Complete newbie requires help with 4770K temps

[redlinezak]

Hi All

I have just built my first pc and need some help with a slight issue.
I have the Maximus VI formula MB with an i7 4770K processor, corsair 1866MHz RAM (16GB) and gigabyte nvidia 780 GHz edition GPU and an EVGA 1000G2 PS.

All has gone fine except that im am registering temps (monitored by core temp) of around 50C at idle with no windows open.
I have hardly installed anything on the pc except steam, firefox and a couple of other minot programs.

When I am playing assetto corsa the temps go up to between 75-90 degrees. The temp goes up pretty much instantly as soon as i start playing rather than a gradual rise.
The temp on my GPU is around 45 degrees when playing.

I am using the stock cooler and have 4 fans inside my fractal arc midi case.
I have not overclocked the processor or anything this is basically straight from a fresh install.

I then tried removing the cooler and replacing the standard heat paste with a different one (arctic cool i think) but made no difference.

Is it possible that this is a faulty processor?

My old system in the same case was a gigabyte MB with an AMD FX4100 black edition and 650Ti card and that used to idle at 6 degrees.

Any help will be massively appreciated.

Thanks

Any help wi

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Yep it's pre filled and basically you can't add anything to it...i.e. if you want to cool a GPU you can't add anything to the loop; you'd need a separate cooler.

[ThermalX]

When you say "cool the MB", do you mean the chipset or the VRM? Because honestly, unless you are just crazy - which many are, including myself - there isn't a reason to water cool the MB, especially the chipset. VRM water cooling can actually be beneficial in certain circumstances where high temps on it are holding back overclocks, but that's about it. Mostly, people put a waterblock on the VRM for esthetics or tubing arrangements. Honestly, I'd say don't put a waterblock on the chipset, or buy a full MB waterblock, unless you have a high budget for the PC and have already spent as much money as you could possibly spend on hardware...that's my opinion about it.

About the loop, 2x 240mm / 280mm rads would suit 1 CPU and 1 GPU, they can even handle moderate overclocked conditions while maintaining the expected low temperatures, although if you are going to overclock considerably on both the CPU and GPU, then I would recommend a 240mm / 280mm for the CPU and a 360mm or 420mm for the GPU...but, you may get past with just two 280mm's, I'm not 100% sure, it depends on which radiators you get. There is a considerable gap in "performance" between different ones of the same size.

In conclusion, like I've said before, unless you have pockets so deep, filled to the brim with heaps of money that is just overflowing, don't spend money on esthetics things before you do on hardware by getting two separate loops. The pumps don't come cheap, mine cost me 70€, excluding the aftermarket top I got for it (which, by the way, is totally worth getting in some cases). People only get 2 pumps when they have a Sli or higher GPU setup. Pushing water through 2 to 4 gpu's + a cpu + the radiators can take quite a bit of effort for a single pump and it drops the water flow rate so much that it looses a considerable amount of the system's heat dissipation potential. That is why it is very beneficial to get 2 of them, in that case. Some people get 2 pumps purely for the esthetic options that it opens up: dual pump res top; dual reservoirs; etc. It can be used to create some nice arrangements, but it is serious overkill on a single GPU + CPU setup, even if you have a VRM and Chipset block on there. Unless they are among the more restrictive blocks on the market (which is a bad buy), a single good pump will handle it.

I hope this helps. For now, use the closed loop cooler and see how things go. If you decide you want to upgrade to a custom loop, come back and ask for more help because there are a lot of details to consider when buying a water cooling system. You will be spending a lot of money on it and screwing up isn't an option.

[redlinezak]

Arne Saknussemm wrote:
Yep it's pre filled and basically you can't add anything to it...i.e. if you want to cool a GPU you can't add anything to the loop; you'd need a separate cooler.

Thanks that explains it.

ThermalX wrote:
When you say "cool the MB", do you mean the chipset or the VRM? Because honestly, unless you are just crazy - which many are, including myself - there isn't a reason to water cool the MB, especially the chipset. VRM water cooling can actually be beneficial in certain circumstances where high temps on it are holding back overclocks, but that's about it. Mostly, people put a waterblock on the VRM for esthetics or tubing arrangements. Honestly, I'd say don't put a waterblock on the chipset, or buy a full MB waterblock, unless you have a high budget for the PC and have already spent as much money as you could possibly spend on hardware...that's my opinion about it.

About the loop, 2x 240mm / 280mm rads would suit 1 CPU and 1 GPU, they can even handle moderate overclocked conditions while maintaining the expected low temperatures, although if you are going to overclock considerably on both the CPU and GPU, then I would recommend a 240mm / 280mm for the CPU and a 360mm or 420mm for the GPU...but, you may get past with just two 280mm's, I'm not 100% sure, it depends on which radiators you get. There is a considerable gap in "performance" between different ones of the same size.

In conclusion, like I've said before, unless you have pockets so deep, filled to the brim with heaps of money that is just overflowing, don't spend money on esthetics things before you do on hardware by getting two separate loops. The pumps don't come cheap, mine cost me 70€, excluding the aftermarket top I got for it (which, by the way, is totally worth getting in some cases). People only get 2 pumps when they have a Sli or higher GPU setup. Pushing water through 2 to 4 gpu's + a cpu + the radiators can take quite a bit of effort for a single pump and it drops the water flow rate so much that it looses a considerable amount of the system's heat dissipation potential. That is why it is very beneficial to get 2 of them, in that case. Some people get 2 pumps purely for the esthetic options that it opens up: dual pump res top; dual reservoirs; etc. It can be used to create some nice arrangements, but it is serious overkill on a single GPU + CPU setup, even if you have a VRM and Chipset block on there. Unless they are among the more restrictive blocks on the market (which is a bad buy), a single good pump will handle it.

