Running hot for a core 2 duo?

[george4]

Hi, I built my pc about a year ago and only started to get into over clocking only recently. I have noticed from some reading that my processor is running a bit hot (47C idling). Nothing is over clocked right now in fact im like 0.1 V less than my VID. I have taken my heat sink off cleaned off the AS5 I had from before, applied new AS5 and didn't seem to help.

Only thing I can think of is one of two possibilities (not to say they're right):
1. heat sink is not sitting correctly or 2. possibility of too much AS5?

My heat sink itself feels firmly in place but the pins that hold it down kind of feel they're about to pop out...
As for AS5 I followed the instructions on their website (arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm) and applied a line of AS5 down the center of the processor, however it says a "very thin line", and I don't know if I've put to much.

So I don't know, I hope its not a big problem that I have overlooked from the beginning!

[Rosaline]

AS5 needs time to cure before it starts to work at it's best.

Without knowing what heatsink you have, and what your case and it's cooling is like, it's hard to really say. My first suspicions would be to look at your case airflow and any dust buildup.

[george4]

My case (Coolermaster Centurion 5) is open and I blew out all the dust from the heat sink when I was reapplying the AS5 and I have the stock Intel HSF.

[MrP]

i get the same, my e2160@2.7ghz with a zalman 9700 idles around 50, and peaks around 65 playing wow for an hour or 2.

someone suggested that either the cpu or the cooler bases arnt flat, but i havent had chance to take mine to bits to verify that yet

[george4]

Yeah, that sounds pretty hot considering you have a heafty zalman in there too. I know that the Intel Core 2 Duos aren't supposed to go over 61C. MrP also one thing I noticed that got me a few degrees cooler is that my fan on the processor didn't go 100% at full load (apparently the motherboard software doesn't read the processor temperature very well - so it thought it was cooler than it really was). So what I did is went in and set it to 100% at a lower temperature (what I figured to be 100% work) which kept it cooler at high work times.

[MrP]

that explains why it dosent go over 61 degrees then

the fan on the zalman is spinning at 2700 rpm (flat out i assume) and the cpu load wont go much over 60%, so i assume there is something thermal or load throttling going on then

already taken it apart from re-assembled the heatsink mount and re-applied some artic silver.

time to get the flat edge out i think, anyone got any other suggestions?

[this_is_gav]

You want enough thermal compound so that there's a tiny slither ends up on the CPU heatspreader and on the base of the heatsink. To check do a dummy installation with just a very thin layer on the CPU heatspreader. Install the heatsink and then immediately take it off again. If the thermal compound is irregularly missing from the corresponding points on the heatsink then you've found the problem - something isn't seating right.

[hse180]

I agree with the above..................I have mine @3ghz and it idles at around 25 idle and @50 under load. I am using the budget AC pro on AS5, so i would say somethings not right.

[GSte]

Check out your load temps as they're what matter most. Could be a convex IHS/HSF as you say, may be worth investing in a cheap AC freezer 7 Pro which shoud keep you below dangerous levels if your load temps are high.

[george4]

With the case off and the fan now running at 100% speed 100% of the time I get 37/39 idling and 51/51 under full load (StressCPU mode in Orthos).

One thing I've noticed is that the cores aren't always the same temperature, and in Orthos one core accomplishes more iterations than the other. Is this a sign that the heatsink is warped ?

[Hunain]

My e6300, clocked to 3.0Ghz, sits idle at 37/38. Where as with full load, it goes up to 54/55. I think its pretty okay, considering its overclocked from 1.86 to 3.0

[freddie]

well not all cpus overclock the same way, you might just be really unlucky

as5 is one of the top dogs of compounds. even if it performs better after settling in for a few hours it'll still perform well enough for you to see the difference.

i's cut back the core voltage to default check temps and then overclock without adding core voltage.

also lap the base of the cooler, most of the time it isnt flat, 99% of the time it can easily be better, that said if your brave you can lap the cpu as well. i did that to both and dropped 8degrees C!

[Koolpc]

What temps can one expect with a q6600?

[MrP]

no ideaon a Q6600, but i'm beginning to think my cooler is goosed.

had it off again tonight and checked the contact with the cpu (which seems fine) however i'm still hitting a roof with my temps of over 60 degrees.

i tried rotating the cooler through 90 degrees so that the fan blows into the cpu rather than the 80mm fan that vents air and its made little or no difference.

from what i can see i'm getting good contact with the IHS on the chip, so its not duff contact.

so either the ihs isnt making good contact with the core, or my zalman 970 is goosed.

aside from checking on another pc, what else can i do aside from returning them to scan??

[george4]

I might get a AC freezer 7 Pro but they seem so large and only secured by those flimsy plastic pins. I wonder if anyone has had problems with it falling off?

[merdat]

It's a good product and if you follow the instructions and put the thing on correctly it will be ok and do the job. Just lay a rule across your cpu to make sure that it is not to concave and fit the ac7 pro using the square thermal pad of compound which is supplied - that way you will ensure that you have the correct amount of compound applied. - merry xmas.