CPU Running hot?!

[Ecotox]

Hi,


I’m hoping someone out there can help with a cooling suggestion for my setup (full spec at end of post).


Firstly I’m a little confused over which CPU temperature reading(s) I should be working from. I’m using Lavalys Everest to monitor the temps (I’ve checked the BIOS readings are they're are almost identical). Everest gives five temperature readings for my CPU. One is labelled simply CPU, whilst the others are labelled by number for each core (#1, #2 etc.) There can be anywhere up to 8°C difference between the CPU and core values, although usually the CPU value is about 5°C more than the cores. I’ve done some research and found that my CPU max temperature is either 61°C and 64°C (depending on where you look). Would this be the CPU temp or the core temp?


Whilst idle my CPU (with stock AMD heatsink) sits around 47°C, which I think is really high. Under stress it can rise to 57-58°C which is far too close to the max temp for my liking. However, you can knock 5°C off those values for the core temps and then it doesn’t look quite so bad, so I’m not sure what to go by.


Last week I removed the heatsink, cleaned it, cleaned the CPU die, and applied new thermal grease and that shaved a couple of °C off the temps and brought them down to those listed above.


Are the temps I’m seeing fairly normal or are they on the high side? Should I invest in a new heatsink and if so what do you think would do the job? There’s not a massive amount of room free in the case so one of those HUGE heatsinks won’t fit. My case has a large front fan and smaller rear fan.


I’m not overclocking by the way.


Any hints, tips and advice would be really helpful. If I’ve not provided enough info just let me know what you need and I’ll find out.


Thanks in advance,


Ecotox





ACPI x64-based PC
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Internet Explorer 8.0.7600.16385
DirectX 11
QuadCore AMD Phenom X4 Black Edition 9950, 2582 MHz (13 x 199)
Asus M3A-H/HDMI (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN)
AMD 780G, AMD K10
8 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (4-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (3-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)
BIOS Type AMI (12/01/09)

ATI Radeon HD 5770 Graphics (1GB)
Monitor Samsung SyncMaster 2243NW/2243NWX [22" LCD] (H9DS603278)
ATI RS690 HDMI @ AMD RS780/RS880 Chipset - High Definition Audio Controller
ATI RS690 HDMI @ ATI SB700 - High Definition Audio

ST3500320AS ATA Device (500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Optical Drive DULMXQJ HYROPEBGXYFS SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4082B ATA Device (DVD+RW:8x/4x, DVD-RW:8x/4x, DVD-RAM:3x, DVD-ROM:12x, CD:24x/16x/32x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Optical Drive TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552U ATA Device (DVD+R9:5x, DVD+RW:16x/4x, DVD-RW:12x/4x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:40x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
Power Supply – Corsair TX650W

[quickoldcar]

Getting an aftermarket better cooling heatsink and fan along with applying some arctic silver thermal paste to the cpu should resolve your problem.

Some cool fresh airflow throughout is always a good thing.

My suggestions for good heatsinks are probably all on the large side, maybe someone will come along and suggest something smaller but more powerful.

[quickoldcar]

This site may help you finding a smaller good heatsink.

FrostyTech - Best Heat Sinks & PC Cooling Reviews

[Ecotox]

Thanks quickoldcar, I'll take a good look at those reviews, much appreciated.

Anyone out there got any ideas on the CPU temps and which one(s) I should be comparing to the CPU max given by the manufacturer? Are they as high as I think they are for this type of CPU?

Since posting I found that I didn't have the AMD Quiet 'n' Cool enabled and enabling it allows my CPU temps to drop a few degrees whilst idle but obviously doesn't help when the cores are under stress such as when gaming.

[J1mmy]

MY CPU temps are similar, around the 42 mark with 100% fan enabled, or around 47 when the 'Quiet' mode enabled, probably running at about 60%. System temp at about 39. I have a quad core CPU with a standard stock cooling fan

[Aaron_8015]

What case do you have? What is the cable management like? What are the ambient temps in the room?

