Water cooling

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November 6th, 2009, 12:46 PM
SuperSparks

Water cooling

I'm not particularly happy with the temps of my new Core i7-920 beastie :( In fact, they are so poor that I've been stopped in my tracks from going any further than just a mild overclock :(

Having looked around, it is apparent that Core i7s are hot processors, at last on air cooling. I'm seriously considering going for watercooling, and I like the look of the Zalman Reserator XT. It's expensive, but should be good for several builds into the future. Any thoughts? Does anybody have any experience of it, or watercooling in general?

http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Ca...ategorySecond=
November 6th, 2009, 12:52 PM
Steve R Jones

What is the average/normal temp for the proc and what are your temps?
November 6th, 2009, 04:33 PM
SuperSparks

I'm seeing 42C idling and around 85C maxed out with Prime95. I tried clocking it higher and it was hitting 100C :eek: From what I'm able to ascertain the idling temp is fairly typical, and the maxed temps are not unusual when overclocking.

I wish I'd done my homework a bit better beforehand, because I always intended to overclock this rig, and it should have been obvious that I needed a better cooler than the one I got. Oh well, live and learn, and all that.
November 6th, 2009, 05:21 PM
Steve R Jones

So if 100Cº is normal - doesn't it mean you won't kill the processor and if you leave the cover open it'll help heat your entire HOUSE;)
November 6th, 2009, 06:05 PM
dneilson

Just curious--with a super duper system like that is overclocking really worth it (percentage wise)? Of course if you do it just to do it as a hobby that's another story. Whatever--enjoy that monster! :D
November 6th, 2009, 09:39 PM
crunchie

Bear in mind that the Zalman has no fans on it though. I reckon the Swiftech kit I am using is the bee's knee's. Running my quad core at 3800Mhz the Swiftech keeps the full load temps below 50C.
November 7th, 2009, 07:50 AM
SpywareDr

Petra'sTech CoolKit Elite - Rev.3 ($281.99)
http://www.petrastechshop.com/pecoel.html

?
November 7th, 2009, 11:22 AM
SuperSparks

This particular Zalman does have a 140mm fan. Thanks or the other suggestions, I'll have a good look :)

Having slept on it, I favour the idea of going for a watercooler even more. What I saved on the i7-920 will pay for the cost of the watercooler, and I'll have it for future builds :)