- Joined
- Jan 14, 2011
Before everyone rips me up about how horrible the SPIN-Q heatsink is, let me give you a back story.
I just built a new 2600k system(see Sig) and was noticing that my CPU was running really hot w/out any overclocking done at all. It was hitting temperatures of 70+ Celsius while running just WOW(figured out why, but thats further down).
I think to myself... Buy an $80- 110 cooler and go crazy with overclocking or just buy CHEAP because my system with the 580 and a solid state is fast enough at stock speeds.
Well I'm sure by the title you guess it. I went CHEAP. I ended up being able to pick up the SPIN-Q for about $30. I was expecting it to be just barely better then the stock HSF but just enough to keep my CPU cooler.
When i removed the stock HSF i noticed that about half the thermal paste had not even touched the CPU even knowing that it was clamped down perfectly and was tight. NOW, idk if this is my fault or the fact the its a POS. this definitely explains why the CPU was running hot. This actually complements the 2600k because even with NO HSF it still didnt overheat under load.
I wasn't too upset about the Intel fail*(maybe mine, but doubt it) because at this point i just wanted to put the new one on and forget about everything.
The SPIN-Q was incredibly easy to install and i was surprised to how good it looked and how quiet it was. I kept the settings on the SPIN-Q exactly how it came, which was fan speed low.
Time for the testing.
I booted up and opened Speedfan just to see if it was now idling under 40 degrees(which is better than it was). to my surprise, the idle temps were in the teens and loads were in the 30's.
Then my "lets push as much as possible out of my computer" personality kicked in. I dont need too, i just wanted to see what i could do with what i had.
I rebooted and went to bios. I wasn't shooting for CRAZY 3dmark scores or anything special. I just wanted to fool around a little bit to see where i got. I set everything to auto(I dont know enough to mess with voltage) and just changed the multiplier to shoot for 4.2ghz. I figured this was a good overclock but nothing special with the 2600k. When i booted, temps didn't change almost at all. It raised a little but still WAY in the green.
SO, what did i do? you guessed it. I rebooted and bumped the multiplier up to 48. I figured around 4.8ghz was a VERY respectable number across ANY CPU especially with such a low-end cooler.
when i rebooted the temps were all looking good so i decided to throw the IntelBurn test at it. i figured this was one of the harder tests and would test the CPU much more than i would ever use it.
Results you ask? Well first, the test came back saying that your CPU was extremely stable at the current settings. MAX temps? Never above mid 50's and generally around 48-49. ON THE INTELBURN TEST. MID 50'S? yeah -- thats really good for a entry lvl cooler.
I'm not sure to credit this to the SPIN-Q or just the fact that the 2600K is amazing on its own. I didnt push it any further because i REALLY didn't need it.
On another positive note - I know this doesn't mean anything - but my Windows score was a 7.6 because of my ram and processor. after the overclock.... everything was maxed at 7.9. not bad.
If you would like me to push it harder for s**ts and giggles... just let me know. It might be interesting.
I just built a new 2600k system(see Sig) and was noticing that my CPU was running really hot w/out any overclocking done at all. It was hitting temperatures of 70+ Celsius while running just WOW(figured out why, but thats further down).
I think to myself... Buy an $80- 110 cooler and go crazy with overclocking or just buy CHEAP because my system with the 580 and a solid state is fast enough at stock speeds.
Well I'm sure by the title you guess it. I went CHEAP. I ended up being able to pick up the SPIN-Q for about $30. I was expecting it to be just barely better then the stock HSF but just enough to keep my CPU cooler.
When i removed the stock HSF i noticed that about half the thermal paste had not even touched the CPU even knowing that it was clamped down perfectly and was tight. NOW, idk if this is my fault or the fact the its a POS. this definitely explains why the CPU was running hot. This actually complements the 2600k because even with NO HSF it still didnt overheat under load.
I wasn't too upset about the Intel fail*(maybe mine, but doubt it) because at this point i just wanted to put the new one on and forget about everything.
The SPIN-Q was incredibly easy to install and i was surprised to how good it looked and how quiet it was. I kept the settings on the SPIN-Q exactly how it came, which was fan speed low.
Time for the testing.
I booted up and opened Speedfan just to see if it was now idling under 40 degrees(which is better than it was). to my surprise, the idle temps were in the teens and loads were in the 30's.
Then my "lets push as much as possible out of my computer" personality kicked in. I dont need too, i just wanted to see what i could do with what i had.
I rebooted and went to bios. I wasn't shooting for CRAZY 3dmark scores or anything special. I just wanted to fool around a little bit to see where i got. I set everything to auto(I dont know enough to mess with voltage) and just changed the multiplier to shoot for 4.2ghz. I figured this was a good overclock but nothing special with the 2600k. When i booted, temps didn't change almost at all. It raised a little but still WAY in the green.
SO, what did i do? you guessed it. I rebooted and bumped the multiplier up to 48. I figured around 4.8ghz was a VERY respectable number across ANY CPU especially with such a low-end cooler.
when i rebooted the temps were all looking good so i decided to throw the IntelBurn test at it. i figured this was one of the harder tests and would test the CPU much more than i would ever use it.
Results you ask? Well first, the test came back saying that your CPU was extremely stable at the current settings. MAX temps? Never above mid 50's and generally around 48-49. ON THE INTELBURN TEST. MID 50'S? yeah -- thats really good for a entry lvl cooler.
I'm not sure to credit this to the SPIN-Q or just the fact that the 2600K is amazing on its own. I didnt push it any further because i REALLY didn't need it.
On another positive note - I know this doesn't mean anything - but my Windows score was a 7.6 because of my ram and processor. after the overclock.... everything was maxed at 7.9. not bad.
If you would like me to push it harder for s**ts and giggles... just let me know. It might be interesting.