Core i7 920 Temperatures

Maximum temperature until the i7 takes damage is 105C. It doesn't even throttle performance until 100C, your perfectly fine at 63C


This isnt a core 2 duo chip that is unsafe at 70C.

Guys,

Temperatures and overclocking require a clear understanding of Intel's temperature and voltage specifications. Allow me to put this into perspective.

Intel's Thermal Specification for the Core i7's is 68c, which is shown in their Processor Spec Finder - http://processorfinder.intel.com/d [...] Spec=SLBCH This means CPU temperature, NOT Core temperature, which is a very common misconception among many users.

There is a 5c gradient between CPU temperature and Core temperatures, which is shown in the following Intel document - http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0709/0709.1861.pdf This means that the corresponding Core temperature is 73c, as follows:

Maximum CPU temperature (Tcase Max) 68c + 5c = 73c Core temperatures.

Core i7 specs:

CPU (Tcase Max) 68c
Core (Tjunction) 73c
Vcore Max 1.375

Intel has stated that the Core temperature sensors (Digital Thermal Sensors) are designed for overtemp protection only, such as Throttle and Shutdown near 100c (Tjunction Max), which would correspond to a CPU temperature of 95c, and is far too hot for sane operation. Intel has further stated that the Core temperature sensors become less accurate as temperatures decrease, and should be regarded as unreliable at idle temperatures.

Unlike the Core temperature sensors, the CPU temperature sensor (Analog Thermal Diode) was designed to be linear from low idle temperatures thru high load temperatures. This is why motherboard manufacturers, as per agreement with Intel, support CPU temperature, but not Core temperatures in their monitoring utilities (such as Asus Probe) which is included on the Installation CD.

For your i7, CPU temperatures above 68c and Core temperatures above 73c should be regarded as an "overtemp" condition. As long as you don't exceed temperature or voltage specifications, you're fine.

If you'd like to learn more about how processor temperatures work, or how to properly test and calibrate your temperatures, then check out the Sticky at the top of this Forum: Core i7 and Core 2 Temperature Guide - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ture-guide

Comp

Temperatures increase exponentially with Vcore, however, the effects among different hardware configurations will vary according to CPU cooler efficiency, computer case cooling, graphics card(s) cooling and ambient temperature. At higher Vcore settings, temperatures may increase dramatically. For example, my i7 runs at the following values:

4.0 Ghz
Vcore load 1.296
CPU temperature 60c
Core temperatures 65c

4.1 Ghz
Vcore load 1.360
CPU temperature 67c
Core temperatures 72c

As you can see, an increase of just 100 Mhz, and the additional 64 milivolts of Vcore required to maintain stability, increases the temps by 7c.

Tcase Max is a specification.
Tcase is CPU temperature.

Tjunction Max is a specification.
Tjunction is Core temperature.