Air Cooling not doing the job

[michaelcooper5]

Clunk, i was having random lockup issues where my computer would just freeze. It has been frustrating to say the least. As we discussed, we thought it was a psu issue and you suggested I place a house fan next to the computer and see what happens. Well, I have moved my computer next to a VERY COLD ac unit and besides dealing with being cold my computer is running super cool and no lockups ..

So, what causes this? aging system? my Antec case sucks? I would really like to know what I can do besides leave the case open 24/7 next to a fan .. which is an eye sore at best ...

Thanks!

[DeImOs]

You Do have a Fan in the back and one on top I suppose... The thing that it's in my mind is that there is not enough airflow in the case...

Are the Fans in exhaust or intake??

[affiliate13]

If you have a copy of everest you can use to to view all your temps with the AC on, then flick it off and watch which of the temps rises too high, you may need to run LinX, Furmark or similar to discover which component/s are over heating.
Once you know which is at fault it should just be a matter of directing a fan onto that area or removing the heatsink to ensure it is mounted correctly, often replacing the factory applied TIM with a better quality compound does wonders in itself.

PWMs and/or NB could be the culprits but RAM and GFX (GFX VRMs) can also lead to problems.

As Demios points out having good airflow through the case with as little obstructions as possible will help keep the case internal temperature down, other fans and replacing sinks with help deal with hotspots.

[michaelcooper5]

moved my system into a cooler room and dont have any lockup issues .. but i would like to have my system stable without having the case open and air on it .. i ran everest and its definitely my gpu's putting out the heat .. what advice now?

[Kelainefes]

You using the stock coolers? YOu could try to force higher fan speeds via software or BIOS flash.

[Clunk]

Reduce cable clutter if you have any and make sure that you have adequate air flow. You could add a side fan directly on the GPUs too.

After market coolers will probably help if they are overheating because the stock cooling isn't up to the job, but if it's and airflow issue, then you'll be back to square one.

Even something like a Zalman fan bracket can work wonders in this situation.

[affiliate13]

Some one on here awhile back had the suggestion to use rubber bands to attach an 80mm fan over the GPU air intake and blast more air in there.
There are cheap aftermarket coolers that will do absolute wonders to your temps and may improve overclocking head room too.
Check the Arctic Cooling range they are around the best for price vs performance on GFX coolers.

[michaelcooper5]

would the artic cooling twin turbos be a good choice for cooling my cards? will they fit into my case?
Thinking about adding them to my setup .. thoughts?

[affiliate13]

Assuming you have space between your card for the depth of the cooler and fans then yes.
However, one of these: Arctic Cooling
With a different fan, like a nice quiet one will do the job a little better, their fans are not bad but i found one 120mm fan attached with zip ties was very quiet and droped about 30c of my load temps which pleased me for all it cost.
If you do decided to use he S1 then you will need to snip one of the fins of the top coolers card to allow the crossfire bridge to fit, but this method should be cheaper, cooler and quieter than their own, which in its own right is pretty good too.

[tonschk]

Originally Posted by michaelcooper5

moved my system into a cooler room and dont have any lockup issues .. but i would like to have my system stable without having the case open and air on it .. i ran everest and its definitely my gpu's putting out the heat .. what advice now?

Please if you can , show a photo of the inside of your PC , will be easyer to see what is going on in your pc