I hope this helps. For now, use the closed loop cooler and see how things go. If you decide you want to upgrade to a custom loop, come back and ask for more help because there are a lot of details to consider when buying a water cooling system. You will be spending a lot of money on it and screwing up isn't an option.

I'm not sure what you mean by VRM etc but the VI formula comes with built in water cooling if you choose to do it so i would utilise that (up the top of the board near the processor). I would also be cooling my processor and also my GPU.
You suggestion of twin 240 or 280mm rads sounds perfect but before i start buying anything for that i will see how i go first and also i will most definitely be back for more advice too.


I'm back home now and waiting for me was my corsair 100i cooler.

First i powered up the system and let the cpu settle to 800z at idle.
CPU temps were around 50 C after the pc had been on for maybe 3 mins.
I then fitted the cooler extremely slowly and carefully and even defied man logic by reading instructions and stuff.

Upon removing the standard cooler i found that my application of thermal paste and securing of the cooler leaves an awful lot to be desired. It turned out that i had not clipped the stock cooler down properly the second time so there was only about 1/3 of the cooler making contact with the chip (good job i have been away this week so didn't use the pc ).
Anyway with my ineptitude put to one side for a moment (never to be spoken of again) upon firing up with the new cooler fitted i am now running at around 25 c at idle. This is a 20 degree improvement over the first time i fitted the stock cooler and a 25-30 degree improvement over my bodged 2nd attempt at replacing the thermal compound.

All in all a very successful result.

Should any other newbies stumble upon this thread with similar problems - DITCH THE STOCK COOLER.

Once again many thanks for the help and I'm sure i will stick around here and keep learning (i have a million questions but will save those for another day).

Thanks

Nathan

[Arne_Saknussemm]

redlinezak wrote:
(never to be spoken of again)

LOL ! I was wondering if the stock cooler really was that bad...but whatever, the H100i is going to be much better and especially at load temps...good move!

[redlinezak]

Arne Saknussemm wrote:
LOL ! I was wondering if the stock cooler really was that bad...but whatever, the H100i is going to be much better and especially at load temps...good move!

An evening playing AC and my temps did not get above 50.

Im so much happier now although im really wishing i had gone for a different GPU as i have just found out that i can't get a watercooling block for mine.

Still you live and learn.

Thanks

[ThermalX]

Yes, the VRM is that bit where the Formula VI cooler is located - Voltage Regulator Module - it's responsible for all the electrical conversions, voltage increases and decreases. It's the section of the board that defines how potentially wild you can get with your overclocks on everything that relies on that module for it's electrical input, one exception being the GPU which has it's own VRM.

I'm sorry to hear about the cooler placement issue, though it was a bit funny to read through 😛

You say there is no waterblock for your GPU but I am almost sure there is. Even if, in the rare case, there is no full cover for it, the universal ones will most definitely fit. Many people dispute the worth of them, but I have used one and it's brilliant! It does require passive GPU VRM cooling, meaning you have to buy tiny copper heatsinks and place them on the mosfets (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor - handles voltage increase or decrease's). I made a custom acrylic plate for a 92mm artic F9 pro fan and placed it right on top of the VRM. Works wonders, the VRM stays cool and the GPU doesn't exceed the 45C mark. I even went hardcore on my 770's RAM (also passive cooled), and got it up from 1.7Ghz to 1.8Ghz and some - stable after many agonizing stress tests.

Quick need-to-know's for custom loops:

- Don't mix metals to avoid corrosion problems.

- Pure bi-distilled water is the most efficient cooling medium and won't cause any problems in the loop like some pre-mixed stuff might (I would know, I suffered for it when I bought my very first liquid cooling case from thermaltake. That and their damn aluminium radiator. I didn't know better and they neglected to instruct us in the ways of the water :()

Have fun with the PC 🙂

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Which GPU exactly...the Gigabyte one? EK do a waterblock for that http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/upload/pictures/EK-FC780-GTX-WF3_NA_front_800.jpg

[redlinezak]

Arne Saknussemm wrote:
Which GPU exactly...the Gigabyte one? EK do a waterblock for that http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/upload/pictures/EK-FC780-GTX-WF3_NA_front_800.jpg

Just checked out that link. Thanks that does appear to be for mine ( i think i was looking for the full length ones which is why i couldnt find any.

Is the version i have basically just an overclocked version of the standard one and if so can this be done with any card (in short have i spent a bit more just to get a few MHz that i could have done myself or is it something more than that).

Thanks

[redlinezak]

Arne Saknussemm wrote:
Which GPU exactly...the Gigabyte one? EK do a waterblock for that http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/upload/pictures/EK-FC780-GTX-WF3_NA_front_800.jpg

Just checked out that link. Thanks that does appear to be for mine ( i think i was looking for the full length ones which is why i couldnt find any.

Is the version i have basically just an overclocked version of the standard one and if so can this be done with any card (in short have i spent a bit more just to get a few MHz that i could have done myself or is it something more than that).

Thanks

[Finrecon]

If the temps bother you, delid the processor