Condensate Under Waterblocks?

[Peopie]

So The other day I was having some intense fps drops after installing my Aqua computer R9 290 Waterblock. Like in heaven benchmark, on ultra settings I got like 2-3 fps. It was running around 40 fps while it was still on it's reference cooler though. I was also getting a broken audio stream over displayport. Like it could best be described as very scratchy or staticy.

 

I decided to take apart my loop in order to check the mounting of my block, and i discovered some sort of condensate on some of the ram modules. Aquacomputer did not give me any thermal pads for the Ram, and instructed me to use thermal paste on them, so I used Noctua's NT-H1 on them all. aside from the condensate, it appeared to me that most of the modules made good contacts with the block, and it also seemed like I needed to put a little more pressure on some of the other blocks.

 

 

That was yesterday, and so today I fired up my computer to find the same symptoms, but not as bad. I am getting around 5-10 fps in heaven, but I still have the broken audio. I had some paper towel over the fittings that could leak onto the graphics card over night, but i just checked them, and they are completely dry. I am thinking that it might be either a cracked waterblock (which I doubt, the finish looked perfect to me), or maybe some thing is weird with the thermal paste I'm using and its like separating into paste and liquid.

 

I know you usually aren't supposed to use thermal paste for RAM, but I don't know what other option I have. I would want to replace the paste with pads, but I also don't know which thickness of pads I would need.

 

 

[Tea1337]

I believe in thermal paste there is a small amount of water, that may have caused the issues with your R9's VRAM

[AlwaysFSX]

Using paste on the ram is a horrible idea, you need to use thermal pads or you can end up frying your card The block should have came with thermal pads.

[NInety]

Did you put cold water in the loop? I think that causes condensation on some parts. Not sure though. I'm probably wrong.

[AlwaysFSX]

I believe in thermal paste there is a small amount of water, that may have caused the issues with your R9's VRAM

They do, since it's a very thick liquid.

[C1intFunWood]

Using paste on the ram is a horrible idea, you need to use thermal pads or you can end up frying your card The block should have came with thermal pads.

Now your making him feel like an idiot

[AlwaysFSX]

Now your making him feel like an idiot

Ah he shouldn't worry, I feel like an idiot daily.

[C1intFunWood]

Ah he shouldn't worry, I feel like an idiot daily.

Even linus feels like an idiot daily

[AlwaysFSX]

Even linus feels like an idiot daily

I have to doubt that one

[C1intFunWood]

I have to doubt that one

Okay maybe not but I do

[Peopie]

Using paste on the ram is a horrible idea, you need to use thermal pads or you can end up frying your card The block should have came with thermal pads.

 

Well, like I said, I would use pads if they gave enough pads to put on all of the RAM.

 

The gave me like a 1"x5" strip of pads to use to the vrams.

 

i still have some left over pads from a different waterblock, but i dont know if the height is appropriate, or if i even have enough to cover all of the ram modules.

 

Even on their youtube instructions, they use paste x.x

 

http://youtu.be/XvD1s83u_hQ?t=1m37s

[AlwaysFSX]

Well, like I said, I would use pads if they gave enough pads to put on all of the RAM.

 

The gave me like a 1"x5" strip of pads to use to the vrams.

 

i still have some left over pads from a different waterblock, but i dont know if the height is appropriate, or if i even have enough to cover all of the ram modules.

 

Even on their youtube instructions, they use paste x.x

 

http://youtu.be/XvD1s83u_hQ?t=1m37s

Contact the company that made the block? Demand thermal pads for a product which REQUIRES it.

[Peopie]

 

Contact the company that made the block? Demand thermal pads for a product which REQUIRES it.

I've already tried e-mailing them, I havent gotten a response yet.

 

They're a german based company, so I'm not really too sure how much they can help either.

 

 

I believe in thermal paste there is a small amount of water, that may have caused the issues with your R9's VRAM

 

Do you think I would be fine if i just let it sit tight for a couple of days to dry up?

 

 

Did you put cold water in the loop? I think that causes condensation on some parts. Not sure though. I'm probably wrong.

 

 

I think the condensation happens overnight, because it appears in the morning, right when I first turn it on.

I didn't use any sort of chilled water, but regular room temperature water. Even still, I dont think condensate can appear where there is so little air to begin with, and I'm not in a particularly humid area either.

