IB 3770K - Air or Corsair Hydro Cooling (New Case)

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unknownsidhu

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Nov 30, 2006
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Hi guys, I have a quick question regarding cooling for my new upgrade. A couple weeks back I decided to upgrade to an IB 3770K (Asus P8Z77-V Pro, 16GB Kingston HyperX 1600), while reusing my Corsair A50 cpu cooler, and Thermaltake Armour Jr. Few days ago I decided its time for the Armour Jr to go as well, and upgraded to a Fractal Define R3.

Although the Fractal is a great upgrade and an excellent case to work with, I feel it may be suffering from poor airflow. Especially because it is seated inside my desk, behind a door, with approximately 2 inches of breathing room in front, both sides, top, and about 5 inches at the back (it is however running 2 addition fans inside). I decided to run some burn tests at stock, comparing temperatures from when I had the exact same setup inside the Thermaltake, vs the Fractal I have now. Results are as following:

Thermaltake:


Fractal:


As seen according to the Min/Max temperature readings from Real Temp, the temperatures are slightly higher with the Fractal. As I have no option to switch the case and would prefer to keep the Fractal, I have decided the next best option would be to upgrade the A50 (a needed upgrade regardless I suppose). My question is, for an environment such as mine where the chasis is located in a confined location, would I see better cooling performance from an air cooler, such as the A70, or, one of Corsair's Hydro coolers, such as the H80?

Any particular coolers I may want to consider (apart from the Noctua)?

Thanks!
 
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From looking at that your Min is ~50*C and your Max is 72*C. Your max seems fine. With an (original) H50 I get about 68*C-72*C at full swing, but it idles at 27*C-30*C. This is in an Antec P180 sitting under a desk as well.
 
Looking at Real Temp in the second screenshot, Min is 43*C while Max is 82*C. This is up from a Min of 36*C and Max of 74*C using the old Thermaltake case.
 
You could also consider adding 2 intakes (front top and bottom) fans first. If you have a hot video card. Your CPU would be starving for air. The fractal design fans are not particularly great. They are quiet, but pushes little air, and not good when it comes to CFM / db.
 
I added two fans to the stock case, for a total of 4. 2 intakes in the front, an exhaust out the back, and an exhaust out of the top. I don't think the video card runs too hot (GTX460).
 
If you are hitying the 90ish range for cooling and want silence, id go rasa750 for 130. Peak temps 46c prime95 with passive radiator hanging outside case. Ultimate silence.
 
Personally I wouldn't bother changing anything, unless your actual day to day computer usage involves a LinX/IBT like load. 82c max in LinX/IBT = 65-70c max under realistic load (gaming, encoding etc). These are not temperatures to be overly concerned with.
 
I have a H100 cooling the 3770K and I see a 55-60 C max on load with P95 v27.7 and min at 21-26C min! At 4.5 with 1.205 vcore I get max at upper 60s, 28-35 on minimum. But do keep in mind I have a HAF X case.
 
I am willing to sacrifice some silence for improved cpu cooling. The temperature readings that I am currently getting at stock seem to be numbers most people are getting at slight overclocks on the 3770K. Ie. I am currently sitting at 51*C at idle which I would think is a little warm. This number is according to Real Temp, while the Asus AI Suite tool is showing it approximately 10*C cooler at 41*C (Not sure which tool is more accurate).

I am concerned with using a hydro cooler such as the H80 as the ambient temperature inside my desk is probably a bit too high, and I am unsure as to whether it would really deliver any big gains. Perhaps air cooling in such a case would be better?
 
mudvari said:
I have a H100 cooling the 3770K and I see a 55-60 C max on load with P95 v27.7 and min at 21-26C min! At 4.5 with 1.205 vcore I get max at upper 60s, 28-35 on minimum. But do keep in mind I have a HAF X case.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming your case is sitting in the open as opposed to a fairly confined space?
 
unknownsidhu said:
I'm assuming your case is sitting in the open as opposed to a fairly confined space?
Click to expand...

It is slightly confined from sideways and back but not on top and front. My case is sitting in between my computer table, a book rack and the wall behind!!
 
If you don't plan on overclocking further than just stick to your config. Intel processors can handle high temps. AMD processors fail at like 60C
 
unknownsidhu said:
I am willing to sacrifice some silence for improved cpu cooling. The temperature readings that I am currently getting at stock seem to be numbers most people are getting at slight overclocks on the 3770K. Ie. I am currently sitting at 51*C at idle which I would think is a little warm. This number is according to Real Temp, while the Asus AI Suite tool is showing it approximately 10*C cooler at 41*C (Not sure which tool is more accurate).

I am concerned with using a hydro cooler such as the H80 as the ambient temperature inside my desk is probably a bit too high, and I am unsure as to whether it would really deliver any big gains. Perhaps air cooling in such a case would be better?
Click to expand...

Asus reports the CPU "package" temp via a diode in the CPU socket (I believe). RealTemp reports the temperature of the actual cores within the CPU die itself, which are always the hottest part.
 
unknownsidhu said:
Those temperatures are at stock. I haven't even begun overclocking yet :(
Click to expand...

Those are some high temps. Which fractal case do you use? Maybe its time to invest in a good CPU heatsink. Note that you don't have to sacrifice noise. If you go with a Thermalright heatsinks, the fans that come with it are relatively quiet. Look into the TS120. [H] did a review on a it as well.
 
I am using the Fractal Define R3, along with an Asus A50 cooler. Perhaps the A70 would be a big improvement?
 
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