P180b P5WDH, CPU cooling suggestions?

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fiber
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:04 pm
Location: New Jersey

P180b P5WDH, CPU cooling suggestions?

Post by fiber » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:29 am

Got my system build done and stable running at default speeds for now, and testing some cooling issues with airflow in the P180b. With system at idle, monitoring P5WDH MoBo temp (sensor near the Southbridge) and it remains stable at 43C in any of the following scenarios. However the CPU core temp shown in CoreTemp Beta 0.9.0.91, and Everest Ultimate/ Sensor Temps, drops significanly in the following scenarios:

Beginning with the case closed, both side panels on:
When I remove the RIGHT-SIDE case panel (behind the MB), core temp drops 2C - 3C. Then taking off the left side case panel temps drop additional 3C- 4C. With a closed case (both side-panels on) when I remove ONLY the LEFT side-panel, core temp drops 5C - 6C, as fresh air is available directly to the CPU ThermalTake Big Typhoon fan.

Image

As shown in the picture, my P180b case has 4 Enermax Marathon (Enlobal Bearing) 120mm fans running at about 900rpm - 1000rpm which are quiet as was my goal. The 2 upper case fans (back and top) are exhausting air, one in front of the upper HDD tray is blowing air into the case, across the empty HDD tray. And finally the lower compartment middle fan which is not an issue here because P180b has lower PSU HDD tray separated is sucking air in from the front, over the HDD tray and to the PSU, which has 120mm fan then blowing air out the back.

Image

In testing scenarios, I've opened the front door and opened the 2 filter doors to lessen any posibble rstriction to airflow entering the case from the front, and temps remain about the same, possibly dropping 1C - 2C at most, so that's not making a difference.

My questions:

1. as removing the left side case panel improves airflow into the TT Bg Typhoon, lowers core temp 6C, has anyone modded their P180b LEFT SIDE panel by cutting a hole directly over the CPU fan?

2. Has anyone reversed the exhaust fan at the back of P180b case to blow outside air onto the CPU heatsink and airflow of the CPU heatsink fan?

If I close-up the case the core temp are still well within safe operating range, I only noticed the temp drop as much as 6C and thought there might be something to improve interior-case airflow even further.

Any tips or suggestions?

cmthomson
Posts: 1266
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 8:35 am
Location: Pleasanton, CA

Post by cmthomson » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:14 pm

You don't list your actual temperatures, so there's no way for us to know whether they are a problem or not.

Regardless, your problem is with getting air into the box, not out of it. With those fast case fans, there won't be heat build up if there's any way for fresh air to get in, which is why you see changes with the side panels off.

My best suggestion is to install a Scythe Kama Bay in the 5.25" bays at the front of the box. This will more than double the cross section of inlets, and still filter out (most) dust.

But I think it's more likely you don't need to do anything. Tell us your actual temperatures...


BTW, the reason removing the side panel under the motherboard makes a difference is the StackCool feature of this board. It's a big thick layer of copper on the bottom of the board that sucks heat away from the CPU and NB sockets, and with the cover removed, cools by convection.

fiber
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:04 pm
Location: New Jersey

Post by fiber » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:28 pm

My temps at idle with both sides of the case OFF are:
In CoreTemp: CPU=29C
In Everest: CPU=30, MB=42

My temps at idle with case sides ON are:
In CoreTemp: CPU=35C
In Everest: CPU=37C, MB=44C-45C

On Bios tweak is to run CPU @ 2938.42Mhz (489.74 X 6.0Multi)

I recall (before sytem build) reading someone cut out a 92mm opening in his side panel (for a fan presumably) and another hole in the MB mounting panel behind the CPU, to blow external air into the back of the board. I don't think my temps are high at all, so won't be cutting THAT hole, but you're right, could use more fresh air somehow.

fiber
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:04 pm
Location: New Jersey

Post by fiber » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:30 pm

My temps at idle with both sides of the case OFF are:
In CoreTemp: CPU=29C
In Everest: CPU=30, MB=42

My temps at idle with case sides ON are:
In CoreTemp: CPU=35C
In Everest: CPU=37C, MB=44C-45C

On Bios tweak is to run CPU @ 2938.42Mhz (489.74 X 6.0Multi)

I recall (before sytem build) reading someone cut out a 92mm opening in his side panel (for a fan presumably) and another hole in the MB mounting panel behind the CPU, to blow external air into the back of the board. I don't think my temps are high at all, so won't be cutting THAT hole, but you're right, could use more fresh air somehow.

cmthomson
Posts: 1266
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 8:35 am
Location: Pleasanton, CA

Post by cmthomson » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:46 pm

Those idle temps are all very low. No worries. :)

What temps do you see running TAT? (or Orthos, or other load)?


