New PC concerns and queries

[ChrisW]

Hi all,

Firstly before the concerns and queries the specs of the PC:

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700K (3.8GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF Z490-PLUS GAMING (LGA1200, USB 3.2, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i PRO Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]

Received the PC yesterday, all seemed well while setting it up and not running anything intensive. My main concerns are around the GPU temperatures, after downloading warzone and jumping into a game my GPU temp reached 83 degrees within minutes, which from what I can tell is essentially the highest you would want it. Even after playing with the settings and capping my FPS to 144 just in case i'm still hitting high temperatures instantly. I also downloaded CSGO to see how that would fare, after lowering some of the suggested settings this was getting my GPU to the low 60's, i'm not sure whether this is more acceptable though but naively assumed CSGO would not be a challenging game.

My queries are around the fan setup of the PC and whether this could be the main contributing factor to the temps, the H115i PRO radiator seems to have been attached to the front of the case, with one rear intake fan, unsure if the second fan that came with the case has been used on the bottom as have no yet taken a good look inside.

Personally I was expecting the H115i radiator to be attached to the top and one of the case fans at the front and the back, I was planning to add more fans anyway afterwards but given how it's setup i'm wondering if it's worth me attaching exhaust fans to the top myself? I understand that it's a possibility to move the H115i radiator to the top and add some intake fans to the front, but just really unsure on whether I'd be capable of doing this myself (the radiator aspect, i feel I could add regular fans myself) and if it would actually make a difference to my GPU or whether it's a bigger/different issue causing this.

Hopefully I've provided the needed info, would appreciate some advice from the knowledgeable members, to be honest this has sort of killed my joy for the PC as I find myself not wanting to play games as I'm constantly worried over the temperature. It may be worth mentioning that the last time I had a gaming PC was 7 years ago and even then I wasn't playing intensive games, so perhaps it's my expectations that are the issue rather than the system.


Thanks,
Chris

 

[ChrisW]

Glad to hear it’s not massively different then to move the radiator, I think my worry is regarding the connections to the motherboard as well and having to reorganise those to accommodate the changes, unfortunately something I was hoping to avoid.

Thanks for the reply

 

[Scott]

It's difficult to know without hands on unfortunately. Having the radiator at the top is definitely the most optimum solution for most use cases. Having it at the front can be beneficial, but it needs to be set up properly to get the most out of it.

The H115i PRO isn't the best cooler unfortunately. I'm not sure what the exact issue is with it but the H100 is a more effective cooler than it. If you had asked prior to build you would have been warned away from it.

The first thing to realise is that the airflow from your case is coming through the H115i radiator. With this in mind, I would bump up the fan speed of the CPU cooler if you can. Is it controllable via iCue or is it another software controlling the cooler?

The 2070 Super is likely running fine, and just choked by the lack of airflow from the H115. If you can figure out how the H115 is controlled, bump it up to max, and see how it runs then. From there you can fine tune it for acoustics vs performance. It's not a quiet cooler so be prepared for some noise.

 

[ChrisW]

Yeah with the cooler I fell for the trap of a newer edition with positive reviews when looking at online retailers and assuming it would be suitable.

I haven’t downloaded any software for CPU fan control as that definitely hadn’t crossed my mind, regarding potential noise from increasing this that’s not as much a concern as with the GPU at 83 those fans are already making enough so don’t think it will matter adding a bit more.

Thanks for taking the time to assist. I will look into getting the software to change the CPU fan and see whether this helps.

 

[Scott]

Unfortunately you've bought the old one. A lot of people make this mistake. The H115i PRO is years old now, the new one is the H115i RGB Platinum, which is night and day performance wise.

Definitely look to control the fan-speed. It's likely controlled via the Motherboard software. With ASUS I believe it's Fan Xpert that you are looking for. It should hopefully already be installed.

 

[ChrisW]

I’ve downloaded fan xpert as recommended and ran the fan configuration. The CPU fan is running at ~2000 rpm according to this although unlike with the rear fan I’m unable to alter this via the different settings (quiet, turbo etc.) or change the fan curve. I also don’t hear any particular noise coming from the CPU fans so unsure if this is actually correct but given it doesn’t appear to let me change it at all I’m wondering if it’s plugged in the wrong spot?

I changed the rear fan speed just to check the software was working at all, and this does seem affected by the changes so doubting it’s an issue there?

 

[ChrisW]

Since the above I’ve been into the BIOS and the fan settings there also confirm the CPU fan is at 2000rpm, ran the optimisation and it has set a different fan curve for it which appears to ramp up the rpm sooner. Again though while the bios displayed the fan speed at 2000 I still don’t hear any noise although not sure why it would be running at its maximum in the bios? So still none the wiser on if this is having any effect or if what’s it’s telling me is reality.

As I mentioned previously this has really just took all the enjoyment out of getting the system but I’m also unsure whether it’s return worthy to be fixed/amended or if I’m just going to have to be unhappy with it, as after looking inside I can’t really discern how the cpu fans are setup to begin looking at moving the radiator or to add further fans.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I’ve downloaded fan xpert as recommended and ran the fan configuration. The CPU fan is running at ~2000 rpm according to this although unlike with the rear fan I’m unable to alter this via the different settings (quiet, turbo etc.) or change the fan curve. I also don’t hear any particular noise coming from the CPU fans so unsure if this is actually correct but given it doesn’t appear to let me change it at all I’m wondering if it’s plugged in the wrong spot?

