Well after some 15 years of being well into computing I finally did something that I have been fancying for a long long time - embarked on my first foray into watercooing.
So far so good! I am really pleased with the outcome!!
Years ago I ended up buying a load of second hand watercooling stuff. I picked it up cheap and contents were:
1 x Unknown but quality looking black 120mm rad.
1 x Unknown but cheaper looking blue 240mm rad.
1 x Swiftech MCP655 Vario Pump.
Even though at the moment I only have my mini itx work PC I felt the itch so hard I thought sod it - I'll water cool that just for a laugh.
So I grabbed the 120mm rad, the MCP655 and ripped the top off the work PC. Ordered a EK Supreme HF Full copper block, some bittech fittings, some cheap clear tube and some distilled water and went to play.
I made one mistake when I put it all together though. I put the system together and run it up to bleed it and test for leaks. All good in the hood!!! So let's put some heat compound on the CPU and get that block on!! Wohoo I am now watercooled and temps are 10-15 degrees lower than on air!! Wohooo!!!!
Then I got me thinking. I am sure I was expecting slightly more performance than this. So what's wrong? Went through things in my mind - maybe the rad is not a good one? Maybe the pump is duff? It's all second hand after all.... Etc etc. Hmmz lets crack open a beer and have a think...
Eureka moment..... in my super excited rush to get the block on - I forgot to take off the bloody sticker at the bottom of the EK waterblock. So yes - the big improvement I am getting already - is despite the fact the poor cpu is trying to transfer heat to the poor waterblock THROUGH a bloody plastic sticker!!!!!!!
Ok so block back off, plastic removed clean up cpu and re apply heat compound - block back on.
Results???? OMGOMGOMG awesome.
Before (oversized intel heatsink with messy 120mm fan mod):
Full Load: 62 degrees (ranges 60 - 70 with ambient shifts)
Idle: 35 degrees
After: EK Copper block with same 120mm fan on 120mm rad:
Full Load: 36 Degrees
Idle: 23 Degrees
Room remp approx 21 deg's
Basically - fecking awesome
Butuz