Also, why would you run an x6800 at such a low multiplier??
Your overall performance will be much higher at a higher multiplier (10x or more), just keep your memory clock 1:1 (2x the FSB as reported by the BIOS).

fiber
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:04 pm
Location: New Jersey

Post by fiber » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:13 pm

regarding running the x6800 at such a low multi, to be completely honest about it I don't know why, I had it at stock 266FSB x11 and which ran fine, but I was concerned because I was still trying to resolve the cooling issues then (a few days ago), and it wouldn't boot when I went to x13.
But anyway, the truth is I'm conflicted because on the one hand I'm a total noob at this, but I know I've got the right parts to make it interesting.
In any case I'm re-reading daily threads all over the place, and am having difficulty understanding how to tune my chipset, ram, cpu, and video, so that it runs like a fine swiss watch, and understand how I got there :oops:

I've already downloaded (and paid for) Everest Ultimate 2006 and SiSoft Sandra2007, and ran a few benchmarks tests, etc, and I see it's not at top performance. Are you familiar with this bios/board? and if so what would you suggest I try for starters? My Dram/FSB ratio right now is 3:2.

Thanks for the question, and I look forward to your reply.

cmthomson
Posts: 1266
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 8:35 am
Location: Pleasanton, CA

Post by cmthomson » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:06 am

With this motherboard, you get the best performance with 1:1 memory ratio, even if that doesn't fully utilize the memory's capability. Since you have 6400C4 memory, you can run the FSB up to 400 (DRAM 800) without overclocking the memory at all.

FSB 400 at 11x (the default for the x6800) would be 4.4 GHz, which isn't very likely to be stable (but might be; luck of the draw). You're likely to max out around 340x11-360x11. Use Orthos (for a few hours at least) to test stability.

Since you indicated you find 900 RPM fans quiet enough, you will not have any cooling issues with this rig as long as you keep the Vcore around 1.5V or less (stock is 1.35V).

You should disable Hyper Path 3 if you haven't already, and select manual DRAM latencies. The SPD on almost all DIMMs sets the latencies higher than what's printed on the label (and what you paid for!). To get to the rated values, you might have to boost the DRAM voltage to 2.1 or 2.2V. At high FSBs, you might need to boost the MCH voltage to 1.55, although your post above seems to indicate that you've gone faster than this already.

Two good threads to read about overclocking Conroe on P5W DH are here:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... p?t=110193
and here:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php ... ge=1&pp=20

fiber
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:04 pm
Location: New Jersey

Post by fiber » Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:48 pm

CM, I realize this thread is diverting away from "Fans and Cooling", but since we're on the subject :) Actually this discussion DOES still pertain to cooling, as I'm monitoring Core#1 and #2 in CoreTemp (see pic).
Image

I found a "baseline" tweak setup which is working fine now, at:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware ... 97995.html

As you can see in my pic, I have increased my FSB to 310 x11 multi.
That's giving me a core speed of about 3414Mhz.
CPU-Z shows my memory (1:1) at 310 Frequency.
Just understanding this better, if I continue to raise ONLY my FSB,
and possible some voltage (as per info in link above) I would eventually get to 400 Frequency which is the memory rated capacity?

As you mentioned and I've seen elsewhere, this is highly unlikely without MUCH better cooling solution. So my question is as pertains to the CoreTemps you see in the pic, What scenario would keep those as low as possible and still give me current performance? I guess what I'm asking is can I get better memory performance (to rated 400Mhz) without increasing the other HEAT producing factors? I have no complaints about system performance nor have I even burned-in using the benchmarking tools. One more if you know please, Why is keeping memory at 1:1 the best? The 1305 bios for P5WDH automatically ratchets-up the memory frequency as I raise FSB. And why is the multiplier staying at x11 (default for x6800) best? Sorry for all the questions, but I need to take a class on this stuff :?

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