In the beginning when I first started using different methods of extreme cooling the first unit I tested was a Jinu Single Stage Cooling unit that was custom made for me. This was an amazing cooling unit that included a Single Stage Phase Chiller installed in a TJ07 case.
The TJ07 cooling tower sat next to what I called the main rig which was in another TJ07 case. It had a EVGA 790i SLI motherboard and a QX9770 which ran at 4.8ghz overclock for 24/7 use. It was an amazing machine that had so much power at the click of the mouse button to run anything I wished at an instant.
Later as I became even more interested in extreme cooling and searched for even better ways to cool things. This amazing machine enter my work area. Built in 2006 by Jinu, this 2 Stage Cascade was the most powerful cooling unit I had, and I love every minute of using it.
Over time with using these machines you find that they have pro's and con's. On the good side, they get very cold and can handle high watt loads to keep overclocks stable. On the bad side they can generate lots of heat and can make a fair amount of noise like the 2 Stage Cascade.
The people who build these units, for the most part, understand how they work, at least some do, but often designs are copied that work with out much regard to how and why things are done.
Designs come and go, some build different units called benching units while others are smaller and built to fit in a case with the computer.
The problem that every unit must address is the heat coming from the CPU while its running in a overclocked state. Load testers are constructed that can be set to a given watt load such as 300watts and the unit is tuned for that heat load.
Tuning can be a tricky business that involves cutting cap tubes, charging the unit with refrigerant of a given type to a whole host of other ways. Different parts such as the Evaporator can play a large role in the capabilities of the unit and how it handles a heat load.
Here are three different types of Evaporators. A Chilly1 on the far left, a Teyber Stepper in the middle, and a Jinu Maze type on the far right.
There are a whole host of different types of Evaps and they vary in design from builder to builder. But which type works the best for a given cooling unit ?
So far that I have seen, there is no way to actually measure the effects of these things besides throwing a load tester on the unit and set to a watt load, or by what a builder says works well or doesn't, with no real way to back that statement up with data other than experience of the builder and what they say.
Some of the things I am interested in to study are effects of Evaporators on units, how fade can be addressed and what does the heat output of a CPU really look like during a test.
I began building a setup that could monitor both temps and watt loads at the same time and show those readings in graph form so you could see just what was happening during a test.
Now there is problems when attempting this. One of the problems is how can I measure the heat output of just the CPU while the computer is running ?
Besides using a load tester, measuring the temps at a given watt load like what was done for me when I picked up the Jinu 2 Stage Cascade.
At 200w… it is holding -95c…
At 270w… it is holding -89c….
At 285w… it is holding -87c….
So that is a start and gives me an idea on what to expect.
I have several phases to this project that I am working on. One is I need to build a load tester and I have some parts for that here now and awaiting the rest.
I will use the load tester to calibrate my findings, or at least have some set data points that I can compare data measured with.
To monitor watt loads while the computer is running I will have to use something like a Kill-O-Watt meter like this one pictured and a unit that has a USB interface so the data can be feed to a computer and graphed with a Watts Up Pro unit.
To monitor temps I will use a temp probe that has a USB connection so data can be uploaded to the computer and graphed along with power usage.
So now armed with the ability to measure and collect data, send that to a computer and graph the incoming data I will begin my first tests.
The computer for the first part of this will be as follows:
Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD6
AMD 965 C3 CPU
ATI 4890 for graphic card
Corsair Dominator GT 2000mhz CL8 memory
powered by a Coolermaster Ultimate 1100watt PSU
For cooling I will use a Jinu Single Stage Phase unit.
The first test here shows the temperature drop of the cooling unit unloaded, that is it is not connected to anything.
I must note here that the units I am using for monitoring temps has a little lag to it from the USB/Computer interface, so it is not 100% perfect in the time scale and it does have an error margin in the actual temp readings. I watched the actual temps with a Fluke meter and these are with in +- a few degrees C.
So now I have a base line of how the unit handles without a load. When the load tester is finished I will add to this actual watt loads and what the temp reads at to make a performance curve.
Lets add the watt usage of the computer now.
The second test will show the start up of this setup at stock settings, the power usage of the full computer and how watt load and temps change from power on to sitting on the desktop.
First the Jinu Single Stage Phase unit must be turned on and temps pulled down to operating temperatures, then the computer will be started and run until it is at the desktop and idling.
CPUz screen of what the CPU is set at and its vcore setting.
Now the system is started up and run until its idling on the desktop.
So here you can see that the start up of the computer and how many watts it is putting out, it maxed out at ~280 watts during start up and then settled down to ~210 watts while running on the desktop.
Temps started at room temperature and the Phase unit dropped to ~-48c when the computer was started. You can see that temps warmed up a few degrees C then settled down to ~-48c for normal desktop operation.
The Phase unit showed it can handle these watt loads very well.
So now we have the basic parts of the up and coming tests. We can see in graph form what the power in watts is being used by the whole computer and how the Phase unit responds to the watt loads generated.
In the next series of blogs I will show bench programs run, how everything responds to these tests and how things react to higher over clocks.
A special thanks to Archer for the inspiration in doing this project