cores air carbide 540 air case. antec 620 kuhler. phenom 965 be c3 CPU. 790fx-gd70 board. my temps are hitting 57c on stock sp

[raiserfan]

Questions about high temps with antwc 620 on 965 be c3. Need to over clock to reduce bottleneck with gtx 770 but afraid to at these temps.

 

[Ubrales]

Temps too high for a liquid cooler. Check for adequate flow, pump speeds, obstructions in the circuit, and finally the CPU/cooler seating.

 

[raiserfan]

The antec 620 is my first experience with liquid cooling. How do I check pump speeds or flow. I have it plugged into my CPU fan 4pin. In bios all fans are set to 100%. Rpm shows 1400 to 1580ish while running prime95. I got those numbers from hwmonitor.

 

[raiserfan]

Thank you for your response by the way.

 

[Ubrales]

Those RPMs look ok - One variable is the CPU/water-block installation with thermal compound. For good thermal transfer a very thin and even layer of thermal compound (Arctic Silver 5) needs to be applied in accordance to standard industry procedures. There are many guides and videos on this subject.

If you need to re-do the thermal compound application, make sure that all traces of old compound is carefully removed using 70% (or better) Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) available at Walmart.

 

[raiserfan]

I'm wondering if I'm just bad at thermal compound. This last reseat I put a small dot, just a hair bigger than a grain of rice, and firmly pushed the CPU block into place before tightening it down. The time before that I tried to evenly spread over my CPU using this little spreader that came with the Tim.with the recent application my temps went down slightly. Was seeing 58-59 stock speeds before. The back plate looks slightly bowed. Not sure why. Could that be preventing me from seating the waterblock correctly?

 

[Ubrales]

Looks like you are on the right track! A 'grain of rice' amount may be too little. I use about twice as much on the CPU as well as the water-block. Then I use a sandwich plastic bag wrapped around my finger to spread it around evenly and as thinly as possible. I start out at the center and 'pull' the material outwards. This has worked well for me in the past.

Bending and bowing of the backplate may be due to too much and uneven pressure from the screws. Usually there are compression springs that prevent the installer from over-torquing the screws. Tighten the screws in a 'cross pattern' a little at a time. This will ensure even seating.

 

[raiserfan]

I will try a new application of Tim tonight after work and make sure I tighten the screws more evenly.
I'll post temp results tonight.
Thank you for your help.

 

[Ubrales]

I will try a new application of Tim tonight after work and make sure I tighten the screws more evenly.
I'll post temp results tonight.
Thank you for your help.

As far as TIM is concerned "less and more even" is important! And rememner to clean off all traces of existing compound.