Is the i7 920 supposed to be this hot?

[sassan]

Hello everyone,

Let me first thank everyone on this forum that helped me out pick my parts

One issue that I'm seeing is very hot cpu temperatures on stock heat sink with stock thermal pads running on stock settings for the i7 920


I used cpuz to make sure my ram were running at the advertised price and made sure my cpu was running at the correct speed. Then I have been trying to see why my cpu temp is rising every day in a room that is 20C....

Is my cpu faulty?

Why is the temp this high? I'm only using 2% of the cpu.



Any help is appreciated

 

[foolycooly]

No, those temps should not be that high at idle even on stock cooling. The most likely problem is an improperly seated heatsink. Those pushpins can be a huge pain and you should really double check and see if they are tightened properly. This is a very common installation problem with the stock cooler.

 

[sassan]

speedfan shows it being at 35C

So which one is correct?

 

[jjbtexas]

foolycooly is right, you probably just messed up the cooler install. your best bet it to just take it off and start over

 

[jcknouse]

and if you get it fixed thanks to the guys advice, i'm sure they're appreciate knowing who the girl on your background is.

or at least, i know i would!!! :lol:

 

[sassan]

I tried to see if any of them were not fitting well and it seems as if one of them is very moving around but I tried to push it down on all four and tighten the pins.

Still not getting 30's instead 40's

Should I just go with and after market cooler?

I'm thinking of this one:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=35847

Any thoughts?

p.s. shes an Indian model

and if you get it fixed thanks to the guys advice, i'm sure they're appreciate knowing who the girl on your background is.

or at least, i know i would!!! :lol:

Here you go

http://yowallpaper.com/deepika_looking_at_you-wallpapers

 

[jjbtexas]

that should be a pretty good cooler, i would just upgrade. also, what case are you using because it might be an airflow problem

 

[geofelt]

Push pin coolers can be tricky to install.
A bad installation can lead to higher temperatures, and even cpu throttling.
With the pc powered down, gently rock the cooler to see if it is on solid, or if it wobbles a bit.
Push pin coolers are best installed while the motherboard is outside of the case.
You need to be able to look at the back of the board to verify that
all 4 pins are completely through and locked.
Play with the pins on the cooler first, so you can see exactly how they work.
Read the instructions that came with your retail cpu.
When pushing down on the pins, do a diagonal pair first.
If you don't, it is hard to get the last pin in.
Don't forget to clean the parts and reapply fresh thermal compound every time.
Don't try to reuse the TIM.
Rubbing alcohol is OK as a cleaner.
I use a paper coffee filter to clean with because it is lint free.
Any name brand TIM should be OK(as-5, Mx-2, etc.)
When applying the TIM, don't use too much, because it can act as an insulator.
Don't apply too little, either, because it won't spread and fill the microscopic
imperfections in the surfaces. A dollop about the size of a grain
of rice should be about right. For the i7, a very thin stripe along the long axis might be better.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26895&vpn=MX-2T&manufacture=Arctic%20Cooling $9.99
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Paste NON-ELECTRICAL Conductive 4 Gram

 

[sassan]

Thanks for your replies, I remember making sure that it was completely in, but I guess I might have missed something.

that should be a pretty good cooler, i would just upgrade. also, what case are you using because it might be an airflow problem

My case is the NZXT tempest, all the fans work, and the mugen 2 will cost me 51$ Canadian after shipping and handling, the price is right and I'm wondering if I should just buy the new heat sink and try that with the arctic silver 5.

I got the 750w corsair as my psu and I'm worried that the wire (8pin) will not reach if I install a new aftermarket cooler, are there extention caples for the 8pin motherboard pins?

Read the instructions that came with your retail cpu.
When pushing down on the pins, do a diagonal pair first.
.

I took my time with the instructions, except I didn't do it diagonally instead two on top first and the top on the bottom second, I got to take it out, but I'm considering getting that heat sink I just need to know if I'm doing the right thing of getting an aftermarket cooler for it.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26895&vpn=MX-2T&manufacture=Arctic%20Cooling $9.99
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Paste NON-ELECTRICAL Conductive 4 Gram

I have the Arctic silver 5, didn't use it yet, I got to take everything out. Also I'm going to use Cotton swabs to clean the grease off with 99% rubbing alcohol. I remember that being the norm usually on the P4 is it still the same?

 

[foolycooly]

try to use a lint free cloth if you can to clean the paste. Be careful when installing the silver as it's conductive and can cause a short if you get it anywhere but on the cpu.

There is a small chance that you have a defective cpu...there are cases where some i7s run hotter than they should no matter the situation. If you don't plan on overclocking the cpu then the mugen might not be necessary...I would strongly suggest taking the mobo out, pulling the heatsink off and installing it using the correct pushpin order just to be 100% sure that's not the issue.

 

[sassan]

Im considering on overclocking it to 3.2 or 3.0 with 965 extreme specifications.

Hmm.. I got to find myself some lint free cloth now.

I have this at home: http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?webid=639932&AffixedCode=WW

I hate RMAing things, so I'm going to try Arctic silver 5 and trying to clean the cpu up and the heatsink.