[Ghost]

Thermal paste would not work for the vram. You are burning it. Thermal paste is designed to improve surface contact, not as a medium for heat transfer. The gap between the block and the vram is intended to be filled by thermal pads which are relatively thick and transfer heat well.

 

What thermal paste are you using?

 

The pad thickness should be listed on the instruction manual that came with the card.

 

P.S.: The VRM also requires thermal pads.

[Peopie]

Thermal paste would not work for the vram. You are burning it. Thermal paste is designed to improve surface contact, not as a medium for heat transfer. The gap between the block and the vram is intended to be filled by thermal pads which are relatively thick and transfer heat well.

 

What thermal paste are you using?

 

The pad thickness should be listed on the instruction manual that came with the card.

 

P.S.: The VRM also requires thermal pads.

 

 

Well see, the instructions for my waterblock specifically state that I am to use paste on the VRAM and the GPU. They did not give me enough pads for all of the VRAM and the VRMS. with the leftover pads I have from the VRAM, I probably only have enough to cover 1 module.

The instructions don't list any specifications of the thickness of the pads. 

 

I am using Noctura's NT-H1

[xXxYOLOxSWAGxXx_420BlazeIt]

So The other day I was having some intense fps drops after installing my Aqua computer R9 290 Waterblock. Like in heaven benchmark, on ultra settings I got like 2-3 fps. It was running around 40 fps while it was still on it's reference cooler though. I was also getting a broken audio stream over displayport. Like it could best be described as very scratchy or staticy.

 

I decided to take apart my loop in order to check the mounting of my block, and i discovered some sort of condensate on some of the ram modules. Aquacomputer did not give me any thermal pads for the Ram, and instructed me to use thermal paste on them, so I used Noctua's NT-H1 on them all. aside from the condensate, it appeared to me that most of the modules made good contacts with the block, and it also seemed like I needed to put a little more pressure on some of the other blocks.

 

 

That was yesterday, and so today I fired up my computer to find the same symptoms, but not as bad. I am getting around 5-10 fps in heaven, but I still have the broken audio. I had some paper towel over the fittings that could leak onto the graphics card over night, but i just checked them, and they are completely dry. I am thinking that it might be either a cracked waterblock (which I doubt, the finish looked perfect to me), or maybe some thing is weird with the thermal paste I'm using and its like separating into paste and liquid.

 

I know you usually aren't supposed to use thermal paste for RAM, but I don't know what other option I have. I would want to replace the paste with pads, but I also don't know which thickness of pads I would need.

 

 

I doubt it is condensation. Unless you are using chilled water, or have a leak somewhere then you arent going to get condensation on your blocks or components.

 

Check for leaks by using a UV reactive dye in your water and use a UV torch to find any dye residue.

 

They do, since it's a very thick liquid.

It is silver/ceramic/aluminium/zinc or silicon dioxide powder suspended in a silicone compound or mineral oil. There is no water.

[Ghost]

Well see, the instructions for my waterblock specifically state that I am to use paste on the VRAM and the GPU. They did not give me enough pads for all of the VRAM and the VRMS. with the leftover pads I have from the VRAM, I probably only have enough to cover 1 module.

The instructions don't list any specifications of the thickness of the pads. 

 

I am using Noctura's NT-H1

Well if you overheated the thermal paste it might well be separating. The maximum operation temp of that paste is 110C and the recommend operating temp is 90C max. http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=13&lng=en&set=1

 

Try re-mounting with new paste.

[Peopie]

Well if you overheated the thermal paste it might well be separating. The maximum operation temp of that paste is 110C and the recommend operating temp is 90C max. http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=13&lng=en&set=1

 

Try re-mounting with new paste.

 

I think once I remount it with new paste, it will take it a day before I can find out if it is the thermal paste that is causing the liquid. I also just ran out of Noctua's thermal paste with the current mount, and I only have a little bit of MX-4 leftover. 

 

Is there a way to check the temperature of the RAM? I'm not sure I understand what you mean about the operating temps of the paste and separating.

 

I guess I'll try remounting it again with MX-4 instead this time

 

I doubt it is condensation. Unless you are using chilled water, or have a leak somewhere then you arent going to get condensation on your blocks or components.

 

Check for leaks by using a UV reactive dye in your water and use a UV torch to find any dye residue.

I don't have any UV dyes or a UV torch on hand, but my coolant has a blue tint to it, so it would be visible on paper towels.

I do wish I had all the proper tools to test and diagnose problems.

[xXxYOLOxSWAGxXx_420BlazeIt]

I think once I remount it with new paste, it will take it a day before I can find out if it is the thermal paste that is causing the liquid. I also just ran out of Noctua's thermal paste with the current mount, and I only have a little bit of MX-4 leftover. 

 

Is there a way to check the temperature of the RAM? I'm not sure I understand what you mean about the operating temps of the paste and separating.

 

I guess I'll try remounting it again with MX-4 instead this time

 

I don't have any UV dyes or a UV torch on hand, but my coolant has a blue tint to it, so it would be visible on paper towels.

I do wish I had all the proper tools to test and diagnose problems.

You can get UV torches really cheaply in hardware/toy stores. The ink from a highlighter pen will work for UV dye. If the leak is really tiny youre not going to see it very easily without some UV dye.

 

I personally wouldnt be using the block until ive ensure it isnt leaking.

[Peopie]

So I just finished remounting my waterblock, and I managed to scrounge together enough thermal pads for all but three of the modules. The thermal pads I have cover about 90-100% of the modules, so I hope that is alright, and for the three that I didn't have any pads left for, I used Arctic Cooling MX-4.

 

I hope that none of the moved too much while I was mounting the waterblock, and I am not sure if the pads are going to make the block too tall.

[Bagmup]

@Peopie, I just purchased the same block and I thought it was strange that they said not to use pads but just thermal paste. I noticed from your picture that the thermal paste over one ram module isn't squished out, it's still just a big blob, which would be horrible for heat transfer.

I think I might grab some thermal pad material before I install my block. Waiting to hear your results with the pads, good luck.

[Peopie]

@Peopie, I just purchased the same block and I thought it was strange that they said not to use pads but just thermal paste. I noticed from your picture that the thermal paste over one ram module isn't squished out, it's still just a big blob, which would be horrible for heat transfer.

I think I might grab some thermal pad material before I install my block. Waiting to hear your results with the pads, good luck.

Yea, I thought it was strange too. I tightened all the screws all the way I can, and it didn't quite squish the thermal paste on some of the modules. It made good contact on some of the modules which were near some of the mounting holes. The ones where it made bad contact were the modules that I prioritized for the thermal pads.

 

I think i'll have to see tomorrow if the same issue appears. Thanks though!

 

 

When water temp is way below room temp you get condensation, are you using a chiller or something ?

 

Nope, im just using a regular 240 rad and a 120 rad, and normal waterblocks.

[Bagmup]

Yea, I thought it was strange too. I tightened all the screws all the way I can, and it didn't quite squish the thermal paste on some of the modules. It made good contact on some of the modules which were near some of the mounting holes. The ones where it made bad contact were the modules that I prioritized for the thermal pads.

 

I think i'll have to see tomorrow if the same issue appears. Thanks though!

The worst thing is I'm using acrylic tubing, so having to remove the gpu for bad temps is a major p.i.t.a.

Do you recall what thickness pads you used? I have a choice between 0.5mm, 1mm or 1.5mm where I shop. Thanks.

[Peopie]

The worst thing is I'm using acrylic tubing, so having to remove the gpu for bad temps is a major p.i.t.a.

Do you recall what thickness pads you used? I have a choice between 0.5mm, 1mm or 1.5mm where I shop. Thanks.

I thought I had it tough having to force everything in my tiny little prodigy.

 

I have no idea what thickness they are!

 

I scrounged together the thermal pads that came with the waterblock for the VRMS, and just used that.

 

I think they were probably 0.5 mm, since they expected you to use thermal paste, I would think that you should use as thin as possible thermal pads, Though I'm not completely sure.

[Bagmup]

I thought I had it tough having to force everything in my tiny little prodigy.

 

I have no idea what thickness they are!

 

I scrounged together the thermal pads that came with the waterblock for the VRMS, and just used that.

 

I think they were probably 0.5 mm, since they expected you to use thermal paste, I would think that you should use as thin as possible thermal pads, Though I'm not completely sure.

Thanks, they're pretty cheap, I might just buy one of each and use the one that gives the best contact without being squashed too much.

And yeah, the prodigy might be big for an itx case, but fill it full of radiators and pumps etc, it gets cramped fast