- Joined
- Nov 10, 2006
- Location
- Southeast Texas
So about three weeks ago I upgraded from a 3700+ Sandy which happily lived day to day at 2.95ghz under a Zalmann CNPS-7700 CU, with load temps in a 75F room coming in at 52-52C.
My new processor is an Opty 170. Knowing that the dual core would produce more heat, I ordered a Big Typhoon. When the parts arrived, I lapped both the Typhoon and the Opty's IHS. My temps were abominable. I tried reseating the BT a few times with varying amounts of AS5 but nothing fixed the heat problem. I decided that maybe I'd messed up my lapping of the BT. I refinished it, reinstalled it, and temps were still outrageous even at stock speeds (even undervolted! Load temps at stock speeds with 1.35v were in the fifties on a lapped BT running at full speed!)
So I decided my small case didn't have the heat-dispersion abilities to cope with the Opty. So I ordered my new Lian Li and a Zalmann 9700 NT. Upon receiving the case, I flipped around the PCI fan to act as an intake. I also flipped around the rear intake 80mm to act as an exhaust for the rear-blowing 9700. The Zalmann came with a beautiful mirror polish so I didn't bother lapping it--I assumed it was flat. I installed everything into the new case with good cable management, only this time I used the Zalmann ZM-STG1 grease. Finally, my temps were lower--a little bit. I could now overclock. With the 9700 running at full speed (2800 RPM), I clocked my 170 up to 2.75ghz @ 1.35v. Things run smoothely. Only problem is temperature. With all the case fans at full, in a 75F room, the CPU idles at 37-38C and the hotter core loads at 58-60C (the other core loads at about 54-56C). This is still much too hot.
So last night I removed the CPU and begin re-lapping it. Again, I assumed the Zalmann's mirror finish was good, so I didn't touch it. I reinstalled everything, this time with AS5. No good. Worse, in fact. Now I'm loading at 60-63 on the hot core. I haven't bothered letting the AS5 set up--this is ridiculous and it will still be running too hot after the paste cures.
So today I remove the 9700 and begin lapping it. As it turns out, the damn thing is terribly concave. Hmm, maybe this has something to do with it? But I'm getting bored spending the whole weekend lapping processors and heatsinks, and I want to use my computer in the meantime. So:
A few hours ago, I reinstalled my 170 (which by now I am SURE has a nice, flat finish after two lapping jobs and finising with 1500 grit, although no mirror finish). I then installed the STOCK four-heatpipe heatsink that came with the Opteron. And when I say STOCK, I mean I haven't lapped it, and I'm using the thermal compound that came with the sink. I then erased my entire overclock and went back to stock.
So now I'm running:
1. Opteron 170, lapped flat
2. Stock Opteron heatsink w/ stock thermal pad
3. Stock speeds, stock volts, no overclocking
And my temps?
40-42C at idle (in a 75F room).
If I run SETI, temps shoot up to 65-70C within about two minutes.
At this point I'm thinking that even after lapping my 9700 I'm still going to be running way too hot. Do I have a bad processor? What is the deal here? The stock heatsink isn't doing its job even at stock speeds with a lapped IHS! And at this point I can't return the processor because I've already lapped it (not to mention overclocked it and used two different aftermarket heatsinks).
What do I need to do at this point? Is it safe to assume that my IHS isn't making proper contact with the CPU dies? Do I need to pop my IHS? I'm not prepared to go to water cooling--this was supposed to be a cheap upgrade to dual-core for a 939 board, and I've already spent over $100 on two different heatsinks, not to mention upwards of about 12 hours carefully lapping and polishing various components.
Where do I go from here?
My new processor is an Opty 170. Knowing that the dual core would produce more heat, I ordered a Big Typhoon. When the parts arrived, I lapped both the Typhoon and the Opty's IHS. My temps were abominable. I tried reseating the BT a few times with varying amounts of AS5 but nothing fixed the heat problem. I decided that maybe I'd messed up my lapping of the BT. I refinished it, reinstalled it, and temps were still outrageous even at stock speeds (even undervolted! Load temps at stock speeds with 1.35v were in the fifties on a lapped BT running at full speed!)
So I decided my small case didn't have the heat-dispersion abilities to cope with the Opty. So I ordered my new Lian Li and a Zalmann 9700 NT. Upon receiving the case, I flipped around the PCI fan to act as an intake. I also flipped around the rear intake 80mm to act as an exhaust for the rear-blowing 9700. The Zalmann came with a beautiful mirror polish so I didn't bother lapping it--I assumed it was flat. I installed everything into the new case with good cable management, only this time I used the Zalmann ZM-STG1 grease. Finally, my temps were lower--a little bit. I could now overclock. With the 9700 running at full speed (2800 RPM), I clocked my 170 up to 2.75ghz @ 1.35v. Things run smoothely. Only problem is temperature. With all the case fans at full, in a 75F room, the CPU idles at 37-38C and the hotter core loads at 58-60C (the other core loads at about 54-56C). This is still much too hot.
So last night I removed the CPU and begin re-lapping it. Again, I assumed the Zalmann's mirror finish was good, so I didn't touch it. I reinstalled everything, this time with AS5. No good. Worse, in fact. Now I'm loading at 60-63 on the hot core. I haven't bothered letting the AS5 set up--this is ridiculous and it will still be running too hot after the paste cures.
So today I remove the 9700 and begin lapping it. As it turns out, the damn thing is terribly concave. Hmm, maybe this has something to do with it? But I'm getting bored spending the whole weekend lapping processors and heatsinks, and I want to use my computer in the meantime. So:
A few hours ago, I reinstalled my 170 (which by now I am SURE has a nice, flat finish after two lapping jobs and finising with 1500 grit, although no mirror finish). I then installed the STOCK four-heatpipe heatsink that came with the Opteron. And when I say STOCK, I mean I haven't lapped it, and I'm using the thermal compound that came with the sink. I then erased my entire overclock and went back to stock.
So now I'm running:
1. Opteron 170, lapped flat
2. Stock Opteron heatsink w/ stock thermal pad
3. Stock speeds, stock volts, no overclocking
And my temps?
40-42C at idle (in a 75F room).
If I run SETI, temps shoot up to 65-70C within about two minutes.
At this point I'm thinking that even after lapping my 9700 I'm still going to be running way too hot. Do I have a bad processor? What is the deal here? The stock heatsink isn't doing its job even at stock speeds with a lapped IHS! And at this point I can't return the processor because I've already lapped it (not to mention overclocked it and used two different aftermarket heatsinks).
What do I need to do at this point? Is it safe to assume that my IHS isn't making proper contact with the CPU dies? Do I need to pop my IHS? I'm not prepared to go to water cooling--this was supposed to be a cheap upgrade to dual-core for a 939 board, and I've already spent over $100 on two different heatsinks, not to mention upwards of about 12 hours carefully lapping and polishing various components.
Where do I go from here?
Last edited:
