I7-930 Temps

[JasonAkkerman]

I'm running an i-7 930 with a small OC right now. 160mhz x 21.0 @ 1.1v (shows 1.08 in cpuz). I'm using a Tuniq Tower 120 for cooling.

When CPU voltage is set to AUTO cpuz reports 1.252 volts. At that voltage I'm idle at ~58C, and loaded at 81C.

I brought the vcore down to 1.1v, temps are 48C(idle) and 69C(load) and it seems stable with 16hours of Prime95.

I have reapplied TIM six different times in varying methods and amounts. Every time I pull the HSF and CPU apart it looks like I'm getting good coverage. A couple of times I was applying a small bit more then normal because the Tuniq is a HDT cooler, and I thought the TIM would fill in the small gaps and not give me enough coverage when the HSF pushed down and spread the TIM out. All applications of TIM gave me similar temps (within 4 deg C). This last application seems to be the best results.

I think I have a combination of problems. First I think the Tuniq HSF just doesn't work that well. Second I think my air flow in the case could be better.

There are two intake fans, and two exhaust fans. One 120mm and one 90mm intake fans. The 120 if mounted at the front of the case and blows it air over three HDD's (one Samsung F3, and two 10K Raptors). It is moving a fair about of air, but I think its warming up over the drives on its way into the case. The 90mm intake fan is mounted on the top, but is mostly restricted due to the plastic molding of the case. The two exhaust fans (120mm, and 90mm) are both mounted on the back of the case. The 120mm is restricted by the grating on the case. I'm going to use some tin shears and remove the grating.

Am I looking in the right direction? I want to get a bit more OC out of this 930, at least 3.5, but I'm afraid of the high temps.

Could it be the CPU?

Thermaltake Armor Case VA8000 series
Thermaltake Toughpower 750.
i7-930 @ 3.36 - 160mhz x 21.0 @ 1.1v
Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme
Asus P6X58D
12GB Corsair XMS3 7-8-7-20 @ 1604mhz 1.65v , QPI->DRAM 1.35v
2x WD Raptor 74GB RAID0
2x Intel X25-M 80GB RAID0
1x Samsung F3 1TB
Samsung DVDRW SATA
Creative SB X-Fi
eVGA 8800GTX (waiting for fermi numbers before making a choice)

EDIT : Forget to add that Speed Step, and Turbo were disabled. I got all my temps from RealTemp.

 

[LePhuronn]

You're probably still applying too much TIM, and your TIM may not be all that good. Also, are you properly cleaning it off every time you apply it?

Besides, 61 degrees C at load is fine.

 

[JasonAkkerman]

Opps, forgot to say I was using Artic Silver 5, and yes I'm cleaning it all off each time I take it apart. Alcohol and q-tips.

I would be happy if I could get 61C at load, but 69-70C makes me worry that I won't be able to push it any harder.

 

[LePhuronn]

Misread - thought you already had 61 at load, not 69.

Those load temps with such a low voltage isn't too promising I will admit, but the Tuniq Tower isn't supposed to be all that bad - not great but not bad. Maybe it's the fans on your Tuniq that's the problem, not the mounting or the sink itself.

How warm does the Tuniq feel when you touch it after 15 minutes full load?

 

[LePhuronn]

Hang on. Do you mean the OLD Tuniq Tower or the NEW Tuniq 120 Extreme?

If it's the old one then congrats on getting temps that low, but it's an old cooler now so you're more than likely right in suspecting it's not up to the job for the toasty mofo that is a Bloomfield CPU.

 

[JasonAkkerman]

It is the new extreme. The fan seems to be doing its job as I can feel the draft from one side of the cooler to the other. One thing that really surprised me though was to find that all the metal fins on the tower were powder coated. How can that be good for heat dissipation?

Another thing I should add this that I have to orientate the HSF so that its exhaust side points right into the 120mm exhaust fan in the case. In doing so its intake side is sitting right above the RAM. Six sticks of 1600 get really hot.

They have the COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 at Fry's for $25-29. I'll give that one a shot. Someone here suggested it before when I was discussing what hardware to buy. I didn't listen because, quite honestly, it's ugly. A lot of people give it high marks, so I guess that's what I'm going to try.

 

[LePhuronn]

It's not a powder coat it's black nickel and something stupid like 4 microns thick so heat dissipation won't be an issue.

You should be getting better temps than that on a Tuniq Extreme, but you've already gone through everything I can suggest. Maybe you got a bad one with a crap base (i.e. not flat) or dodgy heat pipe.

Personally if you're looking to push your 930 I wouldn't settle for anything less that a Thermalright TRUE Black 120 Rev C (MUST be a Rev C) and a pair of 120mm fans in push/pull.

As you're using Corsair XMS you don't have fins on your heatspreaders so you'll have no clearance issues to use a Prolimatech Mega Shadow and a pair of fans.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Opps, forgot to say I was using Artic Silver 5, and yes I'm cleaning it all off each time I take it apart. Alcohol and q-tips.

Some of that will be curing time but case volume and cfm is a significant issue methinks:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=5

Here is the Arctic Silver 5 recommended cure time instruction from the manufacturers web site:

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

So by my estimation of this statement it would take almost a year of normal use to properly cure the AC5 compound, or almost nine days of continuous power cycles to meet their recommendation

By menas of comparison, in my son's box we have a 920 which has several selectable OC profiles....the 24/7 one is 177 BCLK with all BIOS settings enabled and runs mid 50's under load under Prime 95 @ 1.125 volts (Prolimatech Megahalems w/ IC Diamond 7 Karat TIM)

 

[JasonAkkerman]

Best answer selected by JasonAkkerman.

 

[starams5]

Did you get your problem solved? Are you applying the AS5 as recommended (see link)? I'm running an i7 930@4.2GHz/Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme/1.366v and my CPU idles around 46c depending on the ambient.

How to Apply AS5
http://www.arcticsilver.com/methods.html