QX6700 (2.66, no oc) idles at 52c with zalman 9700

[zooairz]

Does anyone else have a high (50's) temp for a qx6700? That said, does anyone think the below temps seem high anyway?

Tt Armor with 15cm fan on the side
120mm x 2
80mm x 2 in the case
qx6700 @ 2.66- Zalman 9700 (fan controller on high)
evga 8800 gtx sli - stock fans
2 gb OCZ at 1067 to link with the cpu but stock is 1142.
(tighter timings and link at 1067 seems to perform better)
36gb raptors RAID0
other junk

cpu- 52c
system- 38c
gpu 1- 71c
gpu 2- 76c (what the?)

ambient temp 29c 8O (84F) its in my basement which is hot, not ground temp.

Any thoughts on cooling? Water cooling is not an option. I have it up on a table, there is nothing blocking the fans.

My end goal is to just bump that qx6700 to 2.9 or the FSB to 1142 to link with my ram if that helps. Frankly, I just do that pi test to run two cores at a time for a while etc.. for a stress test. The temps get into the 60's quick. Playing games does not, but they only utilize one core. The future will change that.

Thanks,

Jer

 

[graysky]

52C @ idle is too hot. My Q6600 @ 9x333 idles @ 38-40 as a point of comparison (but that is w/ speedstep so it's really 6x333); What is your vcore and did you minimize it?

Have a look at my guide on C2Q overclocking. There is a whole section on thermal management. I'd suspect you have poor contact between your HS and CPU. Again, check out that section of the guide.

 

[bydesign]

Fix your ambient temp. I idle around 37C (w/ Everest) with E6600@3Ghz using a Tuniq with an ambient of 23C. Inside my case it's 29C at idle.

Assuming your situation is similar your case temp is around 35C. The cooler works more efficiently with a larger disparity in temperature.

I have the same problem with my car without a re-tuning I would pop the motor in the winter because my inter-cooler is that much more efficient.

Of course make sure that everything is seated properly and you have proper airflow going in the right direction.

 

[phassat]

Probably your Zalman doesn't have a good contact point with the CPU? 52 seems quite high.....

You can find in some review where Zalman 9700 should perform quite well even that it's not the best.
with your ambient, I would hope something like low 40'sh

 

[zooairz]

Graysky,

That guide is well put together! Thanks a ton. I went through it all and dropped my vcore first. That brought my temps down to 48c idle. Significant to me as I could not go below 52c idle at all. Added an 80mm fan to the top of the case but I doubt that is helping much. Tried to be more efficent with the wire spacing.

I will have to see over the next week if temps drop from the AS5.

FYI, the link for fixing the vDroop does not work for me, or at least it didn't at 11:55pm Tue 6/19 EST. I would be interested in knowing that trick with the pencil.

For what it is worth, the clocking program that tracked the temps of the chips were confusing. I actually found that RMClock measured my temps as very high, 61-62. I sure hope that is off for my set up. Speedfan measured it the same as what nTune did which is what I was using the measure the temps in the first place. I took the two out of the three that were the same.

I believe I will OC as the AS5 settles and I drop my ambient temps. My mom has an old, energy eating, AC unit for me to put in a window about 6' from the cpu. There is too much moisture to put a direct tube but the area will cool significantly.

Phatty guide, thanks again,

Jer

 

[zooairz]

ByDesign,

I think the ambient temps are a definite part of the problem. My gtx's idle in the 70's. That in turn heats up the rest of the case, literally. The air goes out the back but the case in that area is almost hot to the touch.

My folks live in NY and are bringing one of those huge, old, energy eating AC units 'down south' where I live. I am going to put it in a window about 7' from the case.

I re-fit my zalman as posted above and we will see if that helps. Dropping the vCore (all is stable) dropped temps immediately.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Jer

 

[zooairz]

Phassat,

I re-fit my zalman as posted above and we will see if that helps. Dropping the vCore (all is stable) dropped temps immediately but they are still toasty at 48c idle.

I had way too much AS5 on in the first place. I don't think I trusted the company made instructions. (ID10T error)

Thanks for the thoughts.

Jer

 

[graysky]

My guess is that your HS and likely your Q6700 are not flat. You should seriously consider lapping them to drop your temps. Read the section in the guide entitled "thermal management" for some links w/ pics of my own lap-job on my HS and chip.

Ah, here:

Lapping the Q6600
Lapping the Ultra-120 Extreme

btw, the link to the vdroop mod worked for me..?!

 

[knowsitall]

maybe get the tuniq tower 120, i have installed a few of those, they are easy to make contact on the cpu and do a hell of nice cooling job.

