i5 4690 temps. Please help me bring this nightmare to an end

[Dave Thompson]

Hi,

Gonna try hard to keep this short and detailed.

All started when I installed an xfx r9 280x into my small atx case and noticed high core temps, but I still cannot get the cooling right so i can enjoy my games without constantly worrying about heat.

The card is so big, it almost splits my case into two compartments. I have 3 system fans: 1x 92mm blowing in at the front bottom (under the card and HDD), and a 92mm exhaust just under the PSU, and now I have installed a 120mm fan into the side panel (it had fittings for it). I have replaced the stock cooler with an Arctic alpine 11, When I had the side fan blowing in directly onto cpu cooler, the cpu was maybe 2 degrees less and card ran hotter by about 7 degrees, and when I had the side fan exhausting out, the opposite results occur (I have left it exhausting). It's been difficult to test the last few days as we have just had a cold snap and ambient temps have been about 17 degrees (today is the last of the winter weather and ambient temps will recover to about 20 in the next couple of days). I use gigabyte smartfan, and I have set up my own fan curve to get the CPU cooler running max when cores reach 75.

So i ran around in Novigrad city in the witcher 3 last night for about 40 minutes and the graphics were rendering rain storms and blowing trees, and my cores peaked at 73. Using MSI after-burner (great software btw), and I could see the max temps were not constant, and were hovering between 65-70, and occasionally peaking at 73. So, with such a cool room, I am assuming come the summer time when ambient temps reach about 25-26, the cores are going to hit 80, which is what I am desperately trying to avoid. I could just accept these temperatures and just ignore them, but when comparing to other setups. my temps do seem high.

I have an H81m DS2V mobo, and I have just 1 HDD and 1 DVD drive.

I will be around to answer any questions for the next 16 hours today.

Just to finish this post, I will now run intel burn test on standard (I think there are 10 tests for that), and the ambient is 16 degrees. I will run all system fans plus CPU fan on maximum so you know what speed they are. Although, these temps are going to be higher if the graphics card was under load, but it's idle at the moment as I am on integrated graphics while I sit at desk monitor.

Results:

Cores are 85, 86, 82, 81. package: 85
TMPIN2: 76 (which is what the gigabyte software reads as cpu temp).

So the temps come summer time are going to be scary right?

Thanks for any advice, and i would appreciate it as it's dong my head in now.

 

[gdmaclew]

What is the make and model of your case?
Make and model of your PSU?
Does your PSU fan point down or up?

 

[Dave Thompson]

What is the make and model of your case?
Make and model of your PSU?
Does your PSU fan point down or up?

I really don't know about the case, but on the spec sheet when I bought it from a private seller, he called it a "midi ATX". I have tried to find it on the net, but could not.

The PSU has been upgraded to a corsair tx650m and it points down directly above cpu/exhaust and blows out the back.

Thanks

 

[13thmonkey]

more air needs to go in than out.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I really don't know about the case, but on the spec sheet when I bought it from a private seller, he called it a "midi ATX". I have tried to find it on the net, but could not.

Can you post photo of your case (with side panel off)?
What cpu cooler are you using?

Edit: This one? It's pretty bad option for i5-4690. You need a better cooler.

 

[Dave Thompson]

I really don't know about the case, but on the spec sheet when I bought it from a private seller, he called it a "midi ATX". I have tried to find it on the net, but could not.

Can you post photo of your case (with side panel off)?
What cpu cooler are you using? This one? It's pretty bad option for i5-4690. You need a better cooler.

What is the best way to post a picture? Quite happy to do that. I assumed any after market cooler would be better than the stock (yes, that is the cooler). Trouble is, because of the small mobo and case, other bigger coolers are not an option, unless I can buy with confidence they will fit.

Thanks

It has always bothered me that the cpu, system and PSU fan are all so close together, but that's how it's designed!

 

[gdmaclew]

What is the make and model of your case?
Make and model of your PSU?
Does your PSU fan point down or up?

I really don't know about the case, but on the spec sheet when I bought it from a private seller, he called it a "midi ATX". I have tried to find it on the net, but could not.

The PSU has been upgraded to a corsair tx650m and it points down directly above cpu/exhaust and blows out the back.

Thanks

First, your PSU fan should point up towards the inside of the case. This way is can pull air from around the motherboard and GPU and exhaust it. Having it point down under the PSU gives it very little chance to pull hot air.

The reason why I asked you about the make and model of your case was I was trying to find out if there were other available fan ports, especially on the top of the case. Fans should always suck air in near the bottom and exhaust it at the middle or top of the case, PSU excepted.

For instance, I have an Antec 1100 and I have one fan in the front bottom, one on the motherboard side and one behind the motherboard, all 92 mm intake.
Then the semi-passive Corsair RM750 pointing up, one at the back mid height and one 200 mm on the top all exhausting.


Good idea about a picture of it.

 

[Dave Thompson]

What is the make and model of your case?
Make and model of your PSU?
Does your PSU fan point down or up?

I really don't know about the case, but on the spec sheet when I bought it from a private seller, he called it a "midi ATX". I have tried to find it on the net, but could not.

The PSU has been upgraded to a corsair tx650m and it points down directly above cpu/exhaust and blows out the back.

Thanks

First, your PSU fan should point up towards the inside of the case. This way is can pull air from around the motherboard and GPU and exhaust it. Having it point down under the PSU gives it very little chance to pull hot air.

The reason why I asked you about the make and model of your case was I was trying to find out if there were other available fan ports, especially on the top of the case. Fans should always suck air in near the bottom and exhaust it at the middle or top of the case, PSU excepted.

Good idea about a picture of it.

I don't think the PSU will go in any other way, because of the case design. Are you saying it can go upside down, so the fan is at the top? There would be little space to suck in air. The PSU is at the top of the case.

I can't see an option to post a picture, It would be good to do that.

 

[gdmaclew]

What is the make and model of your case?
Make and model of your PSU?
Does your PSU fan point down or up?

I really don't know about the case, but on the spec sheet when I bought it from a private seller, he called it a "midi ATX". I have tried to find it on the net, but could not.

The PSU has been upgraded to a corsair tx650m and it points down directly above cpu/exhaust and blows out the back.

Thanks

First, your PSU fan should point up towards the inside of the case. This way is can pull air from around the motherboard and GPU and exhaust it. Having it point down under the PSU gives it very little chance to pull hot air.

The reason why I asked you about the make and model of your case was I was trying to find out if there were other available fan ports, especially on the top of the case. Fans should always suck air in near the bottom and exhaust it at the middle or top of the case, PSU excepted.

Good idea about a picture of it.

I don't think the PSU will go in any other way, because of the case design. Are you saying it can go upside down, so the fan is at the top? There would be little space to suck in air. The PSU is at the top of the case.

I can't see an option to post a picture, It would be good to do that.

That's different then. I assumed the PSU was at the bottom.
Go to imgur.com, create an account and post a picture there.
Then find out what the link is to that picture (provided automatically with each picture) and post that link with your comments.

 

[Dave Thompson]

Stand by. Going to take a couple of pictures. Give me a few minutes. Thanks for your help

 

[herrwizo]

I will say it short and simple: You need a better (larger) case.

This one does not provide enough space nor does have anough airflow for the components to cool them efficiently. No matter how many fans you put inside, you will still have issues. 280x is a HORRIBLE card in terms of heat output; try running the rig without the side panel and see how are your temps then. I bet they will be much, much lower.

 

[Dave Thompson]

I will say it short and simple: You need a better (larger) case.

This one does not provide enough space nor does have anough airflow for the components to cool them efficiently. No matter how many fans you put inside, you will still have issues. 280x is a HORRIBLE card in terms of heat output; try running the rig without the side panel and see how are your temps then. I bet they will be much, much lower.

Yes, with the side panel off, the temps are far lower. Gonna try and post a picture. I really don't want to spend anymore money Surely these cases can accommodate a graphics card??

 

[Dave Thompson]

I am trying to post the picture by selecting "upload picture", but it's not showing.

https://imgur.com/a/gLn3L

 

[gdmaclew]

You did it right.
Copy the link and paste it like you did. Perfect.

 

[gdmaclew]

Herwizo is right. You need a bigger case.
Is that a fan at the back of the case next to your CPU fan?

 

[Dave Thompson]

I will say it short and simple: You need a better (larger) case.

This one does not provide enough space nor does have anough airflow for the components to cool them efficiently. No matter how many fans you put inside, you will still have issues. 280x is a HORRIBLE card in terms of heat output; try running the rig without the side panel and see how are your temps then. I bet they will be much, much lower.

OK. I still have my old Mesh computer case that I got back in 2002. It's massive, so might it be allow me to fit all my components? Or will all the measurements be different? Can't find a picture on the internet, but it was when I had a Asus a7v333 in it. If it would house this motherboard etc, I could use it again after all these years!

 

[SkyNetRising]

Side panel fan is in wrong direction. It has to be oriented as intake (dust filter is recommended in front of it).
And front/back fans are small ones (it looks more like 80mm not 90mm). Try to put 120mm fans in there.

The case seems to be large enough - standard mid-tower. But airflow there is pretty bad.

Ant get a decent cpu cooler - CM Hyper evo 212, Cryorig H5, H7 or similar.

