i7 and Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme

[Tetley]

Hope someone can help with this.

I built my new system with plans to o/c but the CPU is running hot with the thermalright fitted. I have reseated it 5 or 6 times now in different configurations (east to west, south to north etc) and the CPU temp is currently sitting at 45 deg C while idle. I then tried the stock cooler and it dropped my temps to 36 deg C. I spent a very long time making sure all the build was tidy and there is literally 1 cable which could block airflow through the case.

I'm using as5 and have tried different methods of application and different amounts but still to no avail. RealTemp 3 is showing the cores at 39 35 38 35 and also the mb temp is high (I believe) at 48 deg C although my GFX may be effecting this.

My question is could the motherboard be displaying incorrect figures or may I have a faulty heatsink? Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

System specs:

i7 920 @ stock
Asus P6T deluxe
Thermaright 120 Ultra with fan running max in a push configurationand seated south to north
4870X2 in PCIe socket 1
CM Sniper with all fans set to max

[moogle]

Hmm that's a weird problem. It might be the heatsink if the Intel one lowers the temps. Have you tried stressing the CPU and feeling the Thermalright to see if it's getting warm?

[TAKTAK]

TRUE's are notorious for having concave/convex bases, check to see what the base of yours is like

but those temperatures arn't really that high, see what they are like under load (prime 95 etc), as load temps are alot more important than idle

[Tetley]

Thanks for your replies. Prime95 running for 20 mins and its settled on 70 degrees C, the whole heat sink feels lukewarm (best way to describe it) including around the base near the heat pipes. I checked the base yesterday with a razor blade and it actually wasnt too bad - well not as bad as some i have seen online.

It's just disappointing that a £50 HSF is beaten by the stock cooler. I've sent a ticket to Scan and see what I can do next. If I have to get a different cooler has anyone had any experience with the Noctua NH-U12P?

[moogle]

It's just disappointing that a £50 HSF is beaten by the stock cooler. I've sent a ticket to Scan and see what I can do next. If I have to get a different cooler has anyone had any experience with the Noctua NH-U12P?

There's definately something wrong with it or the mounting. Since you've got an i7 the Noctua would have been the best for value I say as it has 2 fans (right?) and there's no known issues with the heatsink base. Performs pretty well compared to the TRUE as well

[hermeticist]

Does it feel secure to the motherboard? Some people use a spacer between the cooler base and top bracket to limit movement. Is the fan definitely fitted the right way round?

It seems quite strange, I have a TRUE (it is lapped - but at best you should only see a couple of degrees difference) on a Q6600, idles at high twenties with fan running at around 600RPM.

Could there be a fault with the heatpipes - not contacting the base, seems doubtful though?

From recent reading about I7, the TRUE is still generally the best cooler.

[moogle]

Does it feel secure to the motherboard? Some people use a spacer between the cooler base and top bracket to limit movement.

I use a penny to increase the pressure of the mount. The heatsink shouldn't really swivel when it's on though.

[Tetley]

The heatsink could be rotated a little when fitted but as far as I had read this was quite normal. The fixing method though I was never a big fan of (no pun intended) just when you thought you had the TIM applied just right you'd try to screw the whole lot down and end up sliding the mount round to get it in the correct position and subsequently smearing the paste.

My feeling was that the base and/or the heat pipes had not been properly attached therefore ruining the thermal transfer so after speaking to Scan's technical dept they issued me an RMA and I sent the HSF back today. The stock heatsink is back on and i'm back to 36 degrees C, fingers crossed next week i'll be in a position to try for some decent o/cing.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank Scan for sorting the RMA quickly as my experience with other companies (see the techbits thread) recently hasn't been the best.

[NightOwl]

I recently got a OC'd i7 920 system from Scan. At my request they sent me the temperature logs for the burn-in testing (with Prime 95 I believe). Bear in mind these are OC'd temps.

Specs:
Core i7 920 @ 3.6GHz
Asus P6T Deluxe
Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme + two 120mm Akasa Amber fans in push/pull arrangement
Coolermaster Cosmos RC-1000 case plus 120mm Amber fans: 1 front floor, 1 top rear, 2 in ceiling
Graphics card is a humble Gigabyte 9600 GT (passive cooling)

Data from logs (first figure is lowest, second figure is highest temp hit during a continuous 41-hour test @ 100% load):
Core 0: ....41 ....78
Core 1: ....35 ....76
Core 2: ....40 ....77
Core 3: ....38 ....75

Hopefully this will give you an idea of what's normal/possible with this heatsink and lots of fans. The logs show that the highest temps were occasional peaks, mostly the cores ran quite a few degrees cooler.

HTH.

[Singh400]

I use a penny to increase the pressure of the mount. The heatsink shouldn't really swivel when it's on though.

Should do without the penny with a bit of force. Mind does

[moogle]

Should do without the penny with a bit of force. Mind does

With a bit of force yeah, I should have said light swiveling then

[piggin23]

Have you checked to see if the CPU is flat.
If the chip is concave and the TRUE is also concave (or both convex) then you have a very small area of contact. Best to have them both flat or opposites. (concave to convex)
Worth a quick look before fitting the TRUE again.

[Tetley]

I returned the unit to Scan and they replied with no fault found. I then rang them and spoke to a nice lady and explained that although I agreed the cooler wasn't faulty as it would to some extent cool the chip it was doing a worse job than the stock HSF. Thankfully i received a refund shortly after.

[moogle]

I returned the unit to Scan and they replied with no fault found. I then rang them and spoke to a nice lady and explained that although I agreed the cooler wasn't faulty as it would to some extent cool the chip it was doing a worse job than the stock HSF. Thankfully i received a refund shortly after.

Lucky you Tetley. So what cooler are you going for now?

[Tetley]

I'm throwing around the idea of watercooling actually, been building my own PC's for years now but never had the bottle to pipe a load of fluid across the top of sensitive electrical equipment. I've literally spent the last 2 days reading up on everything I can and putting together a shopping list so I guess I've just got to get around to checking with you guys on here whether my list is sensible or a waste of money.

I also read that the way the air flows through my CM Sniper case there may be a dead spot created around the lower half of the motherboard so the other reason to WC is so I can utilise the top mountings to fit a 240 radiator and then relocate the 200mm fan from the top onto the side panel to suck air through the mesh and blow directly onto the MB and GFX.

If anyones interested (and can point me in the right direction) I was thinking of the following main items:

XSPC Delta V3 CPU Waterblock i7 - £37.86
XSPC Dual 750 Bay Reservoir Pump - £40.62
XSPC RX240 - £46.98
I would have prefered the Swiftech Apogee GTZ but everywhere at a reasonable price seems to be out of stock although I'm not in a massive rush to buy parts.

I've not priced/sourced pipes, barbs, liquid etc just concentrating on getting the main components for a single loop to O/C my CPU. Any advice is most welcome.

[how1]

They are concave. Known for that. Should never be after paying a good bit for one!