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Temp, Wattage & Stability Help.

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frost19k

Registered
Joined
May 11, 2009
Hey guys.

My Specs
Core i7 920 @ 3.6GHz (200x18 1.375V). Heatsink Cooler Master V8.
Intel DX58SO
XFX Radeon HD 4890
Thermaltake V9 w/ 2x120mm Front Intake 1x120mm exhaust.

My Temp problem:

According to CPUID HardWare Monitor my Cores range from 58-64*C at Idle & hit 75*C when I game. Prime95 or PassMark BurnInTest can take it above 80*C after 30-40mins under full load.

Wattage:
This isn't really a problem as much as a query. At stock settings the CPU consumed 130W, under the over clock it rarely goes over 100W?!

Stability:
The overclock works great with every software I use on a daily basis and untill today I never had an issue with it. Then I figured why not run a simple stability test like Prime95 and/or BurnInTest. The later completed 2 hours of 99% load succesfully. Prime95 hanged the system in under 20mins. Everytime. Should i worry about this if Prime95 is the only software to have this effect on my comp?

I'm not really worried about Wattage and Prime95, but the CPU temp seems a tad excessive!!! Any ideas???

Thanks
FrOSt
 
Hey guys.

My Specs
Core i7 920 @ 3.6GHz (200x18 1.375V). Heatsink Cooler Master V8.
Intel DX58SO
XFX Radeon HD 4890
Thermaltake V9 w/ 2x120mm Front Intake 1x120mm exhaust.

My Temp problem:

According to CPUID HardWare Monitor my Cores range from 58-64*C at Idle & hit 75*C when I game. Prime95 or PassMark BurnInTest can take it above 80*C after 30-40mins under full load.

Wattage:
This isn't really a problem as much as a query. At stock settings the CPU consumed 130W, under the over clock it rarely goes over 100W?!

Stability:
The overclock works great with every software I use on a daily basis and untill today I never had an issue with it. Then I figured why not run a simple stability test like Prime95 and/or BurnInTest. The later completed 2 hours of 99% load succesfully. Prime95 hanged the system in under 20mins. Everytime. Should i worry about this if Prime95 is the only software to have this effect on my comp?

I'm not really worried about Wattage and Prime95, but the CPU temp seems a tad excessive!!! Any ideas???

Thanks
FrOSt

I am not too familiar with intel, but I can tell you that your probably don't want temps that high... What kind of voltage are you running? Also, C0 or D0?

How are you checking this usage? I believe the i7 is a 120watt tpd and intel doesn't over estimate their cpu's as much as Amd does on the Tpd.

Yes and no. Yes because it means your hardware isn't stable. No because other stresses like orthos might not cause it to hang. That said, which P95 test did you run? To test just the cpu, use small ftt's.
 
Re: Wattage - You'll need the formula from here and the specs from here to figure the wattage. Though I don't believe that's what you're going for.

130W is the Thermal Design Power (TDP) of your chip. It represents the maximum amount of power the cooling system in a computer is required to dissipate (thank you wikipedia for putting it succinctly). Basically, your HSF has to be able to cope with that much heat to keep the CPU within thermal spec.

Re: Temps - While your temps are high, they are technically within thermal spec. i7 chips run hot, much hotter than the preceding generation and as such, it's difficult to cool them.

That said, 58-64c at idle sounds hot for aftermarket air though, unless the V8 is just crap (not saying it is, I have no idea). What thermal paste did you use and how did you apply it?

Re: Stability - Prime95 is the stability test of choice for many and is a pretty good test. In my (and many others') opinion, a system needs to pass at the very least an hour of Prime. If Prime is all you use to test stability, that number should be 24 hours. Personally, I Prime it for an hour and if it passes, I start up Folding@Home. Once that runs for a couple days, I'm convinced the overclock is stable.

IMHO, your system isn't stable and it needs to be remedied. If you don't, most likely, you'll go on about your life and never again know it wasn't stable; primarily because most programs don't tax CPUs to their max. Until one day...when some process calls upon your CPU to do its job. If you decide to take up 3D rendering, video editing or even heavy image manipulation or file compression, it'll hit you. You'll be manipulating something you've worked hours on and all-of-a-sudden, your system will crash and you will have wasted all those hours...all because you didn't work to make the system stable.

Because I Fold@Home, any instability is unacceptable. If the system loses a work unit, it will adversely affect the research and would defeat the point of Folding it in the first place. So that's why I'm so ardent about having stability.

Anyway, bet that was more than you wanted to hear! Hope it helps a little bit.
 
Yes and no. Yes because it means your hardware isn't stable. No because other stresses like orthos might not cause it to hang. That said, which P95 test did you run? To test just the cpu, use small ftt's.
Just a small correction - Orthos is just a two-core limited GUI of Prime95. If someone runs four instances of Orthos, it's the same thing as running Prime95.
 
