Extremely high temperatures affect liquid cooling performance at 3570k.
Extremely high temperatures affect liquid cooling performance at 3570k.
Hi.
I bought a GamerStorm MaelStrom 120K for $80 and have an i5 3570k. I've tested 4.5ghz at 1.29v but it failed (probably too high voltage). I also tried stock voltage, temps went over 100°C. I attached a picture of 4.3ghz at 1.29v but the core stayed under 1.2v. The image shows temps at 85°C. Why are these readings so high? Did I install it properly? Are these temperatures normal? What safe limits should I know?
120mm radiators in closed loop coolers can really only manage to dissipate up to 150 watts at the best... in practice, 130-140w seems more achievable. Your CPU has a 77w TDP when running at default settings, but as voltage and clock speed increase, the TDP climbs steadily. With higher clock speeds and voltage changes, you might approach the capacity of these radiators. Since closed loop coolers rely on low-power pumps and aluminum radiators (often brass or copper), their performance is constrained by these factors, leading to a lower Delta-T compared to other cooling solutions.
Testing the default settings of the mobile module (P8Z77V-LK) at 4.2ghz. Uncertain why optimized defaults in BIOS shift it from 3.8 to 4.2. Present temperatures are 71°C, 81°C, 82°C, and 78°C for the cores in sequence. Likely a $30 air cooler performs better?
If you just installed it, you might notice a slight temperature increase over time (during the initial period). The document suggests checking the 4.3 version, but with the 120mm radiator, it could be better to revert to the 4.2 model. A radiator size between 240-280mm would offer a bit more than a few hundred Mhz, though it won't significantly boost performance, so it might not be necessary for you.
The order of mounting the radiator and hoses matters. Mounting it with hoses at the bottom versus having them spiral downward from the top could affect stability and airflow.
It looks like users can achieve around 4.5ghz on a hyper evo, which is a more affordable air cooler, but they struggle to hit 4.2ghz because the temperatures are between 75c and 80c. Would reapplying thermal paste help? The existing paste seems to have been quite effective.