AMD 970BE Voltage and Cooling issues(mostly cooling)

[NinjaZombie]

My system is:
AMD Phenom II x4 970 BE
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P
4gb DDR3 1066
Nvidia GeForce GT 430 1gb
2.75 TB HDD
Corsair CX600
Sentey BX2-4249 v2.3
Debian 6 Squeeze

I just recently purchased the 970BE because of its overclocking potential and low price point, though since I began trying to overclock the thing I've had nothing but problems the majority of which center around high temperatures. I should state that I am using the stock heatsink. I realize that I can't quite reach the chip's full potential that way, but I don't have the extra cash to pick up a better one yet. Right now, running at factory settings, the CPU's idle temp is 40 C. Running Mprime(Prime 95 for all you non-linux familiar people) the temp quickly jumps to 55 C and keeps climbing reaching 60 C quite fast. Overclocked at 4ghz with FSB stock, RAM stock, NB at 2200, and the vcore at 1.45(it freezes at the stock 1.425 when I push to 4ghz) it still idles at 40 C but in Mprime it jumps to 60 C in no time. I stop the test before I see how far it goes. Oddly, this is usually the case with any settings when I overclock. The temps don't change much, but anything over stock gets around 60 C in Mprime immediately. I know the vcore seems high too, based on what I've read on this chip. Even though I'm using the stock heatsink, I did apply some Arctic Silver 5. I even reapplied it today thinking that I may have used too much the first time, but no real change(a negligible 2-3 C less). I'm really at a loss. Like I said, I'm not expecting wonders here, I just want to get a little more speed out of it for now, and the stock temps worry me. Any ideas?

 

[muddocktor]

The stock heatsink is only designed to cool that proc at it's stock speeds. You need to upgrade your cooling. You didn't say what size or type of case you have, but if it's a normal sized case you should be able to install a good tower style cooler on that processor. For good cooling on a budget, I would recommend a Cogage True Spirit for $31.95 along with a Thermalright AM2/AM3 mount for $7.99. I have personally test mounted that on an AM2 board and it fits just fine. Plus, the TS is a fairly narrow heatsink and you shouldn't have problems with it interfering with the ram slots on your mobo.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Ok. So no OC with the stock. That's understandable. The case is the Sentey that I posted. Its a mid tower. There's a reasonable amount of room in there. That looks like a pretty good heatsink. I also found the Cooler Master Hyper 212. It says that it supports AM3 and had some good reviews. If I have to, I'll go with that due to the lower price. The only thing still worrying me is the temps when not overclocked. Is it normal for that CPU to hit 60 C on Mprime at stock settings?

 

[muddocktor]

The Hyper 212+ will work, but isn't as good a heatsink either. Their AMD mounting system is pretty decent though, and will let you mount it either north-south or east-west.

As for your present temps, have you checked out the case ventilation? Take a case side off and point a box fan into the case and try running your load program and see what the temps do. If they are significantly lower, then you need to do something to improve case ventilation. And I can't find a link to your case to see what it looks like.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Thank you for the help. The case has pretty good air flow: 4 120mm fans and vents on the front back top and side. The only problem that I did run into was the depth of the case with both the fan you recommended and the 212. Thanks to the motherboard's configuration, I can't fit any good low profile fans without covering a RAM slot. I actually ordered the Cooler Master RR-910-HTX3-G1. It got good reviews, and it's the only heatsink that I could find within my price point that would fit with that case and motherboard configuration. Since I bought the motherboard thinking I was going to be using my old strictly mATX case, I may just get a full ATX motherboard in the future with a low profile fan, but for now I think this should(should being the operative word) help for what I want.

 

[trents]

Your case needs to be at least 8" wide from side panel to side panel outside measurement in order to accommodate any of the tower coolers with 120mm fan.

 

[NinjaZombie]

I measured from the mounting of the CPU to the side panel. There was definitely not enough space for the 120mm, but I could, even if just barely, fit the 90mm one.

 

[repilce]

Not to be a party-pooper but a board with 4+1 power phase setup , I wouldn't expect to much in the way of an OC an what is probably an already taxed VRM setup.

Not saying you CANT.. I'm just saying don't expect too much, and be pleased with what you can achieve.. is all and GL

 

[kraver]

Thank you for the help. The case has pretty good air flow: 4 120mm fans and vents on the front back top and side. The only problem that I did run into was the depth of the case with both the fan you recommended and the 212. Thanks to the motherboard's configuration, I can't fit any good low profile fans without covering a RAM slot. I actually ordered the Cooler Master RR-910-HTX3-G1. It got good reviews, and it's the only heatsink that I could find within my price point that would fit with that case and motherboard configuration. Since I bought the motherboard thinking I was going to be using my old strictly mATX case, I may just get a full ATX motherboard in the future with a low profile fan, but for now I think this should(should being the operative word) help for what I want.

coolermaster gemini II is 120mm and a good cheep heatsink, faces the board and cools it and ram. but you have to have low-profile ram