XP-120 Poor Cooling Performance ???

[peav]

Hi there,

I'm just after a bit of info,

Im currently running an 3500+ E6 Venice at 240x11 = 2.64Ghz, using the XP-120 as cooling. Vcore at 1.57v and fan 120mm YSTech 5 blade 120cfm thing.

When running at 100% load is giving me around 53°C when fan is running about 6v, yet at 12v there is no real difference in the temp. This also happens at idle, which at 2.6 is around 42°C, running fan full speed will only drop about 1°C if that.

So what im asking, I guess is, is this normal for the xp-120 heatsink ? Ive tried reapplying AS5 under it, but that doesnt seem to have made a difference.

IF I enable C&Q which drops the cpu down to 1200@1.1v Idle temps do to around 33°C but again running the fan at full speed doesnt cool the chip anymore.

This possibly could be to do with the thermal efficiency of the heatsink, meaning that it wont cool anymore at 12v, as at 6v its cooling is maximum ?? If you understand that. But im thinking under load there should be a drop in temps ??

My sis's 3200+ Newcastle, running with C&Q enable barely hits in the 40's°C with stock cooling, under full load.

Anyhoo, any info/advice would be helpful.

Thanks, Peav

[peav]

Oops just realised im in the wrong forum, i was sure i was posting in the cooling one.

Mods if your watching could you move this thread to the correct forum and then delete this message pls ??

Thanks

Peav

[Pilfer69]

should get some answers here as well. Ive never used Cool n' Quiet, so dont have any experience...but I dont think its a good idea to use that with a decent overclock.

[peav]

yeah i dont use C&Q on a regular basis, it was just to get idle cpu temps using what AMD intends us to use.

[SSV]

I run C & Q 24/7 & have a nice OC (297HTT @ 1.55v, 24/7). Idle temps are 32c & I've never seen over 50c load w/a XP-90 & Zalman 92mm fan @ 2834RPM's. It's a quiet fan too > my 80mm case fans are louder.

It also does take some time for the TIM (AS5, Shin Etsu, whatever) to 'burn in' & temps to come down. Usually w/in a week I see a 3c - 5c drop in temps.

If you're lacking in case fans to exhaust the heat > remove the backplate & the XP-120 will exhaust out the opening.

HTH,

[peav]

Thanks for the reply SSV..

I dont think its a ambient cooling issue, I have 2 rear fans, 3 front, and then the 2 psu extract fans, Case temp is cool at 21degsC but even with the side panel off the CPu temps dont seem to change.. Also the heatsink seems cool to touch and only really seems to heat up around the 60degC mark.

I mean it aint causing me any problems, was just curious as people with the same heatsink are cooling faster cpus cooler than me

Peav

[alex666]

For what it's worth, I've got a Gigabyte G Power HSF in my 939 system listed in my sig. It comes with a fan controller, which I keep at the lowest setting because (a) cranking it up makes no difference in temps that I've seen, and (b) when cranked up, it sounds like a vacuum cleaner. I had been spiking high temps on the stock hsf that came with my prior venice 3200 E3 during prime95, and the G Power eliminated that problem. With the 3500, I'm running upper 30s at idle, mid-40s under load, mid-50s during prime95. It had been spiking into the 60s before with the stock hsf, even after reapplying as5 several times. Some of that high temp reading may have been faulty temp readings on this soltek board (it's known for that), as the base of the hsf and the fins themselves were never really hot at those temps. But I feel better with the current temps and it's been stable temp-wise for months now.

marty

[benefit14snake]

How are you applying your As5? Because no matter how many times you apply it, if you arent applying it correctly it wont matter. Make sure its a THIN layer of AS5, now alot of people will tell you things like "put a dot in the center and it will spread out" While this will probaly work, I dont trust it on my $350+ proc, so what I do is: clean my hands VERY well with soap and warm water to get off as many foreign objects as possible (oils, dirts) and then put a small dot in the center then work it around the proccessor, if theres too much then I wipe my finger on a clean paper towel and rub it around more untill its just enough to cover the whole proc. Then with the excess on my finger I spread it on my water block (or in your case your heatsink) and there is just enough to change the color of the copper (meaning the coat is thin enough to see through) And well.. I get 18C on my opteron 165 - in the bios unoverclocked. Get up to about 27C fully overclocked (2836mhz @ 1.67V) after a night of prime, also with my video card overclocked pretty high (594mhz / 1350mhz in 2d as well...)