I changed the rear fan speed just to check the software was working at all, and this does seem affected by the changes so doubting it’s an issue there?

It may be that the CPU fan has been plugged into the wrong fan header on the motherboard.

If you chase the CPU fan cable to where it's plugged into it should be labelled CPU_Fan or something similar, can you have a look?

 

[ChrisW]

I thought this as well so that’s initially why I looked inside, from what I can see there is a 3 pin? connector plugged into the CPU_FAN header which I believe would be the correct one. The only other fan is plugged into a chassis fan header so doesn’t seem they’ve got mixed up or anything.

 

[Scott]

If you take the side panel off and try and get a reasonable picture of the inside it'll be easier to guide you. With the H115i you actually have 2 things to control, the pump and the fans. The pump may be a fixed speed, not sure if the PRO allowed variation. With the side off you will be able to see if the fans are turning (I think they will be as the CPU would probably be too high temp wise).

As it's an "i" model, I think it can be controlled with iCue also. if you download iCue, see if you can change the settings in there.

 

[ChrisW]

I’ve taken off both the glass side panel and the metal one to get a better look. It’s either a case of the cabling hiding it too well or I’m blind but it’s very hard to discern exactly where the cables go. as previously mentioned though there’s only one other fan connected which as it’s the back one I can clearly see that’s plugged into the correct fan header. So I'm assuming the one plugged into the CPU_FAN has to be the H115i?

Based on looking at the cabling too I now know that moving the radiator will be beyond my scope as I will completely ruin all the cable management, and probably break something given how tightly packed it is. I wonder if it’s worth just getting in touch with PCS to resolve if possible?

 

[Scott]

That would suggest it definitely needs controlled via iCue then. There should be a link/usb cable coming off of the pump. I'm guessing that the 2 fans actually connect to the pump.

 

[ChrisW]

Yeah as per the user guide for the cooler the pump is connected to a USB header, the pump itself is connected to SATA power, and each fan to a shrouded 4 pin connector on the pump.

 

[Scott]

Download and install iCue, that should allow you to control everything.

 

[ChrisW]

Thanks again Scott. I’m currently working at the moment but will update with my findings once able to in next hour or so. Strange how on the bios it was showing 2000rpm, I assume this was inaccurate and potentially just displaying the maximum, not what it was running at?

 

[Scott]

Thanks again Scott. I’m currently working at the moment but will update with my findings once able to in next hour or so. Strange how on the bios it was showing 2000rpm, I assume this was inaccurate and potentially just displaying the maximum, not what it was running at?

The Pump is the controller really. You'll find that the pump is probably running at 2000rpm and is potentially a fixed speed. I don't think the motherboard or the BIOS would influence it, you need iCue to change the speeds.

 

[WhiskyMac]

I’ve taken off both the glass side panel and the metal one to get a better look. It’s either a case of the cabling hiding it too well or I’m blind but it’s very hard to discern exactly where the cables go. as previously mentioned though there’s only one other fan connected which as it’s the back one I can clearly see that’s plugged into the correct fan header. So I'm assuming the one plugged into the CPU_FAN has to be the H115i?

Based on looking at the cabling too I now know that moving the radiator will be beyond my scope as I will completely ruin all the cable management, and probably break something given how tightly packed it is. I wonder if it’s worth just getting in touch with PCS to resolve if possible?

Did you find the second fan from the case? Assuming the front has the two fans/radiator for CPU the other case fan is not included at all? Think throw some photos up when you get a chance as would be interesting to see?

 

[ChrisW]

I’ve installed iCUE and it appears the default was Quiet, with the fans at 440rpm and the pump 1020rpm, changing it to Extreme for all they go up to 1000rpm and 2790rpm respectively. Obviously this is all while idle so will have to give it a go in some games and hope for a difference in the GPU temps, seems promising though.

With regards to the second case fan, it didn’t come in the box and doesn’t appear to have been installed either.

 

[Scott]

Yeah that sounds about right re iCue. Hopefully that should make a big difference to the airflow through the case.

I'm not sure what PCS do when they cannot fit in the pre-defined case fans (Due to radiator etc). I would have thought they could have put it in the roof though.

Give them a call to see what's what

 

[ChrisW]

Yeah that sounds about right re iCue. Hopefully that should make a big difference to the airflow through the case.

I'm not sure what PCS do when they cannot fit in the pre-defined case fans (Due to radiator etc). I would have thought they could have put it in the roof though.

Give them a call to see what's what

Increased the back exhaust fan to full power as well for good measure, just be a case of seeing how it plays now.

To be honest the case fans I were looking at getting come in a twin pack anyway, so wouldn’t really need the fan, although I appreciate it’s more about making the point I feel I want to avoid contacting them unless it’s for a full return if possible to move the radiator etc.

I’ll post back here with some temperatures after playing around over the weekend, but in the meantime thanks again Scott.