Cooling Issues, Please Review

[TheChuckster]

I have a Core 2 Duo processor, and right now it's idling at 54C, and get this, goes up to 60C with full load. This is with no overclocking, mind you. I have a Lian Li aluminum case with 4 80mm case fans -- one on top, two near bottom of the front panel, and one in the back. Right now, I am using the stock Intel HSF. The Antec TruePower II 550w PSU has a fan that's pointing down towards the CPU -- that can't be good, right? I can't change that since that's how the PSU is designed... :\ The GPU uses the stock fan, and the RAM has headspreaders.

To give you a good idea of what is going on, here is an image of the internals of my build:

Any how, I have this Zalman CPU fan and some Arctic Silver 5. It is quite big, but do you think I should try to squeeze it in there with the wire mess? Is 54-60 a bad range for Core 2 Duo? (I think it is hearing that the people on New Egg have it in the 40s with the stock HSF) What do you think is causing the bad temperatures? What should I do to fix them? Are the wires the issue?

 

[omgitslong]

I think you really should clean up those wires.

Do you have any top fan or side fan??

 

[RichPLS]

Yes, he stated... Looks like a PC-60... the Zalaman cooler should help... and I would clean up the wires a bit too. Make sure you have cleaned and properly applied AS5 as directed...
The Antec PSU sucks air in and blows out the rear of case...
That should be a pretty good cooling case, I have the PC-60plus and it flows some air...

 

[woshitudou]

I posted some pics and things I did to cool my system without waisting money.

Read this thread

 

[TheChuckster]

Okay, thanks for your help, I hope there is enough room for the Zalman fan. Do you think there will be? And yes, that case is a PC-60 USB. Also, I forgot to mention that the Antec PSU has fan controlling capabilities if you plug the fans into the Fan-only Molex plugs, which I have done. Is this making me worse off than if I used the motherboard 3 pin connectors for fan control?

Finally, any suggestions for how to clean up the wire mess? The Antec PSU I bought has an overwhelming amount of wires, as you may have noticed. If you look in the picture, I have already tried to wrap the wires up using some of the white twist tie loop things that came with the case. The bottom still looks pretty nasty though because of all the USB port/case header/fan/extra PSU wires... There's quite a bit of unused wires, but without a modular PSU, I can't do anything about them.

Oh, and what orientation should I use for the Zalman?

 

[j7uy5]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the orientation of the fans is important. If there are four case fans, two should blow in; two should blow out. If they all blow in, all you do is pressurize the inside. Usually, the front fans would blow in (colling hte hard drives), and the rear and top would exhaust.

I don't know if it is better the have the HSF blow toward the CPU, or away. I have heard some people do it one way, and others, the opposite.

 

[Nitro350Z]

Doesnt that case come with a drive cage that fits on the bottom sliders, right behind the front 2 80mm fans?

If it does, put the hds there, and clean up those wires, put them in between the 5 1/2" drive rails and the far case side.

HTH

 

[merc14]

This may have to do with the way he applied his Thermal Paste. If you check the Arctic Silver site you'll find that they are recommending an entirely different application method for Core 2 Duos. You apply lengthwise in a small strip down the center of the IHS. Check it out as there was a lot of overheating issues with Core 2 Duo because of the above.

 

[dietzjack]

Finally, any suggestions for how to clean up the wire mess?

Please check out this link: Cable Management Guide
I personally did not mess with the "Wrap." Zip ties and zip tie mounts are your friends. You can pick up these items at your local Home Depot or electrical supply store. The guide itself has lots more info for you as well as examples.

 

[RichPLS]

the Antec PSU has fan controlling capabilities if you plug the fans into the Fan-only Molex plugs, which I have done. Is this making me worse off than if I used the motherboard 3 pin connectors for fan control?

This controls the fans by the heat/load of the PSU, which unless PSU is maxed out, will run fans slower (less flow) yet quieter...

I would use the 3 pin mobo plugs, direct 4 pin plug (full power) or a seperate fan controller for adjusting speeds...

 

[woshitudou]

Your wires are definatly a problem. I'd start off by pulling them up into the 5-1/4 bays to get them out of the way. You need a clear path for air in the system. Get a roll of tape and some twist ties or zip-ties. Tape cables and wires out of the way. I tuck mine out of the way it the top.

My powersupply came with 700kg of extra cable that wraps around my house a few times. I just pulled everything up to a 5-1/4 bay then pulled them down just enough to reach the device they're powering. Try to keep them from being in the way of your air flow. The tape is great for holding them together and the ties are for pulling them out of the way.

If that last thread I was writing I mentioned tieing cables and using a razor to cut the extra off my ide cables then bending them and taping them. The pics of my case show where I tucked all the cables and how I ran them. I taped some to the bottom of the case and some to the side.

To get more airflow I put a fan where the PCI slots are and cut a hole in the bottom front of my case for more air movement then opened 2 cd-drive bays and made a cereal box air funnel (no, cereal boxes don't ignite at 33c)

Overall having a cool room temperature will make a difference so will proper airflow (wires allover the place doesn't constitute good airflow).

 

[TheChuckster]

Replacing the stock HSF + stock Thermal Paste with the Zalman cooler + Arctic Silver 5 brought the idle temperature down 12C from 54C to 42C. That worked out great! When I took out the bad Intel HSF, I noticed the Intel thermal paste was terribly applied, as well (which I had no control over since it was preapplied to the heatsink).

I took alcohol and cleaned the CPU heatspreader off. I also downloaded the Arctic Silver 5 manual and applied the thermal paste in a thin line, as they suggest. Then, I plugged all the fans into the motherboard, instead of the PSU for control.

Is it bad for you to wrap cables with twist ties? Will they melt?

Now, I will work on the cables this weekend...

 

[rwpritchett]

Great job chuckster. When I first installed my C2D with the stock intel fan I was getting hot temps too. When I pulled it off I noticed from the pattern in the thermal paste that the heatsink was only touching the CPU around the edges, it was slightly concave. Maybe that's what happened with you. An aftermarket HSF solve my problem too.