Got the Swiftech H2O-220 Compact kit, some questions

[awdrifter]

I'm installing a Swiftech H2O-220 Compact kit for my friend's comp. It's a Q6600 B3 cpu, it's currently running on 1.465v at 3.33ghz, but at full load the temps jumps up to 74c. I thought this kit could easily keep the temps around 65c, at least not over 70c. I let the system run with the cap off for 1hr as instructed, so do you think there are still air in the system? Is there anyway to bleed the air out of the system more completely? Thanks.

[Anemic]

Just let it run for a couple of hours to be really sure that no bubbles are left in there. I usally let my system bleed for 24h to be really sure but with such a small loop I dont think you need to wait for that long.

[awdrifter]

Thanks for the reply. So just let it run a few hours more without the cap, then fill it back up again?

[SoulsCollective]

You've probably got a bad mount. 75C under load is too much.

[Anemic]

It is pretty hot! What kind of cooler did you have before? With a good mount there should be no problem hitting 3.6 Ghz and have good temps with the 220 Compact Kit. Let it sit and run for a couple of hours with the cap of and refill if you need to. Report back with temps when you know there is no leakage and no bubbles! I hope you havent started your computer yet?!? Dont testrun your WC gear with a running computer ; )

[awdrifter]

I let it ran for 1hr as the instruction says, then I capped it and turned on the comp for testing. I tried remounting the waterblock, that was the first thing I tried. The thermal paste I'm using is Antec Silver, which is supposed to be pretty good. I see the temps spiking from 69-74c then drops back down to 69c, then spikes up again later. Does that mean bubbles, a bad mount? Thanks for the help so far. Keep the ideas coming.

[Anemic]

Seems hot to me but then again you are using very high Vcore. Try remounting it again and check so that the AS is spread evenly over the whole CPU. Dont have much experience with B3s...

[sirheck]

Yeah you might double check the mount for the block to the cpu.
Snug the 4 screws in a criss-cross pattern down.

I have the same kit but with a PA120.3 radiator and the NB and an 8800gtx added with a Q66 overclocked to 3.6.
My idle tempuratures are around 30c according to RealTemp. 2.5

[awdrifter]

Seems hot to me but then again you are using very high Vcore. Try remounting it again and check so that the AS is spread evenly over the whole CPU. Dont have much experience with B3s...

I think the vcore is not that high, how much voltages are people running on their G0's? I've seen a lot of people run even higher voltage (up to 1.5v) on water with their dual core Conroes. Thanks for the reply.

Edit:

Yeah you might double check the mount for the block to the cpu.
Snug the 4 screws in a criss-cross pattern down.

I have the same kit but with a PA120.3 radiator and the NB and an 8800gtx added with a Q66 overclocked to 3.6.
My idle tempuratures are around 30c according to RealTemp. 2.5

Ok, I just downloaded RealTemp, it shows the temp for the hottest core is only 60c. So if that's true, I think it's ok. Now for Kentsfields cores, which program should I trust? CoreTemp or RealTemp? Thanks.

[Anemic]

I think (but dont really know for sure) CoreTemp is more reliable. I have 1.35 on my G0 for 3.3 Ghz and about 70C load temps with a Gemni II aircooler. Thats why it seems strange to me with such high temps. What cooler did you have before you got the 220 kit? Is it 100% stable?

[clokker]

I'm running an ApogeeDrive on my q9300- but not the full kit, just the block/pump with a PA120.3.

I did notice that it is quite difficult to prime and bleed the system properly- must be a function of the design.
I don't know whether you can see through the tubing in the kit to check for air but it's certainly possible that it's not bled completely.

Finally ended up laying the case on it's side- which put the pump lower than everything else- and got a few recalcitrant bubbles to break free, which made all the difference.

Worth a try.

[SoulsCollective]

Coretemp should be giving fairly accurate readings on a Kentsfield. Precision will be the same for both programs.

My vote definitely goes towards the "you're doing something wrong" camp. Without seeing your setup we can't really help too much, but it may be worth you double-checking everything and fiddling with the mount. All else failing, you might just be getting bad contact with the IHS, meaning a lapping is in order.

[awdrifter]

The tubing in the Swiftech kit is not see through unfortunately, so I can't visually check for bubbles. The reason I asked about the difference between CoreTemp and RealTemp is, CoreTemp gives me the 74c reading, but RealTemp says it's only 60c. Both are the newest version, so I'm not sure which is right.

[Utnorris]

Realtemp has to be calibrated before it will be accurate, at least that's what it states on the their website. As far as the high temps, it would help to know your ambient, idle and load altogether. I had the basic Swiftech and it did not have a problem keeping my Q6600 below 70c with an ambient around 29c. My vcore was set to 1.47v to give you a reference. The main thing is to make sure you run it for an hour, top it off, and keep doing it while it works the bubbles out. Try shifting the case around, if you can hear your pump, you have bubbles in the line, if you don't hear it, there is a good chance you got most if not all the bubbles out. As far as mounting it, make sure you follow the AS instructions and make sure you have the Apogee aligned correctly for a quad. Finally, try your system at stock and see where the temps are to give you a base to start from. Hope this helps. That kit is a great starter kit.
Utnorris

[vengance_01]

1.45 is very high for a Quad and a B3 chip of all things as well.

