Too high temp on my Q9450 ?

Shad0w

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Hi,

I would like to ask what you think of the temp of my Q9450. First off here is the specs of my pc:

Q9450 cpu, Xigmatec HDT S1283 cooler with OCZ Freeze thermal paste, Asus P5K/EPU mb, 2x2GB OCZ Platinum PC-8000 memory, Club3D GeForce 8800GTS 512MB, Samsung F1 1TB HDD, Corsair HX520W psu, Antec P182 case.

The Q9450 is at stock speed with VCore 1,1920V.

I get these temperatures after ~50mins of Prime95 Small FFT's:

Core0: 62C
Core1: 62C
Core2: 62C
Core3: 63C

This is the max temperatures read by RealTemp (TJMax 95C).

These temperatures were read on a quite hot day (around 27C outside) - though I don't have the room temperature.

What do you think about the readings?
 

Shad0w

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The OCZ Freeze should perform better than AS5 as far as I have read in various reviews..

I could try reseating the cooler, but if my temps seem quite normal I don't see any big reason to do it.. it could get worse since it's the first time I assemble my own PC so I don't have the routine :)

But yeah, users with Q9450 are more than welcome to post :)
 

Grimmy

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Key things:

1.) airflow
2.) room temp

To me, for stock those look okay, but there's always room to improve it from the above key things. :D

And to me... thermal grease is not going to make any difference with 80+F ambient temps.

My PC case temp (using an IR thermometer hand held) is registering 83F (28C) in front of my PC. Ran Prime95 for about 10mins (800000 iterations) and my temps are 54/54/53/53 with tjmax of 95C (Q6600 @ 2.880ghz)

I can only guess the airflow would perhaps be the culprit on the OP's system.

Edit:

And I use MX-2 thermal grease.
 

aznguy0028

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When i used CoreTemp to monitor my Q9450 when i had it at stock, the temperature was around 48-52C and the ambient temperature outside was around 80F. I later used RealTemp and it reported a temperature of 40-42C. This was all at stock before. Running Prime95, my temps were also in the 60's (60-63) when using CoreTemp, but RealTemp temp's were only in the 50-53's. (i haven't recalibrated the RealTemp in this monitoring)

another note, have you tried the recalibration method in RealTemp yet? there is a link to it on the RealTemp page itself. Given all this, i am using a Zalman 9700, and to my knowledge, the Xigmatek is a better air cooler than mines.

as for the Q6600, as mentioned by Dan515, i also had a Q6600 before i had my Q9450, and with a Zalman 9700, on a day with ambient temperatures in the 80's, my temperature at stock would be around 32-36C. At night when the ambient temp drops to around 50C or below, my Q6600 would run at around 19-22C. which is very cool. Using Prime95 on ambient temp. 80ish (the place i live is very hot) on my Zalman 9700, my temp went to around 49-53C. imo, for the Q6600, temps in the 60's is pretty high, but i guess it is safe because its below the 70 threshold.

and as far as i know, Intel never released the TjMax on their 45nm's. anyone correct me if im wrong, but even with programs such as RealTemp, as of now, as far as i know, we could only estimate the range of temp. the 45nm's are running at.
 

Shad0w

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I have three case fans (the TriCool fans which came with the case) running, 1 set to medium, 2 to low speed. I did my best regarding cable management though the 24-pint ATX power connector is placed awkwardly on the P5K/EPU forcing the cable to sneak around the graphicscard.

Do you think I should install more case fans? Though I don't like extra noise. Actually the TriCool fans are quite noisy, so I think I'm gonna replace them with something else.
 

Shad0w

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aznguy:
I will try take a look at the calibration stuff, haven't done that yet.

Your load temp is around 10C lower, which is quite much I think... :(
 

Grimmy

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Adding more case fans would make things worse. It's airflow that would be the top things I'd look at. having more neg pressure would help force out heated air inside the case, which in turn would bring cooler air in.

To explain (heh again) my case has a fake fan in the front. It turns, freely, but is based on airflow. In back of it is a 140mm fan, which I can turn off. So the front fake fan will stop. I use a fan controller, so I'm able to turn up the other fans to see the effect it has on airflow.

Now, I use to have a side fan (no more) that blew in the case. So in this scenario would explain why I say adding more fans could make it worse. So with all the fans turn low, the fake fan stops turning. Turning up the rear exhaust fan started the front fake fan turning. Turning the side fan on to 5v (it used to be on a toggle switch) it slowed the front fan. Turning it to 12v actually stopped the front fake fan again, which meant the airflow was disrupted.

So, just experiment with what you have. Chances are, if you can get more neg pressure, the more heat should be pulled out of it, and you'll have an airflow that should go front to back. Adding side fans may hinder that, but it's more based on the PC case design. For example, my bay covers are grilled so air passes through them, while the older bays covers will not, well, except around the cracks and sides. :lol:
 

aznguy0028

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Shad0w: i suggest you replace your tricool fans with scythe fans. they are a little bit on the expensive side, but they are worth it in my opionion. i have two running right now in my Antec 900, one on the side panel to help cool the GPU, and one in the middle hardrive bay to help cool the NB and the GPU as well.

here are two that i would recommend, buy them on your personal preference as one moves 68 CFM, at a level of 24 dBA, while the other moves 49 CFM at 20.1 dBA. both are great imo, and i would suggest you look into it.

here are the links

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185058 <--- 68 CFM, 24 dba

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185005 <--- 49 CFM, 20.1 dba

good luck fanning :p
 

Shad0w

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Thanks Aznguy :)

I stumbled upon the Noctua NF-P12 specced with 56CFM, and should be around 20dB or lower. This sounds nice if it's true. I can pay the price if they are this dead silent while producing nice airflow at the same time.

