Reducing CPU temps in preparation for 1st overclock!

OzZie · 1 May 2009 at 11:30

Based on that picture you'll get the sunbeam cooler in no problems. My P5Q-Pro's northbridge is really close but i managed to get it on no problems (touches the northbridge). You can also fit it to either face the rear of the case (exhausting out the back), or facing the top of the case (exhausting out of the top if you have a top fan)

Evil-I · 1 May 2009 at 11:31

Hi James,

Just having a mooch on your pictures and noticed that it looks like your case will happily take 2 x 120mm fans. One front, one rear (replacing the 80mm).

If you do that suddenly your case cooling is a lot more sensible for only £10-15!

Best,

E-I

jamesgoss · 1 May 2009 at 21:08

OzZie said:
Based on that picture you'll get the sunbeam cooler in no problems. My P5Q-Pro's northbridge is really close but i managed to get it on no problems (touches the northbridge). You can also fit it to either face the rear of the case (exhausting out the back), or facing the top of the case (exhausting out of the top if you have a top fan)

Hi Ozzie,

That's making me feel a lot better, I'm dying to buy a new shiny HSF and I think I may well just go ahead and get it, in addition to the things Evil-I is suggesting. I reckon with my case setup, having it exhaust out of the back would be best (as my PSU is at the top of my case).

Evil-I said:
Hi James,

Just having a mooch on your pictures and noticed that it looks like your case will happily take 2 x 120mm fans. One front, one rear (replacing the 80mm).

If you do that suddenly your case cooling is a lot more sensible for only £10-15!

Best,

E-I

Evil-I, you read my mind

I've been checking out some Yate Loon 120mm fans (maybe the 1200RPM ones to avoid too much noise?) as well as some modders' mesh. So in total, I'm thinking of getting:

3 x Yate Loon 1200 (or higher) RPM [2 in front, 1 in back exhaust]
Modders' mesh

The modders' mesh is for the front 5.25inch bays to put a fan in that nice big open space.

I'm trying my utmost to stop myself buying the Sunbeam until I see how well the extra fans perform on their own...It's quite difficult! I'm falling deeper into the PC personalisation, and there's no paddle in sight

Thanks for keeping abreast of the situation people!

steveinspain · 1 May 2009 at 22:23

Its good to read this sort of story - as a beginner I am learning so much by reading threads like this - good luck James !
As for fans, it sounds like you are doing the right thing - 2 intake and one exhaust will create a positive pressure - a good thing if dust is an enemy of yours...
As for modders mesh - can you explain more ?

jamesgoss · 1 May 2009 at 23:38

steveinspain said:
As for modders mesh - can you explain more ?

No problemo! The front of my case has is a nasty black/silver fascia (check out my Flickr photos) so I wanted to remove the 3 spare 5.25 inch bay plastic covers, and put a bit of hexagonal mesh in their place. Behind this mesh I want to crack a 120mm intake fan

Might mount it (posh way of saying glue it) on a rubber eraser from Rymans to absorb any vibrations as it's easier than trying to screw it into the mesh.

There's also an intake for a 120mm fan mount at the front bottom too. Dunno how I'm going to get this mesh to fit, but it'll be amusing to give it a go! Tried B&Q today to find some wire mesh on the cheap but the holes are far too big. Found some official mesh online for around £14 w/out delivery (which is a bit expensive for what is is IMO).

And believe me, the fight against dust will never end! I'm an avid duster, but it follows me wherever I go! :eek:

satriani1412 · 2 May 2009 at 00:05

Last time i cleaned my pc out it looked like my furry cat blew up inside it or something.

Have you ordered your cooler? I want to see the new temps :O

Audigex · 2 May 2009 at 00:07

Don't try overclocking until you have a new HSF on! It's never a good idea to overclock on the stock heatsink, they're just not good.

Personally I'd get the HSF first and the 3 fans.

Install all 3 and see how the temps look with the fans on medium and low. If they look good on low (10C above ambient idle, and about 30C higher on load - so likely around 30C and 60C absolute temperatures) then get overclocking.

If they look more like 40 and 70, that's fine on stock but I wouldn't overclock without a new case.

If they look more like 50 and 80, you still need a new case, badly!

BeeP · 2 May 2009 at 00:42

Agree qith audigex, stock coolers are not made for overclocking.

jamesgoss · 2 May 2009 at 00:44

satriani1412 said:
Last time i cleaned my pc out it looked like my furry cat blew up inside it or something.

Have you ordered your cooler? I want to see the new temps :O

Loving the cat fur explosion image! I haven't ordered the cooler yet, they've just run out of Sunbeams! NOOOOOO!