I'm looking at the Intel manual and I didn't do step 8 properly I remember just pushing the pins in without any order. So have I done damage to the processor?

temperatures around 40C is safe correct?

 

[foolycooly]

yes...even your initial temps are essentially fine since the i7s can run up to 100c before they begin to throttle...but higher temps are obviously not good for longevity.

 

[ynk1121]

speedfan shows it being at 35C

So which one is correct?

I would not trust Real Temp. It's given me some really crazy temp readings in the past. See if your mobo came with any software that shows you the temp. I know my gigabyte boards do and it was over 45° off from what real temp was showing.

 

[foolycooly]

Real Temp is the most accurate temperature monitoring program currently available...especially for the i7. Motherboard temps can be very inaccurate.

 

[cjl]

I would not trust Real Temp. It's given me some really crazy temp readings in the past. See if your mobo came with any software that shows you the temp. I know my gigabyte boards do and it was over 45° off from what real temp was showing.

Realtemp is by far the most accurate temperature monitor for the i7 that I know of. My Asus monitoring utility is utterly useless, and most other monitoring programs seem flawed. Realtemp gives the most accurate seeming readings for my i7, although coretemp doesn't seem bad.

 

[sassan]

A dollop about the size of a grain
of rice should be about right. For the i7, a very thin stripe along the long axis might be better.

In the arctic silver 5 instructions it says apply horizontally. And then put the heatsink on it so it would spread by itself.

So should I go with long axis or the rice method?

I'm more comfortable with the spread method which in this case I guess doesn't apply.

So should I do it horizontally in the middle or do it along the axis?

DAMN YOU TECHNOLOGY!!!

 

[geofelt]

In the arctic silver 5 instructions it says apply horizontally. And then put the heatsink on it so it would spread by itself.

So should I go with long axis or the rice method?

I'm more comfortable with the spread method which in this case I guess doesn't apply.

So should I do it horizontally in the middle or do it along the axis?

DAMN YOU TECHNOLOGY!!!

Either method will work. I used the the long axis method which worked well. I figured that Arctic silver knows something about their product.

As the cpu heats up, the TIM softens and flows, covering the hot parts of the cpu die. Either a blob or a stripe will have no air pockets in it, so it will flow evenly. A spread might be uneven, allowing some air gaps.

 

[sassan]

I cleaned the heatsink with lint free cloth and 99% alcohol.

Here are some pictures of the heatsink after the cleanup:







Looks like it wasnt mirror like, I see imperfections.

I haven't cleaned the cpu yet as I want to know if it's the heatsink at this point that causing the problem.

Notice: I haven't used toothpicks or anything to wipe it off... no cotton swabs was used.

 

[geofelt]

You need to get the old tim off of the cpu also.
Use anything you want, but don't leave any lint or finger grease on the parts.
Don't worry about imperfections, it is the job of the tim to fill in any imperfections and get rid of any air bubbles which are insulators. You DO need to see that all 4 pins are through and locked. The cooler needs to be put on square. Don't take a shortcut, remove the motherboard from the case to be certain that the cooler is mounted properly.

 

[sassan]

Hello so after I did my installation, I did it your way.

My minimum temperatures were 38 36 39 34

I did a prime test for 9 minutes and my maximum temperature didn't go above 76C

After a restart of the prime test I see 41 38 41 36

Is this normal?

The pushpins is all the way in. Should I wait couple of days after couple of shut downs and see how the arctic silver 5 will do in 5 days or so?

Keep in mind that my room temperature is 19 / 20C

Also everest is saying that my cpu temp is at 34c

What do you think?

 

[geofelt]

Hello so after I did my installation, I did it your way.

My minimum temperatures were 38 36 39 34

I did a prime test for 9 minutes and my maximum temperature didn't go above 76C

After a restart of the prime test I see 41 38 41 36

Is this normal?

The pushpins is all the way in. Should I wait couple of days after couple of shut downs and see how the arctic silver 5 will do in 5 days or so?

Keep in mind that my room temperature is 19 / 20C

Also everest is saying that my cpu temp is at 34c

What do you think?

Not to worry. Temperatures are not that accurate. It takes several hot/cool cycles for AS5 to cure. Perhaps as much as 200 hours. Don't expect too much out of it though.
Temps are also dependent on your case cooling.
A vga card without a cooler that expels all of it's heat out the back can also increase your temps by heating up the air that the cooler sees.

 

[xthekidx]

Those temps are better, about what you should be getting on stock cooling. I would still get an aftermarket cooler anyway though, that Scythe Mugen 2 is a good one. With an aftermarket cooler your temps will drop more. I have a CM V8 on my i7 OC at 3.6ghz and my temps are 34C at idle and 70C at 100% load.

 

[sassan]

Should I contact Intel because this is running under minimum core speed and minimum multiplier and my temps are now at 44 41 44 39

And all I have running is music and browser with two tabs open.

In my bios I have made my Ram to be at 1600 and changed the timmings to advertised speeds. So maybe that could be causing it.

So if I want to over clock to around 3.2 ghz, would the mugen 2 be good?

I want to go with mugen cause it will cost me around $50 Canadian after shipping and taxes and people are saying that it will be as good as the true.

 

[cjl]

Those temps are fine for the stock cooler. I wouldn't worry about it too much.