=====Computer Info, Newly Assembled=====================================================================
Intel Core I7-930 @ 2.8GHz Stock
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B
Scythe SY1225SL12M 120mm "Slipstream" Case Fan 1200rpm (Pushing, rear Antec 902 exhaust pulling)
ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower (with more than perfect airflow/wiring)
eVGA GTX 285SSC (waiting for 480SC to arrive RMA w/ eVGA, freezes @ win login after installing drivers)
Corsair TX850
Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600 triple channel (@1600 via XMB Profile 1 in Bios) <- first thing I've ever overclocked
Western Digital 1TB 32MB cache Sata 3GB/s (waiting for 3rd gen SSD to upgrade)
LG 22x? dual layer / lightscribe / etc
=================================================================================================
*All parts came from Newegg (except CPU cooler, TigerDirect) *Had to RMA the video card w/ eVGA (read above) *CPU Cooler imperfection from the start
*I have 4 total questions below, with relevant info above each one, and some Photos/Screen shots.
=================================================================================================
1- Background/Imperfection Information/Question:
I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this and helping me! I assembled the computer Thu. Sep 02, and let it sit overnight until the video card arrived Fri. Sep 03 AM. From the very beginning, I was unhappy with the Megahalems due to there being a finger print on the tape that covers the CPU contact, and oily residue left over after peeling it off. I cleaned it up with a slightly moist Q-tip and wiped/polished it with a clean microfiber guitar polishing cloth only to discover an imperfection towards one of the very outer edges on the cooler's CPU contact that was unnoticeable before removing the oily residue. It looked like someone took a tiny, rusty needle tip, and tapped it twice. However, it appeared far enough to the outer-edge that it wouldn't make contact with the CPU and/or would be accounted for after the Megahalems' thermal paste was applied. I applied a "2 grain of rice" sized dot of paste to the center of the cpu, placed the cooler on it, and screwed it down.
*Note: the cooler did move around a considerable amount while resting on the CPU as I finished it's bracket assembly and tightened it down. Also I screwed the spring screws down until they stopped, and then turned each screw about 1/2 turn back to not apply too much pressure on to the cpu.
LINK TO CPU IMPERFECTION: http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/dutchrend/Computer Build Sep 2010/HPIM1747.jpg
LINK TO THERMAL PASTE APPLICATION: http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/dutchrend/Computer Build Sep 2010/HPIM1749.jpg
*1. Is it common to have an imperfection on a brand new cpu cooler, or should all of them be 100% perfect out of the box?
*1. Any recommendations for when I re-seat this tonight? (please take a look at the below info/questions to help with this answer)
2 - Temperature Issues: *Running Prime95 for 3 minutes permanently caused my idle temps to go up ~5-8c
At first, I was using Asus' PC Probe to view the temperatures of the CPU/Motherboard (28-32c mobo / 32-34 cpu idle) which seemed acceptable. If I had to guess the temperature in the room, I would guess 74-78 Fahrenheit. I ran a 25 man raid in WoW, and played Mafia 2 both @ maximum settings 1920x1200, and the temperatures never reached above 48c on the CPU(Asus' PC Probe), and quickly returned to the idle states after I alt+tabbed and waited a few seconds. Last night I decided to look for some better monitoring software (Real Temp 3.4) and run Prime 95. I let it run for about 3 minutes, which is when I saw one of the cores hit 71c and stopped it. 71c was unacceptable to me for the stock speed of this CPU, as people running overclocks to 3.8/4.0GHz are getting max temps in the mid-60's or less with my exact configuration. Now I'm sure there are people who embellish their temp a bit, but back to the matter at hand, I should not be getting 71c on any core running at stock speed with the hardware I purchased. Also, after running Prime95, my idle temps + general use temps went up by about ~5-8c. Temps now: 32mobo/37+cpu idle
LINK TO SCREENSHOT OF BOTH MONITORING PROGRAMS: http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/dutchrend/Computer Build Sep 2010/FirstCPUseat.jpg
*2. Is it common for Prime95 to raise the idle temps of my CPU cores after using it for only 3 minutes?? Or was this temperature raise due to the paste 'settling'?
