Question Asus Maximus Extreme IX liquid metal

[parmi93]

Specs:

• CPU: i7-7700k @ 4.20 GHz (Turbo boost: 4.5GHz) [delidded]
• Mobo: Asus Maximus IX Extreme
• GPU: Gigabyte - GTX 1080 Ti Waterforce WB Xtreme Edition 11G
• RAM: 32GB - G.Skill - Trident Z RGB - DDR4 3600Mhz - 32GB (8GBx4) - 16-16-16-36
• PSU: Seasonic - PRIME 850 W Titanium
• Custom Cooling system:
  • Radiator: x2 radiator (520x30x60mm)
  • Radiator FAN: x8 Noctua (120x120x15mm)
  • Pump: EK-XRES 140 Revo D5

I built my PC 5 years ago (specs in my profile), never changed neither thermal paste nor cooling liquid since then, temperatures rarely exceeded 50C (while gaming).
Now I feel the need to overclock my system, to improve performance in some games (specifically Valorant, which is particularly demanding with the CPU).

I did some tests at 5.0GHz and this is the best overclocking setup I have found so far:

1. CPU ratio: x50
2. Cache ratio: x42
3. Vcore in BIOS: 1.415V
4. Vcore mode: Manual
5. XMP profile: Disabled
6. iGPU: Disabled
7. LLC: 5
8. AVX offset: x0
9. Vcore under stress (measured*): 1.411 V

*FLUKE 179 multimeter using the average function and measuring for 1 minute

With this configuration after 17 hours of stress test with Prime95 (Blend mode) I got an error (Rounding was 0.5, expected less than 0.4) on core 1.
Now I'm running another Prime95 session with the Vcore at 1.420v

Once I find the stable vcore, I would like to switch to adaptive mode (and playing with the offset) to reduce CPU stress and increase CPU life expectancy.

What do you think? is it a good idea to use adaptive mode instead of manual mode?

In any case after 5 years I think it is time to change the thermal paste, coolant and thermal pads (although the temperatures are still good).
I would like to use liquid metal instead of thermal paste for the CPU, but I cannot find information on the material of which the Maximum Extreme IX (bitspower) monoblock is made, I think it is nickel-plated copper, but I could not find official information about it.

Can someone please tell me what material is it made of?

Also where can I find the dimensions for the thermal pads (thickness, length and width)?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Karadjgne]

Prime95 is better for thermal testing, as it'll drop a 100% consistent load. Cinebench or Asus RealBench are much better for stability testing as they don't have a consistent load, don't run a set specific amount of ram or Lcache or power etc. It's that variety of ups/downs and circles in multiple areas that makes them better overall for stability tests. It hits the cpu from multiple directions with different force, compared to p95, which is constant.

You don't really need liquid metal, on the IHS exterior. All that'll do is drop temps slightly, which you don't need, and make a mess, and destroy the surface of the IHS/cooler and requires reapplication pretty much yearly as it gets absorbed by the contact areas. Not to mention the slim possibility of frying the cpu/motherboard if the smallest drip gets into the socket area.

All that's needed is decent paste. Kryonaut, hydronaut, master gel maker, Noctua, gelid extreme, pk-3 etc.