Noctua - quite overclocking question.... (core i7)

[kingofwacky]

i want a powerful and silent pc on air cooling so i picked the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU cooler. With the fans running on max (around 19db) how high will i be able to overclock a Core i7 920 without getting into a dangerous temp levels. if it matters the motherboard is a Asus p6t Deluxe v2 and the case is the HAF 932.
Thanks

 

[r_manic]

Someone else here with a similar setup possibly knows, but I personally wouldn't, since the variation of cooling effectiveness among different kinds of CPUs and cooling fans are virtually endless. May I suggest you experiment with overclocking at various levels? You can OCCT to help you gauge how high your temperature goes for each OC setting.

Make sure to post your results!

 

[geofelt]

I think you can overclock to 965 levels(3.3) with your fans on low. I am doing that using a thermalright 120 extreme.

 

[kingofwacky]

so 3.3 on low settings, if i kept the fans on full speed u think i could hit 3.6-3.8??

 

[geofelt]

I think you could. Your results may vary, depending on the i7 stepping, or the sample quality.
The results may also depend on your case cooling and vga card.
I mention the vga card, because if you don't have a vga card with a good double slot cooler, you won't do as well. That is because some coolers do a good job of getting heat off the vga chip, but then they just dump the heat back into the case, heating up the air that the cpu cooler gets to work with.

 

[kingofwacky]

The vga card is a HD 4870 but im changing the cooler (was a double slot) to a Thermalright T-Rad2 with 2 92mm Noctua fans so it is going to blow right into the case. BUT i am using the Cooler Master HAF 932 case. it should have plenty of airflow to get the heat out ( at least i hope)

 

[jive]

I exactly have the same settup then you. The nuctua 2 fans in push-pull, my case is silveston tj-09. Temps inside the case between 24-26C. I push it to 3.93 stable 15hrs of prime95 small fft with just little voltage adjustment. My temps after 15hr, around 68-69C. I step down to 3.67 to be safe, my temps now is:
Idle: 24-26 load prime 95:66-67

I don't reduce the speed of the fan with a 5 or 7 volts adapter. I installed it and run it as it is. My pc is under my desk I heard the power supply not the heatsink. I recently add 3 other noctua fans..dam*.... it's quiet in my room now.

 

[kingofwacky]

haha yea i didnt plan on lowering hte speed (they are dam quite) but that is great to know about the overclock. Thanks alot

 

[geofelt]

The vga card is a HD 4870 but im changing the cooler (was a double slot) to a Thermalright T-Rad2 with 2 92mm Noctua fans so it is going to blow right into the case. BUT i am using the Cooler Master HAF 932 case. it should have plenty of airflow to get the heat out ( at least i hope)

You might want to go to www.silentpcreview.com for some good info on quiet computing.

MY suggestion:

If you already own a 4870, then try it first.

If you don't, look for one of the 4870 variants that already have a good cooler installed.

A cpu cooler or a vga cooler can't do better than start with the ambient air temperature inside your case.
If the vga card dumps hot air inside the case, then both the cpu and vga cooling suffer. Your maximum overclock will also be lower.

 

[kingofwacky]

have you heard of the prolimatech megahalems, they look amazingly good plus they just came available in the US. They look better than a TRUE. I was thinking maybe get that and just put a Noctua 120mm fan on it (just 1). wats your view on that???

 

[kbits]

@ Jive

Which software do you use to get those temperature?

I was reading the temperature and calibration guide again here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221745-29-core-core-temperature-guide

...and if I understand correctly, the CPU temp can't be equal or lower than ambiant temp, at least not on air cooling.

Am I missing something here?

Also, did you buy Noctua fan version S or P and at which rpm?

 

[kingofwacky]

its the Noctua core i7 kit i came with 2 of the P fans. I haven't purchased yet, i still making sure it will be ok for overclocking. I just found out that Megahalems are available in the US now so im actually looking at those at the moment. If they work well im probably going to get that over the Noctua cooler.