Audigex said:
Don't try overclocking until you have a new HSF on! It's never a good idea to overclock on the stock heatsink, they're just not good.

Personally I'd get the HSF first and the 3 fans.

Install all 3 and see how the temps look with the fans on medium and low. If they look good on low (10C above ambient idle, and about 30C higher on load - so likely around 30C and 60C absolute temperatures) then get overclocking.

If they look more like 40 and 70, that's fine on stock but I wouldn't overclock without a new case.

If they look more like 50 and 80, you still need a new case, badly!

Hi mate,

Well after reseating my stock HSF with MX-2 I'm getting:

Idle: 43
Load: 65

So with the extra cooling from the fans and the new HSF, do you reckon I'd be in a position to crack on the overclock? Check out my photos of my case, with the extra fans the cooling won't be so bad...will it? :confused:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37664129@N06/

satriani1412 · 2 May 2009 at 01:43

How about that big brick cooler? the thermalright one that looks like an iron and add 2 fans onto that aswel as some exhaust fans

seen people with like 23 on idle with that cooler

will420 · 2 May 2009 at 01:46

Howdy James

Glad to see you managed to sort out your temp problem. I'm definately interested to see the outcome of your overclock. Mine is currently 3.45ghz at 1.36v. I'm not really pushing it hard atm just want to break it in over time and hopefully will hit 4ghz.

I'd say you can start your OC when you get your new fans and HSF, thats wat i did.

Good luck!

jamesgoss · 2 May 2009 at 13:27

satriani1412 said:
How about that big brick cooler? the thermalright one that looks like an iron and add 2 fans onto that aswel as some exhaust fans

seen people with like 23 on idle with that cooler

If it weren't for the fact that it costs an extra 20 quid I'd snap it up! Oh, and the fact that it's approx 8 feet tall coule be a problem for my case

Was keen on the ol' Sunbeam because of the performance/money ratio. Though I've seen the Titan Fenrir for a similar price on a site that also sells the Yate Loons. The Fenrir's supposed to be a bit noisier though.

will420 said:
Howdy James

Glad to see you managed to sort out your temp problem. I'm definately interested to see the outcome of your overclock. Mine is currently 3.45ghz at 1.36v. I'm not really pushing it hard atm just want to break it in over time and hopefully will hit 4ghz.

I'd say you can start your OC when you get your new fans and HSF, thats wat i did.

Good luck!

Hi there Will! This'll be my first overclock, so when I come to have a bash with mine it'd be great to hear about your experiences. I'll probably start a new thread in the Overclocking section when all the fans turn up, so watch this space for the results

Huw_Dawson · 2 May 2009 at 17:49

Good luck with the overclocking! The first one is always the most nervous.

- Huw

satriani1412 · 5 May 2009 at 00:58

Any luck James?

jamesgoss · 5 May 2009 at 13:02

afraid not...if it weren't for the bank holiday i'd have had my mesh and fans by now :mad:

but then again, it WAS a bank holiday, so pros and cons.

have been really getting into HSF research and have actually decided on the Akasa Nero for performance/noise ratio (full 10db lower than sunbeam). Frostytech has helped me no end on that score. It's smaller than the sunbeam too which'll help it fit in my case.

Think the HSF will be ordered today too! If I can find one anywhere on the internet...!

satriani1412 · 5 May 2009 at 23:29

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-052-AK <<< this one?
im sure you could google about for one.

found one on the bay but its 10 quid dearer than OcUk. maybe give them a call and see when theyl get stock?

jamesgoss · 6 May 2009 at 16:07

satriani1412 said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-052-AK <<< this one?
im sure you could google about for one.

found one on the bay but its 10 quid dearer than OcUk. maybe give them a call and see when theyl get stock?

Thanks for that mate, that was the one I had my eye on. Until I made detailed measurements of my case and realised it was too tall! So I ordered the Sunbeam, which'll be a tight fit as it is. Decisive one aren't I?!

All deliveries should be with me by the end of the week. So fingers crossed!

jamesgoss · 8 May 2009 at 13:15

Everything should be with me in a couple of hours! Can't wait to get mucking around inside the PC. I'll be taking photos of it all so get ready! Then the all important temp readings...

satriani1412 · 8 May 2009 at 13:19

Ohh very nice

Take step by step pictures so we can all have a gorp at it rather than the boring before and after ones

jamesgoss · 8 May 2009 at 22:34

been trying to get this sunbeam on for about an hour...one of the sides is so close to the PSU it's hard to get it to click.hmm. But I will persevere!