Fan layout

[Blightmare]

So I'm currently doing some fan layout experiments on my tower and figured while I let the numbers reach their average I'd ask about something.

 

So my default fan layout is pretty standard, 3 intakes on the front, and an out fan on the back. The temperatures are pretty much safe range, with the CPU in the yellow when running a select few games (Witcher 3 and Black Ops 2 mostly) but I just want to be sure. So I tried moving the out fan from the back to the top thinking that having the air vent up into the room instead of into the more enclosed area behind it might help and saw the temperatures actually rise. There's a dust filter on the top so I'm guessing heat's getting trapped in their and not venting out as well. Right now I'm running 5 fans instead, one out on top and one out on back just to see if that vents the heat better. Yes I know about the whole positive airflow thing, this is just a test to see if air getting trapped inside.

 

Question though, if staying with the standard still keeps my temperatures high, is there any suggested alternatives? CPU is the only thing that seems nearing the danger zone. I briefly considered water-cooling for the CPU but my friend told me that's a monster to deal with so I'm not doing that unless it hits actual dangerous ranges.

 

Also if you can't tell, if my computer knowledge were a skill in oblivion, it'd be around 15.

[BTGBullseye]

Standard water cooling is a pain, but there are plenty of ready-to-go kits that are no more difficult to use or install than a standard air cooler.

 

Your problem though is most likely the thermal paste. Try cleaning it off and applying some fresh compound. (most compounds dry out after 3-6 months and need replacing, try Prolimatech PK-1 or PK-3 for one that won't dry out)

[Blightmare]

I'll look into the ready to go one then. Though I do have some doubts about the thermal paste since this computer is no more than a month old. When we were installing the CPU fan though we did have some initial trouble clipping it down since the instruction book showed a completely different model than mine for some reason. Maybe that messed up the paste?

[BTGBullseye]

If the heatsink touched the paste and then pulled off, it could've either moved the paste, or created air bubbles... Either of those can significantly reduce cooling performance. It is also entirely possible that the air cooler just isn't enough to keep the CPU temps down in the green.

 

What CPU are you using? Here's a generic list of good coolers that should work for most chipsets...

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008008%204814%20600036012%208000&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=30

[Obsidian]

Your options are going to vary based on what case you have, I saw your specs from the setup thread though. In general, the AMD chips are going to run a bit on the warm side. I'd strongly suggest investing in a large tower cooler with a good set of fans, something from Noctua, Phanteks, or BeQuiet! will work great and not sound like a jet turbine (my coworker has an 8350 OC'd to 4.7GHZ with the Noctua NH-D15 and it peaks at 65C), but cooler compatibility depends on your chassis.

 

Next, you can look at redoing the thermal paste with some higher quality stuff than what comes stock with your system with a better application method. I've seen results where GPU temps and CPU temps drop 5C or more just from a thermal paste swap, again for higher quality stuff, not cheap Dynex thermal compound.

 

Lastly, you can look into getting more efficient fans that push more air to help promote better airflow. If you have a fan mount on the bottom or side panel, I highly suggest populating those areas. For fans, I highly recommend Noctua, Phanteks, BeQuiet!, and Silverstone.

 

This all being said, if it comes down to it, water cooling is still an option and it's quite easy. My CPU and GPU are on the same loop and, under full system load, in a desert, nothing goes above 40C with pretty decent overclocks. If I can do it, you can too.

[Blightmare]

Well looking at the numbers after adding the extra fan I think it really was just trapped air being my issue. I just ran Black Ops 2 for about an hour and it peaked at 58C unlike the 73C it was before.

 

As for the paste, the heat sink was moved around a bit trying to lock it down without the instructions but I don't recall actually lifting it up.

 

And BTG, the CPU is a AMD FX-8350 Black Edition.

[BTGBullseye]

53°c is not bad at all... Don't spend money to replace the cooling if you can keep it below 70°.

 

For water cooling though, if you decide you really want to keep it cool... (like if you decide to start overclocking) Brands I'd recommend for the cooling kit are Corsair, Lepa, Enermax, Zalman, and SilverStone.