Few problems with an AMD rig?

[Darshebag]

Hey I just built this rig. It performs flawlessly without a hitch, but it sounds like a flying saucer when playing Crysis.

Phenom x4 965 3.4ghz BE
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 5870 1GB
Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3
4 GB Corsair 1333mhz DDR3 Dual Channel
Corsair 750tx
Coolermaster 690 II
Asus DVD Drive
D-Link Wireless-N PCI

CPU Idle temp : 35c 35c 38c 37c
CPU Load : 45-55c Crysis Are these temps ideal for cpu longevity?

Gpu temp : Unknown (Help?)

Would anyone recommend installing more fans into the CM 690II case? Now it has : Front - 140mm, Rear - 140mm

Also, will adding another 4GB of ram improve my gaming performance? (Particularly when enabling AA in Crysis)

When playing Crysis there is a 2" black border on my 42" screen all around at any resolution. (1920x1080 native) I am running ATI Catalyst 10.3 drivers. I already changed settings to remove it from desktop.(scaling) Now I just need to remove it from Crysis.

Thanks a lot, these are kind of hard questions I know.

 

[cmcghee358]

If it's only during Crysis its going to be your Gfx card. Open the ATI Catalyst Control Center, and go to the advanced tab. Then you can find the Overclocking tab, where you can monitor your temps and fan speed on the Gfx card. You can also manually adjust your Fan speed, but generally your Fan functions at the necessary RPM to keep the GPU cool.

 

[Darshebag]

Should I go with a better cpu cooler and more case fans? Thanks. I like things running really cool, so I guess I should just do some research and go water cooling!

 

[Darshebag]

I already have catalyst 10.4 woops XD

 

[erick81]

http://www.cpuid.com/index.php
This is a good program to help keep an eye on all your temps.Your temps are not that bad.

 

[asteldian]

A non stock CPU fan is always quieter than the stock one and cools better, so that may help a bit, but as others have said, monitor your GPU first and try reducing the fan speed if it is not too hot - with the lower fan speed see if it still makes lots of noise first, if it doesn't then it is likely the GPU

You can also open the case and when playing lean in and listen to where all the noise comes from. This is probably a good idea as it may actually be one of the case fans - I have one of my case fans disconnected because its noise irritated me

 

[fastx21]

You crack me up darshebag. As if anyone will run a water cooling on a amd 965 .

Anyway your temps are fine. Certainly 55c is higher but it's well within the operating temps. But you should put as many fans as your case can hold. Remember to put the intake fan connectors to the mobo and exhaust fans to regular molex connectors. You should also get a cooler master hyper 212 plus hsf to replace the stock one.

Also if there are any other cards in your system try to space them between the GPU. You should give it as much space as you can. And yes CPUID hWmonitor is a good program to use.

Any other "hard" questions?

 

[Darshebag]

Good replies. The cm hyper 212 looks like an excellent choice, but I am willing to pay a little extra if it means a quieter fan.

My cards are spaced very well and the 5870 has tons of room to breathe, the cm690 II is a great case!

Also, I have my exhaust fan plugged into my mobo, I guess that is incorrect? This is my first system build, please tell me more.

I currently use speedfan for temps, it seems to get the job done. I found the gpu temp in ATi CCC. Thanks guys. It seems to hover around 45-50c at idle, I think i'll add a couple more case fans for sure.

 

[Darshebag]

Yeah I know i'm a darshebag. lol. For some reason I couldn't remember but yes I just confirmed again I am running 10.4 lol. Anyways I just ordered a pair of these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103077
Going to install one in the side facing my gpu and one in the top. My gpu temp is 45c idle, I see a lot of room for improvement there.

I'm still wondering why I should switch to molex on my exhaust fan? Thanks.

 

[Darshebag]

actually the 5870 is hanging around 48c now and won't go down. I think this may be a serious problem. I am hooked up to a 42" 1920x1080 vizio via HDMI though. I don't know if monitor size or res effects temp.

 

[Darshebag]

Btw I turned the gpu fan speed to 100% and it is relatively quiet compared to the rest of the system. The stock cpu fan is pretty loud!

 

[cmcghee358]

Turn off your computer, lay it down on it's side so the CPU fan is facing upwards. Press gently but firmly directly in the middle of the CPU fan. Turn on system, verify it's quiet now.