3 - Megahalems Thermal Paste VS Arctic Silver 5:
From the very little amount of information I have come across about these compounds, both of which I have right now, I have read that the thermal paste that comes with the Megahalems cooler is the paste that is meant to be used with it as it's aluminum to aluminum vs the silver in AS5 that creates resistance.
*3. Best to use the Megahalems thermal paste with it? Or is it untrue that the silver in AS5 will cause it to not work as well?
4 - The desired 'Tightness' when screwing down the Megahalems down on to the cpu
Also, from the very little info I could find on this, I found two suggestions. The first is to screw down the cooler just enough to where it wants to stop, and then turn each screw back 1/4-/1/2 of a turn. The second was to screw down the cooler all the way down, since there are springs on the screws that will prevent you from putting on too much pressure.
*4. Screw it all the way down, and rely on the springs on the screws to ensure it's not too tight?
*4.5 OR screw it down until it wants to stop, and turn it back 1/4 of a turn or so?
(I have the ability to RMA the cooler for a new one and use the stock cooler until it arrives, and I do not have enough knowledge to use a sander/sand paper to grind the cpu contact down properly to remove the imperfection)
=====================================================================
Last Thoughts:
I am going to the local computer store to purchase any thermal paste remover/cleaner/purifier they have, and see if they can offer any advice as well. I plan to re-seat the cooler on to the CPU tonight to find out of I can get better temperatures. Also, sadly, the Case/Mobo only came with enough cardboard washers/seating screws to use 7 on my motherboard, when it was recommended to use 9. I'll be fixing that as well tonight. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and any help you can provide would mean the world to me!
-Dutch
Intel Core I7-930 @ 2.8GHz Stock
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B
Scythe SY1225SL12M 120mm "Slipstream" Case Fan 1200rpm (Pushing, rear Antec 902 exhaust pulling)
ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower (with more than perfect airflow/wiring)
eVGA GTX 285SSC (waiting for 480SC to arrive RMA w/ eVGA, freezes @ win login after installing drivers)
Corsair TX850
Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600 triple channel (@1600 via XMB Profile 1 in Bios) <- first thing I've ever overclocked
Western Digital 1TB 32MB cache Sata 3GB/s (waiting for 3rd gen SSD to upgrade)
LG 22x? dual layer / lightscribe / etc
=================================================================================================
*All parts came from Newegg (except CPU cooler, TigerDirect) *Had to RMA the video card w/ eVGA (read above) *CPU Cooler imperfection from the start
*I have 4 total questions below, with relevant info above each one, and some Photos/Screen shots.
=================================================================================================
1- Background/Imperfection Information/Question:
I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this and helping me! I assembled the computer Thu. Sep 02, and let it sit overnight until the video card arrived Fri. Sep 03 AM. From the very beginning, I was unhappy with the Megahalems due to there being a finger print on the tape that covers the CPU contact, and oily residue left over after peeling it off. I cleaned it up with a slightly moist Q-tip and wiped/polished it with a clean microfiber guitar polishing cloth only to discover an imperfection towards one of the very outer edges on the cooler's CPU contact that was unnoticeable before removing the oily residue. It looked like someone took a tiny, rusty needle tip, and tapped it twice. However, it appeared far enough to the outer-edge that it wouldn't make contact with the CPU and/or would be accounted for after the Megahalems' thermal paste was applied. I applied a "2 grain of rice" sized dot of paste to the center of the cpu, placed the cooler on it, and screwed it down.
*Note: the cooler did move around a considerable amount while resting on the CPU as I finished it's bracket assembly and tightened it down. Also I screwed the spring screws down until they stopped, and then turned each screw about 1/2 turn back to not apply too much pressure on to the cpu.
