fortyways

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812119146

Most people's Core 2 processors idle mid 30's (Celsius). Chipsets are generally a bit warmer just because they have less refined cooling.

That's my room temperature too. If you're messing with your CPU voltages, quit it. If you really want to replace your cooler, you want this, but you shouldn't have to buy an aftermarket cooler to keep it cool and quiet at stock settings. Like I said earlier, I think you should replace your thermal paste first, and perhaps check to make sure your case has decent airflow. It's possible it may be "recycling" warm air instead of exhausting it and introducing cooler air. Try opening up your case and blowing a floor fan in it to experiment with how that affects your temperatures. If they drop noticeably, you may want to pursue improving your case's airflow rather than replacing your CPU cooler itself.

douche

That makes sense, the northbridge does NOT have a fan either.



I don't even know how to do that.


Where can i put that 120mm fan? I've posted a pic of inside my case below. I believe it can only fit an 80mm or smaller. BTW, according to the specs for that HSF, it says at 1500 RPM the noise level is 32 dBA, isn't that loud?


Is it OK to blow a floor fan directly on the case? I mean aren't they a little too big and overwhelming? Do you know of a smaller type fan i could use? Now that you brought up the thorny and tricky issue of airflow, i've posted an image of inside my case. Are the PSU cables blocking air to the CPU? If so, what can i do? As you can see, it's quite cluttered and cramped in there. Where else could i possibly place those cables How about the 20-pin ATX power connector cable being right next to the CPU, does it hamper air to it??

andy_mitch92

Cable management is a learned skill but a very important one. Just keep messing with cable locations until you find a good working system. It can (although may not) lower your temps but it will allow for better air flow.

Yes its okay to use a floor fan (although not recommended) to get heat out of your system. I would NOT recommend it all year round though, just during the hot summer months while trying to get the case to better cool itself. More dust can get into the heat sinks and other components so keep an eye on those as well.

As for your cpu temp. It isn't super hot but its a little on the warm side. I run a Q9450 which is a 45nm quad at 2.66ghz stock and mine idles around 25-28C and load is 32-35C, my room temp varies between 75 and 80F.

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theasian100

are you sure it's not your PSU? i have the same one and its the noisiest thing in my case

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fortyways

To verify, I wasn't suggesting that you implement a floor fan as a permanent solution, just as an experiment to see how much some improved airflow would help your predicament. If it helps a lot, then your CPU cooler is fine and you should work on airflow.

About the Xigmatek fan, I think it should fit in your case, but there's also a 92mm version. Also, don't pay attention to manufacturer's dBa ratings (they're unreliable); seek third party reviews instead. Moreover, the nice thing about those coolers is that the fan can be replaced by any 120mm case fan, just like you'd switch out any other fan.

By the way, any particular reason you don't have an exhaust fan? That's not helping.

douche

I finally put Antec Thermal grease on the CPU, and the CPU went down to 117-120° F, with a max at 123°F. I definitely applied MORE thermal grease than what was originally on the HSF, and it made it 1 degree cooler than with the thermal paste that came on it did. As such, what did NOT change was the RPM of the HSF, it basically stayed the same, unless i put a case fan at the rear (which i explain more about toward the end of this post) the RPM of the HSF hardly drops by less than 100 to around 2519-2596 RPM, whereas before it was 2615-2741 RPM. As i describe below, the case fan plunges the CPU temp down by 4-5 degrees, why doesn't the RPM go down by at least 500

That's very UNlikely. Antec Earthwatts are among the most quiet (but certainly NOT the quietest) PSUs, and are made by Seasonic. Judging from your setup, those Graphics cards or your HSF is what's the loudest. Besides, i already un-plugged the HSF, and it was MUCH quieter.

Ah, thanks for that link, it showed how the fan attaches to the heatsink. But, how do they test the noise of the HSF at 5V, 7V, 9V AND 12V Does the "CPU Quiet Fan" setting in my BIOS undervolt the HSF to lower the RPM, too? Speaking of HSFs, which of the following do you recommend: Thermaltake Silent 775D, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, Zerotherm CF800/ CF900, Rosewill RCX-Z775-SL / RCX-Z775-LX, or ZeroTherm Zen FZ120?



If you mean a case fan in the back, i just installed an Antec TriCool 80mm fan there. It has a nice switch that controls its level, at low its 1400-1500 RPM, medium at 1900-2000 RPM, and high at 2600 RPM. It cooled the CPU about 4 degrees down to 113° F, even at low level At high, i did NOT notice it any cooler than on low, and at 2600 RPM, high is loud.

just a noob

try running it without the side panel on, if you dont already have a fan blowing into it as fortyways suggested, and try to use celsius

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