140mm Liquid Cooler for Ryzen 2600x (Hear me out....)

[TheFriendlyHacker]

Yes, I know, a 140mm AIO liquid cooler is never recommended for a 95W CPU (in this case, a Ryzen 5 2600x with stock cooler). But hear me out....

I basically had no choice but to buy my case for $50 or less. I opted for the AeroCool Cylon ($43). Which is remarkably competently built...except for the front panel. The front panel basically restricts 80% of intake airflow in exchange for looking "cool" (I will not be mad if you give me sh*t in the comments buying this...yes, I regret it). 

 

Basically, if I'm gaming on this case and the CPU is allowed to "turbo" up to 4.2ghz, the case's crappy airflow is overwhelmed and the CPU starts running at 85-96C. Average of 88-92C. Not good! And this is regardless of how I position my 2 120mm fans (1 intake 1 exhaust, 2 exhaust 0 intake, 2 intake 0 exhaust - doesn't matter. And I doubt a 3rd fan would make the difference). 

 

Taking off the side panel quickly drops temps by 15-30C.

 

It's gotten to the point where I've disabled AMD's "turbo boost" in BIOS, and thus the CPU is capped (neutered) at its base clock speed of 3.6ghz. 

 

So. Do you think that a 140mm AIO liquid cooler could consistently do better? And if so, do you think it would do better enough to justify the cost? Or should I stick with what I have (which is definitely functional) and live with my regrets? BTW, there is a vent hole on the top of my case that can fit either a 120mm or 140mm fan - so yes, a 140mm AIO will fit. 

[Fasauceome]

A 140mm AIO needs airflow too, it would similarly suffer in a restricted case. I notice the case has 3 front fan slots and one rear, what fan slots do you have populated?

[TheFriendlyHacker]

@Fasauceome This is true. Do you think it would be better to have the 140mm AIO fan blow into the case (aka take fresh air from outside), or blow out of the case (aka, take warm air from in the case)?

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

@Fasauceome This is true. Do you think it would be better to have the 140mm AIO fan blow into the case (aka take fresh air from outside), or blow out of the case (aka, take warm air from in the case)?

If anything, blowing into the case would help temps most. How are your GPU temps as well? If the GPU is spitting a lot of heat out, potentially the AIO would be helpful

[TheFriendlyHacker]

@FasauceomeIronically, the GPU does pretty well. It's a GTX 1070, dual-fan. Typically runs in the high 70's / low-mid 80's (mid 80's at worst). So I'm not so worried about that. 
BTW - I should have mentioned this in my original post (will edit now) - my Ryzen 2600X is using the stock cooler that it came with. 

[Fasauceome]

Just now, TheFriendlyHacker said:

@FasauceomeIronically, the GPU does pretty well. It's a GTX 1070, dual-fan. Typically runs in the high 70's / low-mid 80's (mid 80's at worst). So I'm not so worried about that. 
BTW - I should have mentioned this in my original post (will edit now) - my Ryzen 2600X is using the stock cooler that it came with. 

in that case the GPU may be responsible for high CPU temps, see if imposing a strict power limit like 50% has a large impact on CPU temps

[TheFriendlyHacker]

@FasauceomeThat probably would make a difference, considering that airflow is a problem. But if I neuter my GPU like that, then I won't be any better off. Right now, my 2600x's clock speed is capped at 3.6ghz (and performance isn't suffering that badly), but the GPU is free to run as fast as it wants. 

 

If I were to cap the GPU, wouldn't that lead to even worse performance in games? 

[Fasauceome]

Just now, TheFriendlyHacker said:

If I were to cap the GPU, wouldn't that lead to even worse performance in games?

I proposed it for testing purposes, if you cap performance on the GPU and the CPU still suffers then something else is the cause, but if the CPU gets getter temps then considering a front intake radiator would be helpful

[TheFriendlyHacker]

1 minute ago, Fasauceome said:

I proposed it for testing purposes, if you cap performance on the GPU and the CPU still suffers then something else is the cause, but if the CPU gets getter temps then considering a front intake radiator would be helpful

Ah, gotcha. My only gripes with that are...well, if the GPU does turns out to be significantly over-heating the CPU, then what? I definitely don't want to neuter my GPU by down-clocking it. And I'm not confident enough (in my skills nor in my PC case) to install a liquid cooler on the GPU. And the GPU, with air-cooling, doesn't have thermal problems to begin with. 
Which is why I'm wondering if a 140mm AIO liquid cooler on the CPU would perform well enough to be worth the cost. 

[Fasauceome]

6 minutes ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

Which is why I'm wondering if a 140mm AIO liquid cooler on the CPU would perform well enough to be worth the cost. 