Hey,
ChanceCoats123:
1. Its a Core i7 920-C0. 1.3750V
2. I checked the Wattage, Voltage & Temps using CPUID HardWare Monitor.
3. Prime95 Test was Small FTTs

hokiealumnus:
1. ArcticSilver 5. I put one big drop in the middle, then at all four ends, then placed the HS on it and moved it around to spread it. Then I checked if it was even across the CPU.
2. Question, off topic, is there anything inside the heat pipe or is it just hollow??
3. What is "IMHO"???!!!?!?!
4. That all interesting, really, but how do I make it stable???

I was thinking, maybe the extremely high temps are causing the system to crash???!!!?!?!
Or Is the Voltge too high? What Voltage would you recommend at 3.8 GHz???

Thanks for replying.
FrOSt
 
3. What is "IMHO"???!!!?!?!

FrOSt

I think its "In my honest opinion" or could be "In my humble opinion" :)

I think there is a gas in the heat pipes :)

There are lots of ways of applying paste I personally spread it over the ihs some say to put half a grain of rice ( uncooked ) sized blob in the centre some people smear it around with their finger in a plastic bag ........... With arctic silver 5 I'm reasonably sure the best results on a review I read were gained by evenly spreading it over the ihs with a credit card, business card or razor blade anything like that :)

I wouldn't have a clue how to make it stable \o/ never dealt with an i7 .......... really cant afford one :)
There is lots of info on here a few people seem to of got to grips with the intricacies and IMHO it's all in the reading and testing no real magic formula :)
 
Last edited:
List all your voltages and then people might see if something is too low.
Temps seem around normal, for air cooling as your voltage is close to 1.4V, my cpu reaches 74-75C at my overclock in sig, but the water cooling is cheap and crappy.

Also what memory are you using? Could be memory instability, or QPI to low etc.
 
Hello.
I decreased the Core Voltage to 1.3V and turned fan control off (thus all fans are running @ 100%) . I ran Prime95 and monitored my pc for 40mins and it seemed to be working fine. When I left the Core temps were 81 86 82 82. It's still running, but I won't know the results for a couple-o' hours. Also worth a mention the temp in my city is currently 32*C.

1. How much of a difference can the application method of thermal paste have on the performance?
2. It's Transcend. DDR3 1333MHz PC10700 8-8-8-19. Running at 1200MHz 8-8-8-19 (1.54V)
3. QPI is 3.6GHz (1.35V)
4. mollymoo, is there really a place called 'Nothern Monkey' or is that a joke which I don't get?

FrOSt
 
4. mollymoo, is there really a place called 'Nothern Monkey' or is that a joke which I don't get?

FrOSt

Lol dont know where your from but in england we have a bit of a North/South divide to the point that it's pretty much a different country in the north. The shandy drinking southern pansies dont believe anything exists up here and we are referred to as Northern Monkeys in reference to our supposed neanderthal ways :) I suppose there is a similar north south divide in America and an east west divide in Australia ;)
 
hokiealumnus:
1. ArcticSilver 5. I put one big drop in the middle, then at all four ends, then placed the HS on it and moved it around to spread it. Then I checked if it was even across the CPU.
1. How much of a difference can the application method of thermal paste have on the performance?
It can make a huge difference. If too much is applied, rather than transferring the heat, it becomes an insulator and does not allow proper heat transfer. TIM is only there to fill in gaps between the metal. Ideally, it would not even be needed and the contact would be metal-to-metal. Since a perfect surface, perfectly matched up is not possible, we use TIM to fill in the gaps. You want to use as little as possible and still cover the surface.

I use a BB-sized drop in the middle and then apply slight pressure to the HSF, while wiggling it slightly left to right as the mounting allows.
2. Question, off topic, is there anything inside the heat pipe or is it just hollow??
Heat pipes (barring impostors) have a wick inside soaked with very volatile liquid. When the CPU heats up the base, the liquid vaporizes and rises to the top of the heat pipe, where it is cooled by the fins and is absorbed back into the wick to be transferred back down, where it is vaporized...etc, etc.

As far as voltage goes, all I can say is use the lowest amount to keep it stable. No i7 here to compare; you're on your own there! :beer:
 
Ok, it hung (or hanged?) after approx. 1.5hrs
It was eating 1.28V. All cores below 85*C

Just one last question, how do you know whether something (Core, QPI, etc.) needs more power or less power (Voltage)?

Thanx guys!!!
 
There isn't an easy answer to that question unfortunately. Basically you play with it. Increase one a notch and see if it helps. If not, lower that one and raise another one.

Stability, as you are discovering, can take a while. Being secure in your OC is worth it in the long run though.
 
Redo the TPaste. One blob between the size of a grain of rice and a SMALL pea is enough, right in the middle. Make sure your case has very good cooling. Take the side off and blow a house fan into the case.

Redo your TPaste first. Air cooling and 70C isn't uncommon.
 
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