New to i7 - Few Q's on VCore/Temps & HT

[Randyman...]

So, I dove into i7 land with the LGA1156 i7 860 and an Asus P7P55-E Pro MoBo. My 860 has a fairly low VID according to the Intel Tunning utility thingy (just slightly above 1.0v !). I'm running a Venomous-X and a nice 120x38mm fan with AS-5. I have a few random but related Q's if you don't mind:

So - I seem to need approx 1.31v to get to 4GHz with HT turned off (182bclk / 22x multi). My temps are pretty hot and peak right around 80*C with LinX (a bit too hot for my liking - but stays in the mid 60's running the Intel Stress Test thingy for 12 hours). I couldn't hit 4GHz with HT On for fear of cooking the chip (I was geting 85*C with HT On at like 3.7GHz around 1.3V)

It seems most people will run closer to 1.4v on air for 4GHz, and still get better temps than me. Is that correct? What about HT on or off? Are most people getting 4GHz with HT On and running Air Cooling? What are your temps like?

For comparison, I use TRUE's in my other rigs with the washer mod. It still seems like the TRUE with the washer mod is a tighter mount than the Venomous-X with the screw turned all the way tight (the Venomous-X can still pivot on the CPU - like the TRUE w/o the washer mod). Does anyone else experience this with the Venomous-X's new mounting scheme? Is a "washer mod" type thing advisable for the Venomous-X? I'm really thinking my temps shuld be lower than they are...

Also - It seems my old Q9550 @ 3.9GHz is nipping at the heels of this i7 860 @ 4GHz, but the RAM bandwidth of the i7 (DDR3 / 2000MHz) literally destroys the DDR2-1150 from my Q9550 system. Does that sound right? I figured the 860 @ 4GHz would leave the Q9550 @ 3.9GHz pretty far behind in terms of CPU Benches? I'm not a gamer, so I'm mainly speaking of CPU benches...

Thanks for any input for this i7 noob

 

[dejo]

on my 920 if I dont point the heatsink towards the back of the case my temps rise about 7'C. what way is yours oriented

 

[Randyman...]

My case only has a rear vent (no top vent), so the Venomous-X is oriented to get the fresh air from the front of the case and then blows the hot air directly into the rear fan.

I had the same case (same setup minus CPU/MoBo/RAM) but with the TRUE / Washer Mod for my Q9550 - it barely touched 70*C under LinX. And I have a better 38mm fan and the Venomous-X now with the 860. My Q9550 was around 1.4v and 3.9GHz , when the 860 is only 1.31v and 4GHz. I thought the 860 would run cooler...

Is the Venomous-X supposed to have ANY movement if you try to lightly twist it? I swear the TRUE with a washer mod feels tighter than the Venomous-X to me. Does that sound correct - or could something be wrong with my Venomous-X 's mounting? I was kind of surprised that it only went as tight as it does after reading how "improved" the new mounting scheme is They claim 70lbs of force with the screw tightened down - but it doesn't seem that stiff/tight to me. With the adjustment screw "loose" for 40lbs it feels like it is barely touching the CPU at all!

Also - What about HT? Are most people ON AIR running with HT enebaled and STILL getting 4GHz under 80*C?

 

[dejo]

I think most just run high clocks with HT on for benching. your sink seems to be oriented the proper way. just know that HT will ramp up the temps substantially, mine makes about 8C higher with it on

 

[Randyman...]

Does 80*C @ 1.31v @ 4GHz (HT OFF) seem right for a Venomus-X? LinX will get it that hot, but the Intel Stress Test only gets it in the mid 60's or so. Seems rather hot to me - but I guess the i7 860 also has a Memory Controller, L3 Cache, PCIe lanes, and other crap heating it up opposed to my Q9550 I'm comparing it to...

 

[wingman99]

Does 80*C @ 1.31v @ 4GHz (HT OFF) seem right for a Venomus-X? LinX will get it that hot, but the Intel Stress Test only gets it in the mid 60's or so. Seems rather hot to me - but I guess the i7 860 also has a Memory Controller, L3 Cache, PCIe lanes, and other crap heating it up opposed to my Q9550 I'm comparing it to...

From what ive seen your temps are correct for LinX with air cooling.

 

[Randyman...]

Cool. Thanks for the confirmation. I just really thought the 860 at 4GHz/1.31v would be cooler than the Q9550 at 3.9GHz/1.4v - and also considering the upgrade from TRUE to Venomus-X plus the 120x38mm fan

I think I might try to re-mount the brackets and HSF as the Ven-x really doesn't feel tight enough to me (compared to the TRUE + Washer Mod). Always something

 

[Brutal-Force]

The i7 860 does in fact run very warm. I have two of them, one of which runs at a higher clock speed. One can run at 4.0 @ 1.4V and one can run 4.4 @ 1.4V. So I have two to make comparisons with. At the same voltages, the two chips run about 80 degrees. I use a Venomous X and with my 120X38 at half speed (3000 RPMs) and ambients around 24 degrees, 80 degrees is not unusual.

I think everyone is expecting these things to run much cooler than the other Intel chips before them. But think about it, more hardware at higher speeds? Of course its going to run hot. I am not scared of my chip hitting 80s and honestly, stability doesn't really become compromised until about 90.

As far as the LinX vs. IBT comparison. In my experience, the two run about the same temperature, and push about 10 degrees higher than Prime95. Since you will never run that hard on anything on all 4 cores with all 8 threads, I wouldn't be too worried.

 

[GoD_tattoo]

I recently got an i7 860 and i can tell you it does run warm. Try reseating the Venomous and seeing if it helps..May have just not went down right...Maybe I'm just reading wrong, but are you running two fans in push/pull or just one?

 

[kkpudge7]

those temps are about right, what are your ambient temps? My 920 requires about 1.29v to hit 4Ghz (ht off) and I stay around 75-80 on the hottest core in prime.

 

[Randyman...]

I only run 1 fan since the extensive testing posted on this forum showed less than a 2 degree difference with 2 fans in push/pull. I value a semi-quiet system, too

I just figured that the 95Watt TDP 860 would run cooler than the 130Watt TDP 920 - and that the 860 at 1.31v / 4GHz with a Venomus-X would run cooler than the Q9550 @ 1.4v / 3.9GHz with a TRUE that it replaced in my system.

I'm also getting these temps with HT TURNED OFF! With HT On, I was close to 90*C at 1.31v around 3.7GHz and I didn't want to go much further.

I'll play with the mounting and consider a washer mod as well. I see someone else started a "Venomus-X Twisting" thread - so this seems to be common behavior.

I'm fairly happy with 4GHz @ 1.31v, but I just want my temps to come down and be able to turn on HT for 4GHz (even IF LinX might be the only thing that gets it this hot).

Thanks for the input - It has eased my mind - but I will continue to look for avenues of improvement as always