t0asty Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 Being a server, I always have a lot of loose change after a shift that I throw into my "upgrade" change jar which I fill every couple months. I do this so I don't feel like I am spending "my" money when I know I have other important expenses. It is around 2/3 full now, and will be ready to cash in soon enough but I want to start planning for what I should get. When I cash in the change, I get around $170-200 back, so my question is... 1. Purchase a second 6950 for xfire so I can up the settings some in eyefinity for those demanding games. or 2. Look at buying the XSPC Rasa 750 RS240 Universal CPU Water Cooling Kit to drop these high temps on the 920 down (I idle around 50°C and during prime95 I hit mid 90's ) This would be the cheaper option, and while I dismantled the PC to hook this up, I would also purchase a few custom cable extenders which will allow for less clutter inside the case and for a much cleaner look. So those are my two main choices. I can spend a little more of my own cash if need be, but I was mainly looking at something around the $200 mark. I have pondered the idea of a SSD, but I still think they are too pricey for as much storage space I need. I also want to build a simple HTPC somewhere down the road, but this will be much more than the $200 in change I will have. Maybe someone has an idea that I haven't thought of yet that I should get instead. I keep going back and forth between the two seeing as I don't really neeeeed either one, but the upgrade bug is biting, and I want to cure it!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Capitan Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 Tough choices! Watercooling is a bad disease, once you start, you'll want to keep going. To overclock and keep temps cool while having a near silent system is worth the effort... but it is an effort. I'd choose the second 6950 for xfire, though, especially seeing as how you play in eyefinity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercuryDoun Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 Can you save up alittle extra money and get a 2nd 6950 as well as a good air cooler? Obviously whatever you have now isnt up to the task of keeping a oc'd i7 under wraps. Mid 90's Prime95 is INSANE... My Prolimatech Megahalems(with 2x 120mm fans, they are 2000rpm 90CFM fans, but i only run them at like 1300rpm~ish) keeps my i7-930 @ 4.0Ghz idles at 36c and prime95 with 72c on the hottest core! With the price of the Megahalems or the slightly better Nh-D14 you could really do alot for the temps of your poor CPU! Id do something about those CPU temps before i got another GPU IMO... Just dont forget good temps can be achieved by air coolers as well as water! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0asty Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 well when I built the PC, I didnt know much about CPU coolers, so I got some cheap Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 cooler. Doesn't seem to be doing too well haha. I was looking into getting a strong air cooler or an Corsair Hx0 cooler, but that water cooling kit is only 130 bucks, not that much more than a nice air cooler, so that's where I don't know which way to go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wevsspot Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 t0asty - let me expound on a few of the ideas that have already been hit on; Upgrade your cpu cooler to one of the megahalems as suggested by md - or if you want to get one of the best air coolers on the planet opt for the Noctua NH-D14. If you're in the US you can pick one up for around $75 bucks or less. That is a significant savings over even a low range w/c setup. Hopefully that might leave you enough money to snag that other 6950. It looks like you've got your current processor running at 3.8Ghz but I didn't find your voltage anywhere. But I can tell you that something is def wrong with your current cooling solution. There isn't any way that a D0 revision i7 920 should be hitting in the mid 90C mark at 3.8Ghz. Unless your ambient room temp is like 100F. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0asty Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 Alright, think that might be the route I take because I have always felt that-that is wayyyy too hot. With the help of a few people on my other thread, I am stable at 3.9Ghz @ 1.275V, which I feel isn't that much although OCing did raise my temps around 10°C. Ambient room temp is always around 21°C. I tried reseating the CPU cooler and reapplying the paste around 5 times to try and get better temps, but nothing ever changed. Even though that w/c setup is only 130, you don't think it's worth the extra little bit? If they are around the same in performance, then I will opt for the air cooler for sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercuryDoun Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 That relatively low end water cooling system will be comparable to the Megahalems or NH-D14. The Megahalems is alot cheaper, but you need 2x 120mm fans, and good fans at that to get great results(like 65CFM+, i use 90CFM fans, but run them at like 60-70% fan speed for less noise, but i regularly for S&G's goto 4.5Ghz and require the full force of the fans for that lol). The NH-D14 is slightly more expensive but comes with everything you need and is the best air cooler in the world right now. So long as your case can handle its MASSIVE size your good to go, but its not just tall, its wide as well. Im not saying the water cooling kit wouldnt be better, because im sure it would be, BUT a high end air cooler will give you more than acceptable results and save you money(Again, im at 4.0Ghz with 72c hottest core, I can/could do 4.2Ghz with only 74c, but my MoBo has some weird BIO's sleep issue and when i have a bclk over 200 it cant goto sleep mode properly and BSOD's when i put it to sleep, which i do often because i rarely actually shutdown. But either way its GG Megahalems!) Another good cooler is the Zalman CNPS-9900MAX, its comparable to the Megahalems and cheaper than the NH-D14. Id still recommend a high end air cooler then use the money you save for another 6950 in the near future instead of the not-so-near future Wev, Just so you know, you have no idea how much i appreciate when you actually read all the posts and make your next comment based on the posts by other people. Its pretty annoying when 3 posts after my post someone posts pretty much exactly the same thing i said! Your the best! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wevsspot Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 Thanks MD. That same thing occasionally frustrates me too. It always makes me feel like the person adding to the thread is more interested in getting posts up than actually reading through and understanding what the problem is and what solutions have been recommended up to that point. t0ast - I think you're on the right track there. The Zalman that MD recommended would also be a good choice at a mid-point price range between the MG's and the Noctua. On the subject of water cooling - I love water cooling - have for years. And my main rig is always water cooled. But in my experience, to fully appreciate the benefits of w/c you need to invest in the proper components and do plenty of pre-planning to make sure you have a good plan. I don't necessarily w/c to get world record benchmarks or anything like that, but I do appreciate the silence in my old age. And I also appreciate that with a good w/c setup you can pretty much run at full load and get the same temps regardless of the ambient if you've got the right gear and cooling capacity. I hate w/c when I have to swap components, do monthly cleanups of the pc, or yearly maintenance on the loop. And heaven forbid a leak For me it mainly comes down to consistent and predictable cooling performance, near silence and just because I can. But if I had to choose over w/c or a major improvement in another piece of my hardware, I'd choose the hardware upgrade every time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 (edited) ya and the there might be a leak or something and that would need a big jar! what happens if you have two radiators? Edited April 7, 2011 by Dan The Gamer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wevsspot Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 two more points for possible leaks (inlet and outlet) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0asty Posted April 8, 2011 Posted April 8, 2011 thanks for the suggestions guys. I have been look all over for the Noctua NH-D14 but can't find it under 80 bucks. I ran across the reviews on here and on [H] for the new Antec KUHLER H2O 620 and the reviews looked pretty good and I can get it on amazon for 70 shipped. This would put me way under budget and possibly look into getting an upgraded fan for the rad? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercuryDoun Posted April 8, 2011 Posted April 8, 2011 The Kuhler isnt bad either. Its got good performance too. I think that would be an acceptable upgrade to your cooling i think! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now