a line...if that makes any sense. I just had another thought as I was typing that...your nozzle might be plugged up as well. You might have to split the block to get at the nozzle, in fact I'm pretty sure of it.
 
Alright, i played with everything. The coolest i can get my cpu is 47C with all my fans on high, my vid card is still at 54C though. I am ready to junk all this shit and go back to a standard HSF. You spend money on good watercooling parts and you get worse than heatsink performance ...what a ripoff.
 
You should make sure that there isnt any shavings inside of the cpu block. also are you sure that the cpu block is set on the cpu right?
 
Shavings of what? The block is on the cpu as secure and even as it can be. I just dont get why it isnt working even close to what it should be. People are getting temps 20-30F lower than me with radiators 1/3 the size of mine.
 
Pull the CPU block off, pull it apart, look in the nozzles and make sure that there's no foreign material plugging up the itty bitty holes in the nozzle.

It's more common than you can imagine.
 
It is all very strange. But 47C is a lot cooler than 57C and all that by refitting and playing around. Are you messuring at full load on the cpu? beacause that is the best way to messure and get the same results. The temp can diff up to 20C between load and idle. So you should allways messure at full load during 2 hours of full load.
Have you got a messure of the water temp? If your cpu is 47C your water should be around 37C. If your water is very warm the rad might have problem to get rid of the heat.

What kind of cpu and gpu do you have?
 
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