What causes your idle/load delta to differ by 20C+? WTF????

[fishboi]

Sorry to post another thread, but the topic of this one is more appropriate. Check out my overclocking headaches one.
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1300536#1300536

QUESTION - what are the causes of a large difference in idle and load temps.

Im getting 48C idle, and 70+C load temps on my E6600. This seems way too high.

PLEASE HELP! THANKS GUYS!

 

[fishboi]

Geeeeez, just read this. Can anyone confirm. I'm not sanding $#%hit.

Heatsink and/or CPU heatspreader not flat!
If your heatsink and/or cpu heatspreader is not flat, you will see high temperatures and a large gap between load and idle temperatures on your CPU core. How do I fix this?

Take heatsink off, take CPU out if lapping the heat spreader.
Find a perfectly flat block, or surface.
Get some sandpaper, from 400-1000 grit (you can find these high grit count sandpapers at autoparts stores)
Place the sand paper on the flat surface, hold the heatsink or CPU surface on the sand paper, and rub it. Make sure it is flat. Your goal is to get them perfectly flat.
Start sanding with the lower grit, like the 400. Remember, your goal is to get it perfectly flat, so make sure you are not tilting anything, and make sure the sand paper is perfectly flat against the surface, or against your perfectly flat sanding block (none that I know of unless you take something that is glass and really flat or like a thing of polished granite. You can sand in any direction, it does not matter as long as it is flat, if it is diagonal, horizontal, vertical, or circular. If I do something that is not circular I do it in the opposite direction, like vertical after going horizontal so the small scratches are not all the same direction, and thus it could be smoother and more flat.
Look so see after a few seconds if the scratch marks from the sandpaper cover all of the surface, just the middle, or just the outsides. When it does not cover a certain area...that means it is not flat. Keep going until it is flat, then move up gradually to the 1000 grit.
Clean off CPU and bottom of heatsink with 91 percent Isopropyl Alchohol
Apply some silver sompound to the heatsink, rub it in and then off,this is rumored to fill the microscopic cracks and stuff in the heatsink.
Apply a thin layer to the CPU core or heat spreader, make it even but thin as possible..not too thin..but thin.
Make sure you don't get any dirt or anything in!
Carefully put the heatsink back on

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=329015

 

[pancito]

lapping the processor.

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=82

Basic DIY job, i would not lap mine even if it drops 10c because of warranty...

 

[TheGodfather]

well you seem to have the same problem as me.The stuped board aus p5w deluxe does the restarting thing.When the cpu is overclocked about over 2.7 when doing a restart it shuts down and starts again its just probably a board thing.

But your temps.Well i was getting about 40C and 51C with my zalman s9500 fan.Which was very weird.When i overclocked to like 3.1 i was hitting 63C at load.So i got pissed and i reseated the fan.Used some artic(i had it before used too)and right now i am getting like 28 at idle and 35 at load with no overclocking..But i am stuped and i have a antec power supply which broke when i was in the process of reseating the fan.I dont know why but it just burned so i had to return it.But you should definitly try getting some better fan and putting just a little of thermal very little and push the fan down a little harder to make sure its placed good.And if that doesint work then you will just have to send for warranty replacment if they could replace it for you.

 

[WR]

Most likely poor thermal interface. Try applying more AS5 especially at the center if you previously spread it as thin as you could without seeing the nickel plating. Some IHS (integrated head spreaders) are not flat, and a very thin layer of AS5 would not establish good contact with a flat heatsink base.

Another possible cause is cramped air circulation. If you run in a closed case where the fans run too slowly or are unbalanced (e.g., 2 exhaust fans and one partially blocked inlet fan), then over time your case interior will heat up and cause both elevated idle and load temperatures. But this is a less likely cause of the problem here.

You mentioned your heatsink felt cold to the touch, yet idle is already 48C. My load temp at stock is about 48C (CoreTemp), and the heatsink feels just a tad cooler than body temperature - so perhaps 30C considering metal is very conductive.

The best remedy for rough or bent mating surfaces is, as others mentioned, sanding. While it won't look good on the warranty, it is fairly safe as long as you tape the side with the exposed electrical contacts.

Lastly, when overclocking, I think it's better to manually set the voltages as well as read them back with something like PCProbe. I have heard that 'Auto' adjusts voltages, which in overclocking is not a good thing. You're running at 3.0GHz, which is very close to a stock x6800. Mine runs at stock using the minimum voltage setting (1.25V on our boards?).

For long term usage I try not to let CoreTemp report over 65C.

P.S. I could care less about the board doing a hard reboot instead of a silent one as long as all devices keep working, which they have for me. But I could see the slow boot as an issue for many people who start up their machines very often, and I've seen a lot of posts in other forums about this. Unfortunately, as I don't reboot often, I haven't delved into the issue.

 

[chuckshissle]

Somethings not right. How hot is your room? How hot is inside your case? How hot is it when you touch the heatsink when the reading says 70c?

 

[hatsurfer]

Hey,

Your temps are exactly what I was getting. I did an extensive research to find many people getting high temps. I think the magic "take it off" and reseat the heatsink has worked for many people. Also check out AS5 website, they specifically tell you where to apply the thermal compound to the heatsink.

As for me, I wanted to do something a bit more drastic. Darn it if I was going to have to remove the heatsink. I lapped both my heatsink and CPU to a perfect mirror flat shine. Installed and placed my AS5 just like the instructions dictated to my beautifully lapped CPU. I powered up and now my Idle is sitting at 31C(compared to 44C Idle before) and 42C after a bit of prime torturing. My load temps would have been near 58ish C before. I know that lapping was not responsible for such a huge temp change, but it sure didn't hurt.

If you don't want to void your warranty, definitely try a few of the things I did except the sanding parts.

Good luck