Intel i3 2120 temps question

Will82

Will82

Will82

Associate
Joined
14 Jan 2013
Posts
33
Hey folks, I'm new to this forum and was hoping someone could reassure me about something. I just built a low budget computer comprising an i3 CPU. I'm using the stock cooler and the case I got only has one fan right now. The idle temp is around 35-37c and on 90% load it went up to 69. I'm going easy on it right now with light gaming and web browsing until I get paid and can afford a new heatsink. I have a new case fan on the way to hopefully drop the temp a few degrees but wanted to know if this is a safe level, at least for a couple of weeks? Cheers in advance.
 
That's great and thanks for the quick reply. It's my first proper PC build and I've had coretemp on more or less permanently out of fear.
 
No probs :)

The cpu will automatically throttle when temps get to high, ie 90c ~ in order to protect its self.
 
So my other question would be, if I were to add another case fan and a moderately priced but well rated heatsink, would I get some decent drops?
 
 
Yeah, it can fit two more 120mm fans, one should be here in a few days and the bottom Cooler Master was one of the heatsinks I was looking at. Would I be able to fit that ok without removing the motherboard? It looks like the same fitting system as the Intel stock.
 
Will82 said:
I'm using the Cooler Master K280. Very low budget but I've found the cable management was pretty good.
Click to expand...
The CM K280 comes with 1 front intake fan which you know already...but you really should add a 120mm fan to the rear as exhaust to remove the heat from the case, which should make a very noticable difference to your temp, even with the stock CPU cooler.
 
Will82 said:
Yeah, it can fit two more 120mm fans, one should be here in a few days and the bottom Cooler Master was one of the heatsinks I was looking at. Would I be able to fit that ok without removing the motherboard? It looks like the same fitting system as the Intel stock.
Click to expand...



I think it does have the same mount mechanism, but your case has a cut out behind the motherboard tray to allow you to change the cooler without the motherboard being removed (but the cooler your looking will not need use of this)
 
Will82 said:
As I said I have a new fan coming and I'll take your advice and fit it to the rear.
Click to expand...
And make sure you mount the fan the right direction so it is pulling the hot air from inside of the case to outside of the case.

Not to insult your intelligent, but I've seen people mounting it the opposite direction before (with the fan intaking rather than exhausting) :p

The airflow diagram provided by CM themselves should be good enough reference:
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6860
 
Ha ha, I'll do that Marine. I can imagine that happening to certain people but I'm pretty cautious with this sort of thing and the kind of person who reads manuals, even if they're useless. Fans tend to have an arrow showing the direction of airflow anyway don't they?

Really appreciate the advice everyone. It's nice to be able to join a forum and not be shot down in flames for being a noob. I think I'll be using this one a lot.

I'll fit my new fan at the back, see how it fairs and add a new heatsink, from Overclockers of course, in a couple of weeks time. Thanks again people.
 
Will82 said:
Ha ha, I'll do that Marine. I can imagine that happening to certain people but I'm pretty cautious with this sort of thing and the kind of person who reads manuals, even if they're useless. Fans tend to have an arrow showing the direction of airflow anyway don't they?

Really appreciate the advice everyone. It's nice to be able to join a forum and not be shot down in flames for being a noob. I think I'll be using this one a lot.

I'll fit my new fan at the back, see how it fairs and add a new heatsink, from Overclockers of course, in a couple of weeks time. Thanks again people.
Click to expand...
Found something to make life easier for you :p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlgfAO2Jtls

Generally speaking the most people on this forum is a helpful bunch. We don't mind helping people that are novice that are willing learn...we only give up on people that ignoring advises and warnings and go as they please (being stubborn and making bad decisions e.g. go ahead with buying cheap generic PSU to use with high-end hardware despite being warned not to) despite they are the ones ask for advises in the first place.

As long as you are humble and polite, no question is too "stupid" to ask if you genuinely don't know the answer (but of course, it would always be best to googling it first, so you won't get taken as troll for asking something far too ridiculous).

Oh, and if you were to add a fan to the sidepanel as intake as well, make sure you have a dust-filter.
 
Last edited:
FWIW I had till recently an i3-2120 with stock cooler and 10 rounds of IBT pushed it to a max of 63°C (RealTemp, Tjmax 98°C) ambient temp ~23°C. During gaming I've seen it hit 65°C but then I do have a GTX470 dumping heat into my case at same time.

Upgraded now to a 3570K, Z68/Ivy multi woes, still annoyed at dithering not once but twice over the 2700K @£199 here recently but that's another story, damn you Gigabyte.
 
So the fan arrived today, earlier than expected. It was fiddly as hell to fit with the rubber attachments but I figured it would help more with the noise. It's only a tiny bit louder and my idle temp has dropped to 28c from 37c so it actually made a big difference.
 
Good to hear already see good result with the exhaust fan. To be honest if there was only one fan in the case, a single exhaust fan would work far better than a intake fan(s) only as it will directly suck the heat that get dumped from the CPU cooler to outside of the case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom