5 ms·

Probably blocks air that would've otherwise passed over the motherboard VRMs. With good case cooling, it probably doesn't matter, but the design is made to acco

by khyryk 5y ago

Probably blocks air that would've otherwise passed over the motherboard VRMs. With good case cooling, it probably doesn't matter, but the design is made to accommodate the lowest common denominator.

behringer 5y ago
Yep this mod is inadequate for this reason
aix1 5y ago
VRM = Voltage Regulator Module in case others also aren't familiar with the acronym (I had to Google it)
pubby 5y ago
Yeah probably, but that doesn't explain why Intel's higher-end coolers do have a cowl. Surely the higher-end chips need VRM cooling way more than budget-mode i5s, especially when run at stock power limits. FWIW, when I tested (I'm the author), I didn't see any VRM throttling, even on my dinky budget motherboard. But then again, my power limits are set to Intel's recommended values and I'm not overclocking or anything.
- kenhwang 5y ago
  Common belief in the computer cooling world is higher end VRMs need _less_ cooling because they're more efficient (which generates less heat) and have higher temperature tolerances.
  - eptcyka 5y ago
    Higher end VRMs should be used in overclocking, otherwise what's the point?
    - rocqua 5y ago
      The fact that a stock 12700k pulls 250W suggests that it can use higher end vrms even at stock.
- 7speter 5y ago
  Intel doesn’t even sell their higher end chips with their stock cooler iirc, and people put heatsink coolers where the active cooling is parallel to the chip as opposed to directly on top of (if not liquid coolers) on the higher end/overclockable chips. Also it seems that generally the z class boards have higher quality vrms and significant passive cooling on top of their vrms, i could definitely be wrong though.
- k_sze 5y ago
  Did your paper cowl make a difference to the fan speed?
  - nyanpasu64 5y ago
    Listening to the two recordings, the one with the cowl has a very slightly higher fan speed (by less than 6%). I don't know if it cools the CPU better or worse at a given speed though.
  - pubby 5y ago
    The BIOS screen says the CPU fan runs at the same speed regardless of the cowl, but I'm not sure if this is accurately measuring RPM, or just estimating it from some other variable (e.g. the outgoing pulse-width modulation signal).
    - NavinF 5y ago
      If it’s a 3/4 pin fan and the motherboard is configured to treat it as such, then you’re looking at the real RPM. It’s easy to test by placing your finger on the center of the fan and watching the RPM go down.

by khyryk 5y ago

Probably blocks air that would've otherwise passed over the motherboard VRMs. With good case cooling, it probably doesn't matter, but the design is made to accommodate the lowest common denominator.

behringer 5y ago

Yep this mod is inadequate for this reason

aix1 5y ago

VRM = Voltage Regulator Module in case others also aren't familiar with the acronym (I had to Google it)

pubby 5y ago

Yeah probably, but that doesn't explain why Intel's higher-end coolers do have a cowl. Surely the higher-end chips need VRM cooling way more than budget-mode i5s, especially when run at stock power limits. FWIW, when I tested (I'm the author), I didn't see any VRM throttling, even on my dinky budget motherboard. But then again, my power limits are set to Intel's recommended values and I'm not overclocking or anything.

kenhwang 5y ago
Common belief in the computer cooling world is higher end VRMs need _less_ cooling because they're more efficient (which generates less heat) and have higher temperature tolerances.
- eptcyka 5y ago
  Higher end VRMs should be used in overclocking, otherwise what's the point?
  - rocqua 5y ago
    The fact that a stock 12700k pulls 250W suggests that it can use higher end vrms even at stock.
7speter 5y ago
Intel doesn’t even sell their higher end chips with their stock cooler iirc, and people put heatsink coolers where the active cooling is parallel to the chip as opposed to directly on top of (if not liquid coolers) on the higher end/overclockable chips. Also it seems that generally the z class boards have higher quality vrms and significant passive cooling on top of their vrms, i could definitely be wrong though.
k_sze 5y ago
Did your paper cowl make a difference to the fan speed?
- nyanpasu64 5y ago
  Listening to the two recordings, the one with the cowl has a very slightly higher fan speed (by less than 6%). I don't know if it cools the CPU better or worse at a given speed though.
- pubby 5y ago
  The BIOS screen says the CPU fan runs at the same speed regardless of the cowl, but I'm not sure if this is accurately measuring RPM, or just estimating it from some other variable (e.g. the outgoing pulse-width modulation signal).
  - NavinF 5y ago
    If it’s a 3/4 pin fan and the motherboard is configured to treat it as such, then you’re looking at the real RPM. It’s easy to test by placing your finger on the center of the fan and watching the RPM go down.