[awdrifter]

Realtemp has to be calibrated before it will be accurate, at least that's what it states on the their website. As far as the high temps, it would help to know your ambient, idle and load altogether. I had the basic Swiftech and it did not have a problem keeping my Q6600 below 70c with an ambient around 29c. My vcore was set to 1.47v to give you a reference. The main thing is to make sure you run it for an hour, top it off, and keep doing it while it works the bubbles out. Try shifting the case around, if you can hear your pump, you have bubbles in the line, if you don't hear it, there is a good chance you got most if not all the bubbles out. As far as mounting it, make sure you follow the AS instructions and make sure you have the Apogee aligned correctly for a quad. Finally, try your system at stock and see where the temps are to give you a base to start from. Hope this helps. That kit is a great starter kit.
Utnorris

Is your Q6600 B3 revision? The room temp is about 27c. Not too sure what you mean by shifting the case. Do you mean moving it to a different location or do you mean like shaking it? I'm using the mounting position 1 as shown on the instruction for the Apoggee Drive waterblock. Thanks for the help.


1.45 is very high for a Quad and a B3 chip of all things as well.

I though 1.465v would be a safe voltage for water cooling? I've seen people running that much on air. How high would you recommend? Thanks.

[dafeeessh]

with my b3 before i lapped it i had about the same temps. can you go any lower on the vcore? after i lapped it it dropped 10 degrees idle and load.

[awdrifter]

No, it won't be stable at lower vcore. I'll talk to my friend about lapping it, but he might not want to do that.

[dafeeessh]

did you try looser timings on the ram that really helped my over clocking problems. lapping is kinda scary, nothing like rubbing 200$ on wet sand paper but it helps a lot in my case.

[awdrifter]

The rams are running at 370mhz (5-5-5-13 2T), they are 400mhz (DDR2 800 rated) OCZ Golds. So it shouldn't be a probably at default timing.

[dafeeessh]

with my patriot sticks stock was 2.3V at 5-5-5-9 i had to move it to 2.3V 5-6-6-15 and was able to drop the voltage down .2V on the Vcore

[aspire.comptech]

Changing the timings on your memory should not have any effect on how much voltage your cpu needs...

[dafeeessh]

Changing the timings on your memory should not have any effect on how much voltage your cpu needs...
i thought the same thing, but it seemed to work once i loosend the timings i needed a lower Vcore to be stable.

[leuler]

I think that there are several good suggestions that have been given. I have
a QX6700 (B3 step) with a DFI Lanparty UT P35 and use the H2O-220 kit.
Under full load ( Prime 95 ver 25.5) and after taking care of hot mosfets,
CoreTemp never reported more than 62 deg Celcius, with the room temp
around 24 deg and Vcore at 1.45v (3.6 GHz).

When I put the system together, I ran the pump unmounted
( so that the pump would be lower than the radiator ) for 4 hours. Then I
mounted the pump several times, looking for the lowest temp. Finally,
I played around with the BIOS settings for what seemed like forever to
get it stable ( 24 hour burn in).

( I foolishly thought I could get that QX6700 to 4 GHz stable since others
were getting that with the Q6600. Didn't pay attention to the fact that
those Q6600 were GO's and my processor was a B3. Also, I was trying
to do it with 4 gigs of ram while those overclocks were with 2 gigs. :rolleyes:)

Anyway:

1) Shake the computer some to dislodge any airbubbles, or even take the
pump off of the cpu and let it sit lower than the radiator and run it for a
while with the cap off. ( Unplug the power cable from the motherboard
and use a paperclip to start up the PSU
http://aphnetworks.com/tutorials/psu_paperclip_trick

2) Try remounting the pump several times and check out the temps each
time. ( Be careful to not strip the heads of the mounting screws )

3) Play around with the BIOS settings to see if you can get it stable with a
lower Vcore.

One question. Are you running the fans at 12 volts?

[awdrifter]

Thanks for the suggestions, I guess I'll remount the block 1 more time just to see if I can get lower temps. I'll also try running even looser timing on the ram see if I can get the vcore to be lower. But is running 2.3v on the OCZ rams safe? Their max warrantied voltage is 1.9v. I guess I can try 2.0v and looser timing, but I'm afraid to go as high as 2.3v since there's no fan cooling it. I'm just plugging the fan in as the instruction says, I'm not sure if they are running at the full 12v or not, there's no fan speed controller come with it.

[dafeeessh]

i would not give those sticks that voltage with out a fan i would try 1.9 and 5-6-6-15. i was not saying to give your ram that much voltage i was stating what my voltage and settings are. i also tried the calculater at the swiftech site it said you would get right around 72C , i would also try to lower your abient temp.