Core i7 Stock Temps

ChrissyT88 · 18 Jun 2009 at 23:04

Hi,

Just finished building an i7 system, and currently got it running prime95 with the processor set to completely stock settings. Im currently getting temperatures of between 57C and 65C on each core, with hyperthreading enabled. Is this a little high? The processor is cooled by a TRUE with 2 noctua fans in a push pull configuration. One case fan isnt working due to incompetance (!), so i imagine temps may drop slightly with a bit more airflow, but it still seems quite high to me...

On a side note, im also slightly worried i have not mounted the TRUE tightly enough... I tightened the heatsink until it would not move laterally or twist, but there was still a lot of give left in the screws. Obviously i was wary of overtightening, but i recall seeing people using washers to improve tightness further, which suggests to me that maybe i have not done the thing up tightly enough!

Cheers, any help/advice is appreciated.

EDIT: Its not quite stock actually - it seems to have defaulted to the 21x multiplier, giving a clock of 2800 Mhz without me changing anything (no voltage increase ets).

rexehuk · 18 Jun 2009 at 23:10

I think it is a little high. I'm running 52c max at full load (3ghz clock speed) running real temp sensor test /w prime 95. I thought mine was high and currently trying to get it down...

I have the Noctua cooler for my cpu, same air config as yours though (check thread in index for diagram)

NAM_killer · 18 Jun 2009 at 23:33

yes those are pretty high temps, what is your voltage? i would reseat the TRUE and double check that both fans are spinning up and they are both facing the same way aswell.

rexehuk said:
I think it is a little high. I'm running 52c max at full load (3ghz clock speed) running real temp sensor test /w prime 95. I thought mine was high and currently trying to get it down...

52c is well within the safe limits of i7 chips, they can be run at 70c stable with little chance of damage to the chip. But the TJmax of the i7 chips can vary from about 10c from eachother so if i had one, i would be happy with not going above 60-65 so you still have some overclocking headroom, go nuts!

rexehuk · 18 Jun 2009 at 23:35

Can't go nuts atm, northbridge etc is reaching very high temps due to crap airflow. Chrissy I would follow Nams advice and reseat your cooler, I had to do it for mine and got around 4-5c decrease.

NAM_killer · 18 Jun 2009 at 23:53

i beleive you can tighten the screws all the way with the true, you can with the IFX. I dont know 100% though because maybe its different with i7 so i would research it a bit more before tightening all the way...

ChrissyT88 · 19 Jun 2009 at 16:31

Well, i had a go at reseating the TRUE this morning including more thermal paste etc, and tightened the screws (the nice guys at thermalright have put a limit on the tightness via a finite thread length... Really should have noticed that before!). Temps are about 5 degrees lower under prime 95, but im beginning to think that it may be the heatsink at fault... two cores are consistently almost 5-8C higher than the other two, and it was the same on my previous Q6600. I imagine the chances of having two badly mishapen IHS' is quite low, so i guess the base of the heatsink must be curved (although i didnt actually check). I think this will have to do until i can get hold of a newer/better case for cooling... Taking the whole thing apart takes too long!