Case/GFX/CPU cooling

DrunkenJim

DrunkenJim

DrunkenJim

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Joined
17 Jun 2011
Posts
10
Location
Suffolk, UK
Hello all,

I've recently bought a new system:-

ASUS maximus IV
Intel 2600k
Corsair xms3 1600mhz
Corsair A50 cooler
Palit 580GTX 3gb
2x 600gb Velociraptors (in raid)

Already owned:-

galaxy 1000w PSU
Pioneer BDP
WD 1tb green
Lian-Li full tower (not sure of model but a good 6-7 years old) fans: 2X 80mm in & 2X 80mm exhaust

Other than the GFX and raptors this was bought as a preclocked (@4.6) kit from OCUK which was fully tested in shop.



I've been noticing quite a lot of graphical artifacts in game and since the weathers warmed up BFBC2 has started crashing after 1/2hrs play. The amount of heat kicked out the back in game is quite substantial (sitting in underpants sweating type substantial)



So I started looking into system temps and voltages:

Voltages seemed ok, very little variation.

I found my temps were getting fairly high, but nothing compared to my old 280gtx. Peak 80deg C but averaging 75deg C, compared to the 280 which peaked at over 90.

CPU temps were about 70deg during OCCT stress test (but no failures), not sure if this is normal, but just as a comparison i reverted back to the standard unclocked bios settings and those temps dropped to 50ish.

I have installed evga precision and played with the fan speeds, have taken the side off the case for extra air and re-clocked it back to the OC of 4.6ghz, it's now sitting stable @65 deg with the fan running @75% in game although I still get the odd graphical glitch it's probably just BBFC2.

So I'm happy its a cooling issue.



Now my question is what do you reckon my next step should be?

The old lian-li case is very good but the cooling opportunities are limited, there is space for 2 more 80mm exhaust fans above the PSU but thats it. the top and side panels are solid but i could probably cut new 140mm holes to fit extra fans, but i cant see me making a very professional job of cutting bloody great big holes in my case.

The second option is a new air cooled case NZXT phantom looks good (although I'm open to other choices), with the extra fans fitted I think it should give a sufficiently good throughput of air.

And my last option is keep the Lian-Li and go the water-cooling route, but i have absolutely no experience of doing this.



Although the money isn't overly important I don't want to be wasting money on things i wont see the full potential of. But on the other hand if I'm going to get significant cooling gains and/or it will make it significantly quieter then I'm happy spend the extra.

Sorry for the long post, but any help and opinions would be greatly appreciated. I've built loads of system in the past for me and mates but never really overclocked anything so its all a learning experience for me.

Thanks again,

Jim
 
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80C isn't ridiculously hot for a graphics card. Your other temperatures sound fine too. A GTX580 should deal with BC2 in it's sleep. I suspect you may have a faulty graphics card rather than a cooling problem.
 
yeh i thought the same tbh, but i have read a few forums saying 70 odd deg seems to cause 580's problems.

you reckon i should RMA and see what a replacement does?

still get the feeling there's a lot of hot air accumulating within the case that my exhaust fans cant cope with, the gpu temps seem to change by 10 deg with the side covers off.
 
I don't know. If you RMA the card and there's nothing wrong with it you're out of pocket, but then if you spend £150 odd on a new case and that doesn't solve the problem that's not great either. Your call I guess.
 
aye true enough, still I'd get a shiny new case out of it :-)

anybody got any thoughts on a good case for cooling?

or indeed would going to the hassle of watercooling make a significant difference in noise reduction? my cpu fan is by far the loudest part of this system until the gpu one gets over 60%
 
HAF X is supposed to be one of the best for air cooling. You might find more suggestions in the cases subforum though.
 
The HAF-X is a great case, and whether your card is faulty or not, I'd upgrade the case myself. Lian Li make good cases, but after 7 or 8 years, case designs have moved on.

I still have a Lain Li case myself somewhere, that's 8 years old. And my HAF-X is so much better in so many ways, besides it's much superior cooling.
 
hello again,

got the case, installed a 2nd 200mm fan on the top and set about trying to get it to fail....... even on an hour long occt gpu stress test it never got over 65deg c and not a single error. i'm going to have a good blat tonight on bbfc2 so i'll see then if i've cracked it. had a quick 10 minute go and it seemed stable @ 60deg so seems good so far.

thanks again for your help lads,

Jim
 
BFBC2 does also have known issues with CTD (Crash to desktop), i have seen a lot threads about this in a few different forums.
 
yeh its very badly coded tbh

but in my case i'm fairly sure it was hardware as once i'd played for 1/2 hr or so it would start failing (artifacts and the odd full lock up), if i then ran occt gfx stress tester the card would start generating errors above 74 deg, yet when i took the side panel off the case i couldn't get it to fail other than the odd in game graphical glitch.

There is still a good possibility i have a GFX issue as i'm surprised its failing at such a low temp, i'm just hoping the temps were system wide and i only noticed the gfx ones, so the new much higher throughput of air should combat this, hopefully.....

cheers

Jim
 
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