A few questions about mac pro cooling

[drnebulous]

Hiya,
I am very paranoid about my computer overheating. It's just how I am. I want everything to stay cool without any stress. I don't like it if my CPU goes over 40c. Just how I am, I know. Here are the questions:

1. Can you add more fans to the mac pro or replace the stock fans with better ones? If so, which would you recommend?

2. Can you add HDD coolers?

3. Can you add Water cooling?

4. What are the best ram coolers?

5. What's the best hd5770 fan? (it gets up to 80c)

I know this may seem OTT but it would make me feel a lot better.
Thanks


P.S it's a mid 2012 mac pro

 

[LiamHD]

Hiya,
I am very paranoid about my computer overheating. It's just how I am. I want everything to stay cool without any stress. I don't like it if my CPU goes over 40c. Just how I am, I know. Here are the questions:

1. Can you add more fans to the mac pro or replace the stock fans with better ones? If so, which would you recommend?

2. Can you add HDD coolers?

3. Can you add Water cooling?

4. What are the best ram coolers?

5. What's the best hd5770 fan? (it gets up to 80c)

I know this may seem OTT but it would make me feel a lot better.
Thanks


P.S it's a mid 2012 mac pro

1. Yeah, I recommend AF series from Corsair or Noctua
2. I'm not sure
3. Probably, It would be a seriously big mod though
4. Again I'm not sure
5. What are you doing when temps get that high?

 

[AidenShaw]

I don't like it if my CPU goes over 40c. Just how I am, I know.

This is the first thing that I would upgrade - your perception of acceptable CPU temps. These chips are designed to run at higher temperatures than 40°.

The attachment shows normal load on my Dell T3610 with the E5-1650v2 CPU (same as the 6-core nMP).

Any temp in or below the mid 60s is "cool". Doesn't even boost the RPMs of the fans.

Upper 60s, pay attention. Upper 70s, do something.

 

[sebseb]

If we're talking about the Mid Mac Pro, then I can tell you it has a state of the art cooling system. The push-pull configuration in the cpu bay is unique and it features 4 fans right there! that's a lot! Those heat sinks are gigantic. The PCI fan is enough to cool down the hd5770. And then there's one in the power supply bay. You just need to place the mac pro in a location were air does flow really well. I don't think u need to add any more fans, as you will change the director of airflow that apple designed! They didn't just decide to go with 6 fans cause it sounded cool to say, but a requirement. If they didn't go with 7 fans, is because they realized it's too much using calculations and tests! If they didn't go with 5 or 4 was because it didn't qualify well!

 

[Yakibomb]

I don't like it if my CPU goes over 40c.

Gee anything around 40º is actually really cool, i'd only worry about trying to bring that down if the temps where double that

 

[h9826790]

Um... I think 40C is too low, even though human brain won't burn.

The Mac Pro is designed to run 24/7. The Apple engineers know the limit of the CPU. They may not doing the best to take the balance between temperature and fan noise, but they won't intentionally burn your machine.

Especially the CPU nowadays have thermal throttling. In extreme case, it can shut itself down to avoid damage. Of course it doesn't mean that you should leave your computer boiling and doing nothing, but as AidenShaw said, basically no need to do anything before 70.

Anyway, it's your own choice to modify the Mac Pro, but I will say the water cooling system is more danger to the Mac Pro than just let it run at 70C.

 

[drnebulous]

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll take this lot into consideration!

 

[Studio K]

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll take this lot into consideration!

Which CPU(s) does your 2012 Mac Pro use? Are they quad or 6-core?

The quad-core Nehalems get very hot. Under a heavy load, the core temps can reach their upper limit within a few minutes. At around 98C, the fans will spin up enough to stabilize the temp and bring it down a couple of degrees, but that's it.
For the remainder of your process, the CPU core temps remain at 95-96C.
This has been my experience, anyway.

The 6-core Westmeres don't get quite that hot. How high the temps go depends in part on your room temperature. The W36XX chips likely get hotter than the X56xx ones.

If your machine is a dual CPU set-up with X56xx processors, then you've got the lowest temps available in the cMP lineup.

If you want to keep temps below a certain level, then install something like SMC Fan Control and reset the fanspeed minimums on your CPU fans.