 

[Darshebag]

Is that a joke cmc? lol. That doesn't sound very practical. Anyways I know the loud noise is from my cpu fan.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Nope Ghee's not joking, your fan sits on bearings, putting the pc on its side and pushing down on the middle gently seats it tighter to said bearings, making it work more as it should, smoother and quieter, I regularly clean my Rig out and one thing I always do is 'squish' my fans to keep em happy

 

[asteldian]

If you know it is the CPU fan then go ahead and buy the Hyper 212+ to replace it

 

[cmcghee358]

Or simply try pressing on it. It will actually work. It also costs nothing to do.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Or simply try pressing on it. It will actually work. It also costs nothing to do.

costs nothing? as in Free? Gratis, no renumeration required? cost-free?
Humbug I say to you Sir, I'd rather spend money than spend 20 seconds fixing the issue for free

 

[jsc]

I like these fans:
Scythe S-Flex SFF21D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185004
Scythe S-Flex SFF21E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185005
Scythe S-Flex SFF21F
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185006
Scythe S-Flex SFF21G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185065

They are a little expensive, but the fluid bearings make them pretty quiet. I think the "F" is the best compromise better cooling capacity and noise.

 

[Darshebag]

Well guys here is my pc as it sets right now.

I ordered ocz freeze but haven't got it yet. Right now I am using a thin coat of Zalman thermal compound(the stuff with a brush on the cap) on a Coolermaster Hyper 212. I ordered 2 Coolermaster 140mm and installed one in the side blowing on my gpu and one in the front replacing the 120mm which I then added to the exhaust of my hyper 212 heatsink.

Here are the temps, amazingly the gpu dropped from 48c idle to a sweet 43c!
Here is the not so amazing. at 3.8ghz my cpu idles at 35c and jumps to 40c if I click anything. Max temps rarely top 50c though for cpu and 65c for gpu.
When I get the ocz freeze I will inform on how that goes. I hope to see more consistent temps with the ocz freeze. Right now with this webpage open it is 39c. With the stock heatsink the only time it got above 35c was if I played a game or opened an intensive program!(It was @3.4ghz though) Noise is gone, that is one thing I can say I am very happy about with my hyper 212 install so far.

Now I am confident that the temps will be fine if I install another 5870 for crossfire! Although that is a little overkill, I want 60fps average in GTAIV! In benchmark I get it but in game I only get about 40fps. Same goes for Crysis, I want 60fps average on very high.

Of course then i'll happily install another 140mm coolermaster fan ($13 on newegg including shipping) in the bottom of the case blowing right on the gpus. Another for the top wouldn't be a bad idea either, but really, I've realized now that i'll pretty much never be happy. This is a dangerous addiction!

 

[cmcghee358]

Your 965 is clocked @ 3.8 GHz, did you have to increase it's vCore to achieve that?

Actually what is your vCore? I know on my C3 955 BE my BIOS set the vCore to 1.4 where as the AMD website listed the stock vCore at 1.35.

If you're clocked at 3.8 GHz @ 1.4 vCore, you might be able to step down to 1.375 vCore and might see a 1-2C drop in temps.

 

[Darshebag]

CPUID says my voltage is 1.39. That is factory setting using a Gigabyte GPA890 AM3 333 board. Not sure if that matters as I am a noob.

All I did to achieve a stable 3.8ghz was raise the multiplier to 19X. haha. Increased my 3D Mark Vantage about 1000 points vs 3.4ghz and it has never crashed or acted funny.

Not to mention I have used ATI overdrive and increased my 5870 to 900mhz(850 stock) core and left it at stock 1200mhz memory clock. Any higher memory clock seems to crash without overvolt which I stay away from because I hear it will make it age faster.

I'll lower it to 1.375 and see what happens?

 

[cmcghee358]

What I would do, is lower my vCore to 1.35 and then lower my clock to 3.4 GHz(stock) then recheck temps. Personally.

 

[Darshebag]

I can't seem to find cpu voltage in the bios. lol. When I go to manual settings none of the defaults say 1.39 volts or even 1.4. The closest one is 1.5 and that is DRAM. CPU DLL (I think it said DLL) was 2.5v at default. Which one is it? Is it northbridge?

 

[cmcghee358]

No it's not, without seeing your BIOS screen I can't say for sure. In the section for voltage just list everything and it's current setting.

 

[Darshebag]

Haha I found it. It was at the very bottom. I had to scroll down a few clicks. Now it is at 3.4ghz and 1.35 vcore. To confirm the change CPUID is showing 1.34v which is probably more like 1.3495v.

Temp seems to be at 37-38c with this web page open. In another post I stated that it was at 39c @3.8ghz with the same things going on.

I think the reason for the high temps is the Zalman Thermal Compound. I'll apply some OCZ freeze as soon as I get it in the mail.

Really blows my mind though that the stock heatsink(with pre-applied compound!) was doing 34c with the same config I have right now. But it had less case fans and the GPU was even hotter!

I re-installed the hyper 212 about 10 times no joke and tried the thermal grease that came with it and the Zalman with several different ways of applying both. No results. Maybe the Zalman needs to cure? It has been about 4 days since I applied. Supposedly the website says it takes a week, but still a 38c webpage open idle is stupid for stock clock and an aftermarket heatsink!