Intel Core i7 860 Heat Issue

[orizzle]

Hi all, I'm an avid follower of the news articles here, and from a recommendation from this site, I picked up a Core i7 860 Lynnfield CPU. I love this processor and it could very well be the best system I've ever configured. However, I have been experiencing some heat issues that are preventing me from overclocking this beast to its fullest potential.

I installed the stock cooler at first, and noticed idle temperatures around ~115 F (46 C) and full load over 150 F (66 C). So, I picked up an aftermarket HS/fan from Newegg. It's an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro (seen here). Since installing my temperatures have dropped to 110 F (43 C) and high load to 145 F (63 C). I have also tried cleaning the CPU and applying Arctic Silver instead of the paste that came with the new HS/fan but have not noticed much of a difference.

Here is how I applied the thermal paste:

My case has 3 fans, one on the side of the case blowing out, one below the PSU in the back on the tower blowing out, and the CPU fan blowing through the heatsink toward the fan below the PSU so the air is taken out of the case. All wires are twisty-tied and should not be causing any obstruction.

I'm hoping to get some advice from you experts. Currently my PC is running well - I can blast my brains out on 3D games for hours at a time without any performance cost, reboots, etc., but I'm kind of frustrated that I won't be able to do much tweaking with the clock speeds if the high temperatures persist.

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas to everyone
Mike

 

[ulysses35]

How are you checking your CPU temperatures ? some programs read the temps from different parts of the cpu.

The HSF you have bought is better than the stock item but not as good as some of the newer designs.

Im not sure how your HSF is secured to the mobo - but I do know the version they made for Socket 775's used crappy pushpin design that often caused the HSF not to be seated correctly.

Core temp is fairly reliable as is real temp so try both of those and see if the readings are similar

I would definately suggest removing your mobo fro mthe case to seat a push pin HSF though - its the only way to be 100% sure its seated

 

[orizzle]

I'm checking the CPU temperature with the utility provided from ASUS, my motherboard manufacturer. The temperatures are the same as reported by the hardware monitor in the BIOS. As far as I can tell the heatsink is seated properly. The installation required installing a mounting bracket and screwing the heatsink into the bracket. As far as I can tell, the installation is secure as the heatsink stays in its position when you try to wiggle or move it.

 

[orizzle]

Anyone else have an opinion? Or can recommend a good HS/fan I can buy for ~$50?

 

[EXT64]

A good 1156 cooler is the Hyper 212+ (if you can find it in stock).

 

[flyinfinni]

The Xigmatek HDT1283 is a very solid HS/F and you can get it fairly inexpensively (you do have to buy a bracket system to make it compatible with the LGA 1156 socket) Even with the bracket I think its still under $50
HS/F:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&cm_re=xigmatek-_-35-233-003-_-Product

Bracket:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233039&cm_re=xigmatek-_-35-233-039-_-Product

 

[Bluescreendeath]

I have a CoolerMaster N520 (small 92mm fans, lower profile cooler) running the 130w TDP i7 920. It cools just fine, load temps not exceeding 58'C for stock speed.

The 1156 i7 860s have 95w TDPs, so your cpu would run even cooler than mine.

The N520 is a great HSF since it's not 160mm in height like most other coolers, good cooling for its height, and natively supports both 1156 and 1366

EDIT: The N520 also costs $35, free shipping and no tax on Amazon.com