LINK TO CPU IMPERFECTION: http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/dutchrend/Computer Build Sep 2010/HPIM1747.jpg
LINK TO THERMAL PASTE APPLICATION: http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/dutchrend/Computer Build Sep 2010/HPIM1749.jpg
*1. Is it common to have an imperfection on a brand new cpu cooler, or should all of them be 100% perfect out of the box?
*1. Any recommendations for when I re-seat this tonight? (please take a look at the below info/questions to help with this answer)
2 - Temperature Issues: *Running Prime95 for 3 minutes permanently caused my idle temps to go up ~5-8c
At first, I was using Asus' PC Probe to view the temperatures of the CPU/Motherboard (28-32c mobo / 32-34 cpu idle) which seemed acceptable. If I had to guess the temperature in the room, I would guess 74-78 Fahrenheit. I ran a 25 man raid in WoW, and played Mafia 2 both @ maximum settings 1920x1200, and the temperatures never reached above 48c on the CPU(Asus' PC Probe), and quickly returned to the idle states after I alt+tabbed and waited a few seconds. Last night I decided to look for some better monitoring software (Real Temp 3.4) and run Prime 95. I let it run for about 3 minutes, which is when I saw one of the cores hit 71c and stopped it. 71c was unacceptable to me for the stock speed of this CPU, as people running overclocks to 3.8/4.0GHz are getting max temps in the mid-60's or less with my exact configuration. Now I'm sure there are people who embellish their temp a bit, but back to the matter at hand, I should not be getting 71c on any core running at stock speed with the hardware I purchased. Also, after running Prime95, my idle temps + general use temps went up by about ~5-8c. Temps now: 32mobo/37+cpu idle
LINK TO SCREENSHOT OF BOTH MONITORING PROGRAMS: http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/dutchrend/Computer Build Sep 2010/FirstCPUseat.jpg
*2. Is it common for Prime95 to raise the idle temps of my CPU cores after using it for only 3 minutes?? Or was this temperature raise due to the paste 'settling'?
3 - Megahalems Thermal Paste VS Arctic Silver 5:
From the very little amount of information I have come across about these compounds, both of which I have right now, I have read that the thermal paste that comes with the Megahalems cooler is the paste that is meant to be used with it as it's aluminum to aluminum vs the silver in AS5 that creates resistance.
*3. Best to use the Megahalems thermal paste with it? Or is it untrue that the silver in AS5 will cause it to not work as well?
4 - The desired 'Tightness' when screwing down the Megahalems down on to the cpu
Also, from the very little info I could find on this, I found two suggestions. The first is to screw down the cooler just enough to where it wants to stop, and then turn each screw back 1/4-/1/2 of a turn. The second was to screw down the cooler all the way down, since there are springs on the screws that will prevent you from putting on too much pressure.
*4. Screw it all the way down, and rely on the springs on the screws to ensure it's not too tight?
*4.5 OR screw it down until it wants to stop, and turn it back 1/4 of a turn or so?
(I have the ability to RMA the cooler for a new one and use the stock cooler until it arrives, and I do not have enough knowledge to use a sander/sand paper to grind the cpu contact down properly to remove the imperfection)
=====================================================================
Last Thoughts:
I am going to the local computer store to purchase any thermal paste remover/cleaner/purifier they have, and see if they can offer any advice as well. I plan to re-seat the cooler on to the CPU tonight to find out of I can get better temperatures. Also, sadly, the Case/Mobo only came with enough cardboard washers/seating screws to use 7 on my motherboard, when it was recommended to use 9. I'll be fixing that as well tonight. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and any help you can provide would mean the world to me!
-Dutch
. + the other questions I listed. But I think what I'm going to do is just go ahead and clean off & re-paste the cooler/cpu and see if I can bring my temps back to what they were before running Prime95, and then when I do...
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram