Hi folks,

a couple of months bqack i built a new rig for 3d rendering at work.
cpu: Core2Quad
mobo: AW9D
case: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-020-AK&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=507
cooler: Stock retail

Now, at idle the cpu temps were 50°C, which at first i felt were a little high, so i replaced the cooler with one recommended to me;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-017-AR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=

But its made maybe 1°C difference, which is not worth bothering about.
At load it hits approx. 65°C.
On friday the alarm sound because PWM1 went overboard.

Questions:
1. Any recommendations on different case or cooler to try to bring the temps down? May be worth trying the cooler 1st as its the cheapest option. Maybe even reseat the cpu with some Arctic Silver, dunno?
2. What are the PWMs? mobo manual went walkabouts, so i don't really know.
3. System temp is low, so maybe a new case wouldn't make much difference.

Thanks for any advice.

Did you use thermal paste when installing the cooler? This cooler you just installed should outperform the stock cooler by a fair bit.

Also, you need enough ventilation in your case, you've got enough case fans? One at the back, and an intake either in the front, or on the side would suffice.

If you need better cooling, the Tuniq Tower is just about the biggest aircooler out there. The biggest is the thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, but the difference is not enough to warrant the higher price (you gotta buy your own fan too).

PWM is just a way for you to change/monitor the speed of your fan. Don't worry about it, its not crucial.

I can't remember if the freezer pro7 came with paste on or not. If it didn't i certainly would have put some on. There's no way i would have put the cooler on without paste.

Well sure, but my case/system temp seems quite low, so i'm not sure how much of an effect that will have on the high cpu temp tbh.

Oh, cool, thanks

I don't know why, but for a moment there I forgot PWM meant Pulse Width Modulation.

If you've installed Freezer7 with paste, have enough ventilation, and so on, I don't see why its performing so badly.... Convex CPU with convex heatsink maybe, that'd be just plain old bad luck.

Lol, ya know CMH, there's not one bit of that quote that i don't need explaining!

There are great explanations about PWM on the net if you googled it, but all you really need to know is that it controls the fan speed, and does it very well.

As for the other part, its all about contact surface. If you had a fishbowl turned upside down, placed on another fishbowl the right side up, you don't have any contact surface at all... well... again, don't worry about it, the fix for it voids warranties, and is considered a risky thing to do.

PWM is a more advanced method of regulating fan speed (PWM is not limited to fans, but that's all that's relevant to this thread )...

the simplest method to reduce fan speed is to reduce the input (with a fixed resistor, variable resistor, or potentiometer). this works fine to control fan speed, but it's not very efficient because full power is applied all the time, but only some of it makes it through the resistor, the rest of it is lost as heat.

a PWM controller uses a more advanced method. instead of reducing the input to the fan, the PWM controller rapidly switches full power on and off. this method is very efficient because after the power is cut off, it switched back on again before the fan has a chance to slow down. power is switched on just long enough to keep the fan spinning at a desired speed. (there is no power lost as heat)

:wave:

You can, if you feel it's necessary and you don't mind voiding warranties, LAP your heatsink and your processor. Basically you make sure that both your processor and heatsink have perfectly flat mating surfaces so you get really good heat transfer. The picture illustrates a worst case scenario where both processor and heatsink would have to be lapped and would void warranties for both products.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/ewescoat/concave.png

Get a Enzotech Ultra-X and that babay will fly as long as the thermal grease is applied correctly.
http://www.jab-tech.com/product.php?productid=3722

You get good results when you mount this sideways, naked pipes towards back exhuast. If needed, add more fans.