Custom water cooling setup for high temperatures.
Custom water cooling setup for high temperatures.
I removed the thermal grease from my CPU and cooler. I switched to liquid pro ultra, which lowered my temperatures by about 5 degrees under load during an Intel burn test. However, the package temperature remains high even at low speeds. Despite setting my BIOS ratio to dynamic and EIST enabled, my CPU isn’t speedstepping as expected. According to the tools I use—HW64, CPU-Z, etc.—it should be speeding up. I’m unsure why the ratio stays fixed instead of activating speedstepping.
I plan to remove the PWM from my motherboard’s loop entirely. It doesn’t cause heat problems and also prevents flow restrictions that create an elbow in the design.
I have EIST enabled, but it seems set to Windows Power Scheme, which caused RAZER to take over.
I looked at the system guidelines on the corsair page. They indicate space for up to two psu's, both mounted on their sides, drawing air in from the sides with a fan and expelling it through the back as the cutouts are set for this arrangement. Isn't that how you typically position your psu?
Regarding theory and thermodynamics, I've made mistakes before, but nothing compares to hands-on testing. I'd suggest experimenting by swapping components and testing in various setups if you're using AIOs, but this isn't straightforward with a custom liquid cooling system.
There are several points to consider here, mainly related to overclocking. Generally, increasing the overclock and voltage will always lead to higher temperatures, whether idle or under load, since you're pushing the CPU to generate more heat through faster clock speeds and higher voltage. Also, the need for watercooling your motherboard is questionable—most of the time I advise against it because the benefits don't justify the effort, and you might face unnecessary flow restrictions.
The way temperatures are reported has changed; now delta is measured by comparing water temperature to ambient temperature. While this isn't a perfect metric, it aligns with your overclocking goals.
Have you experimented with reverting your CPU back to stock speeds before attempting an overclock? Additionally, how is your overclock configured—automatically, manually in the BIOS, or through another method?