[Kaji]

I have the exact same problem... Using As5 with a XP-120 on an E6 Venice 3500+...

Once I get to voltages over 1.55v.. my load temps go above 50C... no matter how fast my fan is...

Sucks!

[peav]

How are you applying your As5? Because no matter how many times you apply it, if you arent applying it correctly it wont matter. Make sure its a THIN layer of AS5, now alot of people will tell you things like "put a dot in the center and it will spread out" While this will probaly work, I dont trust it on my $350+ proc, so what I do is: clean my hands VERY well with soap and warm water to get off as many foreign objects as possible (oils, dirts) and then put a small dot in the center then work it around the proccessor, if theres too much then I wipe my finger on a clean paper towel and rub it around more untill its just enough to cover the whole proc. Then with the excess on my finger I spread it on my water block (or in your case your heatsink) and there is just enough to change the color of the copper (meaning the coat is thin enough to see through) And well.. I get 18C on my opteron 165 - in the bios unoverclocked. Get up to about 27C fully overclocked (2836mhz @ 1.67V) after a night of prime, also with my video card overclocked pretty high (594mhz / 1350mhz in 2d as well...)

I apply it as instructed, small BB sized blob and spread out with a razor blade. I also did the rub in method to both the HSF base and the CPU IHS prior to this. I dunno, Maybe these E6 chips have a bigger gap between the IHS and the core. I aint going to check it tho, leave that to someone else AMDs way to curb excesive overclocking ?

[Meridian]

Oops just realised im in the wrong forum, i was sure i was posting in the cooling one.

Mods if your watching could you move this thread to the correct forum and then delete this message pls ??

Thanks

Peav

Done


Meridian

[alex666]

now alot of people will tell you things like "put a dot in the center and it will spread out"

Yeah, people like the Arctic Silver people: that's how they recommend applying AS5.

[SSV]

I apply it as instructed, small BB sized blob and spread out with a razor blade. I also did the rub in method to both the HSF base and the CPU IHS prior to this. I dunno, Maybe these E6 chips have a bigger gap between the IHS and the core. I aint going to check it tho, leave that to someone else AMDs way to curb excesive overclocking ?

Yes they do. The edges are higher than the center by quite a bit. I noticed it when I put my XP90 on w/AS5 > I had to use a lot more than I ever used on a non-IHS CPU.

I put, like, 3 BB size globs on the center of the IHS & used a razor blade to 'level' it out (reminded me of my bricklaying days LOL). It was pretty thick (in comparison to, say, a Barton) in the center. Temps stay under 50c tho' (Speedfan, SiSandra & Smart Guard) in Windows under full load. That's @ 1.55vcore & a 50% oc.

I get 18C on my opteron 165 - in the bios unoverclocked. Get up to about 27C fully overclocked (2836mhz @ 1.67V) after a night of prime

You must live in an igloo ....


.02,

[benefit14snake]

Nah no igloo, just an UBER radiator that was home made that I bought off Ebay for $11.25 shipped hehe. Also this is bios temps, so you never know. But I calced it out and it should be around 65F which is around what we keep our house at lol. But when Im priming it hits 25-26C usualy. OH YEA! duh i forgot to mention.. my opteron is naked! (no IHS) hehe that too....It used to hit 35-37C with my IHS on.

[END]

In one system I run the xp-120 and I found it needed to be lapped badly. After temps were acceptable. Check your surface area to see if it's nice and flat.