• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

[noob] i7 - safe temps

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

rhaikh

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Can't search for "i7" due to min character limit and I'm feeling lazy.. please link me to existing post on this topic if there is one and I'll delete.

I am using the heatsink that came with my i7. I am not overclocking at all (gasp), I really want to get some longevity out of the device and coming from a 1.8GHz this thing is plenty fast for me.

The intel spec says keep it under 38C. Well, mine idles at 39C. Under load I've seen it up to and past 60C (MB gets just as hot as well). The thing is I'm using the CoolerMaster Sileo case which does not have a side fan, only two quiet 120mm on front and back.

Will these temps really degrade the longevity of my chip? At what point should I really be concerned? Should I consider upgrading these fans or the heatsink? If so, which upgrades should I consider to keep the noise level down? Is the case I'm using totally inappropriate?

Thanks a lot guys.
 
The case is a bit weak, depends on the case fans. You could upgrade the CPU cooler, it would help a LOT on cooling the CPU. And you could overclock it. The chip really isn't in the dangerous heat range, you rarely load a processor like that under normal use. Intel said 38C? Don't ever see one under load around that temp.

I'll let others chime in with the best coolers for your Mobo/chip.
 
"under load" = games. So that is relatively sustained as long as I'm playing the game :p


The "keep under 38C" spec was in the manual that came with the chip.
 
i7s run very hot depending on certain circumstances. I think you must have misread something. 38c under load is ridiculous for an i7. With the stock cooler some people(like me lol) hit 80c very easily running a real cpu stress tester like coredamage. I've had it running like that for extended periods of time before to test stability and never had an issue. Generally the max safe temp at stock voltages/clock should be the the highest temp it can run at without your system crashing or getting errors.

Running hot isn't going to seriously impact the life of a chip unless you are overvolting it or it exceeds certain design parameters, which are a bit higher than you might think(something like 100c for i7s though you probably have a problem if you are running it that hot).
 
i7s run very hot depending on certain circumstances. I think you must have misread something. 38c under load is ridiculous for an i7. With the stock cooler some people(like me lol) hit 80c very easily running a real cpu stress tester like coredamage. I've had it running like that for extended periods of time before to test stability and never had an issue. Generally the max safe temp at stock voltages/clock should be the the highest temp it can run at without your system crashing or getting errors.

Running hot isn't going to seriously impact the life of a chip unless you are overvolting it or it exceeds certain design parameters, which are a bit higher than you might think(something like 100c for i7s though you probably have a problem if you are running it that hot).

Thanks for this.

I chucked the manual as soon as I possibly could, but I looked around online and found this:

http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/res...p/processor/processors/corei7/tech/406396.htm

It says the ambient chassis temp should be no higher than 38C.. which I have not actually measured.
 
lmfao , i was like HOLY Moly donut shop! 38C load? .... hmmm i barely got 38C IDLE when i was on air, now i get 1-5 degrees off ambient, but i DO technically live in the freezer.
 
Back