Need help with CPU temps and pciking a cooler

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Bardockzen

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Nov 28, 2013
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I recently bought a new GTX 760 and power supply for my aging rig. While waiting for them in the mail I cleaned out my rig completely of all the dust and then ran "Open Hardware Monitor" to see how my CPU temps were while playing Borderlands 2 (Just a newer game to get a feel for the temps).

Rig information:

i3 550 (overclocked to 3.36Ghz from 3.2Ghz)
HD 5770

When running my temps are running around 68-70c, with generally rare spikes reaching 80c a few times. ( Note: according to open hardware monitor the CPU load was only ever as high as 80%)

My Evaluation:

Now these high temps are likely just due to the stock CPU cooler not being sufficient with even this minimal overclock. My case doesn't have a fan in the front or even vents ( So I may add some to the front left side ahead of the motherboard and even mount a fan there, but I am not certain ). Before this testing of the temperature I had a slower 120mm fan on the bottom right for intake, a slow 90mm fan for exhaust on the back, and a vented port with a channel tube that was to have the cpu fan draw air directly from outside the case, however it only have lined up with the cpu. So I tested moving the 90mm fan to the side as an intake and removed that channel on the inside, this lowered the average temperature of the CPU by about 5c and eliminated most of the 80c spikes.

To my main question:

So I am in the market for a low price ($20 - $30) aftermarket CPU cooler that will fit into my case ( From the motherboard to the case I have 5-3/4 inches of space ). I also want to be able to overclock it more and I feel that with my new power supply and CPU cooler that I should be able to do much more than 3.36.


What would you suggest? I have my eye on this : "Zalman CPU cooler CNPS5X for $20 on Amazon." http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118128 I like the idea of having the heat from the CPU blown towards and out the back side of the case.

Also would the included thermal paste be good or should I order a tube of something else?



Thanks for your advice, and my apologies if that was hard to read through!
 
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airplanegeek

airplanegeek

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Dec 24, 2012
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your cpu is so weak that there is no point in overclocking. It will bottleneck the GTX 760 no matter how much you get it to. A good way to reduce temps is to ramp up your rear fan speed to achieve negative pressure. And if you are deadset on OCing the i3 then get the hyper 212 EVO
 
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Bardockzen

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Nov 28, 2013
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Thank you for your input airplanegeek. I am upgrading my computer piece by piece and I went with the Graphics card and power supply first. Late this year I will likely upgrade my motherboard and get a newer CPU. In the mean time, you state no matter how much I overclock the i3 it will still be a bottleneck, but if I atleast overclock it I would get more performance out of the system wouldn't I? A larger bottleneck to the GPU rather than a smaller one.
 
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jb6684

jb6684

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The Cooler Master 212 EVO is a great starter cooler. You could buy it now to cool your CPU down a bit if you wish. You could re-use in the future on just about any CPU you might choose.... (check for fitment in case 1st thou....)

The gain if FPS from 5770 to GTX 760 will be substantial..... (a dual core CPU will hold you back from full potential a bit)

What power supply did you get for the GTX760 ?

NOTE: Before you do your next upgrade, Post your currently motherboard brand and model. IF it supports something like an i7-860 you could pick one up cheap (folks are dropping those like crazy o eBay). Then you would not need: motherboard, CPU, Operating system (yes, you WILL need a need copy) (and full reload from scratch of all system & applications) it's a pain to move to a new computer....

 
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Bardockzen

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Thanks jb6684 for your input.

My new power supply is the antec 620 Neo ECO.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte H55M - S2V Socket LGA 1156, and for more information it would not be the end of the world if after my next few upgrades I have enough spare parts to put together a second PC for a media center.

Also money is getting kind of tight as my wife and I are expecting our first child ( only 6 more months! ) and I just spent my Christmas and Birthday giftcards on the PSU and GPU, so I wont be able to upgrade much (beyond a $20 or $30 heatsink) for a while. I had looked at the Hyper 212 PLUS but it unfortunately will not fit into my computer case, its only just too narrow by half an inch. I would love to upgrade to a mid size case and enjoy the improved ventilation but I cannot at this time. Would anyone have an opinion of how good the Zalman cooler is in comparrison? Or maybe an alternative to the 212 that would fit in my case?

Thanks again!

 
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jb6684

jb6684

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Okay, that motherboard is mATX, so no SLI in your future there. The Antec Neo is a good supply and should be rock solid with a GTX 760.....

Good news for future, you could pick-up a CPU Only in future an breath a TON of CPU power into that rig (i7-860) is supported:
http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3601

SKIP the CPU cooler. Get a can of compressed air, an old tooth brush, and small tube of cheap silicon grease...
Remove the old CPU cooler. Clean CPU surface and heat sink with alcohol. Re-do paste and reassemble.

You can find lots of videos & tutorials on the process....

The paste hardens to concrete after sometime and your temps go WAY up. And the dirt n dust don't help either. Bet your temps drop 5C--10C or more after the cleanup....

 
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airplanegeek

airplanegeek

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something i've experience with my i5 @ 4.7GHz: So the first few weeks were fine even through 24h stress tests. But after a week of no testing my temps go up 10+ degrees. But the thermal paste is still fluid, any ideas on what happened? I used arctic MX-4 between die and heatspreader and cooler
 
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jb6684

jb6684

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@airplanegeek:
In your case, only a few weeks & still fluid....
- I'd say you applied a tiny, tiny bit too little thermal paste.... (when things finally stop spreading out & settling you have some air gaps and lost a bit of contact surface area....)

- remove/cleanup/fresh install..... re-check.

 
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Bardockzen

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Nov 28, 2013
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When I did my initial cleaning of the system I did remove pretty much all the dust, removed the heat sinks of the CPU and GPU, cleaned them out, and reapplied ceramic paste( arctic silver ). The GPU has been running super chill so I believe my use of the "pea" method is working, although the GPU is much smaller than the CPU I know. I however have reapplied the CPU paste once more and did not see much improvements in temperature.

I will look into the i7 860 when the time comes.

Any preference for either the ceramic paste or the metallic paste?
 
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jb6684

jb6684

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I have no preference on paste. I've bought Arctic Silver when I needed some, but, I usually just use what comes with the aftermarket heat sink (shameful I know, but, they were highend heatsinks so they came with brand name paste...)
 
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