I Built My First Computer - I Need Help

[Depetrify]

Hello everyone!

So... I just built my very first computer two days ago, and let me start you off with a few specs...

- CoolMaster HaF 932 (The fans it includes)
- i7 920 (Stock Fan)
- 12 GB DDR3
- Nividia Geforce GTX 295
- 750 Watt Corsair Power Supply
- Asus P6T
- LightScribe Optical Drive
- RAID1 ~2 Seagate 1.5 TB 7200 RPM Drives~
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit

-Feel free to ask me for any other specs-



Alright. Story Time.

So this was my first PC I ever built, so obviously it is pretty messy inside. When I built it I was not even thinking about the "Heat" + "Messy" factors. I was to busy trying to figure out what goes where. In the past few days I have learned so much about hardware and I wanted to do so much more. So today I started trying to figure out how to overclock...

I downloaded CPUID, RealTemp, Cinebench, and Prime95. The first time I looked into CPUID I saw that my processor was only running at 1.6GHz, that's when I thought something was wrong and researching, and then I learned it was just like that in idle mode. So I ran Cinebench and CPUID and it went up to about 2.8 GHz.

After I figured that out, and after staring at my Temps for a while I thought they were EXTREMELY LOW... around 40 C idle. I tried to use TurboV to overclock and I couldn't really find any tutorials on that and it kept making my computer freeze, so I stopped with that.

I googled around and found out how to overclock in BIOS and I started messing around with those settings. I got it to about 3.5 GHz and it was around 50 C idle, which I thought wasn't much. Then I decided to run a game with it and see what the temperature was with it running. It was around 70 C while playing "Aion".

I thought that was perfect, because I heard that was near the max temperature your CPU should be at. After some more research I decided to use Prime95 which I had already downloaded but never used. I did a Stress Blend Test, and that's when I realized my computer could NOT handle that OC'ing. It would go up to the 90s in a minute or so and I would immediately stop the tests.

Then I put everything back to auto in bio's and ran that test again and I was still getting really high. I let it run for about 5 minutes and this is what I got...



Now i'm starting to doubt my computer is going to be as good as I expected. Since I started learning about temperatures and stuff I have opened my computer multiple times to clean up the wires. I feel like I have gotten it pretty good, or as best as I can do it for now. Since my computer is already all put together it is really hard to clean up.

I do not know what I should do... rewire my whole computer... realize that my computer is fine ... any suggestions would be nice.

Thanks a lot!

Depetrify

 

[atomic ferret]

I would ditch the stock HSF and get something decent before you push it any farther.

 

[bda1967]

Welcome Go to the Cooling Forum http://www.overclockers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6 and ask which heatsink and fans are the best for overclocking. My guess is Noctua and megahalems.

Go to the Intel CPU Forum http://www.overclockers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2 for help with overclocking your cpu.

 

[A-Dub]

I got it to about 3.5 GHz and it was around 50 C idle, which I thought wasn't much. Then I decided to run a game with it and see what the temperature was with it running. It was around 70 C while playing "Aion".

I thought that was perfect, because I heard that was near the max temperature your CPU should be at.

50C idle is still quite high, and 70C is pushing it for max temp, running that hot for extended periods can shorten the life of your processor.

 

[OnDborder]

Welcome to the Forum! http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=491697
What kind of thermal conductive compound/paste did you use between your cpu and heatsink/fan?
Also, how much?

 

[Marshmallow64]

You need an aftermarket cooler for overclocking, the stock heatsink will not work.

 

[Brutal-Force]

As its been pointed out, 50 degrees at idle is pretty high, unless its 50 degrees celcius in your house.

The stock HSF that come with most processors is at best for a very mild overclock, but seeing as yours it at 50 degrees idle, you may consider a) improving your HSF and b) rechecking your installation of your stock HSF and Thermal Compound. One of the most recommended Thermal compounds is Artic Silver 5, which can either be ordered at places like Newegg, or I have found it at Radioshack (packed in a Radio Shack container, but if you look at the tube it will say Arctic Silver 5). Runs about 11 dollars.

Visit the Cooling forums for other tips. Also, I noticed this on an i5, Turbo seems to OC just as well at lower Bclk as a full OC with Turbo Disabled. You also have Hyper Threading which lends increased heat to the i7, so you may also consider turning that off unless you Really Really need it. Hopefully one day Intel will come out with a program to turn HT on and off from the OS.

Welcome to Overclockers.com

 

[psionic98]

stock cooler wont cut it past the 3.2 mark w/o really upgrading... for an affordable hsf (though not tested by me) would be the Cogage True Spirit.. reviews rather well against the "big" boys by only a few degrees (6-8 give or take).. otherwise what was said above for the expensive big guys.. noctura makes very good and quiet setups

 

[agentbad]

12 GB DDR3!!!!!!

 

[NV]

A bit redundant here, but to re-iterate some important points people have been posting:

50C IDLE is pretty high, 50C load is quite low however. 70C isn't a scary temp on an i7... these things get pretty hot. 90C on the other hand... well you had the right reaction when you backed everything down to stock.

You are going to need an aftermarket cooling solution if you want to get a good overclock out of the proc. I'd wait to see how the new Venomous X stacks up to the known competition before deciding which heatsink to get. You could also go water, but you might not want to jump in that deep right now, having just completed your first build. As agentbad noticed (good eye) that 12GB of RAM is going to make getting a high-end overclock that much harder. Since the memory controller is now on the CPU with the i7, having the full 12GB makes it that much tougher. I'd still think you'd be able to hit 4.0GHz with proper cooling though.

I'd also like to say that your wires are probably not a factor in your temperatures. People that clean up the messiest of cases gain 1-2C most of the time. I'm sure there are examples where the difference is more noticeable, but in general your rat's nest is NOT the culprit of high-temperatures.

Finally, PROPS to you man, for putting your first build together and doing a lot of your own research in tinkering around with it.

P.S: That's a beast of a computer you have there. When you get your cooling figured out, you should consider joining the folding team.