Watercooling temps...

[CapnOver]

I've tried everything and can't figure this one out...So I'm looking for a little help.

I'm running an Abit AV8 with a A64 3200 running at 2350Mhz.
I have a new DangerDen TDX block and DDC-12 pump.
Everything seems to run just fine, but my temperatures are screwy.

At idle, my CPU and PWM sit at around 53 deg C (or 127 deg F) and my water temp sits at around 99 deg F. I'm also piping through a waterblock on my X800, which is reporting a temp of 43 deg C.

The GPU seems to be about what I was expecting, but the CPU temps seem a bit high.

Now for the screwy part: if I peg the processor at 100% (with Sandra or such), the CPU temp spikes almost immedately to 65 deg C, while the PWM rises very slowly in that direction. Then when the CPU idles again, the CPU drops back to 53 deg C. Again this is almost instantaneous (under 1-2 seconds).

My best guess for this so far has been a block mounting issue, causing the CPU to heat up quickly and not get cooled. Unfortunately, I've tried almost every trick I could find - a little thermal paste (artic silver) in the middle (according to AMD's site), spreading it around little, putting a lot on....Nothing seems to make any difference in the temps.

The water flow seems quite strong, the radiator fans working, and the GPU doesn't heat up much at all under load so I know something's working.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[CaBoOse999]

What kind of radiator do you have?

 

[Miklebud]

Yeah, what kind of rad/heatercore do you have? Have you reseated the waterblock? Those are some high temps for that setup. What kind of Thermal Paste? Fans?

 

[BoleCailey]

Also check your block mounting, and what voltage are you running at?

 

[CapnOver]

The radiator is the original 120MM radiator I got with my innovatek kit a few years ago. It's been pretty solid up until this point. The water idles at around 99 deg F, so I'd think that should be cool enough to bring the CPU temperature lower than the 53 (127) I'm seeing.

As for reseating the block, I've tried several times. I'm using Arctic SIlver 3. From everything I've read, it doesn't "expire", so I haven't grabbed any AS5 yet.

For the voltage, I've tried a little of everything - 1.4 up to 1.55 and it doesn't seem to impact the temps.

The fact that the GPU is staying quite cool leads me to believe that the rest of the setup is working correctly, and that just the CPU block is having issues.

Thanks for the help.

 

[HardWarrior]

Well, if you're sure about your paste job and the seating of the block on the CPU, you can chalk it up to a wonky temp diode and live with it. How is your loop plumbed and what type of fan are you using on your rad?

 

[acivick]

Is your water temp usually that high? My CPU block diode idles between 80-90F. I use that to roughly estimate the temperature of the water as the diode is not exactly on the CPU.

Anyway, my CPU core temp is usually about 10C hotter than my estimated water temp. You seem to have a similar trend, though it's a 16C difference. Where are you getting your temp readings from? BIOS? Software? Diode?

 

[Nnyan]

From what I've been reading the water temp should stay pretty even throughout the loop. If its cooling the GPU just fine then I'm going to suspect that you're not effectively getting heat to transfer from the CPU to the water in the block.

Now you say that your flow is ok, how do you know that? What is the flow of your cooling loop? Which pressure plate are you using?

From what I've read about the TDX it has a moderate pressure drop and you should try to get at least 300gph for optimal results.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: CapnOver
The radiator is the original 120MM radiator I got with my innovatek kit a few years ago. It's been pretty solid up until this point. The water idles at around 99 deg F, so I'd think that should be cool enough to bring the CPU temperature lower than the 53 (127) I'm seeing.

Whether or not it can depends largely on the pump. The temperature difference between the water and the CPU surface will be large if your water isn't moving fast enough to remove the heat.

 

[Miklebud]

That DDC is more than enough to get water around that loop.

You very well could have your TDX 'off balance'. I had that problem with my RBX- one side was pushed down more than the othere, causing bad temps. Screw the thumbscrews down WHILE the computer is on, and see if moving a little bit in any direction will drop or add a few degrees.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

outa curiosity how is your flow arranged?

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: Miklebud
That DDC is more than enough to get water around that loop.

You very well could have your TDX 'off balance'. I had that problem with my RBX- one side was pushed down more than the othere, causing bad temps. Screw the thumbscrews down WHILE the computer is on, and see if moving a little bit in any direction will drop or add a few degrees.

The question is how quickly it gets around the loop. If it's not an attachment problem, then I'm guessing it's either a pressure drop or incorrect temperature reading. Since temperature sensors are pretty robust, I leaned towards a pressure drop problem, problemwhich is why I inquired about the pump.