Folding Forum

Hey guys,

What kind of cooling hardware do you have in your builds and what kind of temps are you currently getting. I'm also looking into some options for my machines so just curious to what everyone is running especially any machines that are multi-GPU since I have 2 of my machines earmarked for upgrades.

I have a new cooler on the way for one of mine because I broke the damn tabs off so now I'm stuck with the stock Intel cooler that is attempting to cool a Core i7-2600K, I've removed the CPU slot from the client because I was over 80 degrees and no way am I going to run even for a few days at that figure. I was hoping it would have been reasonable for the next 4 hours so I could at least finish the WU but more WU's will come. I'm not risking my hardware.



Such a sorry sight but since I haven't got a spare at least she is up and running with the GPU still active onwards and upwards

big subject.

CPU cooling has a range of solutions from the stock heatsink that you have, through large heatpipe-based solutions like NH14 and into All-in-one (AIO) water-cooling solutions and finally custom water-cooling.

GPU cooling has much better manufacturers solutions and after-market cooling is really limited to special AIO solutions known as "hybrid" through to again custom water-cooling.

My own systems (including a 2600K) are all water-cooled because it's quieter and a man's got to have a hobby

HaloJones wrote:big subject.

CPU cooling has a range of solutions from the stock heatsink that you have, through large heatpipe-based solutions like NH14 and into All-in-one (AIO) water-cooling solutions and finally custom water-cooling.

GPU cooling has much better manufacturers solutions and after-market cooling is really limited to special AIO solutions known as "hybrid" through to again custom water-cooling.

My own systems (including a 2600K) are all water-cooled because it's quieter and a man's got to have a hobby

Haha I agree 100%, since this isn't making a financial return and that is perfectly fine but budget must come into it, I have a Noctua NH-U9S coming for Luna which will be here in the next 2-5 days from Scan Computers, from what I've read it is a decent cooler and yes there are cheaper alternatives but I love the performance and quality of the Noctua coolers and even quite like the brown, it suits them haha

I have Noctua NH-D14 coolers on both my rigs. I have stayed away from AIO water coolers because my old cases are not really set up for them. A Noctua air cooler and a good AIO will cost about the same, and likely give similar results if you're not overclocking. The water coolers will have the edge in high-demand overclocking situations.

jrweiss wrote:I have Noctua NH-D14 coolers on both my rigs. I have stayed away from AIO water coolers because my old cases are not really set up for them. A Noctua air cooler and a good AIO will cost about the same, and likely give similar results if you're not overclocking. The water coolers will have the edge in high-demand overclocking situations.

Yea agreed, I currently have a Corsair H100i V2 in another machine and even though it has been reliable for the last 3 years or so I'd rather stick with air coolers just to remove a possible point of failure, I have spare 92mm, 120mm and 140mm fans so if a fan does die I'm covered for a while

I've been using various corsair water coolers with good results. Have h80s on two cpus right now. A 6600k @4ghz 45c full load. And a 9700 non k @4ghz 45-50c at 88% load, up to 55-60c @100% load when core 22 does its checks on the cpu.

Rel25917 wrote:I've been using various corsair water coolers with good results. Have h80s on two cpus right now. A 6600k @4ghz 45c full load. And a 9700 non k @4ghz 45-50c at 88% load, up to 55-60c @100% load when core 22 does its checks on the cpu.

Ohh nice, I have been interested in the H75 and H80's due to being fairly compact, the Cooler Master 335U Elite that Luna is built into can't accept an AIO that is bigger than a single 120mm fan. I always thought Skylake and Kaby Lake were hot running chips but 45c under load is damn impressive

I should also note that is with mid 60s in my house now. The 9700 was running up to 90 with the stock cooler, completely useless. Its always possible I just got lucky with my chips but overall have had good luck with the corsairs, also used an h100 before too, forget the number but it was a socket 2011 6 core intel, was from the same time as 2600k.

Ahh nice and the CPU's you are referring to would they be Core i7-3930K or the 3960X?

Never had an X cpu yet so must have been 3930k.

Thermaltake water cooling for main cpu, runs at about 50c.
Stock cooling for my 3 gpus in this unit, they run in the 60s to 70s.

My old laptop... that's a bit more comical. I've got it partially disassembled and sitting on top of a box fan. Even so it runs in the 80s. Without this jerry-rigging, the processor runs at 90c and downclocks. I'm honestly hoping to kill the thing, it had an overheat problem leading to thermal shutdown long before i put it into service folding. Probably the only reason it survives folding is that its GPU isn't compatible (Intel) and so doesn't go into service.

Running a Dark Rock TF on my R9 3900X, and had it before on an overclocked Xeon 5670. I prefer it a lot over my Noctua NH-D14: it's blowing down, so cooling RAM and VRMs and is more silent (a lot!). Temps are in the same 1-2°C range.

On my cpu rigs its been a mix of stock coolers and lower end tower coolers (hyper 212) but then my cpu's are older server cpus and the stock heatsinks are a lot better then as they have copper base plates. My rarely folded on 1920x daily driver has a big AIO but its too noisy for 24/7 use. For my next CPU build it would be a Noctua U14 or D15 with 2 of their PPC industrial fans on it.

I'd recommend to buy those cheap chinese coolers, with heatpipes,and an 80 or 120mm fan.
You'll find them online from $15-35
Just make sure it supports the socket of your PC.
And keep your case open on one side.
You could cover it with a thin cloth (like a sheet of sheer fabrics) to prevent dust buildup.
It offers better cooling than a closed metal case.

The air coolers are about as good as a water cooler on most CPUs.

I've got 8 desktops with various configs, some AIO but most are air. Artic Cooking freezer tower coolers / cooler master hyper 212 are on most of my socket AM3 and FM2 builds. My bulldozer fx-8320e does really well under an Arctic freezer 7 pro. My multi GPU boxes all use Nvidia reference style blower coolers (centrifugal fan with slot exhaust out the back). I've got a 1080 TI and 980 TI mounted right next to each other this way and they stay under 80c (added a 120 intake blowing on the cards from the side by cutting a hole in the case). One rig has 4 gpus in it, all slot exhaust out the back. My single gpu rigs use open fan aftermarket style coolers (EVGA 1660 super and Zotac 1650 currently). My big folding rig (dual GPU + Ryzen 9 3950x) took the most work. On that one, it's in a completely modded Raidmax Sagitta case where I removed the hard drive cages and mounted extra 120 mm intake fans up front...one sits in the place of three of the 5.25 bays and blows right at the CPU cooler, which is a dual tower Noctua NH D15 SE. Case exhaust is 1 x 120 (top), 1 x 120 (back), and a custom external mounted 80 mm that I installed to pull the waste heat off the GPU stack before it hits the CPU cooler. This rig tends to see CPU temps around 70 c and GPU temps around 80 on the top card (1080 Ti) and 70 on the bottom (980 Ti) when folding on everything