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Phenom 955 BE and Gigabyte 3D Galaxy 2 Water cooling kit?

Jay85

Jay85

Jay85

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Joined
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Right i really need you help on this one guys, i've been wanting a new cooler for my CPU for awhile now since the temps are getting dangerously high when i overclock to 3.6ghz. It Idles at 50-51C and underload it can hit 60C... AMD suggests no higher than 62C for this cpu i believe so im wanting to change my cooler for a watercooling kit.

Now i've done some reading and theres some seriously mixed views on the Gigabyte 3D Galaxy 2 Watercooling kit. Yes i know its a low end kit but i really do like its design and i've heard some good things about.

What i want to know is, if this kit is actually any good for my CPU baring in mind its a AM3 Socket aswel so im not sure if its supported either.

My budget is about £150, no more than that.

My system spec is as follows:

Asus M4A785T-M mobo
8gb DDR3 @1333mhz Ram
Phenom 2 x4 955 BE @3.6ghz
Powercolor 5670 512mb card Overclocked @850mhz, 1050mhz
SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device
Current CPU cooler is: Asus Silent knight AL
Case fan: Enermax Everist 80mm

OS: Windows 7 64bit home premium.

Hope the info helps!

Any advice or suggestions welcome!
 
Is your only concern to keep the chip within temp limits? If so the titan fenrir will do the job and let you take the chip up to its clock limit without being thermally limited.

What cooler are you using at the moment?
 
Mostly yes but i have very limited space and i know for a fact the fenrir cooler will not fit in my case with the side panel on.

I have a Asus Silent knight AL cooler at the moment.
 
I have a Mesh one, i believe its called Matrix Mid tower case. The website you provided is extremely helpful! Thanks!

So do you think going with a watercooling system is abit OTT?
 
I have watercooling at the moment, and while it's good, it's only worth it in my opinion if you do it properly (at least a 120x2 Radiator, a decent CPU-block and pump), otherwise it's a bulky set-up that gains nothing more than a decent air cooler (H50 is about the same as a decent air cooler, but more expensive, and just as loud).

The case you have is quite restrictive. If I were you, I'd use your budget of £150 to get a better case (something like an Antec P183, or P180 mini, or a Coolermaster 690 II), and then a decent cooler. This will also help motherboard, memory and graphics card temperatures.
 
Hmmm i really like this case though as its not too big and not too small.. just right for my desk.

How much did you water cooling system cost btw if you don't mind me asking?
 
All in around £175, so quite cheap really...

Main issue is that you need two 120mm fans next to each other, and being a small case, I doubt yours has the space.

A Mini P180 would be around the same size, looks nicer (in my opinion), would have better cooling, is better quality, and has sound dampening. It would also allow for a bigger/better CPU cooler.
 
Thats a bargain at £175! I've just been browsing on No competitiors! for watercooling parts and i may just build my own. My question is though is it necessary to have 2 x 120mm fans? Would it be okay with just a 120mm fan and radiator combo? I have space to route the hoses etc but like you said i would struggle to mount 2 x 120mm fans and a radiator equivalent to the rear of my case or to the top of the case where its blanked out at the moment.
 
As I've said, there's little point in going water in that case. Upgrade your case first - you'll probably find out that it completely solves the problem on its own.

Link to case

That will be much better than the stock case, not a dissimilar size either. Also, it doesn't have the cheap 'Piano' black finish...

Also, no links to competitors - this is OCUK's site...
 
Thanks and sorry! I guess i'll change the case and see if it solves the problem. If it doesn't at least then i'll have more room to play with if i do decide to go with watercooling.
 
Jay85 said:
  • AMD® Phenom™ II x4 955 BE @3.6ghz
  • ASUS Silent Knight AL
  • 50°C Idle
  • 60°C Load "dangerously high"
Click to expand...

asussilentknightallarge.jpg


Hey Jay85,

firstly 60°C is anything but "dangerously high" on an overclocked Deneb @ 3.6GHz . . . . relax, a 10°C delta is actually quite good! :)

Marvin said:
What case do you have? Is there any way you can increase case airflow?
Click to expand...
Jay85 said:
I have a Mesh one, i believe its called Matrix Mid tower case
Click to expand...
I think Marvin sniffed out the problem! ;) . . . . It would be really helpful if you could supply us with some pictures of the case so we can gauge if its Thermally-Advantaged or not! :p

Jay85 said:
  • wanting to change my cooler for a watercooling kit
  • My budget is about £150
Click to expand...
"Wanting" to change a cooler and "needing" to change a cooler are two different things . . . from the info you supplied us so far it seems you have £150 burning a hole in your pocket and you probably like the look of water cooling but I think you need to have a sit down and weigh up the pro & cons of what "value" you will get by spending £150 on something you don't actually need? :confused:

Judging by your idle temps I would say you have a poor quality case with substandard airflow . . . you would be better off buying a new case like an Antec 300 and a couple of 120mm red-wings and keep £100 in your pocket . . . . having said that you could also keep all £150 in your pocket and not worry about an overclocked processor reaching 60°C load! :cool:
 
Ah if 60C isn't that high then i have nothing to worry about i spose but with the case, i'll post some pictures up of the rig and a snap shot of the temps. I have clocked it down to roughly 3.45 to 3.5 at the moment and it runs fairly good. I wouldn't mind if you had a look at the readouts and see if you could advise or guide me through better overclocking etc :').

And you're right, part of me wants to get the watercooling look while the other part doesn't. The case i have no choice since i only have 1 x 80mm fan at the moment cooling the whole case which is just ridiculous.
 
Big.Wayne, how exactly is 60°C not too hot? Maximum temperature for a Phenom II is meant to be 62°C, and no more...
 
Jay85, do you have a problem with your computer? . . . crashing? . . . lagging? . . . . freezing up? . . . CPU throttling?

If you do please let us know? . . . if your trying to improve your overclock then you should get a new chassis along the lines of the Antec 300 that has heaps of 120mm fan mounting spots and sits the PSU at the bottom of the case . . .

Basically, the chassis you are using at the moment with a single 80mm exhaust is not doing your overclocked system any favours . . . I don't know much about that ASUS cooler but if your getting 50°C/60°C idle/load temps at present then I guesstimate these will drop to 40°C/50°C idle/load in a Thermally-Advantaged chassis! :cool:
 
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