Well I don't want to hijack the thread and I could be wrong but some of the posts here seems to be suggesting that 5.3ghz on all 6 cores is not possible on a 8700K. Yeah, well I know that it is on my 8086K ( the same CPU). I know this doesn't prove stability but you can take my word for it that it is stability tested with OCCT CPU and Linpac for 1 hour without errors. You can see in the video that all 6 cores are synchronized at 5.3Ghz. In fact I am glad I was inspired to take a look again by this thread because I can see the 1080ti is the bottle necked here. Might be time to get a 2080ti

Also the perfectly reasonable temperatures are on display here in HWMonitor and its all air cooled. The ambient temp is about 20c. To get these results does require great care in making sure you have achieved the best possible thermal conductivity from the die to the heat sink but you should be looking for that with a water block too anyway. Setting are at the end of the clip. Not arguing against using a water cooler but you can get just as good results from a big air cooler if you mount it right and have a big enough case for it. A big well ventilated case is also a must. 😁

https://youtu.be/nEyIKo9Dp3g

 

Edited November 21, 20196 yr by Avidean

On 11/19/2019 at 10:48 AM, Avidean said:

I have been using the same Thermalright Silver arrow with 2 fans for over 6 years now. On my latest build I had to modify it with a dremel to accommodate the DRAM on MB. I also lapped it and the CPU heat spreader and replaced the TIM with coolaboratories liquid metal. Its a 8086K at 5.3ghz on all 6 cores at 1.4v stability test with CPU: OCCT 4 and CPU: Linpac for 1 hour. Tempretures did not exceed more than 84c. The most crucial thing I think is ambient temperature. I used to run my systems in an enclosure that was exposed to outside sub zero temperatures when I lived in Toronto. I live in a more temperate climate now but I have in the past experimented with feeding the output from an air conditioner into the case with great results i.e. completing 3dMark06 at 5.5ghz. In fact I'm still number 49 on the 3DMark06 hall of fame https://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/18095473

When I originally posted that It was in the 30's 😁 So I am a proponent of air cooling

Heh, that reminds me.  I had a friend who hooked an a/c unit to his case for a while.  You are right, it DID make a difference.   I laughed when I entered the room and saw his setup.  I wasn't laughing after I saw the results though.

 

If I remember correctly, our own member "Noel" uses an AC solution to great advantage.

Greg

On 11/19/2019 at 8:54 AM, TechguyMaxC said:

It's because he disabled HT, essentially turning his chip into a 9700K.  This drops 10C (or more) off of peak temperatures.  I measured 10C drop way back in the day on a 3770k, the last time I used this trick to hit a higher clock speed.  On a modern chip it could be a larger difference given the doubling of core count and even higher thermal density.  

My 3930K at 4.42Ghz HT enabled is about 5-6C warmer than HT off at peak load w/ a Noctua DH-14 I think it was.   

I think I probably will again use a Noctua air cooler on a 9900K and eliminate all source of leak who needs it.  I would absolutely hate to have to rebuild a machine due to water leakage regardless of who pays for it!  I do appreciate something smaller in the AIO coolers but everything I read so far says the Noctua is highly comparable to all AIO solutions.  Custom loops start to pull away significantly I understand but we're only talking about a few Ghz and when the base rate is say 4.8Ghz going to 5.2Ghz will not change your sim experience in any meaningful way.   Put another way--it's way easy to add a feature, move a slider, etc to kill the little bump in throughput that sort of increase in clock speed offers.   If a 9900K will do 4.8 Ghz HT enabled, if it turns out that remains a good thing in P3D w/ an 8 core CPU as it is w/ my old 6 core 3930K, or is a better option (HT enabled) in MSFS2020, then I'll be tickled pink coming from a 3930K at 4.42Ghz.   My sense is for P3D 8 cores is ample so very likely I will run w/ HT disabled anyway. 

https://premiumbuilds.com/guides/best-cpu-coolers-for-i9-9900k-9900ks/

Edited November 28, 20196 yr by Noel

On 11/22/2019 at 9:17 PM, lownslo said:

If I remember correctly, our own member "Noel" uses an AC solution to great advantage.

