Crazy temps on an older core?

[Dark Shade]

Hey all,

So I built my sister a gaming machine a few months back but it is running some very high temps (it has done this from the start, I simply have only just got around to posting about it ). It is running an EVGA 680i SLI mobo paired with a Core 2 Extreme QX6700 CPU. It is running what I think is a Zalman CNPS 9500 Heatsink. At least that was the closest I can find in google images. When my sister is idling the core or browsing the web etc. it hovers around 55-60 degrees or so, and under a gaming load tops off at roughly 80-85. This can't be normal can it? I realize this is a Core 2 Extreme series core, but in the review Here they show that an intel processor (they dont say which one...) runs idle @ 27 and load @ 38... Any particular steps I should be doing here or is this actually normal for an Extreme series core?

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Clean the heatsink and redo the thermal paste.
You may have too little thermal paste!

With Arctic Silver 5, I had to make it more than a grain of rice. I had to go to pea size or else only one side was getting paste!

 

[Dark Shade]

Alrighty I shall take it apart again Just wanted to make sure that the temps it was getting wasn't normal before undergoing the disassembly. I have not had any previous experience with 'Extreme' processors, so I wasn't sure what to expect from it

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Usually, with a good cooler and good paste application/mount I get around 30-35°C idle with most Core 2 chips I've tested, and 50-60°C load in a room with 20-24°C ambient temperatures.

So, yeah, either you got a bad mount or the cooler can't handle the heat output of the CPU (it should be able to handle the heat output though).

 

[Dark Shade]

Yeah I remounted it and used a set of ArctiClean that i recently got. It did lower temps by ~5 degrees or so, but not what I was hoping. I am likely going to be receiving a new sealed-type water cooler soon so I will give it a shot to see as this cooler was used and ~6 years old or so.

Thanks for the advise!