Is my config running OK??

GTXnexus

New member
Hi, guys. I'm new to watercooling. Just a few questions regarding my custom loop

First of all my setup, I am currently cooling an overclocked 4690k (4.6g at 1.37v, probably got a below average chip) and two gtx980 in sli (running at 1.6g) with an alphacool monster 360 rad in push pull and also another alphacool xt45 480 in pull. A D5 pump set at speed dialler 3 and all the fans are corsair sp120 led fans with max speed of 1600 rpm.

1. I observe something weird. If I keep the fans on the 360 rad running at 50% and try to run software like Heaven benchmark and OCCT, the gpu temp and cpu temp stay pretty much the same respectively regardless if I stop the fans on the 480 rad completely or turn them to 100%. (I do mean no observable change in temps at all) Gpu temps stay around 45c and cpu temp around 85c with ambient temp at 23c. In other words, the 480 rad doesn't seem to be doing much cooling. Is this normal? Any opinion on this one?

2. I am a bit concerned about the cpu temp as it goes up to 86c at max during gaming. What can I do if I want to lower the temps a bit more (I want it to stay below 80c at all times)? Would it be better if I change the fans on the 480 rad to push or add another set of fans for push pull? (Personally I don't think it will make a big difference) Maybe switch to some other fans?

I don't know if this helps but here is how the loop goes, starting from the pump---360 rad---2 gpu blocks(parallel config)---480 rad---cpu blcok---back to reservoir and pump. Also the 360 rad is drawing cool air from bottom the case while the 480 rad is pulling relatively hot air out from inside the case and double as exhaust. There are also 2 additional intake fans and 1 exhaust fan.

Sorry for the "essay" Any ideas appreciated, thanks.
 
Just out of curiosity, have you tried changing the pump dial to higher speed as well? Though under water a CPU hitting 86C is way way to much. It's devil's canyon so the higher volts shouldn't cause a large rise in temps due to the better IHS, to a certain point however. I think that could be a few things for such a high read on the CPU. Software is either wrong, motherboard sensor is off, or a bad mount on the cpu. I would check the motherboards temp reading directly after testing through a couple CPU intsensive benchmarks to check the reading(before resarting i would have a quick glance at the software's reading, reference point of where it "should" be). If it looks odd then it's probably the board. If it looks normal like say in the 60s it's probably software.

The bad mount could also contribute to the fans. Since it's not in full contact the extra cooling provided by the fans has zero impact on cooling since the plate can't transfer more heat away and it's already at max heat transfer. Doubtfull but a query nonetheless.
 
Just out of curiosity, have you tried changing the pump dial to higher speed as well? Though under water a CPU hitting 86C is way way to much. It's devil's canyon so the higher volts shouldn't cause a large rise in temps due to the better IHS, to a certain point however. I think that could be a few things for such a high read on the CPU. Software is either wrong, motherboard sensor is off, or a bad mount on the cpu. I would check the motherboards temp reading directly after testing through a couple CPU intsensive benchmarks to check the reading(before resarting i would have a quick glance at the software's reading, reference point of where it "should" be). If it looks odd then it's probably the board. If it looks normal like say in the 60s it's probably software.

The bad mount could also contribute to the fans. Since it's not in full contact the extra cooling provided by the fans has zero impact on cooling since the plate can't transfer more heat away and it's already at max heat transfer. Doubtfull but a query nonetheless.

Thanks for the input, a little update here, try both speeding up the pump and checking block mount and replacing thermal paste. Unfortunately, nothing changes temperature wise.

I have to lower the clock and voltage to 4.5g at 1.275v to make things look better. OCCT large data set max out at 68c and small data set doesn't go above 76c, x264 v2 test at 67c max.

Guess I have to live with 4.5g then but I am still surprised how a 360 + 480 rad setup couldn't even handle a cpu. Probably just got a very bad overclocker that pumps out a lot of heat...lol...
 
Well to be fair 1.37v is a lot for any CPU and especially intel. Though those temps look more normal. Generally the rule of thumb since Ivy Bridge came out was anything over 1.3v would tend to pump out a massive amount of heat.

Also for OCCT. Try running the Linpack. That's the much harder test.
 
The problem was the volts you were putting into the CPU not the watercooling. Just adding rads wont make your rig magically cool. You were basically overloading the cooling ability of the CPU fella.

TBH at those volts youre lucky you didnt kill it.
 
If I were to change anything in this setup it would be the CPU, after making sure it wasn't just noobclocked and you've genuinely not done well in the silicon lottery. That is assuming you absolutely must haz 4.6GHz+ all day long.

The cooling side of things is overkill and clearly functioning well from the GPU temps. Your wasting your time changing fans or rads etc.

JR
 
Thanks guys for all the helpful info

Just run OCCT linpack for 15mins to see what the temps are like, max out at 67c with AVX unchecked and 82c with AVX, are those normal temps? (Didn't run longer than 15mins since I just want to see the temps and I've already tested stability with occt for 3 hours and other tests)

Since the rig is for gaming mostly and the gpus are doing well (may push further latter on but more than enough for now), I'll live with 4.5g for a while...haha...
 
Back
Top