The anatomy of a 'bow'.

[Utnorris]

Thanks for the information, I am new to w/c so I wanted to just make sure I wasn't missing something. By the way, I am using the latest coretemp in Vista Home Premium x64, but I was getting the same results in XP Pro x32, so I don't think it is the OS. Anyway, I will probably fiddle with a little more, my temps aren't that high, idle is 40 and load is 55, so they are not that high anyway. I am just trying to squeeze every little drop of performance out of it.

Again, thank you for the info,

Utnorris

[AtlasShrugged]

I realize this question is sacreligious in these forums but being a newb I'll just come right out and ask.

Why should I care about 1-3*C day in and day out? If I'm running 48*C why should I go to all this work to run at 46*C?

The only reason I can see is that you're trying to squeeze another few MHz out of an overclock, but if you're that hell bent on getting the temps down get an active cooling solution such as phase change.

Is it just "because it's there"?

[Cptn Vortex]

Its something to do! And it is free. Why NOT?

[MpG]

There's no single magic bullet for watercooling. You gain a few degrees here, a few there, and the sum of all those improvements are what determines the final performance of the system. Bowing is just one of those potential areas for improvement. Certainly, you can ignore it, and still have a good system. You can also run smaller tubing, a weaker pump, a poor/smaller rad, bad fans, etc, etc. No single compromise will suddenly make your system "suck", but they all represent opportunities for improvement.

Yes, going to Phase/beyond will beat even the best watercooling hands-down, but when it comes to performance that you can set and forget, running it 24/7, watercooling is still pretty hard tro beat.

[eXa]

If u think like that u start loosing alot of C in the end. 2-3C on the block, 1-2c on the pump, 3-4c on radiator++ it adds up.

edit: And for me who cares alot about silence too, every C gained is a few less rpm on my fans.