 

[exarrkun]

Antec 900
Core 2 Duo E6300 (@ 2.33ghz)
Asus P5n32-e sli 680i motherboard (@ 1333fsb)
PC power & cooling 750 quad
Evga Geforce 8800gts 640mb
2gb Corsair Dominator 800mhz (@ 667mhz)


<<-- click to expand
max. 468x60

nice cable management u got there 8O
to the OP: take that as an example

 

[knowsitall]

Antec 900
Core 2 Duo E6300 (@ 2.33ghz)
Asus P5n32-e sli 680i motherboard (@ 1333fsb)
PC power & cooling 750 quad
Evga Geforce 8800gts 640mb
2gb Corsair Dominator 800mhz (@ 667mhz)


<<-- click to expand
max. 468x60

nice cable management u got there 8O
to the OP: take that as an example

hey man thanks

 

[phassat]

Let me know if your Air Con already installed. It will be interesting to see what ambient temperature means for your cpu cooling....

 

[phassat]

My guess is that your HS and likely your Q6700 are not flat. You should seriously consider lapping them to drop your temps. Read the section in the guide entitled "thermal management" for some links w/ pics of my own lap-job on my HS and chip.

Ah, here:

Lapping the Q6600
Lapping the Ultra-120 Extreme

btw, the link to the vdroop mod worked for me..?!

Before you lapped them, did you have high temp? I just got the same HS as yours but I haven't check whether they are perfectly flat.

I would like to avoid lapping as much as I can unless the result is not good at all.....

 

[zooairz]

Phassat,

The temps dropped outside my house with a storm and the ambient temps in the basement with it. Outside the case, it was around 23.3c (72F) and the CPU, now after re-applying AS5, and dropping vCore is idling at 44c. This is a huge change but I still don't know which has helped more. The GPU's (evga 8800 gtx) I have are still idiling very high, 70-78c, but I have heard this is ok, who knows.

I will let you know about the AC though. I was turning the computer on and off when I came home from and before leaving for work to start the ups and downs of the AS5 settling. When I come into the basement, it is hot, just from the PC. That is part of the problem so I am hoping the AC will be somewhat quiet and it will help take the heat cycle down a few notches.

Graysky,

That link for the vdroop and the pencil worked fine.

That lapping business will be the next step but I am going to go conservative for now. I did check the bottom of the zalman and could see my reflexion fairly well for what it is worth.

Knows it all and exarkun,

I would be banned from this site if I sent a picture of my cables. Even when I cleaned them up they look like a rat nest with cable ties. Most are stuffed into the far wall which I can never open because they will explode out and I will never get them back in.

Thanks to all,

Jer

 

[graysky]

Before you lapped them, did you have high temp? I just got the same HS as yours but I haven't check whether they are perfectly flat.

I would like to avoid lapping as much as I can unless the result is not good at all.....

You addressing me? If so, yeah. Have a look in the thread to see before/after temps. It really did make a pretty big difference.

 

[graysky]

That link for the vdroop and the pencil worked fine.

Hey man, glad to hear it. I think that *has* to be the hands-down best bang-for-the-buck modification anyone can do. Lapping comes in a close second.

That lapping business will be the next step but I am going to go conservative for now. I did check the bottom of the zalman and could see my reflexion fairly well for what it is worth.

I think once you try it, you won't be so trepidatious -- it's really dead simple to do and you really can't mess it up as long as you follow a few simple rules and common sense. I was totally like you thought-wise before I finally just tried it. I will always lap my components in the future now after seeing first hand how easy it is to do and also seeing the major temp decreases.

1) FLAT is the key, not shiny.
2) Use minimal to no pressure; let the sandpaper and gravity do the work for you.
3) Lap on a flat surface such as a piece of glass (8x10 will do just fine and you can get one from any home store for under $2).

 

[phassat]

You will probably need to clean the surface of your cpu and heatsink as well if you ever touch it with your hand. I hears it's really sensitive and your finger print is 0.005" thick which could cause performance drop. Hair, dust, or any other small object will constrain the performance as well.

I believe to clean it, you'll have to use alcohol, but I don't know the type.

23 degree for room temperature should be good enough to produce low 30sh for CPU on idle...

EDIT:
In an article, using a X6800, Zalman 9700 idling at 28 degree, and 36 degree at load... It doesn't say room temperature but I will expect 20-25 which is normal temperature room with Air Con... I'll find something for your about your GPU temp....

 

[zooairz]

Thanks phassat.

The alcohol I have been using is isopropyl, or rubbing alcohol. That is great to know about the x6800. I'm still floating around 46 which is better but I can't fathom the 30's.

I am just concerned that it is all just too hot. The gpu's both create heat on their own that might be filling the case. I just cannot imagine though that two 120mm's, an 80mm and the 25cm fan on the side are not pushing that air out.

That said, I have another 80mm in the case just inside the HD's blowing in, right on the gpu's. It is pulling the air from the lower 120mm. It is moving the air around the gtx's so I know there is not an air trap down below. Any way, I will settle for cooling off the cpu first before attempting to mess with the whole system with little fans.

It will be next week before the air cond. comes to be.

I have some odd temps for a few functional tests I'll share soon. My temps were higher at stock, than one multiplier up!?

Thanks again,

Jer