i7 930 @4Ghz overheating

elementol · 11 Jun 2010 at 09:55

Hi,

CPU: i7 930 2.8Ghz @4Ghz
MOBO: GA-X58A-UD3R (Rev 1.0)
RAM: Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel DDR3
CPU cooler: Titan TTC-NK85TZ/V2 Fenrir CPU Cooler
Case: Antec 900
PSU: Antec trupower Trio 650w
GPU: Nvidia 240 GT
Windows 7 64bit

I recently bought the over clocked bundle and am having continuous problems with overheating. The CPU gets too 100C when I test it at full load. I've tried 2 different coolers which give the same result. I've had the bundle repaired / replaced (not sure what they did) and i still have the same high temperatures. Just wondered if any of you guys could think of any reason it would be doing this? Assuming that the bundle doesn't reach these temperatures when tested by overclockers, what piece of kit that i have could be affecting it? Can't be the case as i have plenty of airflow. Only thing i can think of is the power supply, but would this affect the cpu overheating? Or the harddrives perhaps??

Cheers

Phage · 11 Jun 2010 at 10:05

Voltage ? I suspect the overclock. If we rule out the Cooler and case, it's the most obvious thing to test. Can you knock back the OC and get a reduction in temp ?

elementol · 11 Jun 2010 at 10:14

Well i've had overclockers overclock it twice so it surely can't just be a mistake or just really bad luck for me. Yes if i load the optimal defaults the temperature drops to acceptable levels but that's not what i bought. I bought an overclocked bundle that should work and not burn out within a few days if I let it. Other people seem to have acceptable temps on this bundle.

Howitzer · 11 Jun 2010 at 10:49

You're getting these temps when you stress it to max but how is it in general use?

What's the most stressful thing you use it for? - Test it with that and see what your temps are after a while. Video encoding? Give it a go! Gaming? Play for a couple hours at max.
If your not reaching this peak on the cusp of meltdown and find you're in fact a good 10 degrees below then, in reality, you don't have a problem...

cupofchow · 11 Jun 2010 at 10:50

They probs just reaseated the heatsink....
You might have very bad airflow inyour case or a very bad and hot cpu...
I would cantact them back and demand they sort it properly as those temps are unacceptable.

elementol · 11 Jun 2010 at 11:01

Thanks for your reply guys.

At idle the temps are 43-50C. At load using prime 95 they get up to 96C before i stop it after about 30 seconds. I will be using the system for intensive 3d rendering so that means each core will be at 100%load a lot. I'm afraid this will kill the processor pretty soon.

I've tried reseating the heatsink quite a few times. And as i said with 2 different coolers including the Noctua NH-U12P. The whole bundle was sent back and repaired / replaced and its still the same..

Phage · 11 Jun 2010 at 11:20

43C is fine mine idles around there. But those load temps look like a chip that doesn't want to OC that high.

HazardO · 11 Jun 2010 at 11:32

My guess would be either excessive voltage or a problem with your heatsink mounting.

What is your vcore under load?
What thermal paste did you use?
How is the cooler mounted? (Which direction does the fan point?)
Did you prefill the gaps between the heatpipes?
How much paste did you use, and which spreading method?
Is the cooler mounting firm?

elementol · 11 Jun 2010 at 11:41

Not sure about the Vcore at load but the previous setup had the vcore set to 1.3 in the bios. I'll have a look at the vcore at load later tonight.

I used Arctic silver 5 paste. Cooler is mounted fine with all the airflow going from front of case to the back. Shouldn't be a problem there. I didn't pre fill the gaps between heat pipes. I used a straight line down the centre of CPU stopping short of the edges. The cooler is mounted completely firm, no give in the screws at all.

HazardO · 11 Jun 2010 at 11:46

elementol said:
Not sure about the Vcore at load but the previous setup had the vcore set to 1.3 in the bios. I'll have a look at the vcore at load later tonight.

I used Arctic silver 5 paste. Cooler is mounted fine with all the airflow going from front of case to the back. Shouldn't be a problem there. I didn't pre fill the gaps between heat pipes. I used a straight line down the centre of CPU stopping short of the edges. The cooler is mounted completely firm, no give in the screws at all.

If you didn't prefill the gaps, most of your paste may have just ended up in one of the gaps, this could be your issue.

Justintime · 11 Jun 2010 at 11:50

1.3v Should not be too much for those sinks, certainly not carrying it up to 96C with prime95, god knows if you ran Linx or IBT how quickly it'd hit Tjmax.

elementol · 11 Jun 2010 at 11:54

HazardO: I dont think it will have, i've done it a few times with this heatsink and have seen how it has spread after each time and it seem to be pretty even.

HazardO · 11 Jun 2010 at 12:03

Have a read of this..

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...ask=view&id=170&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=5

Although I'd recommend NOT lapping a direct touch cooler, those heatpipe walls can be very thin. It's the paste spreading that's interesting.

elementol · 11 Jun 2010 at 12:12

Thanks for this hazardo. I've tried this method before with this same cooler but got the same high temps. I've also tried using the noctua NH-U12P which has a flat base heatsink and same problem.

I would try it again just because of the shear frustration but i've run out of arctic silver 5...

Muel · 11 Jun 2010 at 12:19

are you feeding the cooler enough air?

Also is the Fenrir on now? What speed are you running the fan at?

Are you exausting the air out of the case again?

garethrobinson1 · 11 Jun 2010 at 12:23

I have a similar issue here with my bundle. I had the CPU replaced as the original one just wouldn't stay stable at 3.8Ghz, let alone 4Ghz, but temps were fine (idle 32, max 80c). The new CPU however idles around 46c and goes over 90c when running Prime95. I reseated the heatsink several times and also almost run out of AS5 as I've tried so many different methods of applying it. I honestly think it's just that some CPUs run a lot hotter than others...

elementol · 11 Jun 2010 at 12:45

Yes there should be plenty of cool air going in. I've got antec 900 with lots of fans. I'm not using it right now as im at work so cant check the fan speed. Also how do i check the fan speed? Its currently connected to the CPU fan headr on mother board and i think it might be set to auto according to cpu usage as it gets a lot faster / louder at full load. Yes all fans are poiting in the right directions.

gareth: I also think that some CPU jsut differ from one another but these cpu's are tested by Overclockers before being sent to customers to check for stability and temperatures for 24 hours i think. their max safe temp is 80C so why would it be higher when i get it home and plug it in.?.

Awahwah · 11 Jun 2010 at 12:52

One I my mates has just brought a i7 930 machine from here. He has had all kinds of problems too. I had to know his OC back to 3.8 to stablise it for him. I believe he is having converstations with OC as his temp were a little high for my liking - 90's at 100.

cobhc · 11 Jun 2010 at 13:14

This really is something that needs to be addressed by OCUK if it is indeed a problem of theirs and not user error. An overclocked bundle should not mean that it will stay under Tjmax only when using it for light usage.

garethrobinson1 · 11 Jun 2010 at 13:26

Mine is the same elementol. I spoke to Overclockers and they told me that they stress tested it for 8 hours and it averaged 80c... When I stress-tested it myself, it was on it's way to 100c before I stopped it. I'm using exactly the same setup as before when I had the 'faulty' i7 930 that was idling in the low 30s and never went above 80c. So either my H50 is faulty or the CPU runs hotter than the old one...