Cooling issue

[mushtafa]

So I'm experience problems of my GPU hitting thermal throttle. I'm not sure what to do next. The only way it'll run OK is with the side of the case off.

NZXT S340, H100 CPU cooler with 4x Noiseblocker PL-2 fans running full speed.
Standard NZXT exhaust fans, one rear, one top.

The Noiseblocker fans are 96m3/h which is 56cfm. I haven't seen many fans more powerful than that https://www.blacknoise.com/datas/downloads/datasheets/TData_BSP120_122012_de_en.pdf

I've either got to find another way to cool the old 390x, or increase air flow within the case.

I did think about finding a better case, but it needs to be small and full ATX.

Any suggestions please?

 

[mushtafa]

To answer some questions;

I re-pasted the GPU last this week which made no difference.

The H100 can only be mounted in the front. Don't think I have my old air cooler to test.

I'll remove the WiFi card and see if it makes much difference. Doesn't really get used anymore anyway.

The PCI slot covers are holed.

The sound card cannot go in any other slot.

I'll take a look at that case

 

[mushtafa]

Remove them anyway.

Also try disconnecting the top exhaust fan - be interested to see what if any difference it makes

WiFi card removed, slot cover left off, top fan disconnected. Will report back.

 

[mushtafa]

Surely replacing graphics card / selling old to cover some of the costs would be a better option, pretty sure the card you have runs hot anyway.

I looked, but GPU prices are stupid at the moment. Can't justify the cost when the rest of the system is this old

 

[mushtafa]

I've found a Fury X local for decent money, worth the upgrade? That shouldn't give any cooling issues - I hope

 

[mushtafa]

Remove them anyway.

Also try disconnecting the top exhaust fan - be interested to see what if any difference it makes

Top fan off, WiFi card out, no difference.

 

[mushtafa]

Worth noting than although they are fairly high in terms of cfm, I might be wrong but I don't think they are particularly suited as radiator fans, as they don't have that great a Static Pressure 1.24mm/H2O
EK Vardar, BeQuiet Slientwings, Noctua all make fans with higher Static pressure that are perhaps better suited - someone more experience with Watercooling/AIO coolers would be able to make a better recomendation than me however.



Did the system get any hotter with the fan disconnected though? If not, then it might suggest that there isn't enough intake air (e.g. because you need Fans more capable of overcoming the "blockage" of the Radiator)

The Noiseblockers were the only fans I had 4 matching to try. They replaced a pair of Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition fans which have a static pressure rating of 1.29, so not much different.
The CPU cooling is fine by the way, only changed the fans in an attempt to increase the air intake.

It didn't get any hotter with the top fan off, as soon as it throttles it sits at 94

 

[mushtafa]

I have hardly any airflow in my case at all due to the case design (Evolve ATX) and an AIO - My gfx card sits around 50-60 full load.

Just keep your eyes open on the second hand market and swap yourself out to something more efficient etc

At the moment I'm split between trying a new case (like the look of the Lian-Li @peahead posted above, or save up for a GPU. GPUs are so expensive though!

 

[mushtafa]

Tried undervolting or lowering power limit & clocks?

No, not tried any of that. I need as much power as possible so don't want to down clock it.

 

[mushtafa]

why dont you just opt for another gpu, doesn't have to be anything fancy with rtx features, looking at your current card (r9 390x) your best bet would be to look at second hand gtx 1070's, keep looking at the bay or mm here, if one comes up for a decent price snap it up.

with how your aio is setup i'd proberly look for a blower style card that way most of the heat is vented from your case

performance wise compaired to your card you should see a 40% increase in performance, plus the card shoudn't run anyware near what the 390x does temp wise

40% increase with a 1070?

What temps are you hitting and at what fan speed?

You say it's ok with the side case off? As you've worked out it seems your simply not getting enough cool air in, not surprising with a closed front case.

Do you run afterburner? Undervolting shouldn't lose you performance AMD always seem to overvolt at stock for some reason.

I even do it on my Titan, I run 1950Mhz @0.95v compared to something like 1.03v at stock.

Thanks, I'll look at under-volting it and see what happens. Yes have afterburning running. In quiet mode, GPU fan off at idle, it sits at 60 with the case side off. In game it sits at around 80 with max fans with side off. Once side is back on it hits 94 the throttles.

With the side still off, while typing this reply I stuck the GPU fan to 100%. It's dropped and settled at 39. Not sure on ambient temp, but CPU is sitting at 26.

@ OP I stated this in another thread (some got upset) but the new cases that are nearly all the same like yours (most have glass side and RGB) and the with the front nearly solid with 120mm (140mm fans if you are lucky) are not as good airflow as the older style big cases with 200mm fans (I kept my Phantom 630 for this very reason).

There is not one of the NZXT style cases today I would use.

I know what you mean. I mainly bought this case for asethits and small footprint. It sits on small desk in the lounge.

CPU temps are pretty awesome, and the GPU has been OK when playing 1920x1080 @ 60hz.

All the issue started when I upgraded the monitor last week. The monitor is running 3440x1440 and overclocked to 90hz. I now have V-Sync switched off and use Freesync.

 

[mushtafa]

Thanks all, a different GPU is the way to go. I used to run everything locked at 60fps on 1920x1080, but since going higher res and refresh, it's nice to make use of it.

I browse the MM, but never really know how much better something is to the 390x.

I'll be wise to stick with AMD as the monitor is Freesync compatible