I tried setting my remaining two TriCool fans to medium speed. I think these fans on medium is producing 56CFM (not 100% sure if this is correct), so it should compare well to the noctua ones.

After ~50 minutes of Small FFT's in prime95 the temperature seemed to stabilize at 53-56C with a peak of 57C.

Also, I'm not sure if I get good intake.. I got one intake fan in the lower chamber in front of the psu (mounted at the bottom), so it's placed in the middle of the bottom area of the case. There are two fans blowing air out at the top and rear-top of the case.

If you don't understand what I mean I can try making a image to explain it better :)

Don't you think an extra case fan in the upper chamber with the mainboad etc, could help making better airflow?
 

Grimmy

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11-129-025-10.jpg


I guess that is your PC case.

If you could post pics on your system, that would be great to see. :D
 

Shad0w

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Okay, here are some pictures I just took:

my_PC.jpg


I outlined the place for a possible extra case fan.

What I tried to say in my last post was that I'm not sure if there's good enough air intake? As you can see the only fan taking air inside is the lower one, and it's a bit clumsy in the lower chamber (and HDD in front of the lower fan).. it's kinda isolated from the rest of the case. I outlined where there are options to install extra case fans.

So do you have any suggestions what to try next? :)

 

Grimmy

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Hmmm... you already have a fan in front of the HD bay, right?

The problem is having fans too close in their line of airflow. I don't think having 2 fans on the HD bay would help, and would perhaps cause more noise.

I've done some experiments with fans in a duct system, to help cool and older chip. Turns out, I made things worse, even though I had the fans working together. And the fans were farther apart then on that HD bay. :lol:

Now the only other thing, that bugs me on this PC design, is the back 2 exhaust fans. In my opinion, they are too close together. So in my mind, I'm thinking its possible that they are fighting each other to pull the same amount of air (kind of a vacuum lock), which in turn makes it less efficient.

The only suggestion I have, is try turning off the top exhaust, to see if that helps the temp any, or makes it worse. If it works better, then a high CFM fan, like the " SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm Case Fan" could help more on neg pressure (110CFM), but will cause more noise when you run it high. The only other thing, I don't like about the design, is how it draws air from the front of the case.

Don't get me wrong though, it is a nice case, and it was designed for silence. I don't think its perhaps the best case to have for cooling your Quad and VGA card (or cards if you get it in SLI setup). :D
 

Shad0w

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I don't have any fan at the front of the hd bay. I got three case fans: 2 fans blowing out at the top of the case and 1 in the lower chamber in front of the PSU.

Sorry If I explained it badly :)

Do you think it would help to install one?
 

Grimmy

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Heh... WAIT!! don't buy anything yet.

Put the top exhaust fan (it should be 120mm fan) in the middle HD bracket.

Test that to see if that help some.

Edit:

Again, I'm trying to keep your airflow in the design of what the HSF uses. So think of the airflow being pushed through as a straight flow without it be disrupted. But then I just noticed that the video card may be the other problem. :cry:
 

Shad0w

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Hehe yeah, I get your point on the straight airflow thing :)

I just have to see how difficult these things are to dismount. Do you know what speed the fan will run at, if I don't have it connected to the fan controller at the back of the case?
Because I doubt the wire to the fan control is long enough to reach the drive bay..
 

Grimmy

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Not sure RPM wise.

Since it's a 120mm fan, it shouldn't be louder for say as a 80mm fan at full speed.

Heh.. I have spare wire to lengthen when I run into that problem, even re-wiring molex adaptors, which can be a headache.

I guess that would be a good opportunity for you to find out how easy/hard it is to get a fan in for the middle HD section. :lol:

 

Shad0w

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Hm It appears the TriCool fans can't be detached from the fan control, so I can't move one of the fans to the other location as you suggested.

So I think the easiest solution is to replace the old fans with new ones..

The questions are then how many and which ones :)
 

Grimmy

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Antec Tricool 3-Speed 120mm Case Fan

Is that the fan your using?

Just not understanding why you couldn't to move it to the middle. It looks like it could plug in a regular 4 pin molex near it, or 3pin for MB fan header. Dunno if you have both DVD/HD that are sata, that wouldn't work.

But you have nothing that will reach it? Its that short? :oops:
 

Shad0w

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The problem is not with the power connection. The one you link to got a loose fan switch, but the two fans in the top of my case is connected to a control switch on the back of my case, and they can't be detached from this unless I cut the wire or take out both fans and switch.

I could maybe move the fan from the lower chamber (since it's similar to the one you link to, with a loose control switch), but then it's probably gonna be hot down in that lower chamber, so I don't think this would be the best idea.
It's also very limited with space down there, so I'm not sure If I can get the fan removed without having to take out the PSU too.
 

Grimmy

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Ah... never did see the back switch on that case. Interesting to know. The PSU does need that bottom fan since it has no intake from the bottom.

Whelp... I tried to think of a way for you to test with what ya have. Shame that the 2 exhaust fans are linked to prevent ya from doing that without doing some snipping.

I guess you could just get another fan in there to help push some more air in to see what it does with the top fan on then off to see what works best.

Edit:

Thinking about it, heh.. you prolly can't turn the top fan off, but perhaps turn it on low?
 

Shad0w

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I have both top fans at low at the moment - only the lower fan is set on medium. Actually this constellation is caused by the fans not being able to start when all three are set to low.. I have tried mailing Antec about it (I know other people got free fans because of this problem), but haven't got any answer yet.

If they will sent me some replacement fans I would be able to try out what you say before buying new stuff :)

The top fans are connected separatly to the PSU, so I can just leave one unplugged.