I7-3770 in a Cube?

[spence4]

Just looking for some thoughts on this from the group here. I am considering upgrading from 3225 to 3770 in my Cube and realize I could be getting into some heat issues. I have a Noctua NH-L9i cooler, an 80mm Noctua PWM fan at the bottom, and 40mm Noctua at the top which I am considering with the 92x14 (same as on the cooler) to increase the exiting flow. I have a 3.5 hdd in the original hdd position and the OS ssd where the optical drive use to be, so not too full, but not empty either. The 3225 has a tdp of 55 compared to 77 on the 3770 but I know I can drop the tdp at least 5w using the ssdt generator without impacting performance. Finally, many reviews of the NH-L9i talk about how it can handle the 3770k with no overclock in a well ventilated case. I know my cube probably isn't what they had in mind, but with an intake and exhaust fan, it's not terrible. I know minihack had a 2500k in one of his builds, but he was water cooling it. I know the 3770s or 3770t would be better, but unfortunately they are not available here in Hong Kong. Appreciate your thoughts.

 

[neilhart]

Spence off the top of my head I would not go this route. Getting rid of the heat in a cube is problematic as you already know. On the other hand if you already own the 3770 it is worth the effort to swap it in and take some readings.

For the work you have in mind, I would use a free flowing case such as the BitFenix Prodigy or a case with AIO water cooling.

I just dusted off my cube and booted it. It is a Sandy Bridge i3 on a thin motherboard. And while it is stable under load in the low 60's, it does work very hard to do it (fans are spooled up where I can hear them).

I am interested in learning what you decide to do and what your solution is.

neil

 

[minihack]

Just looking for some thoughts on this from the group here. I am considering upgrading from 3225 to 3770 in my Cube and realize I could be getting into some heat issues. I have a Noctua NH-L9i cooler, an 80mm Noctua PWM fan at the bottom, and 40mm Noctua at the top which I am considering with the 92x14 (same as on the cooler) to increase the exiting flow. I have a 3.5 hdd in the original hdd position and the OS ssd where the optical drive use to be, so not too full, but not empty either. The 3225 has a tdp of 55 compared to 77 on the 3770 but I know I can drop the tdp at least 5w using the ssdt generator without impacting performance. Finally, many reviews of the NH-L9i talk about how it can handle the 3770k with no overclock in a well ventilated case. I know my cube probably isn't what they had in mind, but with an intake and exhaust fan, it's not terrible. I know minihack had a 2500k in one of his builds, but he was water cooling it. I know the 3770s or 3770t would be better, but unfortunately they are not available here in Hong Kong. Appreciate your thoughts.

Hi Spence,

Actually it is a 3770k in my water cube. Also bear in mind how I cut the case pretty radically at the back so there is a huge straight line of 120mm cooling fan and radiator for removing the heat. It is drastic but actually results in one of the coolest running Cubes I've had.

To use a 3770k in the Cube case in a normal Cube configuration actually makes no sense (in my opinion) as you would need to restrict it so it does not overheat the interior, so the point of having an unlocked multiplier to OC becomes at best an unnecessary expense.


Sure if you already had the cpu and don't want to buy another I can see a temptation to use it, but maybe even in that case it'd be better to sell it and buy a less "toasty" chip.

 

[kiwisincebirth]

Spence, the limitation you may run up against is the Motherboard. The DQ77KB is rated for a 65w processor, i.e. the i7-3770S. The i7-3770 is a 77w processor so not supported officially.

Remember the main DC power regulation is on the Motherboard, (not in a separate ATX PSU) the MB may simply not be able to provide enough power. I don't know is this a hard rule, but potentially the BIOS may detect prevent the use of the higher power CPU

Kiwi