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Big Typhoon and PWMIC


n_w95482

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I just switched out my Zalman 7700 with a Big Typhoon today, and aside from the horrendous installation procedure, I'm extremely impressed with the performance. It's keeping my Opteron 8-10 C cooler under load (38 C with dual Folding@Homes ^__^). However, it brings up another problem: PWMIC temperatures. With S&M beating the crap out of the CPU, the CPU temperature hits 42 C, which is much better than the 53-55 it was hitting before. But the PWMIC temperature has gone up from 55 or so up to 61 (I killed the program when it hit that). I assume it has to do with both the slower fan and the greater distance from the board versus the 7700.

 

My two ideas were to either replace the slow stock fan with something that has more power, and would blow more air over the voltage regulators. The other option (that doesn't appeal to me much) would be to rig up another fan to blow over the area. The reason why I don't want to do this is because I have all of the extra Molex connectors taped to the back of my motherboard tray and it's a pain in the butt to bring one around to the front. Which one should I do or would give the best results? What fan should I get to help cool off the computer? If it wasn't for the stupid PWMIC temperatures, I could probably take my CPU upwards of 2.8 GHz :(.

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keep in mind that the temp sensor for the PWMIC is located about an inch away from the actual IC. i forget which thread(s) this was covered in, but your regulators could be getting airflow and the temp sensor not. still a good idea to get some kind of dedicated fan to cool the regulators. you shouldn't need a whirlwind there, you just dont want stagnant air hanging around.

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I brought the computer home (I finished the install at work :P) and it's usually pretty warm in my room, 80-82 F vs 75 at work. I also had the side panel open there as well. Now with it sealed up in a hot room, the S&M temperature jumped up to 52 C, and the PWMIC temp hit 62 with a dedicated 80mm fan blowing at it. These stupid MOSFETs run so hot :(. At least this cooler is a fair bit quieter than my 7700. Perhaps I should replace all three Tt 120mm fans in my system with some high flow fans.

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try this, take the side of the case off, get a house fan (a BIG one) and aim it directly at the motherboard and turn it on high. how hot does the PWMIC get then? no matter how many/what type of case fans you put in the computer, the PWMIC will never get cooler than with that big house fan pointed directly at. let us know.

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try this, take the side of the case off, get a house fan (a BIG one) and aim it directly at the motherboard and turn it on high. how hot does the PWMIC get then? no matter how many/what type of case fans you put in the computer, the PWMIC will never get cooler than with that big house fan pointed directly at. let us know.

 

i have personally tried that and can say that it works wonders for the PWMIC and even the NF4 chip...i wonder when case makers are going to implement that into their designs...LOL

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to be honest, from what i have read on this forum before, 62C for the PWMIC is perfectly alright. even temps in the 70s are alright. those chips are designed to run hot. as long as you have a dedicated fan blowing on the mosfets, i wouldn't worry too much about them.

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I did point a regular house fan at it once, a few months ago when I had my 3700+ SD in it (that didn't get the MOSFETs toasty) and everything in the computer ran super cool. I think the CPU temp peaked at like 35 C :P. I just put my computer back into my desk and I don't feel like taking it out again right now, but I'll try that next time I take it out. If I had room around my desk to put my computer in, I would probably do that as well as getting a CM Stacker case. Perhaps when I get my own place...

 

Anyone have some suggestions on 120mm fans with a good performance/noise ratio? I don't want something too loud, that's the whole reason why I built my A64 box.

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I love panaflos (M's work well with a decent amount of noise). I am currently using three 120mm Tt Thunderblades. I run them at 5v most of the time, but crank them up to 12v when I bench. At 12v they push ~81CFM, but at 5v they are very quiet.

 

I have a squirrel cage fan that would be great for that PWMIC.

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Newegg only has 80mm Panaflos and it looks like SVC has none at all. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere for them :(.

 

Edit: Whoops, they're on SVC, but 120x38mm. I was planning on using the replacement fans as both heatsink and case fans, so I'll have to look for a 120x25mm fan; unless a 38mm pushes so much more air that I should go through the hassle of finding screws for it.

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They most air that I've seen a 120x25mm fan push is a Tt Thunderblade @ 81 CFM. Most medium to high speed 120x38mm fans will push well over 100CFM (some even over 200CFM - very loud Deltas). If you go with a Panaflo that pushes 100CFM that's roughly twice what the Yate Loon fan that comes with the Typhoon pushes.

 

BTW, I believe all Panaflo 120mm fans are 38mm thick.

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