I7-960 CPU temps - Okay?

[King_Jeremy]

Having recently built a new computer with an intel i7-960 CPU and an Asus P6T motherboard, I decided to do a stress test of the CPU using Prime95 and monitoring temperatures with both realtemp and cpuid hardware monitor. I ran the stress program for 10 minutes, and the temps for each core hovered around 70 degrees Celsius with the highest reaching 73 degrees Celsius according to realtemp or 71 degrees Celsius according to cpuid. Most of the time the temps were bouncing between 68 and 70 degrees Celsius. The CPUTIN reading on the cpuid program showed a high of 64 degrees Celsius. The cpu fan is a coolermaster V8 and no overclocking has been done to this system.

With normal use, the most stressful things I've done with the system never show temperatures running above 50 degrees Celsius, usually all temps are in the mid to high 30s, with 40 - 45 degrees Celsius being the most I've seen, and this was when doing simultaneous MMORPG gaming and online video viewing.

Just wanted to get some opinions as far as these readings go. Are these acceptable temperatures for a non overclocked new system?

 

[exela]

Imo those temps seems to be ok. But if your not satisfied and you want to see better ones , you can always get yourself a nice cooler.

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

those temps are indeed OK. realistically you want to back off when you reach 75C with an i7. Those temps are kind of high though considering you are not overclocking and have that cooler, what are the rpm's of the cpu fan, case fans? do you have good airflow?

 

[King_Jeremy]

The fan RPM said around 2000, and the airflow is really good. I have a coolermaster haf 932 with 4 case fans running. Do you think it's necessary for me to go though the hassle of taking the computer apart to refit the fan/reapply thermal paste?

 

[lordszone]

The fan RPM said around 2000, and the airflow is really good. I have a coolermaster haf 932 with 4 case fans running. Do you think it's necessary for me to go though the hassle of taking the computer apart to refit the fan/reapply thermal paste?

Hi
Bro your temp that u say went to 75 when running the stress test is too high. keeping in mind that u have cooler master V8 cooler and it is a good cooler, not a cheap stuff either. Let me tell u that people who overclock their core i7 920 to 4 ghz have temps around 75 degrees at load. so keeping that in mind, there is something wrong, i think u should get arctic silver thermal paste and apply it. apart from that u can chk if your cooler is not demaged, like a crack or something and also u can ensure that your cooler fan is running at full speed or something. Hope i helped

 

[Pro Llama]

They are a little high with the components that you have. There is a few things it could be. I would start by taking the side off and running the test; if it runs considerably cooler you need to change the way your case fans and/or your cpu fan is blowing. If it stays the same I would try reapplying your thermal compound.

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

^ yes check if the V8 is blowing the right way, I got mine with the fan fitted to blow the wrong way, so I fixed that so that the V8 logo was placed correctly.

I knew those temps were a little high, but I am not an Intel user, so was not entirely sure

 

[King_Jeremy]

Thanks for all the help everyone. Today I took the V8 off and reapplied the arctic silver paste to both the CPU and to the V8 itself. I then reconnected the V8 and made sure the bracket screws were tightened down completely. After all that, I ran Prime95 for another 10 minutes. According to the cpuid program, the processor never reached above 68 degrees with the CPUTIN reading 63 degrees at max. The highest that realtemp registered for any core was 71 degrees, but temp this high never remained for more than a second or so, before dropping to the mid 60's, where most temps stayed during the entire test. I made sure that the V8 was running at full and the fan was blowing in the right direction. I hope these temps seem reasonable enough.

 

[Pro Llama]

Thanks for all the help everyone. Today I took the V8 off and reapplied the arctic silver paste to both the CPU and to the V8 itself. I then reconnected the V8 and made sure the bracket screws were tightened down completely. After all that, I ran Prime95 for another 10 minutes. According to the cpuid program, the processor never reached above 68 degrees with the CPUTIN reading 63 degrees at max. The highest that realtemp registered for any core was 71 degrees, but temp this high never remained for more than a second or so, before dropping to the mid 60's, where most temps stayed during the entire test. I made sure that the V8 was running at full and the fan was blowing in the right direction. I hope these temps seem reasonable enough.

You may be applying too much thermal compound. You only want a very thin layer and applying to the cpu and heatsink should be too much.

 

[King_Jeremy]

You may be applying too much thermal compound. You only want a very thin layer and applying to the cpu and heatsink should be too much.

Well, tried that and the numbers temps went back up again...got to 74 on one core w/in few minutes. Stopped the prime95 program then and reapplied paste to cpu and heat sink together, and now have reasonable temps again (mid to high sixties on average at full load, with 72 being the high during momentary spikes). I'm just gonna stay with this, it is such a hassle to remove the heat sink. I have to remove the entire motherboard to get it off. The window on the plate the mb sits on does not match up to the heat sink bracket...the two bottom screws sit just below the edge of the window, they are complete inaccessible w/out removing the motherboard. It's too exhausting to fuss with it anymore. With my normal usage, I don't foresee temperatures going much above 50, let alone 60. Thanks for all the input everyone. Maybe someday soon i'll price some liquid cooling systems. Take it easy.

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

Well, tried that and the numbers temps went back up again...got to 74 on one core w/in few minutes. Stopped the prime95 program then and reapplied paste to cpu and heat sink together, and now have reasonable temps again (mid to high sixties on average at full load, with 72 being the high during momentary spikes). I'm just gonna stay with this, it is such a hassle to remove the heat sink. I have to remove the entire motherboard to get it off. The window on the plate the mb sits on does not match up to the heat sink bracket...the two bottom screws sit just below the edge of the window, they are complete inaccessible w/out removing the motherboard. It's too exhausting to fuss with it anymore. With my normal usage, I don't foresee temperatures going much above 50, let alone 60. Thanks for all the input everyone. Maybe someday soon i'll price some liquid cooling systems. Take it easy.

I congratulate you on having the patience to remove and reapply that cooler multiple times... I was already not looking forward to upgrading my CPU because I had to remove everything aswell. (same cooler).

Anyways glad problem is solved.