Phenom II X4 965 BE vs. i7 3930k cooling requirements?

Uoppi

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Apr 5, 2012
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I've been thinking of upgrading my Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition to the i7 3930k.

Both run pretty hot and according to the reviews power consumption should be about on par clock for clock.

I'm currently running my 965 at 3.75GHz / 1.4V. Temps are 59 C max using Prime95 and a little over 50 C in my most demanding real-world usage scenario (heavy on hyperthreading). Idle is at 27-28 C (Cool & Quiet enabled).

The question is: if I go up to 4GHz/4.2GHz with the 3930k (presumably at 1.25V or thereabouts) what kind of temps can I roughly expect compared to my current CPU? Cooler? Hotter?

In my Fractal Design R3 case I've got seven fans (3x Noctua 12", 2x Phanteks 14", 2x Fractal Design 12") all running at the lowest possible RPM for quiet operation. So I can always ramp up the RPM's if required but I need as quiet a system as possible for my work.



 

Uoppi

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Apr 5, 2012
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Yeah, I know there are lot of variables and the temps AMD vs. Intel are not comparable.

But I'll need to figure out somehow if my current cooling is about adequate for keeping the 3930k within acceptable limits. The required voltage is much lower on the 3930k but then again it has more active threads, quad-channel memory etc. :sweat:

 

Uoppi

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Apr 5, 2012
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Phanteks PH-TC14PE with both fans attached.

The only problem is the Phanteks fans make an unpleasant rather high pitched noise on anything but the lowest possible RPM. Might have to replace them with 14" Noctuas if higher speed is needed. But like I said, noise levels are pretty optimal at the moment. I may have to skip the 3930k altogether if it's considerably hotter. That's why I'm trying to figure this out.

I'm still unsure about the impact of the voltage difference: the AMD at 1.4V and 3930k at 1.25V, say at about the same clocks for instance. Will the higher thread count, quad-core mem etc. make the 3930k equally hot? In my experience, voltage has a tremendous impact on temperature but I've never dealt with hyperthreadable CPU's.
 

Uoppi

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Apr 5, 2012
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I maybe should have stated more clearly that everything in my rig (including the CPU cooler) will stay the same apart from the the CPU and motherboard (+ the HDD will be replaced by an SSD but that has little impact on CPU temps).
 
Don't know, sandybridge runs much cooler than any of the phenom processors. It also has a higher thermal threshold, 3930k being: 80-90C and the 965BE being: 62C....the phanteks cooler should do perfectly fine.