Watercooling Help!

[Oli1549]

I bought a H150i thinking it would make massive impression on the cheap cooler master air cooler i had previous with 1 fan, but it seems to have made very little difference,

On stock settings, i7 7700K, (4.2Ghz) stress testing at 100% im getting temps up to 73 Degrees, this is similar to what i got with my old cooler, is this normal?

 

I appreciate any help as im not knowledgeable on this topic!

[samcool55]

Unless you put the H150i into jet mode (which makes it very loud) this is normal. And even then temps might not change a lot.

The big problem is that the 7700k uses thermal paste to connect the die to the IHS instead of solder which makes cooling a nightmare in general.

[Oli1549]

1 minute ago, samcool55 said:

Unless you put the H150i into jet mode (which makes it very loud) this is normal. And even then temps might not change a lot.

The big problem is that the 7700k uses thermal paste to connect the die to the IHS instead of solder which makes cooling a nightmare in general.

interesting, so does a different Intel CPU have a better method of transferring this heat? i keep thinking about investing into the i9 9900k, is this any different?

[samcool55]

Just now, Oli1549 said:

interesting, so does a different Intel CPU have a better method of transferring this heat? i keep thinking about investing into the i9 9900k, is this any different?

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Years ago when AMD was competitive, (they are competitive again right now but there was a gap) every CPU was soldered (if you go back far enough there are CPU's that didn't even have an IHS, but that's another story). However, because AMD was no longer competing, Intel basically had a monopoly and could do whatever they want. So to save a bit of money they stopped soldering and used thermal paste. Iirc a temp difference for solder vs thermal paste is around 10 degrees, that's massive. And people were rightfully mad, but why would Intel care? There was no alternative for the people that wanted a decent CPU at that time.

 

But now Ryzen is here, and AMD is once again competing. Intel had no other choice than to ditch the thermal paste and go back to solder. So very old CPU's were soldered, the one you got was from their thermal paste era and today they are soldered again. Also they basically had to because if they don't the CPU would overheat waaay to easily.

[Oli1549]

1 minute ago, samcool55 said:

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Years ago when AMD was competitive, (they are competitive again right now but there was a gap) every CPU was soldered (if you go back far enough there are CPU's that didn't even have an IHS, but that's another story). However, because AMD was no longer competing, Intel basically had a monopoly and could do whatever they want. So to save a bit of money they stopped soldering and used thermal paste. Iirc a temp difference for solder vs thermal paste is around 10 degrees, that's massive. And people were rightfully mad, but why would Intel care? There was no alternative for the people that wanted a decent CPU at that time.

 

But now Ryzen is here, and AMD is once again competing. Intel had no other choice than to ditch the thermal paste and go back to solder. So very old CPU's were soldered, the one you got was from their thermal paste era and today they are soldered again. Also they basically had to because if they don't the CPU would overheat waaay to easily.

Thats very interesting, is fans a factor at all? would swapping my fans for others make a difference, or even a push and pull system? basically trying to find the best option for me right now to get better performance from my 7700k, or if its easier to buy a new one!

[samcool55]

Just now, Oli1549 said:

Thats very interesting, is fans a factor at all? would swapping my fans for others make a difference, or even a push and pull system? basically trying to find the best option for me right now to get better performance from my 7700k, or if its easier to buy a new one!

The difference between just push or just pull vs push-pull is very small.

Especially if you kick the fans into a higher gear.

 

Personally (some people will probably disagree with this but eh) It's not worth investing time and money in that 7700k. Not because it's old, but because a 4C/8T CPU is quickly becoming obsolete. With all those 6-core and 8-core cpu's available for less than 200 dollars I really don't see the point in investing in a quad-core these days.

[Oli1549]

Just now, samcool55 said:

The difference between just push or just pull vs push-pull is very small.

Especially if you kick the fans into a higher gear.

 

Personally (some people will probably disagree with this but eh) It's not worth investing time and money in that 7700k. Not because it's old, but because a 4C/8T CPU is quickly becoming obsolete. With all those 6-core and 8-core cpu's available for less than 200 dollars I really don't see the point in investing in a quad-core these days.

Ah, To be honest, im not one to look through posts and videos about CPU's before i buy them, i simply check compatibility and install it! Maybe i shoot myself in the foot but all the pros and cons on the internet just adds to the mind boggling decision, i'd assume there are many like me!!

 

So its not worth seeing if my local computer shop could delid this cpu and potentially replace the paste with a better replacement, but just to spill the beans on a 6-8 core?

[samcool55]

2 minutes ago, Oli1549 said:

Ah, To be honest, im not one to look through posts and videos about CPU's before i buy them, i simply check compatibility and install it! Maybe i shoot myself in the foot but all the pros and cons on the internet just adds to the mind boggling decision, i'd assume there are many like me!!

 

So its not worth seeing if my local computer shop could delid this cpu and potentially replace the paste with a better replacement, but just to spill the beans on a 6-8 core?

That is an option, but 50 bucks for that is not unusual, it takes a lot of time and skill to pull off a delid because a bad delid means a dead CPU.

And in the end you have a cooler running CPU, but it's still a 4C/8T thing and best-case scenario that might give you a small increase in the OC you can do on it.

Not worth the money.

 

I would stick with what you have and save up for a new CPU. (and everything that comes with it)

[Oli1549]

3 minutes ago, samcool55 said:

That is an option, but 50 bucks for that is not unusual, it takes a lot of time and skill to pull off a delid because a bad delid means a dead CPU.

And in the end you have a cooler running CPU, but it's still a 4C/8T thing and best-case scenario that might give you a small increase in the OC you can do on it.

Not worth the money.

 

I would stick with what you have and save up for a new CPU. (and everything that comes with it)

Thanks for the help.