core 0 is 4c to 5c below core 1 on:E8400, Rampage formula & zalman 9700 LED

[joek1]

i am using a E8400 with zalman 9700 led cooler, on a Asus Rampage formula, with 2x2gb Geil pc8500 and ATI 4870 GFX, Firstly my core 1, is 4c to 5c higher than core 0 ?
Now i only recently installed zalman 9700, and i think i may have seriously overdone it with the included heatsink grease (i spread it on CPU and Heatsink), and when it was installed i accidently rotated it a bit B4 screwing it down, is it worth taking the cooler off, cleaning the grease off, re applying a small amount of grease, (or arctic silver 5 which i have lying around) and re seating cooler.

I am currently running @ FSB 400, (fsb strap @ 266) Multi. 9 (CPU @3600Mhz) memory @ 500mhz (DDR2=1000mhz) 5,5,5,15,1N common performance level @ 6 and voltages at base settings (no overvoltz)

The temps (via Coretemp) which apparently has TJMax 10c too high? are at idle 46 & 51 and at load 63 & 66 (note higher difference beetween cores when idle to when under load)
(-is 66c safe for 45nm CPUs?- when i had a old e6400 i used to try to keep it below 60c!)
also the temp doesnt change when i raise the fan speed, i can raise fan from 1300rpm to 2400rpm, and the temps are the same, does this mean the heatsink isnt doing its job, maybee the thermal grease is on too thick? and the heat isnt being transferred to heatsink properly?

and finally i have got three Arctic Cooling 90mm 3pin fans (from overclockers stock code FG-006-AR £5.28 inc vat)
and they dont show up in my motherboard bios. the 3 fan control and registers under hardware monitoring show no fans connected (i tried in the 3 alternative fan headers, with no joy) all the fans work, but they dont appear in bios, as such i cant raise or lower fan speed and cant monitor RPMs. i did notice tho the fans have a 3 pin plug, they only have 2 wires, and one of the pins on the plug is left blank? is there any way i can make the MOBO see the fans?

cheers

 

[Cob]

A difference between core temps is normal, but it does sound like you applied too much paste. You only need to apply a small amount to the CPU, and none on the heatsink.

If the fans only have 2 wires then there will be no way to control their speed.

 

[Clairvoyant]

It can also be the IHS is not flat.

Mine has temps about 8/9c difference at idle. But under load the difference is about 2/4c.

I have reseated my TRUE a few times and its always the same. I could lap the CPU but dont want to.

 

[AgedIdiot]

Real Temp gives ,imo, more accurate temps. core temp runs 10c higher

Am running mine(8400 on Asus P5K Prem) at stock at moment and temps are 25/28.

Under load under 40 on both - did find that the temps equalise quickly when under load.
Would add that it needed a few days , to settle ? , before it equalised itself under load. Still runs un-even on idle though.

After purchase ran for a day @3.6 (400fsb ram at its natural 1066) and max temp reading was 50c. This was during the really warm spell and I decided to back off to standard until it gets a bit cooler.

Am running with a Tuniq Tower at 1/2 speed (nice and silent). Voltage I've left to the motherboard - cpu-z shows 0.984 idle and 1.152 load on stock ; on overclock , if I remember correctly, it was something like 1.25 idle & 1.225 under load .(remember being surprised that the reading was higher idle than load !)

Did read a few threads looking for what were acceptable voltages /temps but found that it appears as yet to be unclear.e.g some say up to 1.4v is o'k but others say it's too much 24hr and can degrade/damage the chip. Temps wise it appeared that up to 50 was o'k but above some concerns were expressed.(Some were very positive that temps up to 70 were o'k !!)

Summary appears to be that the jury is still out on how much volts/temps the 45nm cpu's can stand.

Assuming that your core temp is running 10c above actual - as mine is - than actual temps you are running are 38/55 which isn't that bad I would have thought.

Does sound as though you went a little ott with the paste - have a read of

http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm

and re-install.Might shave a few degrees.

Cannot help with ? ref 9700 fan speed ( see if you can find any reviews of such to see it it's supposed to make much difference) or ? ref motherboard seeing 3 fans.

Hope the above helps.
Afterthought - if you cannot control the 3 fans via motherborad would the below work?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=189&name=Akasa AK FC-06BK Fan Controller Junior - Blac

 

[Teaf]

Just go into the ini file of CoreTemp and add an offset of -10c for the TJMax. My 8400 however is kinda similar, sometimes core #1 can be 3c - 5c different over core #0 but not all the time.

 

[Althulas]

Clean the stuff off and reapply some AS5 or OCZ freeze as in those instructions. You will see a difference. I use this cooler on my E8500 at an OC of 4.25g with temps of upto 65c under orthos with cooler rpm of 1425 which is near silent. At full pelt it knocks a few degrees off but in real world gaming I see temps 40-55c with the current warmer weather.

 

[joek1]

thanks everyone, helpful answers, kinda putting my mind at ease.

im gonna reseat my zalman 9700 and add a tiny bit of arctic silver 5

(BTW, i have had the AS5 sitting around never opened for about 2 years now, is it still OK or do they have a lifespan,
also is it that much better than the zalman stuff, cos the zalman grease is very easy to apply, with its "nail polish brush" allows you to apply very thin coats)
dont ask why i caked it on like jam on a sandwich, a moment of madness i guess!

cheers

 

[Big.Wayne]

is it worth taking the cooler off, cleaning the grease off, re applying a small amount of grease, (or arctic silver 5 which i have lying around) and re seating cooler

absolutely!

It may not make an earth shattering difference to your temps but it will stop it bugging you by doing it a bit better and thats worth a lot!

You only need to apply a small amount to the CPU, and none on the heatsink

I've actually started buttering the base of the heatsink as well, at least the small central area that will make contact with the middle of the IHS, so many different methods for applying TIM, everyones got their fave but I say horses for courses, although I think the finger in a plastic bag method is just a bit silly!

 

[AgedIdiot]

BTW, i have had the AS5 sitting around never opened for about 2 years now, is it still OK or do they have a lifespan

As far as I'm aware should be no problem.

also is it that much better than the zalman stuff, cos the zalman grease is very easy to apply, with its "nail polish brush" allows you to apply very thin coats)

Would not have thought that the Arctic is that much better - If I recollect correctly there is a recent thread ref. Thermal Paste comparisons but I cannot remember if the zalman was included.

My personal view would be - if your happier with the zalman paste then stick with it ; for now at least ( Using the same stuff will also enable you to see if re-aplying thinner etc actually works !)