Greg

Indeed, for well over a decade!  The beauty of this approach is it cools the entire box, mainboard, drives, memory, GPU/CPU plus there is nothing to do w/ the PC case except place it near the output of the A/C unit.  For a while I used cardboard cowling to direct air flow more into the 6" fan intake on the back of the case but that was not necessary.  When you upgrade to your next PC you don't need to do anything but park it in front of the cooler!   I didn't really need the A/C on except in the warmer months of the year where half the reason was to keep the room cooler.  With A/C on, low fan speed, my 3930K w/ HT enabled at 4.42Ghz with P3D running at peak load core temp would be around 54C using the Noctua air cooler during summertime.   In peak summer (room temp 79F or so) w/o A/C we might see 70C so that was a 16C drop or so attributable to the A/C.   During cool times of the year just using the fan only was sufficient.  I think the fact my old 3930K still runs at this clock speed almost 6y later w/ an average run time of maybe 4-5h/day is a pretty compelling testimony as to how safe this practice is for hardware.   The A/C air flow actually is around 42F at peak output.  Some people have reacted that they didn't want the noise--next time you fly a real plane tell me how nice n quiet it is!  I use Sony monitor headphones (non NC) you can't hardly tell the A/C was running.   I'm really amazed more people who care so much about overclocking and cooling aren't taking advantage of this. My A/C unit was about $289, made by Sharp, and it still runs great over 10y later.  Unfortunately I've moved from Paradise CA so I'm not using this now but will again next Sept when we move back.  By then I will probably have a new 9900K based system which I'm sure will appreciate the add cool.  It's a bit dirty but you get the idea here.  

Edited November 28, 20196 yr by Noel

On 11/19/2019 at 9:39 AM, DescendDescend said:

The question has been discussed many times on this forum. My Noctua NH-D15 single fan cools the 9900K at 5.2Ghz (HT off 1.3V, C States all active) to less the 70C P3d and less than 80C on Realbench 2.43. You have to adjust the fan curve appropriately for max cooling at full load.

Disadvantages compared with a water cooler: Very large heatsink. A second fan may foul the memory. A bit more stress on the MB if you move the PC regularly. Not as elegant. Brown fans are ugly but can be replaced with other colours.

Advantages compared with a water cooler. No leak risk. Significantly cheaper.

Pretty sure there is an alternative from Noctua that reduces the memory fouling and is similar in cooling performance but I've had mine for several years on different CPU's.

 

 

 

Yep, the alternative is the NH-D15S. The S variant has just one fan, no big deal as it only increases temp by two degrees and you can add a second if required.. It's also offset to be further away from the PCIe slot. Noctua fans are available all black now, the Chromax range. In addition, black Chromax heat sink covers are available. Mine with the Chromax fans and cover look great in my PC. Currently cooling a delidded 8700K at up to 5.2 GHz with HT off. 5 GHz with HT on is easy, cool and quiet. 

The ultimate for cooling is of course a custom loop. Great as long as you don't mind the expense and occasional maintenance. I can see myself building a custom loop one day, not because I need to but for fun.  

In regard to AIO's, I have nothing against them if someone wishes to go down that route, but yes, leaks do still occur. I have a friend that had a leak a while back from a Corsair AIO. Luckily no damage. Pump issues are a possibility too, in fact there have been members on this forum who have reported such issues. A quick Google will reveal that pump issues and leaks do still occur. However... I suspect that leaks are less common than they used to be, AIO manufacture does seem to have improved over the years. We can't be definitive of course, because AIO manufacturers don't release data regarding failure rates. It is true that most AIO manufacturers warranties covers damage to other components as a result of the units failure. However... I have heard that the process of claiming can be tricky, several hoops to jump through. Can't guarantee the veracity of that statement, just what I've been told.

If the OP or anyone reading wishes to go down the air cooler route, the Noctua NH-D15S is highly recommended, 5 GHz with HT on and quiet, easily achievable. 

The Deepcool Assassin 3 is also a great cooler. Close to the D15 in terms of performance. Not to mention the Be quiet Dark Rock Pro. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 20196 yr by martin-w

21 hours ago, Noel said:

everything I read so far says the Noctua is highly comparable to all AIO solutions.  

 

I wouldn't say that the D15 is comparable to ALL AIO's. All but the best, most expensive, AIO's I would say. There are some top of the range AIO's that cool better and reasonably quietly. D15 continues to compete well with most AIO's though. And of course with zero chance of leaks or pump failure. Pretty much an unlimited lifespan. 

 

Quote

Custom loops start to pull away significantly I understand but we're only talking about a few Ghz and when the base rate is say 4.8Ghz going to 5.2Ghz will not change your sim experience in any meaningful way. 

 

Yep, agree. There are many that still think a couple of hundred megahertz will transform their experience and give them the rig of their dreams. 

