IFX-14 install quick notes
I spent about an hour lapping. While the base wasn't perfectly flat, it was better than my TTBT and Infinity. The copper seems quite hard, took a long time with 600 grit, and just as long at 1000. 2000 polish was just a few minutes.
I managed to get the backside cooler in without removing my mobo (I've got a square section cut out of the backside of the case, so I can get at the back of the mobo). I slid it in the 5.25" bay, after unscrewing the top and front side mobo screws, and loosening the rear screws.
It was quite difficult to get the back bracket nuts thru the mobo holes, there was slight misalignment. Once the heatsink is installed, you cannot tighten the screws holding the back bracket on, so make sure they are seated all the way by looking at the screw's position in the nut, from the back of the mobo. I NEEDED to use a magnetized phillips driver to get the four screws started, as I was holding the back bracket with my left hand.
I cleaned the back heatsink with ArctiClean before applying the pads. The thick, squishy pad goes between the rear HS and the mobo. It feels like sponge rubber. I guess the thin pad conducts most heat, thru the bracket attachment posts...
I used a 1.5" round rubber washer between the front HS and the clamping bracket, to get more pressure. This made it difficult to get the two spring-covered screws started, and I had to use a needle-nose pliers to place the screws in the top bracket. That magnetic phillips will come in handy here, too.
I had to use four zip-ties to attach my two Noctuas push-pull on the outsides of the HS. I suppose you'd need to use the clips before attaching HS to mobo... :-).
After 1/2 hour of warm-up, my idle temps are maybe 1/2c cooler than the dual-fan Infinity. I'm not sure how long the IC Diamond paste will need to settle, I spread it with a single-edge razor. This method worked well on the Infinity I just took off, with a nice thin layer with no air bubbles.
Orthos temps to come, after my room temp stabilizes.
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Duct-tapped Scythe 1200 rpm inside:
I love duct-tape.
Increased airflow in addition to the 2 800-rpm Noctuas, almost instant 4.5c drop:
Silverstone 120 x 32 in middle
Went thru my stash of these, found a combination of fan and speed control that was silent at lowest speed.
In 73.9f ambient, Orthos was 58/57 at low speed. So NO improvement. At a very noisy high speed: 55/54.
I replaced the Silverstone with my Noctua 800 rpm from my 5.25" bay, and got ~58.5 on both cores, with 0.5 higher ambient.
One very interesting fact-the heatpipes are just barely warmer than skin temp at either the base or the tips. The air exiting the fins seems cool due to the airflow. (And the backside cooler fins & HP are cold.) Of course, this is the temp of the condensed, cooled water inside, but it just feels wrong!
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IFX jumps from 405 to 417 FSB w/Panaflos-3.75 GHz
I installed 4 FBA12G12L1BX Panaflos, 1700 rpm rated, ~1550 installed. Three on the IFX, and one fixed to the bottom of the case, blowing air past the video card, and out the PCI slots. The last IFX fan doubles as the rear case fan, blowing a VERY healthy blast out the case.
My temps dropped from 60c to 56c running Orthos at 1.4375v at 75.7f. That's 4c less than the 800 rpm Noctuas. Surprisingly, the Panaflos are not obnoxiously loud, altho I'll be installing a Vantec Nexus to slow them down. The sound quality is much nicer than my 120 x 32mm Silverstones.
I ended up pushing vcore to 1.50v, which is 1.47 under load.
Here's the stats from OCCT's logs:
