high ambient temperature High Ambient Temperature Cooling Tips

[Karakofire]

     I started this thread for personal reasons but saw little info anywhere for tips and tricks for cooling your pc when you have high ambient temps. I'd like to have my question answered here but would like everyone to contribute any info they can to help those of us that have high ambient temps with no way to cool the room reasonably.

 

     As for me i recently purchased a used pc for $450 usd. I spent another 50 for a better not sketchy psu and another 50 on a cheap but decent keyboard and mouse at my local store. This brings my total to $650. Specs as follows: i7 4770k @stock w/stock cooler, 32GB ram @ 2133, MSI Z97 Gaming 5 mobo, 500GB hdd, GTX 680 FE @stock all in a Antec P183 V3 cas3 with 3 3speed fans. My ambient temps in the winter never fall below 10C and during the summer can get as high as 39C.  Currently my idle temps 39C and peaked while gaming at 61C with an ambient of 29C with stock cooler no turbo @ 3.5ghz stock volts.. Thats while i play the likes of Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 on max settings @ 1330*768 with max 45% cpu usage and 28% gpu with 700MB vram usage. This is unacceptable and need help finding the right cooler for me. Asking for help because in my research no two coolers were tested the same(ie. cpu case and temps over delta or not) and also with a max price of $46 shipped to California.

 

    Any help or suggestions will be appreciated. And remember this was not only started to answer my problem but to help future pc"ers with similar problems so please keep the advise coming after I've been helped.

[w1nger1]

First of all I don't think your temps are that high. However you there are a few things you can do to improve it, you should first clean your interior if you haven't already, make sure there is no dust clogging up, blocking your airflow and insulating your heat sink. Then you can consider changing CPU stock cooler. Brands like Noctua and be quiet! are great air coolers, just make sure you have the spec right to fit your case. You should also consider reapplying new thermal paste. At the end of the day, your temp will be affected relatively by your ambient, for that there isn't much for you to do to help it unless you can lower your ambient.

[Karakofire]

@w1nger1 I agree my temps are ok now but I'm worried about when it gets hot and the fact the my temps are that high when running a really easy game when i plan to broaden my horizon to more complex games. Also i have cleaned my case out cable managed and all that as well as applied new thermal paste, some Noctua stuff, casue the guy kept the aio that he had in it. I also just ran cinebench 15 got a score of 801 but temps got to 83 on the hottest core current ambient is 29C... Thoughts?

 

 

Edit: Also there are few options from those two companies that deliver to my area for my price range. What other companies do you all advise? Also i plan on getting another case and doing a custom loop with it(soft tube for the noob dude). I plan on mounting the radiator on my ac vent thats 360mm squared and my thinking on this is that the ac runs all the time to try to keep the room cool so that would be the best place for it. My room gets so hot due to there being windows on three sides(east south and west) and I'm on the second floor.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Karakofire

[w1nger1]

3 minutes ago, Karakofire said:

@w1nger1 I agree my temps are ok now but I'm worried about when it gets hot and the fact the my temps are that high when running a really easy game when i plan to broaden my horizon to more complex games. Also i have cleaned my case out cable managed and all that as well as applied new thermal paste, some Noctua stuff, casue the guy kept the aio that he had in it. I also just ran cinebench 15 got a score of 801 but temps got to 83 on the hottest core current ambient is 29C... Thoughts?

83 is fine. Also what is your GPU temp?

What do you mean by some Noctua stuff? You have the fans, or with the heatsink as well? Also there is AIO? For your GPU or CPU?
Also I just took a look at your case, if it possible, you can move your hdd/ssd to the PSU chamber for better air flow.

[Karakofire]

28 minutes ago, w1nger1 said:

83 is fine. Also what is your GPU temp?

What do you mean by some Noctua stuff? You have the fans, or with the heatsink as well? Also there is AIO? For your GPU or CPU?
Also I just took a look at your case, if it possible, you can move your hdd/ssd to the PSU chamber for better air flow.

My gpu temps maxed at 68C under 28% load with max 45% fan speed. I can ramp that up cause noise is not an issue. I put on Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste after the person i bought this pc from removed the aio already installed and gave me the stock cooler from the intel cpu he just bought. The hdd is velcroed to behind the mobo tray and all cages removed.

 

Edit: The fans installed are three speed fans with a switch on each. Front is set to intake on high, top intakes at high and back exhausts on medium. That seems to give me the best temps.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Karakofire
Add info

[w1nger1]

20 minutes ago, Karakofire said:

My gpu temps maxed at 68C under 28% load with max 45% fan speed. I can ramp that up cause noise is not an issue. I put on Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste after the person i bought this pc from removed the aio already installed and gave me the stock cooler from the intel cpu he just bought. The hdd is velcroed to behind the mobo tray and all cages removed.

You should benchmark your GPU to see the temps at 100% load.
Sorry my bad I forgot Noctua have termal paste as well. 

44 minutes ago, Karakofire said:

Edit: Also there are few options from those two companies that deliver to my area for my price range. What other companies do you all advise? Also i plan on getting another case and doing a custom loop with it(soft tube for the noob dude). I plan on mounting the radiator on my ac vent thats 360mm squared and my thinking on this is that the ac runs all the time to try to keep the room cool so that would be the best place for it. My room gets so hot due to there being windows on three sides(east south and west) and I'm on the second floor.

What's your budget?

Wow that's over the top.

[Karakofire]

2 minutes ago, w1nger1 said:

You should benchmark your GPU to see the temps at 100% load.
Sorry my bad I forgot Noctua have termal paste as well. 

What's your budget?

Wow that's over the top.

Which bench should i run? I am also planning on replacing thermal paste and pads on the gpu once i get a cooler that comes with thermal paste casue I'm frugal af(already have thermal pads). My budget is $46 shipped.

[Phentos]

1 hour ago, Karakofire said:

Which bench should i run? I am also planning on replacing thermal paste and pads on the gpu once i get a cooler that comes with thermal paste casue I'm frugal af(already have thermal pads). My budget is $46 shipped.

Prime95 with small FFTs will do a great job in pushing your thermals for your CPU. For GPU I recommend Unigine Valley or MSI Kombustor (careful with this).

 

I also know how you feel since I live in the Central Valley (Hell).

[Karakofire]

2 minutes ago, Phentos said:

Prime95 with small FFTs will do a great job in pushing your thermals for your CPU. For GPU I recommend Unigine Valley or MSI Kombustor (careful with this).

I have hit 95c when I did some video editing. I purposefully used cpu encoding to stress it. I turned turbo off to use the nonturbo 3.5ghz rating of the cpu and only used 85% of the cpu to reach this temp. I'll download Unigine and run it then post back here.

 

8 minutes ago, Phentos said:

I also know how you feel since I live in the Central Valley (Hell).

In Cali? If so I live in Stanislaus.

[Phentos]

3 minutes ago, Karakofire said:

I have hit 95c when I did some video editing. I purposefully used cpu encoding to stress it. I turned turbo off to use the nonturbo 3.5ghz rating of the cpu and only used 85% of the cpu to reach this temp. I'll download Unigine and run it then post back here.

 

In Cali? If so I live in Stanislaus.

Wow. Prime95 will crash your system within 30 seconds then, with those kinds of temps. 

 

I live in wonderful Fresno. The armpit of California.

[Karakofire]

1 minute ago, Phentos said:

I live in wonderful Fresno. The armpit of California.

Well where i live it has two nick names. Methdesto and Molesto. we are the meth production capital of the US and have the highest number of registered sex offenders per capita which equates to one on every block.

[Phentos]

Just now, Karakofire said:

Well where i live it has two nick names. Methdesto and Molesto. we are the meth production capital of the US and have the highest number of registered sex offenders per capita which equates to one on every block.

I know that feel. There's 9 registered sex offenders that live within a 3 block radius of me. And a meth house about 3 1/2 blocks away that got raided a year ago.

 

The Central Valley is a dump, no question about that.

 

Anyhow, this is a pretty solid CPU cooler for a good price. be quiet! BK009 Pure Rock

[Karakofire]

ok here we go ran Valley 6 times here is the average off them

min: 22.5

avg: 42.6

max: 75.3

avg score:1784

dx11 @1080p 8xaa fullscreen extremehd preset.

cpu temp. maxed at 59C

gpu temp maxed at 67C at 66% fan speed

 

39 minutes ago, Phentos said:

Anyhow, this is a pretty solid CPU cooler for a good price. be quiet! BK009 Pure Rock

what do you think of Scythe Mugen Max and Thermalight Macho Direct?

 

Edit: All three of these come to about the same price shipped.

 

Edit again: The CRYORIG H7 just dropped in price I'm getting that lol.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Karakofire
Add info

[w1nger1]

26 minutes ago, Karakofire said:

ok here we go ran Valley 6 times here is the average off them

min: 22.5

avg: 42.6

max: 75.3

avg score:1784

dx11 @1080p 8xaa fullscreen extremehd preset.

cpu temp. maxed at 59C

gpu temp maxed at 67C at 66% fan speed

 

what do you think of Scythe Mugen Max and Thermalight Macho Direct?

 

Edit: All three of these come to about the same price shipped.

 

Edit again: The CRYORIG H7 just dropped in price I'm getting that lol.

Those temp are good.

[Karakofire]

Just now, w1nger1 said:

Those temp are good.

cpu was only at 35% utilization and at 3.5ghz

[w1nger1]

1 minute ago, Karakofire said:

cpu was only at 35% utilization and at 3.5ghz

Yes, most games won't max out your CPU utilization.
Also side note, if I'm you I won't stress out on finding a cooler for your GPU, instead maybe consider getting a better/newer card in the future.

[Karakofire]

10 minutes ago, w1nger1 said:

Also side note, if I'm you I won't stress out on finding a cooler for your GPU, instead maybe consider getting a better/newer card in the future.

I agree. I'm pretty happy with my card. And since its a blower style it will stay cool as long as I have good case flow which seems to be the case(get it????? CASE )

[WoodenMarker]

8 hours ago, Karakofire said:

what do you think of Scythe Mugen Max and Thermalight Macho Direct?

Edit: All three of these come to about the same price shipped.

Edit again: The CRYORIG H7 just dropped in price I'm getting that lol.

The Mugen MAX is the best of the coolers mentioned in the thread so far. 

Unless the H7 sale is ~$30, it's not a better pick over a better cooler like the Hans: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Pn648d/reeven-hans-821-cfm-sleeve-bearing-cpu-cooler-rc-1205

[LogicalDrm]

Besides getting better cooler, you can limit CPU temps by setting manual voltage. 4770K can run at stock with 1.1V, but will boost with auto to 1.25-1.29V (if memory serves, its long time since I tested this). With GPU, are you using automatic fan control or custom curves?

 

And last thing. The case isn't best for airflow. Antec doesn't have much info, so I can't give definitive answers on what to do. But if you can remove upper HDD cage, that would improve front fans capabilities. In longer use I would recommend getting more modern case in terms of airflow.

[AngryBeaver]

OP, if you have a lot of windows then maybe consider getting a window unit or portable style AC to help keep your room at a decent level. Your best bet is to work on lowering the ambient instead of trying to make minuscule changes via deltat improvements

[Karakofire]

10 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The Mugen MAX is the best of the coolers mentioned in the thread so far. 

Unless the H7 sale is ~$30, it's not a better pick over a better cooler like the Hans: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Pn648d/reeven-hans-821-cfm-sleeve-bearing-cpu-cooler-rc-1205

The H7 is going for $34.99 free ship no tax on Amazon

 

8 hours ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

Besides getting better cooler, you can limit CPU temps by setting manual voltage. 4770K can run at stock with 1.1V, but will boost with auto to 1.25-1.29V (if memory serves, its long time since I tested this). With GPU, are you using automatic fan control or custom curves?

I was but i went into Afterburner and raised it to run at 66% for 40C and above but temps stay cool so Im not worried.

 

8 hours ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

And last thing. The case isn't best for airflow. Antec doesn't have much info, so I can't give definitive answers on what to do. But if you can remove upper HDD cage, that would improve front fans capabilities. In longer use I would recommend getting more modern case in terms of airflow.

I removed both drive cages and removed the front panel door and removed the dust filter doors since the filters are clipped in anyway. Not pretty but better than nothing.

[Karakofire]

4 hours ago, AngryBeaver said:

OP, if you have a lot of windows then maybe consider getting a window unit or portable style AC to help keep your room at a decent level. Your best bet is to work on lowering the ambient instead of trying to make minuscule changes via deltat improvements

Unfortunately city code prohibits those on the second floor of a building made before 1965. This ruling was made due to the window frames being unable to hold the weight. In order to get an ac in the window id have to change them all out due to the fact the city requires that a building must be brought up to code before a permit can be issued. This means that the whole building would have to have new windows and frames installed and new insulation in the walls plus rewiring. So not an option.

[LogicalDrm]

1 hour ago, Karakofire said:

Unfortunately city code prohibits those on the second floor of a building made before 1965. This ruling was made due to the window frames being unable to hold the weight. In order to get an ac in the window id have to change them all out due to the fact the city requires that a building must be brought up to code before a permit can be issued. This means that the whole building would have to have new windows and frames installed and new insulation in the walls plus rewiring. So not an option.

Portable unit would only require way to exhaust. So hose to open window. I know couple people who have done that and we are lucky to get over 30C temps during summer time.

[Karakofire]

1 hour ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

Portable unit would only require way to exhaust. So hose to open window. I know couple people who have done that and we are lucky to get over 30C temps during summer time.

Thats what i was thinking too but they still consider it a window installed unit. see if they force me to change everything out they stand to make alot of money. its $1000 a permit and would require 3 to complete then charge $500 per inspection per inspector. One architect for the windows, fire marshal for the insulation and a plumber to insure no damage to the pipes, and an electrician for the wiring. So a minimum of $5000 assuming the inspection goes perfectly each time. Flipping bureaucrats.

[AngryBeaver]

7 hours ago, Karakofire said:

Thats what i was thinking too but they still consider it a window installed unit. see if they force me to change everything out they stand to make alot of money. its $1000 a permit and would require 3 to complete then charge $500 per inspection per inspector. One architect for the windows, fire marshal for the insulation and a plumber to insure no damage to the pipes, and an electrician for the wiring. So a minimum of $5000 assuming the inspection goes perfectly each time. Flipping bureaucrats.

From the California Permit guidelines it says you do not need a permit to install or replace a portable AC.

 

The reason behind the window unit is that if the frame cannot support the weight the AC could fall and kill someone. However, a portable AC doesn't actually add much weight to the window. Just the plastic piece that holds the very light tubing so the unit can exhaust the hot air outside. Alternatively you can cut a hole in the wall that goes to the exterior much like a dryer vent. Then just run the tubing there and seal around it.

 

I mean you can get a cheap Portable ac for about $120-150. They aren't as cheap or sometimes even as efficient as a full window unit, but they do work well. I have one in an upstairs room that has windows that open out to the sides instead of up and down... so a portable AC was all I could use.

 

Anyways I think you should actually call the regulating body and ask them. I have a feeling it won't be an issue at all. Hell nothing would even be hanging out the window... so I doubt it would ever be noticed anyways.