55 minutes ago, martin-w said:

 

I wouldn't say that the D15 is comparable to ALL AIO's. All but the best, most expensive, AIO's I would say. There are some top of the range AIO's that cool better and reasonably quietly. D15 continues to compete well with most AIO's though. And of course with zero chance of leaks or pump failure. Pretty much an unlimited lifespan. 

 

 

Yep, agree. There are many that still think a couple of hundred megahertz will transform their experience and give them the rig of their dreams. 

Been waiting for you to answer this thread as I highly-valued you feedback on the NH-D15, which I wanted to cool my new i7-8086K CPU but the midi-tower case I had in mind, the Fractal Design Focus-G case, have been told that case's top roof clearance is  an issue and was recommended a BeQuiet! Dark Rock 4 air cooler. So, now been toying with the idea of getting an AIO, as it'd be my very first water-cooling exercise in system building.

Also not sure if that D15 could allow me clearance on the G.Skill Trident Z DDR4 modules .

Edited November 29, 20196 yr by vc10man

Quote

Also not sure if that D15 could allow me clearance on the G.Skill Trident Z DDR4 modules .

 

Is it the D15 or D15S you have. Dimensions for the D15 are here...

https://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15/specification

64 mm RAM clearance with one fan. 32 mm with duel fans.

The D15S is 65 mm. 

 

I recall Trident Z is 44 mm. Check though, don't trust my memory. 🙂 

 

Quote

the Fractal Design Focus-G case, have been told that case's top roof clearance is  an issue and was recommended a BeQuiet! Dark Rock 4 air cooler.

 

Check out the dimensions on the Fractal and Noctua websites. But I would be surprised if the Dark Rock was any smaller than the D15. 

Edited November 29, 20196 yr by martin-w

1 hour ago, martin-w said:

 

Is it the D15 or D15S you have. Dimensions for the D15 are here...

https://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15/specification

64 mm RAM clearance with one fan. 32 mm with duel fans.

The D15S is 65 mm. 

 

I recall Trident Z is 44 mm. Check though, don't trust my memory. 🙂 

 

 

Check out the dimensions on the Fractal and Noctua websites. But I would be surprised if the Dark Rock was any smaller than the D15. 

One of the e-tailers I spoke to, not sure Overclockers of eBuyers, said in reply the NH-D15(already have the D14 as I have said here in the past) would just barely make the Fractal Design Focus_G and they suggested the BeQuiet! Dark Power 4, so baulked at ordering the Noctua.

Hence decided to explore the water-cooling avenue, 

And cash being the stipulation, I have to be sure what I order is the correct and final choice.

22 hours ago, vc10man said:

One of the e-tailers I spoke to, not sure Overclockers of eBuyers, said in reply the NH-D15(already have the D14 as I have said here in the past) would just barely make the Fractal Design Focus_G and they suggested the BeQuiet! Dark Power 4, so baulked at ordering the Noctua.

Hence decided to explore the water-cooling avenue, 

And cash being the stipulation, I have to be sure what I order is the correct and final choice.

 

Easiest way to be sure is... check the dimensions on the Noctua site. Check the dimensions of the case on the Fractal site. Google for the CPU and case combo and see if anyone has had issues. Worst case scenario and it doesn't fit... send it back for a refund. 🙂 

Edited November 30, 20196 yr by martin-w

23 minutes ago, martin-w said:

 

Easiest way to be sure is... check the dimensions on the Noctua site. Check the dimensions of the case on the Fractal site. Google for the CPU and case combo and see if anyone has had issues. Worst case scenario and it doesn't fit... send it back for a refund. 🙂 

Too late now, as just ordered from Scan that Fractal Design case and a NZXT-Kraken-X52 AIO after consulting them.

Hi Martin, can you remind me what to look for in DIMM modules that *should* work w/ the 2 fan Noctua model?  I've forgotten now as it's been 6y since the last time I did this!  I have the full size HAF-X case so plenty of room beyond the memory consideration.  Thanks!

Edited November 30, 20196 yr by Noel

23 hours ago, vc10man said:

Too late now, as just ordered from Scan that Fractal Design case and a NZXT-Kraken-X52 AIO after consulting them.

 

Ha... okay then. X52 is a great cooler by all accounts. let me know how you get on. 🙂 

1 hour ago, martin-w said:

 

Ha... okay then. X52 is a great cooler by all accounts. let me know how you get on. 🙂 

Thanks, Martin. Will do, when I get around to starting the build, and thanks for all your advices. My current rig from which I am typing this, has the D14, I think you recommended at the time, and it's still going strong, and barely audible keeping a 4.2Ghz overclock cool👍