Vapochill mounting problem - fixed

[zlikovski]

I bought Vapochill micro ultra low noise and replaced stock cooler.
And temperatures with 2200 rpm are worse then with stock cooler.
Idle 36 celsius with Everest(in bios 39).
Load 46 celsius with Everest.
I have abit kn8 ultra s939 with latest bios , AMD Athlon 64 3200+ non overclocked, case Coolermaster Centrion 531 with 2x120mm fans, power Tagan Easycon 430w..
With stock cooler i have 30 celsius idle, 36 celsius load on 3200rpm..
Is this ok or this Vapochill really sucks?
Anyone can share some experience?What is wrong with this cooler?

 

[Tu13erhead]

Are you talking about the Vapochill phase change unit or the Vapochill heatsink?

 

[lifeguard1999]

He is talking about the Asetek VapoChill Micro as can be seen @ overclockers.com. They say that the heatsink performance degrades quickly the slower the fan turns, though I would have thought that 2200 rpm would be just fine.

 

[phaxmohdem]

Perhaps the flow of air through your case needs a looking at.... or the HS just sucks for your rig perhaps sell it an dpick up an XP-90c and call it a day.

 

[cw42]

Originally posted by: zlikovski
With stock cooler i have 30 celsius idle, 35 celsius load on 3200rpm..

That number is DEFINETLY off. There's no way for a 5 degree difference on air unless ur ambient temps are really low.

 

[zlikovski]

I talk about vapochill micro ultra low noise air cooler, not phase..
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article282-page1.html
I say that stock cooler performs better then vapochill which costs me 62 euros.
For that price it really sucks :|

 

[Diasper]

Yep I'd say those numbers are way off. The Asetek is a very good cooler (good price comparatively in the UK) but it has one posible fault area... the mounting mechanism was not thought out properly.

In short, I can bet you your heatsink is not making proper contact. Can you push it around much or easily? Cos if mounted properly you should not be able to move it without making some effort.

What I would say and should be a defacto mounting mechanism is using the method used for DFI boards.

You can find it here.

The difference between good contact and not good contact can easily be as much as 10C.

This lack of proper contact is also the reason why review sites seem to be getting quite different results - and why some sites are giving it not so good reviews.

With an overclocked A64 @2.6ghz and 1.5V I'm getting load temps of 43C and this with the fans at slow speed (inaudible outside the case). This is with a P180 case for which its airflow works very well.

One comment though - your temperatures with your stock cooler seem very good. Are you sure those temps are under the same conditions (inc same bios?). If temps with the stock HS are so good I'm surprised you switched.

The only other thing I'd mention about the Asetek is that the technology relies on it getting to a certain temperature before the vapour chambers start working. This means you can expect temps to never go below a certain level but at least not increase as much when under load if that makes sense - it'll show what it can do under load.

 

[Hexus0]

I've heard that if you mount the heatsink incorrectly you won't be getting as good temps. I don't remember if the little tubes on the top are suppose to be facing towards your exhaust? (If I remember correctly, I would look into this a little more, it might fix your problem)

 

[Idleuser]

double check ur mounting please.. there is no way this heatsink will not outperform stock heatsink.

 

[zlikovski]

Yes that is the problem
Contact between processor and base of Vapochill is not good.I can move Vapochill around for 360. It is the same case like on dfi motherboard.
I will remove pastic brecket on my Abit board and tighten screws so it will not rotate around.
Diasper thanks a lot for the link.
Thanks everybody for a help.
Which is the normal operative temperature for Venice 3200+ unclocked?
I heard that is maximal 75 celsius.

 

[zlikovski]

Anandtech is great forum :thumbsup:

 

[Diasper]

You're welcome

For a link to a review on it its performance and how it should be offering X90C / Scythe Shogun performance click here.

I'm not sure if the reviwer used the DFI mounting mechnism to get the best contact in which case temps could even drop another couple of degrees.

In short it should serve you well

Just on a general point I think those sort fo directional fans are great and perfect for a case like the Antec P180 or otherwise for anyone looking to duct it to their exhaust. Certainly, in that case heatsinks like the Asetek have a very good chance of outperforming other more traditional blowing down heatsinks like the Thermalright 90C/120 etc given the heat would blow straight out rather than adding to the ambient.

Certainly, if I was buying another P180 case the heatsinks I'd probably look at would be:

Artic Cooling 64 Pro (Updated version of the previously excellent 64)
Zalman 9500
Asetek Micro Ultra Low Noise
Scythe Ninja

Out of those I suspect they'd all perform within a few degrees of eachother at similiar temps - at that point I'd go with whatever was cheapest.

 

[zlikovski]

I putted arctic silver 5 paste on cpu, and fixed tightly base of vapochill to cpu core.I updated bios too.
Fan speed is 2000 rpm. Ambient temperature is 24 c.
Cpu idle with Everest 29,5 c (in bios 30 c).
Cpu load with Everest 35 c.
Overclocked cpu 37.5 c.
Vapochill is great cooler, all recomendations but manual with cooler sucks

 

[Diasper]

Nice temps. I'm glad it's worked out well for you.

In fact by apply Artic Silver 5 it will probably help knock of a couple of degrees (making it even closer performing the the X90 and Shogun?) over what's seen in the review. Also, you should see temps drop a degree or possible two over the next few days (barring dust built-up) as the Artic Silver settles and conducts heat more effectively.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: zlikovski
I putted arctic silver 5 paste on cpu, and fixed tightly base of vapochill to cpu core.I updated bios too.
Fan speed is 2000 rpm. Ambient temperature is 24 c.
Cpu idle with Everest 29,5 c (in bios 30 c).
Cpu load with Everest 35 c.
Overclocked cpu 37.5 c.
Vapochill is great cooler, all recomendations but manual with cooler sucks

most manuals suck, theyve been written badly in chinese, then converted to english by google translator.

a bit of nouse goes along way

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

zlikovski I've been following this thread and I'm glad you found the problem.:thumbsup:

The VapoChill is being seriously considered for the freshening up of the rig I'm on now.

The fact that it's small and light weight are a big plus for my needs.

Artic recommends shutting down the comp several times to permit the CPU to fully cool
over night. This helps the silver migrate into the pores of both the CPU's heat spreader and
the base of the heatsink.

You might consider adding too or changing this threads title to indicate your having found the
solution to the poor performance. You could just put something in the summary.


...Galvanized