[ElDani]

Hey guys,

I recently bought a couple of components to get my computer back up to speed again: Phenom II x4 940, Gigabyte MA770-UD3 and of course a Mugen 2 that has been recommended to me in another forum. A word of information: the Mugen fits nicely without any issues at all. You'll need to remove the fan though in order to change the RAM because the first two slots are directly below it (and there's not enough space in my case to get to the other two).

Well, judging from the immense size of it compared to coolers from a few years past and from the benchmarks I was able to gather surfing the net, the Mugen 2 looks to be top of the line for an affordable prize. Here's my deal though:

My PII 940 runs with CnQ at 4x800MHz with 1.0 volt and currently has a temperature of 37-41°C at 90%+ idle with room temperature of 23.5°C. I haven't really tried a long stress test yet, but from what I saw, temperatures were up to 55-59°C from 100% load on 1 core (single core game). I'm a bit worried about that, since most PII's had a max temp of 39-40°C on a ComputerBase review (with some Noctua cooler). So where do the additional 20°C come from? I may not have the largest case and there's no air intake (only one 120mm fan at the back that disposes of hot air from the CPU), but this should not make such a huge difference.

Well, I suspect that this problem may be connected with a peculiarity about the cooler on my mainboard (GA-MA770-UD3) but I'm no expert on this.

In the past, coolers needed to be mounted and fastened to the board so there was considerable pressure on the CPU and the cooler couldn't move at all. Not so with the Mugen 2.

As soon as I removed the standard platform and the board's backplate I saw those four huge holes and then looked over to the tiny narrow screws I was to use for them - how could they ever be enough?. After having finished the assembly of the Mugen and after the board has been installed into the case, the cooler has some leeway of 1-2mm in any horizontal direction (assuming board=horizont) and I don't even need much pressure for it to happen.

I suppose that this issue exists because there was no way to mount Mugen's backplate to the board prior to installing the cooler. Maybe it's also the fault of such tiny screws, since they have some leeway in their holes and there is so little pressure on the cooler that allows for a moving cooler + backplate.

Now, long story short: is that normal? I did exactly as the installation guide told me, but the four screws (number 7 on the guide) don't help this problem. Not only are they very narrow compared to the holes in the board but the ridge goes only halfway up the screw and thus I can't even apply additional pressure on the CPU + board. Since they're the only way the cooler is mounted on the board with per my instructions, there's certainly nothing I could have done wrong, right?

Well, help me out please, cause this is incredibly frustrating for me.
Daniel

[gingilica]

hello,

I`m having nearly the same issue with this cooler on a ASUS Crosshair 2 Formula mobo. After removing the original backplate and adding the one from Scythe i noticed the backplate was freely sliding around. The metal plate between the rubber is touching with the mobo contacts thus making it slide. My question is : is that normal ? that the metal between the rubber touching the mobo contacts ? I`d like to add that the original backplate wasn`t touching any contacts or sliding

[ElDani]

Okay, I've had the whole weekend to try to solve my temperature problem and I'm quite sure that I have found the culprit - not the solution though! For that I'll need your expertise and experience.

At first I cleaned up my case with some cable ties in order to get a proper air flow going (in front, out back). That did help a little bit under full load (1-2°C) but it was not groundbreaking. Then I continued on for quite a while with different scenarios (all but essential hardware removed, case open, etc) which all did almost nothing beyond another 1-2°C.

Well, to show you what I've found, you better get a look at my temperature figures first. Here they are, measured with CPUID Hardware Monitor under very similar conditions. All measurements were taken with the standard CPU speed of 3.0 GHz and the system has been undervolted from 1.35v to 1.25v, which is the smallest voltage I have prime-tested for 2+ hours so far. The ambient air temperature has been a near constant between 23°C and 24°C since I did the tests late in the evening. All measurements were taken after at least 10 minutes of full load or 5 minutes of full idle in Windows to insure a stable value. Edit: I forgot to say that for the time of testing, I disabled the fan control, so all 3 fans were constantly at ~ 1400rpm.

with AMD boxed cooler:
CPU idle (0.9V CnQ): 53°C
CPU load (1.25V Prime95 small fft's): 58°C
Motherboard idle: 39°C
Motherboard load: 40°C
GeForce 8800GTS: 60°C

with Mugen 2:
CPU idle (0.9V CnQ): 31°C
CPU load (1.25V Prime95 small fft's): 58-59°C
Motherboard idle: 37°C
Motherboard load: 39°C
GeForce 8800GTS: 57°C

with Mugen 2 (after putting my case on its side, so the motherboard is horizontal and the Mugen is facing skywards):
CPU idle (0.9V CnQ): 30°C
CPU load (1.25V Prime95 small fft's): 46-47°C
Motherboard idle: 36°C
Motherboard load: 38°C
GeForce 8800GTS: 57°C

Wow! 11 to 13°C simply by laying the case on its side, that shouldn't be possible, right? Now you're asking yourself what could have happened to make such a huge difference. Was it the air flow? Well, to answer all that, I have included motherboard and graphics card temperatures, if only to discount any alternative explanations, since those temperatures vary by only 1 degree, if at all.

That being said, I can only see one possible cause for this huge drop in temperature: the Mugen 2 doesn't rest completely on the CPU if the case is standing up as it is intended. Is it uneven, because the cooler is hanging on its side, or is there too little pressure on the CPU?

Whatever the answer, I can guarantee that my assembly of the Mugen was correct the first time, since I double-, triple-, even quadruple-checked it with the manual and images from the web.

Is there a way to get the combination of GA-MA770-UD3 and Scythe Mugen 2 working correctly? Because, frankly, I have no intention of having my case lie on its side all the time, I don't even have the space to do that comfortably.

[sumo]

Hi,

your very detailed, not everybody have such a view on the things.

Sorry that i have to say this but i think you mount the cooler not so perfect you think you do it. Normally, if you tighten the screws right, there is no possibility to move the cooler on the CPU. So please check if you tighten all the screws up to the end of their winding. After this you will have the right pressure. Maybe you can provide some pics of you installation and maybe new temperatures.


Cheers Chris

[ElDani]

Hi again,

sorry for not replying sooner but I've been away on business and couldn't do anything about my situation in the meantime. While I've been on the road I thought about changing the screws with some whose winding goes all the way along its shaft so I can apply some more pressure.

While I don't constantly tinker with hardware, I believe myself to be technically and manually proficient (I have been repairing my motor-bike on my own, after all ). It's also not the first time I've done something like this. Half a year ago I put together a PC for my parents-in-law and the cooler needed its own backplate too, I believe it was a Thermaltake though.

I'll post again after I've done some further testing.

[sumo]

Hi,

i do not recommend this, because the screws which come with the Mugen 2 are designed for this job. I don't know how you manage to move the cooler while its mounted correctly, so maybe pictures will be the best.