E6600 at 85C under full load, not overclocked

node · 18 Mar 2010 at 16:08

Hey guys, wonder if you can help me. I have a Core 2 Duo 6600 on an Asus P5K Deluxe. Its not been overclocked and uses the stock Intel cooler.
I decided recently that I'd like to try overclocking and ordered myself a Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme after reading a few reviews.
The cooler arrived today, but before installing it I decided to check what sort of temperature the CPU was currently producing. The screenshot below was the results obtained whilst running a Prime95 "Blend" test:

The Core0 temp flickers between 85C and -42C (I assume 85C is the max it can read?!!?)
Having done a bit of research I realise 85C is probably a lot hotter than I should be expecting.
I know there are probably quite a few reasons for this, but what do you think would be the most likely? Additionally, why would the clock speed not be going above 1600? The bios is all at default settings, past that.. I'm clueless!

Edit: forgot to mention, idle temps are around 58C

Diggsy · 18 Mar 2010 at 16:14

Temps look high, could be case cooling, could be the stock cooler is not seated correctly. Could be reporting it slightly incorrectly.

Regarding the speed, C1E and Speedstep will be enabled in the bios, which allows the board to reduce the speed/voltage of the CPU when not needed. It will automatically ramp up to full speed as soon as it is needed. Saves power and reduces heat, leave alone unless unstable.

What is the rest of your spec and what case/cooling. Do you have a pic of the inside of your case?

Redmint · 18 Mar 2010 at 16:25

Diggsy said:
Temps look high, could be case cooling, could be the stock cooler is not seated correctly.

Gets my vote, seated badly + heatsink possibly clogged with dust + dried up old thermal paste? I an an e4400 which was hitting the 80s until I reseated my HSF.

Beerbaron · 18 Mar 2010 at 16:32

The cpu and heatsink might need to be lapped. I had an E6600 with an asus P5B deluxe board and i was getting high 60's running stock underload after i lapped it. I think some of those chips seem to run quite warm.

node · 18 Mar 2010 at 16:34

Thanks for the suggestions guys, heres a bit more about the spec
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
- 4GB DDR2-SDRAM PC2-6400 (2x2gb)
- XFX GeForce 8800 GTS
- 2x Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII *32MB Cache* in raid0
- 1x Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB
- 2x 80mm case fans (1 in, 1 out)

I'll try re-seating the current cooler to see what sort of a difference that made. The Tuniq came with some thermal compound so I might try cleaning the old stuff off and replacing it. I'd like to get some sensible temps from the stock cooler before I replace it with the new one! I'll also try getting a pic inside the case later tonight.

Should the Speedstep not have lifted up the clock speed while Prime95 was running?

SteveB · 18 Mar 2010 at 17:17

Yes whilst running Prime the multiplier should jump up to 9x to give 2.4GHz. I never used my E6600 with the stock cooler but I had a Zalman 9500 on it and at stock speeds it didn't get much higher than 50-60. I ran it at 3GHz on air most of the time.

Diggsy · 18 Mar 2010 at 17:23

node said:
- 2x 80mm case fans (1 in, 1 out)

Hmmm, I am assuming from this its a small case? 2x 80mm fans are not going to provide much airflow. I would imagine the insides of that case will be pretty toasty, especially with an 8800 and 3 HDDs in there.

Will wait to see pics and see if it can be improved.

elmuzzy66. · 18 Mar 2010 at 18:31

i get 58c on ibt using daul rad cooling both cpu and gpu.

coupe69 · 18 Mar 2010 at 18:40

You running the latest bios version for your board?

Looks to me like one of the sensors is knackered on that chip tbh.

node · 19 Mar 2010 at 16:33

Well I rebuilt it all yesterday with the Tuniq cooler replacing the stock Intel one. Sadly temps are still reaching 80C with Prime running.
The case is very cramped at the moment (sorry, no pics yet) mainly due to my PSU having the cables come out the bottom of it directly where the cooler is, and blocking the airflow from the rear fan quite badly.

I've just ordered an Antec P183 and an OCZ PSU due to arrive tomorrow, we'll see how that goes

I'll also try updating the BIOS, I don't think it's been updated since I bought the MB!

Thanks again for your help.