That's what I meant, if the GPU is bleeding too much heat a front mounted AIO would give the chance for the CPU to breathe

[Tristerin]

Yes it will help, as the current setup you are spooling around hot air (stock cooler) where an AIO would either be pushing the CPU heat directly out (as exhaust) or only breathing in ambient temps (intake) instead of the already hot air in the case.

 

However imho, the stock cooler is a good cooler, and you should mod the case (cheapest way to fix this) to allow good airflow since cost seems to be on the mind.  Worst case, you could break it and a good airflow case (Cougar MX330 for example) is much less than $50 typically for less than the cost of an AIO.  

 

[TheFriendlyHacker]

20 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Yes it will help, as the current setup you are spooling around hot air (stock cooler) where an AIO would either be pushing the CPU heat directly out (as exhaust) or only breathing in ambient temps (intake) instead of the already hot air in the case.

 

However imho, the stock cooler is a good cooler, and you should mod the case (cheapest way to fix this) to allow good airflow since cost seems to be on the mind.  Worst case, you could break it and a good airflow case (Cougar MX330 for example) is much less than $50 typically for less than the cost of an AIO.  

 

I guess just buying a non-stupid case would also be a sensible option too. Probably shoulda thought of that haha.

And I've heard good things about the stock Ryzen coolers, which is why I was surprised to see 96C lol. Definitely the case recycling hot air though. Because when I take the side panel off, the temps quickly drop to the 60's or 70's. 

[Inversion]

This may be a completely insane idea but maybe check the thermal paste application and the mounting of the cooler too. Really high temps could be a sign that the thermal contact between the IHS and the cooler isn't great

[TheFriendlyHacker]

1 minute ago, Inversion said:

This may be a completely insane idea but maybe check the thermal paste application and the mounting of the cooler too. Really high temps could be a sign that the thermal contact between the IHS and the cooler isn't great

That was the first thing I checked (and did indeed re-apply the paste). It did seem insane, and sadly didn't fix it. 

Definitely an air flow issue, because when I take the side panel off while running a game, the temps quickly drop by like 25-30C

[WoodenMarker]

Have you tried taking off the front panel to see how much temps improve? Chances are that the case airflow is lacking and is the biggest issue.

A better cooler can help and would probably keep temps in check is you can't improve case airflow enough with better fans. 

[TheFriendlyHacker]

10 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Have you tried taking off the front panel to see how much temps improve? Chances are that the case airflow is lacking and is the biggest issue.

A better cooler can help and would probably keep temps in check is you can't improve case airflow enough with better fans. 

Yes, definitely - taking off the side panel drops temps by anywhere between 15 and 30C. So it's definitely an airflow issue.

[WoodenMarker]

6 hours ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

Yes, definitely - taking off the side panel drops temps by anywhere between 15 and 30C. So it's definitely an airflow issue.

That's a very dramatic drop. I'd recommend improving case airflow first if you're not set on getting a new cpu cooler for lower noise or oc'ing. 

Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

[SolarNova]

On 10/12/2019 at 11:15 PM, TheFriendlyHacker said:

Yes, I know, a 140mm AIO liquid cooler is never recommended for a 95W CPU (in this case, a Ryzen 5 2600x with stock cooler). But hear me out....

I basically had no choice but to buy my case for $50 or less. I opted for the AeroCool Cylon ($43). Which is remarkably competently built...except for the front panel. The front panel basically restricts 80% of intake airflow in exchange for looking "cool" (I will not be mad if you give me sh*t in the comments buying this...yes, I regret it). 

 

Basically, if I'm gaming on this case and the CPU is allowed to "turbo" up to 4.2ghz, the case's crappy airflow is overwhelmed and the CPU starts running at 85-96C. Average of 88-92C. Not good! And this is regardless of how I position my 2 120mm fans (1 intake 1 exhaust, 2 exhaust 0 intake, 2 intake 0 exhaust - doesn't matter. And I doubt a 3rd fan would make the difference). 

 

Taking off the side panel quickly drops temps by 15-30C.

 

It's gotten to the point where I've disabled AMD's "turbo boost" in BIOS, and thus the CPU is capped (neutered) at its base clock speed of 3.6ghz. 

 

So. Do you think that a 140mm AIO liquid cooler could consistently do better? And if so, do you think it would do better enough to justify the cost? Or should I stick with what I have (which is definitely functional) and live with my regrets? BTW, there is a vent hole on the top of my case that can fit either a 120mm or 140mm fan - so yes, a 140mm AIO will fit. 

You'd be better of just modding the front panel of the case for better airflow. its not hard. And its cheaper.