Corsair H80 and ATCS 840

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Sun, 09/09/2012 - 12:24
thej762000
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Joined: 03/05/2009
Posts: 23

Hey folks,

My new build has been up and running for a few weeks, but I'm getting fairly disappointing results with the Corsair H80. The temps I'm getting at idle are usually in the range of 35-40C without overclocking (according to CoreTemp). I had to jettison the stock fans as they were too loud. I've replaced them with a pair of Enermax Apollish Vegas fans (UCAPV12A-BL) with no improvement in temps. Today I tried the following:

Removed stock backplate on Rampage IV Extreme and replaced it with square plate.
Installed Corsair Intel backplate (this seemed to give a better fit).
Applied fresh thermal paste (Artic Silver).
Setup push-pull fans to exhaust.

Most of the quick specs for this build are in my sig. I should point out my fan arrangement is as follows:

3x 230mm fans (1 in front, 2 on top)
3x 120mm optional fans (2 in a push-pull on the HDD cage, one intake on the bottom)

How could I improve on those temps?

Cooler Master ATCS 840 Case / Asus Rampage IV Extreme / Intel Core i7 3820 3.6 Ghz
Corsair H80 / G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 32GB RAM / Diamond HD 5870
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB SSD x2 / Western Digital 2TB HDD x2 / Corsair HX1050 PSU
Logitech G19 Keyboard / Logitech G9x Mouse

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Sun, 09/09/2012 - 20:48
#1
Prophet4NO1
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Joined: 09/13/2010
Posts: 196

Those are very good idle temps. And to be blunt, idle temps don't mean a lot. You can only get to a few degrees from ambient, normally a bit more, with an H80. Where systems like these shine is at load. Never understood peoples obsession with cooler idle temps. The chip is totally happy at 60-70C at load. So 35-40C at idle is no big deal. Remember, Intel chips underclock themselves at idle. So, outside of extreme conditions like sub zero cooling, you are not getting any lower. Maybe turn down the AC in you house to make the air colder. That is about it.

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Mon, 09/10/2012 - 06:02
#2
thej762000
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Joined: 03/05/2009
Posts: 23

OK, thanks for the reassurance.

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Tue, 09/11/2012 - 14:30
#3
eire1274
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Joined: 09/12/2003
Posts: 1029

What are you seeing for peak temps? The i7 3820 is an excellent part for space heating, along with processing, and a 40°C idle is adequately chilly.

Nick McDermott

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Thu, 09/20/2012 - 10:29
#4
thej762000
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Joined: 03/05/2009
Posts: 23

I'm topping out around 50-53C according to CoreTemp (that's at normal room temps with no A/C), but I have to admit I haven't really pushed it that hard (mostly audio editing, a little benchmarking, no gaming yet). I went with the 3820 mainly because of price, and I was concerned that a hexa-core might give me compatibility problems with some older programs. Would the 3930K run cooler, or does LGA 2011 just run hot period?

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