AMD PHenom II X4 955 running idle 45c, shoots up near 70c when playing games.

siomasm · Dec 11, 2013

To be specific, I'm playing starbound so it's likely to be a bit unoptimized, but I just installed the CPU and a third party Arctic alpine 64 gt CPU fan. Dusted out the case while I was in there and just used the default thermal paste that came with the heatsink.

Prior to this with my 3core phenom I was sitting around 30 most of the time after having dusted it out. Mobo idles anywhere from 35-42c, but also shoots up to high temps around mid 50's.

Coolmaster case with 1 fan input in front, one out in high rear and another out in low side. (in front of GPU and CPU).
Edit: Idling around 39c (CPU) 30 (mobo)

I'm thinking the issue may be the default thermal paste....but putting my hand over the CPU fan it doesn't seem to be pulling air off the heatsink?

swifty_morgan · Dec 11, 2013

aluminum POS. the stock one that came with the 955......... have copper on it? that's the one you should be using.

ohim · Dec 11, 2013

if you put too much thermal paste you might get issues also, try cleaning it up , use only a grain of paste and be sure you have the cooler properly installed.

laviniuc · Dec 11, 2013

i have the same cpu on a zalman full copper (CNPS9500 AT) paid about 30usd for it. and i get load 40-50C and idle 30C. granted, i like to undervolt my cpu so i keep it at about -0.1v compared to standard (that's what was stable)

siomasm · Dec 11, 2013

I just bought the CPU itself, no heatsink. Fiddled around with my system and got a fan pulling up off both the mobo and CPU through the top of the case, runs a stable 58 during starbound now (using that as my benchmark due to lack of optimization

). Yeah ultimately seems like the Heatsink wasn't doing jack =/. Might leave this fan where it is and just get a new one pulling air out the side....or in. Woo tinkering.

quilciri · Dec 11, 2013

Si, too much/too little thermal paste, or an improper spread of said paste have a dramatic effect on cooling efficiency.

Also, FYI, your fan pushes air down onto the heatsink, so you won't feel any "push" when you put your hand over the fan. You may feel a slight breeze towards the cooler, though.

siomasm · Dec 11, 2013

quilciri :

I might need to re-apply some paste then =/
And its interesting to know the fan pulls in. Huh. Thought the idea was for cool air to flow through the heatshink and pull it away from the board. At any rate, Might re-apply paste and might get a stronger intake fan on the front..the current one you can hardly feel on either side as compared to my third party fan mounted on the top now.

quilciri · Dec 11, 2013

The idea is to cool the heatsink (and thereby the processor) as fast as possible. You want the highest velocity air moving over the heatsink fins. Pushing air over those fins produces a much higher air velocity (thus greater cooling), than trying to pull air off of them (there is higher velocity air in front of a fan than behind it)

The motherboard is not a cooling concern here, the volume of air over the CPU cooler dissipates the heat pretty widely, which is then quickly moved out of the case anyway.

good luck!

swifty_morgan · Dec 11, 2013

did any of you guys look at the heatsink? it's actually of poorer quality than stock.

quilciri · Dec 11, 2013

That may be true, depending on which heatsink he has. The 955 actually shipped with 2 different heatsinks. AMD originally sent them out with the same heatsink that was on the athlon series....this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-AMD-ALUMINUM-HEATSINK-FAN-FOR-AMD-PHENOM-II-X4-95-WATT-CPU-PROCESSOR-/131052345481?_trksid=p2054897.l4276

I did assume that was the one he had. If you have the copper base AMD heatsink, you are indeed better off with the stock.

swifty_morgan · Dec 11, 2013

this is what I found............... a cheap pile of crap purchased because of it's price rather than utility

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CEYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16835186062&ei=uyypUqqmLsWqkAel44DoCg&usg=AFQjCNG5wOAtFI_QY56J2cktAAGmDuUGLA&bvm=bv.57799294,d.eW0

siomasm · Dec 12, 2013

I do have the base aluminum one that came with the athalon, which I what I replaced with this (Evidently) crap one. Well that would explain quite a bit.

quilciri · Dec 12, 2013

The athlon heatsink is so terrible, that the arctic would be an improvement, but it's really not worth the money.

For budget coolers, the standby here is
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC) .

If you don't plan to try for the highest overclocks, or don't have space for the EVO, its little brother is a great cooler as well,
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.97 @ OutletPC)

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