 

[gdmaclew]

Side panel fan is in wrong direction. It has to be oriented as intake (dust filter is recommended in front of it).
And front/back fans are small ones (it looks more like 80mm not 90mm). Try to put 120mm fans in there.

I agree about the side fan. It should be sucking air into the case blowing directly on the MB.
Don't worry about the higher temps on the GPU. They are designed to take higher temps than the CPU.

Also try changing the fan curve for the CPU fan so it spins full speed starting at 60 instead of 75.

 

[Dave Thompson]

Side panel fan is in wrong direction. It has to be oriented as intake (dust filter is recommended in front of it).
And front/back fans are small ones (it looks more like 80mm not 90mm). Try to put 120mm fans in there.

The case seems to be large enough - standard mid-tower. But airflow there is pretty bad.

You are right. Sorry.. They are 80 mm fans, but the side is 120. If I have side as intake, the GPU gets much hotter and not much difference to cpu. The holes for the system fans are 80mm, so I don't think I can put anything else there, and there are not other spaces for extra fans. Still interested to know if I can use my ancient Mesh case, but I'd rather not.

Just want to say a big thanks for the replies. Really nice of you.

 

[Dave Thompson]

Ant get a decent cpu cooler - CM Hyper evo 212, Cryorig H5, H7 or similar.

I really don't think that cooler would fit would it? The case is only 7 inches deep.

 

[Dave Thompson]

Side panel fan is in wrong direction. It has to be oriented as intake (dust filter is recommended in front of it).
And front/back fans are small ones (it looks more like 80mm not 90mm). Try to put 120mm fans in there.

I agree about the side fan. It should be sucking air into the case blowing directly on the MB.
Don't worry about the higher temps on the GPU. They are designed to take higher temps than the CPU.

Also try changing the fan curve for the CPU fan so it spins full speed starting at 60 instead of 75.

You are talking about 60 core? OK, I will turn it over as intake, except there was a clicking noise before, but I think it has a slight wobble. Think I will try and get that replaced.

 

[gdmaclew]

I will say it short and simple: You need a better (larger) case.

This one does not provide enough space nor does have anough airflow for the components to cool them efficiently. No matter how many fans you put inside, you will still have issues. 280x is a HORRIBLE card in terms of heat output; try running the rig without the side panel and see how are your temps then. I bet they will be much, much lower.

OK. I still have my old Mesh computer case that I got back in 2002. It's massive, so might it be allow me to fit all my components? Or will all the measurements be different? Can't find a picture on the internet, but it was when I had a Asus a7v333 in it. If it would house this motherboard etc, I could use it again after all these years!

Computer cases are all standard when it comes to motherboards, expansion cards, etc. All your components will fit into the older case just fine. How many fan ports does it have. That's the important part.

 

[gdmaclew]

Side panel fan is in wrong direction. It has to be oriented as intake (dust filter is recommended in front of it).
And front/back fans are small ones (it looks more like 80mm not 90mm). Try to put 120mm fans in there.

I agree about the side fan. It should be sucking air into the case blowing directly on the MB.
Don't worry about the higher temps on the GPU. They are designed to take higher temps than the CPU.

Also try changing the fan curve for the CPU fan so it spins full speed starting at 60 instead of 75.

You are talking about 60 core? OK, I will turn it over as intake, except there was a clicking noise before, but I think it has a slight wobble. Think I will try and get that replaced.

Just make sure the fan blades are not contacting any of the tiny wires inside the case. That will make a "ticking" sound. Use cable ties if you have to.

 

[Dave Thompson]

I will say it short and simple: You need a better (larger) case.

This one does not provide enough space nor does have anough airflow for the components to cool them efficiently. No matter how many fans you put inside, you will still have issues. 280x is a HORRIBLE card in terms of heat output; try running the rig without the side panel and see how are your temps then. I bet they will be much, much lower.

OK. I still have my old Mesh computer case that I got back in 2002. It's massive, so might it be allow me to fit all my components? Or will all the measurements be different? Can't find a picture on the internet, but it was when I had a Asus a7v333 in it. If it would house this motherboard etc, I could use it again after all these years!

Computer cases are all standard when it comes to motherboards, expansion cards, etc. All your components will fit into the older case just fine. How many fan ports does it have. That's the important part.

I would have to go into the basement and have a look. There's no side panel fan, and not sure about the front. It only had 1 90 mm fan in it, but it's a very large case.

 

[Dave Thompson]

Regarding a better cpu cooler, how do I know which ones will fit? I settled for the alpine 11 because it had the same fittings as the stock, and I was nervous about getting anything bigger. Do I really need to get a bigger cooler? I will reverse the side fan and see what happens to the temps, and set the fan speed to max when cores reach 65. I know the card was very happy with the side fan on exhaust, but I guess the CPU is more important.