bad temps

[kingdomwinds]

I have 2x 80mm fans for exhaust in the rear, 1 80mm intake fan, and 1 80mm sidefan that intakes air.

I use an arctic 64 freezer pro for cpu cooling. I get 58c in prime load. cpu is overclocked to 2.75ghz @1.52v.

I think there is pretty good contact with my cpu and heatsink because the heatpipes are hot to the touch. What is the cause of these awful temps?

[omz]

maybe try to reseat the hsf? dust? clutter? also, are you sure the temp is correct? software can be tricky at times :P

[kingdomwinds]

i resetted the heatsink multiple times. No dust. Im pretty sure temps are correct. I just decided to get the Nautilus 500 watercooling kit. Hope that changes the temps

[biohead]

what happens when you open the case?

[Serra]

Your 2x 7900 GT's may be playing a part in that. I'll assume you aren't using an upside-down mobo design and that thefore your CPU lies directly above your 2 video cards, which are each throwing off a decent amount of heat. Given that, I would suggest getting some better airflow over and out past your video cards as that area is usually the worst ventilated part of any case.

Perhaps cut a hole over them for an exhaust fan.

Serra

[RPGWiZaRD]

What are you using to monitor your temps, using Everest imo is the most reliable software after an external sensor. Nvidia control panel shows my GFX card is 5C hotter than all other software for me for example. If it's stable at that speed and that volt at that temp I would suspect it's not displaying correct value.

Another thing could be a bad seated IHS, can vary a lot from a sample to another.

If it had been around 50C or so I would have suspected just bad airflow or bad mounted heatsink but not at 58c, I think the boxed cooler could beat that.

[kingdomwinds]

i use everest. I have no other place to put more fans in my case. Already got 1 80mm intake and 2 80mm exhaust. Also got 1 side fan blowing air on the vid cards. This is the case i use. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144119

My sidefan is an intake fan. Should i revers the direction of the side fan so it blows air out of the case? I thought air blowing on the vidcard is a good thing

[Serra]

Whether air blowing onto your cards or off of them is better depends on your exact setup... if your cards have coolers on them that toss air out the back, then you're probably OK. If not though, then it looks to me like you would be pumping air into a small space where it does not escape from very well and certainly would increase temps. Because of that, I might suggest turning that fan into an exhaust. Try it at least and see what happens.

From there, another option you appear to have available would be to cut a hole in the top of your case for a 120mm fan or you could also upgrade your current 80mm fans if you're using the ones that came with the case. Other than that the holes for the exhaust seem to be wide enough that I wouldn't call snipping the protecting steel off them necessary like it is in some cases... but you'd likely notice a small drop in sound if you did at least.

Lastly, I agree with the idea of taking off the side panel to see what your temps are like open-air. If they are still rather high, then it's not as likely to be an air-flow issue as much a software/heatsink/CPU related one (ie. the IHS is seated poorly).

Serra