I7-920 temperature problems!!! WOW

How much thermal paste did you use? And are you sure you have adequate airflow in your case?

Otherwise, I wouldn't be too surprised if your Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro can't handle the i7 920's heat, a Q6600 with a lower TDP of 105W overclocked to 3.0 GHz managed to get to 89°C load in one review.

As for the 1638.8 MHz reading, Intel SpeedStep might be on reducing the core speed, but 67°C idle @ 1638.8 MHz is pretty high.

Try cleaning off, then re-applying thermal paste as instructed here: http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_application_method.ht...

Then re-seating the heatsink. The 1366 brackets are sometimes tricky to get proper contact.

I was going into the 90's C in Prime95 with my i7 930 until I finally got the seating right. Now at 60C under load.

Good luck!

Thanks guys, I'll try that in the morning. If it's a no-go, what other heatsink do you guys recommend for my i7 920?

I have a Cooler Master V8 with Artic Silver 5 with an i7 920 D0 on stock speed (2.67Ghz) and I idle at 24-26C during winter (when ambient temps are lower) and idle between 28-32C during summer. Under load, on prime 95, I usually don't go past 50C. V8 is pretty heavy/big but it does its Job. I think its a bit over priced, but It's really good.

My room is around 78-80'F, and my i7 always idled around 40-43'C.
This is with the Mugen2 Cooler (equal to the V8) and my new and smaller CM N520 cooler.

> If it's a no-go, what other heatsink do you guys recommend for my i7 920?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU Socket Type = LGA 1366

$5 part should do the job just fine:

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lga13sobbowi.html


A good thermal compound won't hurt either  


Research history is here:

http://www.supremelaw.org/systems/heatsinks/warning.htm


p.s. Pass it on, because Intel's heatsink and fan are quite adequate;
it's their stupid push-pins that are defective and should be removed.


MRFS

cheap hyper 212?

If it fits: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I own one of these puppies and it keeps an i7 920 @ 4GHz (HT on) around 30C on Idle and max of around 45C on load.

Mind you it is installed in a LianLi PC-X2000 case (which has 3x140mm fans in the front and one in the back).

If you are planning to keep it running at stock speeds, the Intel heatsink should be fine if properly seated (the brackets MRFS linked to seem like a good idea to insure contact).

If you will be overclocking - and that chip is great for oc'ing!, you should pick up an aftermarket cooler. The Noctua listed in the above post is one of the best air-cooling units if it will fit in your case and you can afford $90.

A less expensive alternative is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... for $50 after rebate.

Also be sure to use good thermal paste like Arctic Silver 5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...