Need cooling help plz A4-SFX v2

pakalolo

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Mar 1, 2018
14
1
Aloha everyone,

My DAN case A4-SFX v2 finally arrived! But.... I'm having a serious cooling problem, and I need some advice.

My main problem is my CPU is idling at ~32C... playing games such as Rainbow Six Siege, I'm seeing temps around ~95C and occasionally hitting 100C and crashing the game.

Here's what I'm rocking currently:
i7-7700K (not overclocked)
Cryorig C-7 CPU cooler
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII
Trident-Z RGB DDR4 3000MHz
Gigabyte GTX 1080Ti
1TB Crucial SSD
512GB Samsung EVO SSD
Corsair SF600

The combination of the Maximus VIII, the C-7 cooler, and the Trident RAM is the source of the problem IMO.
The Motherboard's chipset protrudes from the top side of the board, essentially boxing in the C-7 heat pipes in combination with the tall Trident RAM. This seems to choke the amount of air the C-7 can push through the fins on the heat sink, thus I am seeing unacceptable temps.

My first thought was to upgrade to the Asetek 545LC Liquid cooler, but this seems to be a hassle, and it's currently sold out on asetek's site...
Now I'm exploring options on changing motherboards, RAM, and CPU coolers.

Anyone have any advice or guidance???

Mahalo!
 
Last edited:

dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,981
8,392
Please check that auto overclocking is disabled. Furthermore it could be that the heatsink does not have a perfect contact with the heatspreader. As I know on some boards the C7 will hit some condensators or mosfet and will not align perfectly on the chip.

You can try to use the included intel boxed heatsink to check if the temps are lower because this heatsink will seat perfectly.

Also make sure that the thermal paste is attached propper and the fan speed is not limited or works in silent mode in the UEFI.
 
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pakalolo

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Mar 1, 2018
14
1
Please check that auto overclocking is disabled. Furthermore it could be that the heatsink does not have a perfect contact with the heatspreader. As I know on some boards the C7 will hit some condensators or mosfet and will not align perfectly on the chip.

You can try to use the included intel boxed heatsink to check if the temps are lower because this heatsink will seat perfectly.

Also make sure that the thermal paste is attached propper and the fan speed is not limited or works in silent mode in the UEFI.

Thanks for the response!
I completely disassembled everything, re-applied new thermal paste, and carefully installed everything again.
Auto Overclocking is disabled, and for testing purposes I've set the CPU fan curve to be at 100% any hotter than 40C.
Unfortunately my CPU did not come with the stock cooler :/
This time around I'm idling at 32C with standard sidepanels, and 35C with the DAN window kits.
When under any heavy load, I'm now reaching 85C with standard sidepanels and 92C with window kits.

So it seems this complete disassembly and reassembly actually made a difference! Maybe the cooler wasnt sitting properly or just needed a new application of thermal paste.
I'm still a bit concerned about hitting 90C+ with the window kits :/
The standard sidepanels are extremely close to the CPU fan, thus causing turbulence. This is making the fan sound extremely loud...
Whilst using the window kit, the fan is completely quiet (window kits gives an additional few centimeters between sidepanel and fan), I've heard others have this issue with the C7 on the v1 case.

Again, thank you for the support! Any additional tips are welcomed :)
 

pakalolo

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Mar 1, 2018
14
1
Here's some images of my build to show how the mobo, RAM, and audio board "box in" the CPU heat pipes and fins.
Also to show how beautiful this DAN case v2 is ;) I loved building in this!









Thank you for creating such a beautiful case dondan
 

dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,981
8,392
The high temperatures with window panel are normal. We recommend a 65W TDP CPU for window panels. There is an easy way to reduce temperatures to ~10°C. Open uefi go under voltage regulation. Configure voltage controll to "offset mode" and enter -0.06V. Test if your system is stable if yes reduce the value. I think maximum could be -0.125V. This depend on the quality of your CPU.
 
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Lord Fuddle

Efficiency Noob
Mar 15, 2018
5
0
I am so torn between the A4 and the C4, I guess I have until May to decide. Can’t wait to have a go at building in one of the Dan cases. What sort of temperatures could I expect in the A4 if I went with a 8th gen 8400 I would think it should run pretty well with it not being a K chip. Would it still be recommended to use the AIO. Also I noticed on Overclockers that they only have the V2 will they be getting the V3. If I went with the AIO can the front USB port still be used on the V3. Thanks for any help.

Sorry didn’t mean to post on this page but can’t find how to remove.
 
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siliciferous

Cable Smoosher
Jul 8, 2018
8
5
wtfomfg.org
i7-7700K (not overclocked)
Trident-Z RGB DDR4 3000MHz

I noticed that your memory is rated for higher than the DDR4-2133/2400 speeds that the i7 officially supports: https://ark.intel.com/products/97129/Intel-Core-i7-7700K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_50-GHz

That is 100% fine, because you can freely run memory at lower clocks than its rating without problems, but I'm pointing this out to ask - are you overclocking the CPU's memory controller to 3000MHz? I myself have a 7700k with DDR4-3200MHz memory, and while I'm running stock core clocks and voltages, I've overclocked the memory controller to 3200 speeds and that resulted in a HUGE temperature increase, both at idle and at load. I'm talking a 5-15C difference depending on the situation, and I'm still using a tower cooler. When I move my build to the A4-SFX, I'm absolutely going to have to scale back my memory overclock to make it work.
 

Brock

Caliper Novice
Sep 14, 2018
32
22
The high temperatures with window panel are normal. We recommend a 65W TDP CPU for window panels. There is an easy way to reduce temperatures to ~10°C. Open uefi go under voltage regulation. Configure voltage controll to "offset mode" and enter -0.06V. Test if your system is stable if yes reduce the value. I think maximum could be -0.125V. This depend on the quality of your CPU.

I'm running a 6600k (stock clock speed) would this reduce my temps too?
 

dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,981
8,392
Yes this is right. If you got a BSOD om -0.100 your cpu needs more power to be stable. Did it help with temperatures?
 
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pinrut

What's an ITX?
May 7, 2019
1
1
You might try delidding your cpu, it's actually pretty easy if you buy the correct tools. The 7700k should see drops of around 20C if you use liquid metal like Conductonaut.

 
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