It sounds a little above average tbh.... Then again you may just have a high VID CPU... Luck of the draw im afraid.

[Ecotox]

Hi Aaron_8015,

The case is not branded so far as I know. It's got one large fan to the front of the case and one smaller one to the rear. It's also got a very large vent to the side (no fan).

I've got the cables managed as best I can (cable ties and placed away from the air courses) considering the power supply is a corsair TX650W and has a ton of cables that I don't need but cannot be removed.

Ambient room temperature's about 20 degrees C.

[Ecotox]

Anyone got any thoughts on this...

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 Socket 775, 1156.. | Ebuyer.com

Not for overclocking or anything, just to drop the temps a good bit.

[Aaron_8015]

The freezer 7 is pretty good for a cheap cooler... I picked up a really cheap one (similar design) for around £10 and it dropped the cores by 10-12C 100% load compared to stock

[Ecotox]

That's just what I'm looking for! Thanks Aaron, think I'll go for that then.

[quickoldcar]

Can you add a fan pointing inward on that side case vent you mentioned, that would bring some cool air directly where you need it.

[Ecotox]

Can you add a fan pointing inward on that side case vent you mentioned, that would bring some cool air directly where you need it.

Well I've decided to go for the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler and found it for £15.53 including free next day delivery so I should receive it tomorrow. If it doesn't do the trick though I'll definitely look into a side fan as you suggest.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

[Ecotox]

Well, just a quick update....

The Arctic Cooler arrived and I installed it straight away but I've got to say I've been really disappointed so far. I've only seen drops in temperatures of 1-2°C which, to be honest, could probably be attributed to fluctuating ambients temps from day to day. Having said that, I'm not going to be too daming yet because I've heard that the thermal paste may take a few days to 'break in' so I'll keep my eye on the temps for the next week or so and see if they improve.

If they don't I suppose I'll have to face the fact that I've got a more general airflow problem throughout the case that needs addressing. Guess I'll need a decent sized side fan. At present I've got a 120mm front case fan and an 80mm rear fan. Just to check, should the front fan be expelling air from the case or drawing it in? And the rear fan? They were already fitted when I bought the computer but they both seem to be expelling air. I'm no physics genius but that seems odd to me?

Also, when monitoring temperatures in CoreTemp there is a TjMax value for my CPU of 115°C. Is this just an error in CoreTemp because I'm sure this CPU shouldn't go above 61°C. Unless I'm misunderstanding what the TjMax value is of course?!

[quickoldcar]

The front fan usually pulls air inward, and the rear outward to get a good crossflow.

Power supplies also blow outward. If add a side fan face that inward also.

[Ecotox]

The front fan usually pulls air inward, and the rear outward to get a good crossflow.

Power supplies also blow outward. If add a side fan face that inward also.

My mistake, the front fan IS actually pulling air into the case and the rear blowing out. I'll have to purchase a fan for the side then, just got to figure out what the right size is. Are the fan measurements just for the actual fan itself (blades) or do they take into account the fitments? The vent on the side of the case is massive so looks like I'm going to need a 200mm or 220mm!

[Ecotox]

Well, looks like I've finally solved the situation with the hot CPU so I thought I'd report back...

After trying the new CPU heatsink and failing to manually change the RPM on the fan I decided that I needed to sort the airflow problem. I purchased a second hand Antec 900 case for £35 with it's four fans and temps have reduced right down to 29°C idle and 43°C under 100% stress (Prime95). GPU temps have dropped dramatically too so really happy.

So happy in fact that I decided to have a go at overclocking. I raised the frequency multiplier to x14 which has taken me from 2.6Ghz to 2.8Ghz and is stable at stock 1.3 volts. However, if I got to x14.5 I cannot boot. The biggest problem I've come across is that whilst my BIOS will let me set my Vcore, it has no options to go over 1.3 volts. I can drop the volts but not increase them. I've got the latest BIOS for the M3A-H/HDMI motherboard. Anyone any clue on how to overcome this barrier? Was hoping for a stable 3.0GHz but if it's not possible then it's not the end of the world!

Thanks