URGENT! CPU Temp too high???????

[acrobat]

hi there again,

As adviced, I've installed a 120mm rear fan to blow out any hot air from the case. This has resulted in the mobo temp dropping from 32 degrees to 25 degrees.

Niiiiice

well on test 5 it has now hit 69 degrees!!

Yeah thats too high. I think as Clunk is probably about to say.. your temps are ok before you overclocked, but now that you are overclocking it, it is struggling, and that is most likely because of the stock cooler. If you are using the stock cooler, the best thing to do would be to buy a better cooler. Something like the Arctic Cooling 7 Pro, would probably take 10C or so off that overclocked temperature, and would cost you less than £20 quids.

So now that your case is nice and cool, all it really needs is a good CPU cooler. The stock CPU cooler isn't too good really, so if you are going to keep overclocking, it would be well worth getting a new cooler. And anything is better than the stock one - but that Arctic Cooling 7 Pro is very popular - because its so cheap and it does a good job.

[ripperuk]

No guys!! you've misunderstood me...I'm NOT using a stock cooler anymore...i'm using the ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED Cooler.

My PC Case is sat on top of a computer desk and the radiator is totally on the other side of the room. The room is a little on the warm side, but its not scorching hot...the room temp will be between 21-24C Max!

[ripperuk]

Okay let me give you an update...

I have managed to push up the frequency of the CPU back to 2240MHz. This was done because of the following:-

The Zalman CNPS9500 comes with Fanmate controller to allows you to reduce the speed of the fan (between 1350rpm to 2400rpm, hence allowing you to reduce the noise dB too.

I decided to totally bypass the Fanmate controller and connected the Zalman directly. This allowed the Fan now to run at a speed between 2600rpm to 2700rpm!!

Now I'm not sure exactly which program gives the correct CPU temp, so I ran ALL programs (Orthos, Intel TAT, Core Temp, SpeedFAN). Orthos was used to stress the CPU and the rest of the programs used to check the temperature.

The CPU temp at the very most jumped to 68C, but only after running all programs at the same time and this quickly tended to drop back to 63C. Otherwise if I just ran orthos and Intel TAT to check the temperature, I got a max result of 65C.



Can someone please confirm what i should do next? Is it safe to run at this speed? or is this too risky?

[acrobat]

65+ is too much really

It will never be that high in reality because those programs push your CPU to its absolute extreme - and that is never reached even in the most demanding games. But still... most good overclockers will say that 60 is their absolute maximum before they start easing off.

The chip CAN cope with higher than 60C temps, but its not recommended. So 60 should really be your maximum limit - preferably 59 or less - under maximum load.

So it would be best to adjust your overclocking accordingly.

I'm not sure how good your particular cooler is, so hopefully someone can tell you this more specifically. But if its a good one, I would suggest re-fitting it with new thermal paste. Because a good cooler should be able to give you better temperatures than these.

I know from experience, that even if you think you fitted the cooler well, it can still get better by several degrees if you try it again. As people suggest, you need to get rid of absolutely every last bit of thermal compound using a good thermal compound remover. (Take it off both your heatsink and CPU).

Then when its completely off, give it a while for both pieces to dry. Then re-apply it. At first you put a very small amount on, and rub it in thoroughly to fill in the "micro gaps" in your cpu and heatsink. Then you apply a proper amount on top of that (a grain of rice).

So I would suggest doing that, and hopefully you can drop about 8 degrees. In that case, you wouldn't even need to back off your overclocking - you could keep it as it is. Otherwise though, you will need to ease up the overclock, because those temps are a bit too high.

P.S. Apply the compound slap bang in the middle of the core. Dont worry about spreading it to the edges. You can use a spreader or old credit card to spread the compound in. A friend of mine suggests putting your hand inside a plastic carrier bag (tesco shopping bag or whatever) and then wrapping it around your hand, and then you can use your finger through the bag to rub the compound into the centre of the chip to fill in the micro-holes. I have no idea if this is safe, and I've never tried it myself, but it seems like a good idea to me - assuming plastic bags don't cause static. But however you do it, it is recommended that you fill those microscopic holes in the surface of both the heatsink and CPU. Then you apply a grain of rice size blob of compound in the middle.

[ripperuk]

I have ordered the Arctic 5 Silver Thermal Paste and hope to use that.

Will this do as a thermal cleaner?:-

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...34493&doy=15m5


Do I need any thing else, such as a special cloth? Can you recommend a place to buy any needed items?

thanks for helping

[Clunk]

I use dry kitchen roll to clean the old thermal goop off. Any stubborn stuff, Ill use the akasa TIM cleaner.

[ripperuk]

thanks clunk mate...so what do you think of the results i gave earlier? good or bad in your expert experience?

[ripperuk]

ok, after the headache caused over the last few days, where i screwed up my mobo, I have managed to work it again. Having said that, I did exactly as requested and have carefully put arctic silver 5 paste (small blob).

The temperature now is even higher and the cpu idles between 38C - 40C. Here's a few pics showing what i have done:-

Small blob:


Half spread, using a plastic card:


Fully spread, thin layer:


Another shot, showing a fully spread layer:


The current Idle temp:

[acrobat]

I think that might be very slightly too much paste.

Also, I'm not sure you are meant to spread it right the edges like that. Infact, some people suggest not spreading it at all. I read that a lot of people put a very small amount in the centre, and then just put the heatsink straight on - without spreading it in at all.

I think the problem with spreading it out like on yours, is that any of those little grooves in the paste, can hold air when the heatsink is put on. And air heats up a lot.

I personally would try putting on half (or two thirds) what you did that last time, and then try putting the heatsink straight on, with a slight twist, without spreading it in. See if that helps. Next time I do it (soon), I'm going to put some on using my finger through a plastic carrier bag, to rub it in really finely. I heard that works well.

Its also mainly just the centre of the chip that needs paste on.

[GoNz0]

its going to take up to a week to cure,

that looks perfect to me, trouble if in the real world theres normally a small gap somewere, so take it off again, have a look to see if any areas have not met up, the entire surface should look like its been pulled apart, if it looks like a couple of areas have been missed then put a small drop of paste on there and slap it down again, give it a wiggle and remove.

if all looks ok, clean it up again (sorry but its the best way) and do it over with a bit extra where needed. it will spread out over the next week and fill where it needs to, the rest will come out the sides.

once your happy wait a week and compare results, u should see a few degrees lower after the curing time.

[ripperuk]

@ acrobat - I don't think thats too much mate as it was half the amount of a rice grain. Also something i did not take a photo of was when i cleaned it with Akasa CPU/Heatsink cleaner. I then put a millimetre dot of the middle of the cpu and rubbed it in using a lint free cloth, till it smudged over everywhere and could hardly be seen. Its after that I then did the above.

@ gonzo - I don't even have the pc case on and haven't even overclocked. But to be honest the room was warm, since i've opened the window and left the pc idle for 30mins, the temperature has drop from 38C to 35C idle.

So before I close up my pc case, what do you guys recommend i do? should i leave it for a week or redo it now?

[Clunk]

35c idle is fine. As already mentioned, you dont need to spread it.

What are the load temps?

[GoNz0]

its up to you if u want to check, im sure its fine and a little bit thats not meeting up wont make much difference to temps, important part is the middle of that heat spreader.

[ripperuk]

Here is maximum temperature reached on test 6...note that the CPU is not yet o/c and also that the pc case is open:-

[GoNz0]

hotter or colder with the case on ?

whatever you get today should drop 3-4 after a week its cured.

[aidanjt]

That's awfully hot, I have my E6320 running at over 3Ghz and I don't go anywhere near 60C.