Best CPU cooler for my case/motherboard?

[empathic]

Hi all,

I have recently overclocked my Q9550 to 3.4ghz from stock 2.83ghz and i'm currently running Prime95 to stress test the overclock to make sure it's stable.

So far after 2.5 hours it's running fine, however I am a little concered over the temps my cpu are reaching.

Real temp advised it peaked at 75c a few times along the test, often it will decrease to 68-70 not long after and then up and down through the test ofte n hovering at around 60-70c for the majority of the time.

Core 1 reaches temps 6-8c hotter than the other 3 cores, is this normal? The others havnt gone above 67c for the whole test.

Here is my system:

Case: Thermaltake Aguila - http://www.kool4it.com/thermaltake/cases-mid-tower-/thermaltake-aguila-vd1000bns-black-case-p-358.html?osCsid=mjsopa67ep7cmc1jg0a658jiq5

Motherboard: ASUS P5N-D
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, overclocked to 3.4ghz, 400mhz BUs speed, 1600 FSB
My Case has a thermaltake 120mm fan on the front and another on the rear, im adding a 80mm to the side soon.

I'd like to know if you think it's worth me upgrading my CPU cooler, and/or case fans given these temps and the speed i'm overclocking at or will I be ok as-is?

 

[empathic]

Saying that my side fan just came through the post, fitted it and so far Prime95 has been running 25 mins and the max temp has been 61c

Is this acceptable or should I be looking to invest more into cooling?

 

[empathic]

Oh now it's gone back upto 77c, so no difference

Unless I can manually adjust the side fan speed?

 

[joytech22]

Anything under 65 on a Intel CPU is where I'm comfortable, but that's just me.

You could go the extra mile and spend $40 on the Hyper 212, price varies depending on where you live or if you know where to look.


As for your second post, If that holds true then you probably won't need a cooler after all, but make sure to test it for at least 2 hours (temps rarely rise anything over that time, if they do it's probably from room temps changing throughout the day)

 

[empathic]

Anything under 65 on a Intel CPU is where I'm comfortable, but that's just me.

You could go the extra mile and spend $40 on the Hyper 212, price varies depending on where you live or if you know where to look.


As for your second post, If that holds true then you probably won't need a cooler after all, but make sure to test it for at least 2 hours (temps rarely rise anything over that time, if they do it's probably from room temps changing throughout the day)

Do you mean this case fan? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/221740

I'd like to get a relativly small, decent cpu heatsink and fan to fit 775 socket to replace the stock one i have on there at the moment - whats the best one I can get that is 'standard' size and shape that will being in the side fan air?

 

[empathic]

Oh you mean this one? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-Plus/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=computers&qid=1302009461&sr=8-1

It looks huge and i'm not sure if it will fit in my P5N-D?

QUESTION: Do I need to remove the back plate from behind the motherboard to attach this to the socket? If so, that may be an issue as my back plate doesnt come off..

 

[empathic]

After removing the heatsink from the CPU it eppears that the paste used inbetween is quite worn and thin/non existant in patches..

So I have orderd some good quality thermal compound and some compound remover to hopefullyimprove things.

Sound good guys?