FX-8120 Temp Questions

[Desync]

My current setup is

ASUS Sabertooth 990fx R2.0 Motherboard
FX 8120 CPU
16gb DDR3 1600 memory
XFX Double D 7850 Video Card
Antec Nine Hundred Two Case

Corsair H60 CPU Cooler / cheap Dynex Silver Thermal Compound

I haven't overclocked anything at all.

Using HW Monitor


I have been running Prime 95 now for 30 minutes and my CPU Temp is: 54 degrees C (129 F)

My CORE temps are at: 39 degrees C (102 F)

Just wondering if everything is working decently by anyone's standards.

 

[trents]

Looks good. Limit CPU temps to 70c and core temps to 60c to be safe but you well may encounter instability before then. Instability generally sets in before damaging temps are reached.

 

[Desync]

Looks good. Limit CPU temps to 70c and core temps to 60c to be safe but you well may encounter instability before then. Instability generally sets in before damaging temps are reached.

Appreciate it


If I did overclock any, I'm sure my temps would go up some, so which CPU cooler would you recommend going with?

I been looking at the

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

and

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065



Also, tomorrow I'm going to clean my CPU and my H60 and reapply the thermal compound as directed using the pea sized drop instead of spreading it over my cpu to see if my temps get any lower.


Update: Soon as I stopped Prime95, I noticed my CPU temp went from 54c straight to 48c, and my core temp went from 39c straight to 28c. I guess it's normal for them to jump down so quickly after stopping the test, just seems like I have plenty of airflow.

 

[trents]

The current water cooler you have is as good or better than either of those air coolers you list. If you upgrade the cooler, go to a water cooler with a bigger radiator like the Corsair H80. Those FX CPUs really put out the heat when you start to add voltage for the overclock and most people go up to the Corsair H100 but you would need a case with two 120mm fan spots on top to do that.

Do yourself a favor and get some better thermal grease. Get either some Arctic Silver 5 or some Arctic Cooling MX2 or MX4.

 

[Desync]

The current water cooler you have is as good or better than either of those air coolers you list. If you upgrade the cooler, go to a water cooler with a bigger radiator like the Corsair H80. Those FX CPUs really put out the heat when you start to add voltage for the overclock and most people go up to the Corsair H100 but you would need a case with two 120mm fan spots on top to do that.

Do yourself a favor and get some better thermal grease. Get either some Arctic Silver 5 or some Arctic Cooling MX2 or MX4.

Appreciate the help, and on the thermal grease, I'm going to be getting some Arctic Silver 5. I didn't think about it when I ordered my CPU and just ran to Best Buy and got some.

Also adding another vid card, what temps would I need to worry about? Will that make my CPU temps go up? My current vid card doesn't even get hot at all while playing games so I know I got plenty of air for it. Just wondering what temps will rise if I use 2 vid cards.

Other than that I think I'm set for right now. I got my H60 radiator in a push pull config. Got 2x 120mm fans, one on each side of the radiator. One is pushing into the radiator and the other is pulling out the back of the case.

 

[trents]

If you will download and install these three free programs it will greatly facilitate communication and the overclock process itself: CPU-z, HWMonitor, and Prime95.

Prime95 - a "stress-testing" program that puts your system under heavy load to drive up temps and check for stability of the overclock. This will load the system somewhat more than most any real world app.

HWMonitor - great utility for monitoring temps and voltages. You want to watch "CPU vcore" and the temps of the "Cores" and the "CPU" (socket) temp. You want to keep your core temps from exceeding about 60c and your CPU socket temp from exceecding about 70c.

CPU-z - great program for monitoring the effect on frequencies of changes you make in bios as well as reports a lot of great information about your hardware.

 

[Desync]

If you will download and install these three free programs it will greatly facilitate communication and the overclock process itself: CPU-z, HWMonitor, and Prime95.

Prime95 - a "stress-testing" program that puts your system under heavy load to drive up temps and check for stability of the overclock. This will load the system somewhat more than most any real world app.

HWMonitor - great utility for monitoring temps and voltages. You want to watch "CPU vcore" and the temps of the "Cores" and the "CPU" (socket) temp. You want to keep your core temps from exceeding about 60c and your CPU socket temp from exceecding about 70c.

CPU-z - great program for monitoring the effect on frequencies of changes you make in bios as well as reports a lot of great information about your hardware.

I got Prime95 and HWMonitor. Had CPU-Z but it kept saying it was outdated even tho I had the latest version.

Going to be ordering my 2nd vid card and new thermal grease today.

 

[trents]

Have you disabled Cool N Quiet, C1E, C6, Turbo and APM in bios? If not, your will want to do so as well as go into Windows Control Panel Power Options and configure it to High Performance. That should turn off most or all of the "green", power saving stuff that down-throttles voltages and frequencies and plays havoc with overclocking.

 

[trents]

Desync, as a common courtesy on the forum we would ask you to create a "Sig" that will cause your system info to travel with every post you make. As the threads get long the system info that new members supply at the beginning tends to get lost and buried so this really helps those helping you. To create a Sig click on Quick Links at the top of the page and then Edit Signature. You can refer to mine under "Custom Built Desktop" for pointers as to what info we like to see included. You can always go back and edit it later if you add or change components.

 

[Desync]

Desync, as a common courtesy on the forum we would ask you to create a "Sig" that will cause your system info to travel with every post you make. As the threads get long the system info that new members supply at the beginning tends to get lost and buried so this really helps those helping you. To create a Sig click on Quick Links at the top of the page and then Edit Signature. You can refer to mine under "Custom Built Desktop" for pointers as to what info we like to see included. You can always go back and edit it later if you add or change components.

Will do, appreciate all the help you've given me.

I'm not really new to computers, I'm actually going to college for computer programming, I just don't guess I ever really cared to get into over locking that much.

I'm basically trying to get my computer setup so I can play games and live stream without running into any heat issues.

Also, all those settings you told me to disable, if I don't over lock will those settings still help reduce temps any?

 

[trents]

Some of those "green" technologies serve to reduce CPU frequency and voltage when the computer is just idling or doing light tasks when little processing power is needed. When extra load calls for more power they "let go". "Turbo" mode acts to distribute fill power intermittently to some cores but not all at once. This helps to keep heat and power draw down under load and can be necessary when the CPU is only being cooled by the puny stock cooler. Some components of that technology cluster serve to protect the CPU and motherboard against excessive power draw.

 

[Desync]

Some of those "green" technologies serve to reduce CPU frequency and voltage when the computer is just idling or doing light tasks when little processing power is needed. When extra load calls for more power they "let go". "Turbo" mode acts to distribute fill power intermittently to some cores but not all at once. This helps to keep heat and power draw down under load and can be necessary when the CPU is only being cooled by the puny stock cooler. Some components of that technology cluster serve to protect the CPU and motherboard against excessive power draw.

Alright I understand that, I know for a fact Cool N Quiet is disabled, cause when I loaded Optimal Settings from the bios it auto disables that feature. I'll go look at the other ones here in a second.

As of right now just updating Planetside 2 Beta and browsing on the forums here my temps are at:

CPU: 45c
Core: 27c

Ran Prime95 again after I re-installed my crappy thermal grease and my CPU temp ran 1 degree C cooler and my core ran 3 degrees C cooler.

 

[trents]

Arctic Silver 5 has a curing time. You will find that within about a week your temps will be 2-4 c cooler than right after the application.