Core i7 runs TOO HOT with Prime 95 & side panel attached!

I was thinking about getting some improved performance out of my current build which uses a Core i7 965, a single GTX 295 video card and a 910w PSU from PC Power & Cooling. I currently only have the stock cooler on my CPU which I intend to change before I overclock, but first I wanted to get a good reference point as to how well my processor performs with the Intel heatsink.

What I've noticed is that while running Prime 95 with the side panel on, my core temperatures hit 90C after only 2-5 minutes, at which point I quickly shut off the test. However, if I remove my PC's side panel, my cores all perform in the 70s until I voluntarily turn the test off after 20 minutes. I don't seem to have any extreme temperature issues while playing games with the side panel still attached. (Readings in all scenarios are the same whether I use RealTemp or CoreTemp.)

The case, if anyone is interested, is a limited edition version of the Cooler Master Stacker 830. Instead of the side panel with the mesh screen for air flow, it now has an acryllic window (so you can watch your parts baking like a pie in the oven ). I realized before buying it this might be an issue, but I actually have 9 120mm case fans inside and an 80mm fan keeping my hard drive cool. (Don't worry - I can't hear any of them. The CPU & PSU fans are definitely louder.) There's an intake on the bottom of the case (which is raised about an inch off the top of the desk), and two exhausts (one in the back and one on top, although the back is definitely warmer). The video card also exhausts both GPUs out the back instead of the newer single-PCB version which exhausts one of the two GPUs back into the case.

So I'm curious if other users have similar experiences - or is it the general opinion of everyone that this case has horrible air circulation?

your temps should not be that high with a cpu at stock clock and voltage...even at full load for hours.....eithed the heatsink is not installed right....or the voltages are higher than stock...or something with your airflow is way out of whack....

thats much too hot it should be round 80c after a few hours prime

So, what's the point of the OP's post? You obviously have shown the problem is terrible airflow in the case. And the fix is pretty obvious too. Add more fans or buy a better case.

Wow! OK, you clearly have an air flow problem. Your cpu cooler is getting the heat out of the cpu "OK" (mostly), but you are not getting the hot air out of the case. As the ambient temp rises in the case, so does the cpu temp once you "cool" with hot air.

You say you have 9 fans. When I look at a Limited Edition case like here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119169

I see two only fans stock. Could you tell me where you have installed each fan and what direction it blows (intake or exhaust).

Well, we can try something quick. Turn off the power to the four fans mounted on the side panel and to the 80mm on the HD

Now we should have four fans, two intake at the bottom of the case, two exhaust at the top. The air flow may now be undisturbed. Test again, see if there's any improvement. (I'm a little worried about how much air can get past the 4 side fans and the vid card, too.)

That 965 is going to run hot, especially running 8 threads at max. I honestly don't know what the "expected" temperature is.

Well, the last longshot I can think of that has a chance of improving what you have got is to power up the 4 side fans again, but set the lower two to exhaust.

I honestly doubt that will set up two "chambers" and yield an improvement, but it might. If it does, it would be because the 295's heat would get exhausted rather than sent up to "cool" the cpu.

Oh, it will be better.

Google for reviews of the cooler you're looking at - those that actually report numbers compared to other coolers lol. Push-pull does not in itself guarantee better cooling than a different single-fan cooler.

Yeah, I was surprised how little those four fans affected temperatures (at least with the side attached). And I actually have one of those ducts from an old Dell. Maybe I can put it to some good use.

ecmslee makes two good points.

BTW, if you are interested in playing around some more - and with your case *I* would be interested lol - I'd go back and try putting the lower two side fans as exhaust.

Then I'd take a piece of cardboard and use it to divide the case into two chambers. Basically by building a"wall" from the mobo to the side of the case, from the rear of the case to the drive cages, running right in between the two lower and the two upper fans. (If this works, I'd later use a sheet of modeller's plastic cut to fit with an exacto knife.)

Two lower intake and two side exhaust fans for the lower (295) chamber, and two side intake plus two upper exhaust for the cpu area. Not perfect because you'd bring some warm air back into the cpu "chamber", but it might improve overall air flow.

Yeccch! I guess I read that and couldn't believe 4 fans would be mounted with their backs to solid plastic trying to blow on the mobo.

Time to make some holes in that plastic I guess.

Just thought I would return with my findings in case anyone with a similar problem stumbles onto this topic. The good news is I've had some success getting my CPU to run cooler.

First, anyone with this case that assumes the top fan should be an exhaust since hot air rises, may want to consider reversing the direction and changing it to an intake instead. I have noticed the CPU gets hotter faster when this fan is an exhaust. (Changing it to an intake doesn't make a big difference, but it certainly won't make things worse - and as I've already explained, this case needs all the fresh air it can get.)

But the biggest help was changing the cooler. I got rid of the stock cooler and replaced it with a Nepartak S983 and separate mounting bracket for socket 1366. It's an HDT tower heatsink, not as tall as other models currently on the market. I had to go with this one since despite my case being huge, it's actually not wide enough to accommodate the other monster coolers out there. (Not too wild about those coolers which cover your RAM slots anyways.)

Then I added a second 92mm fan to the other side of the cooler, so it now has a push/pull configuration for airflow. The air then gets sucked outside with an exhaust fan about two inches away in the rear of the case.

So with this new setup, I'm able to run Prime 95 at the same temps with the side panel on, that I originally could only achieve with stock cooling by removing the side panel off. Load temps in the 70s may not be a whole lot to brag about - but it's a start, considering how hot this case can get. Unfortunately, Intel's stock cooler is just not designed to keep down case temps, and therefore is not very effective.

My only question now is - can I get this to run even cooler? I applied the heatsink with Arctic Silver 5 using a number of different techniques. (A thin layer spread out over the CPU and the line method both produced horrible temps.) I got the best results following the method outlined here:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index. [...] mitstart=5

Running Prime 95 for 20 minutes, RealTemp showed my highest temps to be as follows:

Core 0: 77 C
Core 1: 72 C
Core 2: 74 C
Core 3: 70 C

Do you think the huge difference between core 0 and 3 is an indicator I did not seat my cooler very well?