Core i7-870 running too hot

Cantoris

Cantoris

Cantoris

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3 Sep 2010
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6
Although I'm not overclocking at all, I know the readers of this forum are probably the best-informed about cooling and may be able to help me out here:

I have a new PC that is running far too hot (measured with CoreTemp) and would be grateful for some advice.

Basic specs:
- Gigabyte P55A-UD4 Rev 1.0 Motherboard
- Intel Core i7 870 (LGA1156)
- 4x4GB 1333MHz OCZ DDR3 Dual-Channel RAM
- Sapphire ATI HD 5770 1GB
- Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium
- Corsair 650w PSU

At idle the cores run around the upper 40s degrees C! If I play Left4Dead2, the temps go to upper 60s! If I run OCCT Perestroika, it quits after less than 90 secs of maxing the cores out as their temps touch 90!!!

The system is NOT overclocked and Turbo Mode is disabled, as is XMP.

Here's the case: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-002-XG&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=1572
It contains one in-built 120mm fan sucking air in at front bottom and I have added two more 120mm fans - one venting out of the back below the PSU and one blowing in on the side. They are this type: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-001-FD&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4
I was rather expecting a more powerful current of air from these fans than there is - they seem rather gentle. Looking at specs I see some 120mm fans have much higher airflow in CFM (eg 110 for the Scythe Kaze Jyuni 1900RPM versus the 38 of mine).

Also of note is that I used the stock heatsink and just its own pre-applied thermal paste (presuming that it would be supplied as suitably coolable out of the box when not being overclocked).

I have no spare parts for testing and will have to buy whatever is required. The question is where my problem lies. I have bought some Arctic Silver (and ArtiClean) which I will try this weekend but I can't imagine it will make enough of a difference.
Then I'm wondering about fancy heatsinks+fans and fancy cases:
Noctua NH-U12P SE2: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-010-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395 (this appears slightly too tall to fit in my current case.)
Antec 900: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-065-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=160

I don't want to splash out on one or the other or both unless I have to and unless it's definitely going to fix things.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts on where the problem may be most likely to lie.
 
Intel stock coolers suck, that is given. From my experience they are only any good for running office applications :) They are much like apple stock headphones - kinda works, but sucks.

You may try removing the heatsink, replacing the thermal paste and making sure the heatsink is installed correctly and firmly.

Idle 40C and upper 60-s C at load sound about right to me on stock cooler. Ultimately you will have to get a better cooler if you are planning to run games.
 
Thanks for the quick replies - the more the merrier and all gratefully received.

I have no intention to every overclock (too chicken) - the nearest I've come is that I had to increase the memory voltage and "QPI/Vtt" to make the RAM stable. Whether that puts more strain on the CPU cooling I've no idea.

If I do have to get a new cooler, I'm a bit nervous about whether it will physically fit in my case - how do the quoted heights for these heatsink/fan devices compare to the amount of vertical space between motherboard (or motherboard tray?) and case side? Presumably I need to add a bit more to the figure to ensure it will fit.

A new case is not without its concerns too - at least I can stick a ruler in my current one and measure from motherboard to side. If I get a new one it's all (very expensive) pot luck again. The Antec 902 looks great except with the PSU at the bottom I've no idea if the 8pin cable will be able to reach up to its socket which is right at the top left of the board as it would be mounted. Suck-it-and-see would again be an expensive proposition at >£80.
 
You could always opt for a water cooler, these tend to require less space above the processor for fitting purposes. Also you may decide under the expert tutalige of the forum members here that you may want to dive into the murky waters of overclocking in the future and a water cooler would be to your advantage if thats the case.
 
Cantoris, when you stepped the voltage up for the ram what did you go to? The Core I series processors have the memorty controller built into it rather than on the chipset of the motherboard. Its not a good idea to set the voltage above 1.65 volts as this can cause issues and also damage the processor.
 
I don't think I'd ever "risk" Overclocking (though I know it's not really dangerous in careful hands). I put the RAM voltage up to 1.64v (I think it's officially rated for 1.65v) and I increased the QPI/Vtt to 1.35v. Both figures were based on advice on the OCZ Gigabyte forum.
 
First of all, I suggest a better case like the Antec 300, or the budget variant the VSK-2000. These offer better cooling (2 intakes vs 1). I highly suggest you drop the side fan as it will ruin your airflow.
 
A quick and simple test imo would be to run the pc with the side pannel off and position a desktop fan blowing into the case. If this solves your overheating issue under load then your issue most likely would be resolved by a better heatsink/fan. If it does not solve the problem then it could be a hardware issue.
 
I've bought an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 and will be able to try it tomorrow night along with removal of the case's side fan. If it's still hot I'll blow a big desk fan in at it with the view to seeing if I need to consider a new case.
Thanks for your thoughts so far.
 
Cleaned off thermal compound with ArctiClean and then put the Arctic Freezer Fan on. I've also moved the case fan down below the level of the CPU to the area of the GFX and X-Fi cards and changed it to blowing out. Arctic Freezer aims at my exhaust fan. The new heatsink actually practically touches bottom outer edge against the upper edge of the chipset cooler block. They pretty much meet but manage to *just* not rest one on the other!

Temps when maxed out by OCCT now go no higher than 67. Can I rest easily now? Not played with an i7 before to know what typical temps are.
 
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A good result but still pretty warm for stock. Your bios is probably using too much vcore on automatic. You could get it lower than 67 by tweaking, or get a nice overclock and still run cool.
 
I probably won't fiddle any more but what are your thoughts about Vcore? I had to increase RAM voltage and QPI/Vtt to get memory stability.

Thanks for all the help and support.
 
I noticed that my motherboard when set to Auto the Vcore ramps up to 1.2v (in cpu-z) under load, which is pretty high considering that I run 1.1375v (1.088v in cpu-z) for a 3.6Ghz clockspeed and that's just a casual dropping of voltage.

Just thinking if it is on Auto it could be running it higher than it needs to be.
 
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