Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Q9450 cooler: Zalman CNPS9700 insufficient??

Last response: in Overclocking
Share

Hi all,
I just assembled a new system using Intel Q9450 chip and a Zalman CNPS9700 heatsink/fan. I am NOT overclocking at all and my Cosmos S 1100 case has great airflow. I used a few different programs to try and gauge the CPU temps and I am not sure if the Zalman is doing the right job. I have read that most programs may not be able to record the CPU temps on the new 45 nm chips correctly, so I don't know if I can trust what I am reading but the bottom line is all the programs I have tried (core temp, Everest, speedfan) show the 4 CPU cores running about 47-49 degrees celcius at idle time. This seems a little hot.

Curiously, the Everest Utility is the only one that shows a CPU Temperature in addition to the individual cores. The CPU Temperature is showing 26 degrees celcius while the cores are at 47-49 at idle.

So, my question is this: Are these temps correct and if so is the Zalman not good enough? I am inclined to hope that the CPU Temperature I read from Everest at 26 degrees idle is the one that I should be focused on and NOT the individual cores but I don't know.

Any thoughts??

More about : q9450 cooler zalman cnps9700 insufficient

Register or log in to remove

I used CoreTemp also and got those 47-49 degree readings from the 4 cores.

I used the Zalman thermal paste that came with the cooler which got good reviews. I applied it per their instructions which indicated covering the surface of the chip and the cooler with a thin covering (not a single line).
Related ressources
Ask the community

I have the air flowing out the back ( i considered turning it vent out the top since i have a fan drawing air out directly above it but I also have the rear fan venting directly behind it. I could have gone either way.

So, I have the Zalman venting to the rear and the rear fan sucking out and venting it out of the case. The cosmos has a 250 MM fan on the side blowing in, 2 x120 MM fans venting out the top, 1 small fan blowing in from the front and a 120 MM fan venting out the back. I think the airflow is good and the case is massive and all aluminum.

I am having a very similar problem. I was going to start a new thread, but I'll just add mine here since it's the same.

I am also running a Q9450. I'm cooling it with and Arctic Freezer Pro 7 in an Antec 900 case, so the case has good airflow.

CoreTemp is reading idle temps of around 53-55C on the hottest core, with Speedfan giving me temps around 50C. The built-in A-bit monitor reads a CPU temp of 6C (wtf?).

This seems really high, as I've been reading around the net with people claiming they're running the Q9450 around 27C at stock speeds. My temps are more than double that.

The Arctic Freezer Pro 7 came with MX-2 pre-applied to it. The case temp is 24C. The only thing that might effect it some is that the instructions suggested mounting the heatsink to blow the air out of the rear exhaust, but it wouldn't fit on my motherboard that way so I have it blowing out the top exhaust instead (it's just as close to it, so I don't see why this would really matter).

I can't even imagine overclocking it with my temps being that high already at stock.

My Q9450 is watercooled, and is running 35-39c on idle, and up to 58c after an hour of Crysis.

I also have 2x 8800 GTX's cooled on the same loop, so I am adding another radiator, for a total of 3 to the system.

Real Temp and Speedfan (latest versions) show the correct core temps, but the cpu temp is around ambient on mine, showing a false reading.

Mine is Ocd to 3.4. Temps are almost the same from 2.66 - 3.2, slightly warmer at 3.4. Voltage is same under load till the end (1.296).

By contrast, my e6750 never got out of the 30's when OCd to 3.6. So much for cooler than the 65nm units.

it's either a bad mount or incorrect temperature reporting. people have been having problems with temp reporting on the e8x00s, so it could be that all the 45nm cpus are being mis-reported.

the 9700 is a good cooler, so as long as you're confident in your mounting, I'd say you're safe. You might want to take it easy on the overclocking until you're sure, though.

Thanks for the replies. How can I determine if I have it mounted poorly? I believe I followed the instructions correctly. I applied the Zalman thermal paste in a thin covering that totally covered the CPU and I also covered the heatsink (per their instructions).

I am thinking of removing the thermal paste and using Arctic Silver -5 per their instructions which indicate using much less than I applied the Zalman Paste.

I used the instructions from artic silver 5 and my q9450 at idle is 46c 46c 38c 42c Thats what real temp 2.41 is saying. Core temp was reading much higher temps. I got it OC to 400x8. I think it says around 200 hours of break in time then it could drop -5c.

interesting.....after I re-apply my Zalman with Arctic, I should be getting even better temps since I'm not OC and our HSF and cases seem similarly equipped. I will let you know :) 

i still think all these temps are not being correctly calculated. the idle temps especially seem too high to me, unless you have hot ambient temps. my q6600 idles at around 30 when it's cooler outside, but at around 37 now, and that's oc'd to 3.2. the 9450 is supposed to be more efficient and cooler at stock speeds. the xtremesystems article spoke about the difficulty in calculating temperatures since Intel won't give us the info we need. It might take some time before our trusty programs learn how to do it correctly.

Well last night I installed the Foxconn One software utility that came with my Foxconn x38 mobo. It reads the cpu temperature at 29-30 celius during idle and when running a game like Civ 4. Of course who knows if their software is calculating the temp correctly either.

In any case, my new arctic thermal compound arrives today and I am upgrading the case fans to ones with 110 CFM airflow. After all that I will check again.

I've decided not to worry about it really. There is simply no way this Zalman HSF can be worse than the stock cooler. It has to be at least as good and I'm sure it's even better. Since I am not OC, I have to trust that whatever temperature I'm really running, it will be cool enough.

Worst case: the chip doesn't last as long as it should and whenever it burns up, I replace with whatever is newer ;) 

Yeah i was wondering if my idle was to high but i reseated the heatsink twice with no difference. Ive read other forums with same result. Some even in the 56c range at idle. I hope im safe for now.

For those who are still following this thread, I removed the thermal compound that came with the Zalman and applied Arctic Silver 5 as per their directions. I also replaced two of the venting fans with stronger ones (110 CFM) and added one one more at the bottom of the case for intake, thus increasing the overall airflow of the case. Mind you, the airflow was good to begin with (Cosmos S has 120 mm intake, 250 mm intake, and 2x120 venting as stock equipment).

I am not sure if it was the Arctic 5, the extra airflow, just reseating the Zalman or a combo of all the above but already 2 days later my CPU temp has dropped 8 degrees celcius! I am running around 23 celcius right now according to Everest as well as the the Foxconn One utility.
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Overclocking categories
!