Temperature issues, Corsair H50-1 on I7 @ 4ghz

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Hello, I'm new here, looking for some advise as I've not really dipped into high power computing before (and doubtless some of you wont see what i'm doing as that high power :D). Sorry if I waffle on a bit :)

I fairly recently built up a new machine in preparation for the CAD and CFD simulation work I'll need to do for my final year project as University. It's an OCUK 4ghz I7 bundle with the Corsair HS50-1 Cooler built into a CM 690 II case. It has been running nicely since I got it, and my temperatures during normal use sit around 50C on desktop type application and 60C on particularly demanding games.

I've just reached a point in my project work where I've started running some test simulations and when I do so it runs the cpu at 100% on all 8 threads as well as maxes the RAM.

Initially I had it cooled by having a 120mm inlet fan on the HS50-1 on the back of the case and the two 140mm fans. Temperatures within about 20 seconds would hit 75C+ on the CPU (I bottled it and cancelled the run at 80C after a couple of minutes).

I assumed I just needed more fans so yesterday fitted 4 more, on a fanbus so I can crank them all before starting my solver run. This hasn't fixed my problem tho, it just takes longer to hit high temps but it still saw 80C on a 15minute sim.

Once I get going with the proper solver runs for my project they'll be maxing the cpu/ram for hours at a time so this really is a problem!

Heres a quick diagram of how it's set up currently
5190926840_f5dd89f1bb_z.jpg


So my currently thinking about solutions falls into a couple of catagories.
The airflow through my case is wrong, I need to alter the direction of some of the fans, and suggestions would be appreciated.

or

The HS50-1 doesn't have the thermal capacity to transport the large amount of heat I'm generating (the core does seem awfully thin). I started looking at full on watercooling solutions (seperate 240mm radiators, pumps, waterblocks, tubing, etc, lots of parts to these systems) I priced up a set at around £250. I'd rather not spend it but if it's the way I fix this I'll have to.

Does anybody know the largest sized radiator I can fit at the top of the CM 690 II case (I presume top mounting makes more sense as the hot air can be immediately ejected)
 
Your second guess is right.

80°C at 100% CPU on all threads is normal for an H50 nothing you can do about it, it just wasn't designed for that sort of heat load.

You could try putting a second fan on the radiator for push/pull that would give you an extra couple of degrees leeway.

If you go custom:

For a single i7 you will be fine with a thick 240 radiator like the EK XT240 or XSPC RX240 or if you are on a budget a Swiftech MCR220. Get some good fans such as Scythe Gentle Typhoons or Akasa Apache's an whack them on a fan controller and you should be good to go.
 
I am running a 930 @ 4Ghz overclock in my 690II with the H50 (12GB RAM & HT on) and have arrived at 75C as the max temp under IBT/max/8threads and about 69-70C for hours under Premiere Pro. Idle is low 30s.

I currently have set the case up like this:

140mm (standard) front fan (in)
Additional 140mm in the floor between PSU and HDD cage (in)
Roof 2 x 140mm (out)
Side panel 1 x 140mm (in) lower slot with a filter - directly cools the GPU
H50 Gentle Typhoon 1450rpm x 2 push/pull (out)

This seems to be fine as I get the same temps with or without the side panel in place.

The only other thing I did do was lapped the H50 and used MX3 when I remounted but this made no noticeable difference.

Some easy things to try:

Tidy the case by moving the spare wiring behind the motherboard tray.

Check that the H50 pump screws are tight - they slacken as the TIM goes through the first heat cycles (you did mount it straight down and not "twist" it in the TIM?). Also be 100% sure the pump is getting a full 12v.

Move the Panaflo into the floor intake spot between the PSU and HDD cage for more fresh air in for free.

Turn the PSU over so it sucks from the outside AND vents outside - it therefore is out of the case re heat and not disturbing the upwards flow.

Try the H50 exhausting (clean the rad as you do) so it fits with the general flow in the case (set to intake, the radiator collects a lot of dust pretty quickly and negates the "cool air" advantage) .

Also, try and tune the OCUK overclock QPI and VCORE settings down a bit as its easier to generate less heat than to dispose of it! (save the OCUK profile in case you **** it up).
 
Yep get two fans on the H50 - try it both as intake and exhaust (but never really made any difference to me). Also make sure it's mounted properly with decent thermal paste. That 480 in there can't be helping matters ;). Looking at your setup, I'd try the front and side fans as intake, with the H50 and roof fans as exhaust. Load up CPUZ and tell us what Vcore you're running for that overclock. 80 isn't tooooo scary - thermal protection doesn't kick in until 100 so you still have some headroom. But for long number crunching runs, I guess the lower you can go the more piece of mind you'll have. But as long as you're stable it doesn't matter all that much if it's a bit toasty.
 
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Can you try connect the pump to a molex instead? Looking at the picture it's connected to thwe motherboard and it might not be getting enough power.
 
One small point, the CM 690 II case wont take a thick radiator at the top as there isn't enough clearance. I've got an XSPC RS240 up there, not sure you'd get an RX240 up there (might depend a bit on your motherboard layout).
You should be able to fit it down the bottom though, although would mean removing the lower section of the HDD cage. Not sure if this would cause a problem for you (depends on how many HDD you have).
Remember that you'll also need to mount the pump and reservoir somewhere. If the radiator is going down the bottom then you might opt for a res/pump combo that sits in the 5¼" bays, so be aware of that if you currently use a lot of those bays (or plan you move any HDDs there).
 
i'd swap your fans around a bit, so the ones on the back and top are exhaust, and the rest are intake.

But that's just me.
 
Wow great response, thanks for all the suggestions. I've had another go this afternoon, this is the layout now:

5192088977_033a1af7d6_b.jpg


I turned the PSU the other way up, I'm a bit embarrased at having not figured that one out myself, it makes a lot more sense, it also means the motherboard power leads are now reach with them behind the tray so I tidied them back there too.

I fitted the extra fan to the radiator and switched it so they blow the hot air out the back.

I added two more 120mm fans, fitted to the top of the case in the gap between the case and the top bezel as inlets, and moved the panoflo and the 140mm that was in the top to the bottom also as inlets. The panoflo on the side panel wouldn't fit in the top grill because of the extra thickness of the radiator so I moved it down to the graphics card grill drawing in.

I made all the fans inlets except for those on the radiator, my thinking for this is it should increase the pressure in the case which will make it easier for those fans to push/pull air through the radiator and out.

on my test run the temps were at around 70C with highs of 79,75,75,53 :D

My computer also does a pretty good impression of a vacuum cleaner now!!

With all the fans on the bottom panel I'm wondering if I should cut a piece of MDF to put underneath as it's currently sat on carpet?
 
Great results! Yep definately get it one a flat surface with a decent intake gap for the PSU or it'll fry. Interesting positive case pressure setup with loads more intake than exhaust, with everything forced out over the H50 rad :) Seems to work - jolly good.
 
I also plugged the pump into a molex and tightened the cooler retaining screws a little so I'm not sure the fans have made all the difference.

Am I likely to see even lower temps with watercooling? I've been looking at the various bits and I must say I'm tempted :)

I presume with a radiator in the bottom of the case you mount the fans on top of it and have them draw air in through? I did a sketch of this and it seemed like a much more sensible airflow arrangement having a fan at the front, and two drawing air through a rad at the bottom, with the top two and rear fans as exhausts, would mean I could remove the two noisiest of the fans I've got now (Antec stealths, stealth my arse!). A 2x 5¼" bay Pump/reservoir is fine, I am happy with two HDD's and an optical.
 
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