I know that somebody is going to say this, so I want to make it clear that I fully appreciate the need to compromise between, performance, temperature and volume. I would like to find the best mid-point for my needs. I am also aware that every CPU is different and OC results will vary.
Introduction
I recently upgraded from a 2500k with a stable 4.4GHz overclock to a 5930k. My previous system wasn't "silent", but I could run all of the fans at their lowest setting all the time (or even turn some of them off when not stressing the machine). Given that I couldn't hear it at all when the fridge was running, even with the door closed, I considered this acceptable. I anticipated that the new chip would get hotter when overclocked, but I'm really struggling with finding a good balance. Part of the issue is that I am bewildered the array of OC options, and the other is that I clearly need to rethink airflow. Given that the old machine took all of my skill to put together, I am turning to you for advice. I felt it would be productive to make this post longform, so be prepared for a great deal of detail.
How I Use My PC
-General computing
-1080 and 1200p gaming (wide variety of genres)
-Unity development
-Basic audio recording
-Photoshop
-3D Max model creation and rendering
-GPU Folding@Home
Why I Upgraded
-CPU bottle-necking in some games (Just Cause 3, Cities: Cities Skylines, Sniper Elite 4)
-Improving 3D render times
-Potential for greater RAM capacity
-Opportunity for a bargain on Kijiji
Goals
-Achieve a stable overclock of 4.4GHz, or 4.3 if this is not possible
-Keep temps below 85 degrees Celsius, preferred lower
-Achieve near silence under personal worst-case stress test
-Spend little-to-no more money
System
The case is a Corsair Obsidian 550D (apologies for not including it in the chart)
![Image](https://s15.postimg.org/6f3e1sycr/Rig_Small.png)
Case fans are 140mm, CPU 120mm. All fans have low-noise adapters installed to lower RPM threshold. Aside from the Accelero all fans, including CPU, are controlled manually by the Recon.
The change in fan configuration is because the GPU needed to be put in a lower slot on this mobo because of the Xtreme IV's upper heatsink. It was therefore competing with the intake fan instead of benefiting from it. This also meant that the side panel could be put back on the case. In practice this does not immediately seem to have made any difference to temps or volume. The case sits on a slatted wooden support which means that there should be good airflow from beneath.
XMP is disabled on the RAM.
Total Available Fans
1 * Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 120mm
3 * Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 140mm
3 * Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 High Speed 140mm
1 * Be Quiet! Pure Wings 2 140mm
2 * Silenx 140MM HDB fans
How I Stress Test a CPU
For a real-world gaming test I run Folding @ Home on both the CPU and GPU. This simulates high usage of both components and can be considered a worst case for my needs, as I normally do not fold on the CPU. To test the at-the-limit CPU stability I run a long render in 3D Max. I cannot monitor temps while doing this as both monitoring programs I have used freeze during renders due to 100% CPU utilization.
Experiments Thus Far
(Note that ambient temperature is currently 28 degrees because the AC is due to be serviced. Ambient is unlikely to ever get much higher)
I am currently working with 3 fan profiles. #1 is "quiet enough" like before. #2 would be silent by most people's standards, but not mine. #3 maxes all four fans. This is still pretty quiet for a loud profile, but most people would find it unacceptable. I have created a custom fan curve for the GPU which I do not adjust with these profiles.
The CPU can run at 4.4 GHz with a voltage around 1.25v and while that was not stable I believe that further voltage tuning could get it there. However, temps can exceed 90 degrees which may be safe according to Intel (which lists an approximate TJMax of 98 by my calculation) but seems unwise for overnight renders. 4.3 is a bit better, peaking in the high 80s. Since there are so many OC settings to play with that I could spend the rest of my life working on that side, I decided to bring it down for now and focus on what I can achieve in cooling before playing with voltages too much.
I lowered the CPU multiplier to 42 and dropped the voltage to 1.2v. I ran two F@H tests, one on profile #3 for 20 minutes, then another on profile #2 for 20. I didn't run #1 given the results under #2.
![Image](https://s15.postimg.org/8bv299ip7/20_Minute_High_Fans_FAH_at_42_GHz.png)
Profile #3 (max fans)
![Image](https://s15.postimg.org/dtspu6k8b/20_Minute_medium_Fans_FAH_at_42_GHz.png)
Profile #2 (medium fans)
As you can see, profile #3 produces more or less acceptable temps and going up to 4.4Ghz should be possible. However, #2 is really pushing it. What this demonstrates is that there is still plenty of headway to be made by improving airflow. It also says to me that voltage adjustment is not going to be enough to get to a silent 4.4Ghz.
As far as changes to fan organization, I tried creating a straight line up through the case by reorienting the fan on the Ninja 4 to face upwards. This at best made no difference and may have been slightly worse. Scythe specifically says that it should not be oriented this way (I think because it blows less air over the heat pipes) so I returned it to normal. The only other change I made was the switch from side to bottom intake as mentioned above.
If I had my druthers I would have purchased a Micro-ATX board and a smaller case in order to allow a more efficient use of air. Unfortunately the X99-A is what was available to me and I am not prepared to spend another $400+ at this time.
The Question
I would like to know what you would do to improve this setup and move towards achieving my goals. I am also interested in any advice you might have on overclocking on this board. I have read Haswell overclocking guides, but most of them don't mention anything beyond normal overclocking procedure. On my 2500k the only real options were multiplier and some voltages. Now there is strap, cache ratio and voltage, phase adjustments, active frequency mode, and many MANY settings I don't even begin to understand. That's before you enter "Tweaker's Paradise" in the UEFI.
Thanks in advance!
![Image](https://s24.postimg.org/5vigdlfp1/Full_Case_Shot.jpg)
Please excuse the mess, it's not quite properly cable managed yet. Yes, the Xtreme IV is absurd overkill on a 1060, I knew that when I bought it.