i5 760 & asus p7p55d-e - need oc/temp advice

[Gyumaou]

hello! Just registered here!

got myself a new rig just recently, found this sweet guide and got my cpu clocked to a decent 3.8ghz. And everything would be nice if it wasn't for the rather high (understatement) temps at full load (prime95). What I'm getting is 50C at idle (40-45 if i open my window and let in the amazing Scottish summer air in) and an astounding 99 (sic!) not a minute after starting small FFTs in prime... (90 with the window)
As you can clearly see, that NEEDS to be changed >.>

First off, my config:

CPU: Core i5 760 2.8GHz @ 3.8GHz
Mobo: ASUS p7p55d-e
RAM: Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x2GB) 1600MHz
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2 rev B. (1 default fan attached)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5830
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775w

in reserve: 2x SUNON 120mm fan, 2x Revoltec Air Guard 92mm fan

and here's the bios settings I used to get here:

A1 Overclock Tuner Mode......:[Manual]
Cpu Ratio Setting............:20
Intel(R) SpeedStep(TM) Tech..:  [Disabled]
Intel(R) TurboMode Tech......: [Disabled]
Xtreme Phase Full Power Mode.: [Enabled]
BCLK Frequency...............:190
PCIE Frequency...............:103
DRAM Frequency...............: 1,520 (x8 )
QPI Frequency................: [Auto]

CPU Differential Amplitude.........:[Auto]
CPU Clock Skew.....................: [Auto]
CPU Uoltage Mode...................: [Fixed]
Voltage............................: 1.25v
IMC Voltage........................:1.16875v
DRAM Voltage.......................: 1.60v
CPU PLL Voltage....................: 1.80v
PCH Voltaqe........................: [Auto]
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on A.........: [Auto]
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on A.........: [Auto]
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on B.........: [Auto]
DRAM GIRL REF Voltage on B.........:[Auto]
Load Line Calibration..............:[Auto]
CPU Spread Spectrum................: [Disabled]
PCIE Spread Spectrum................: [Disabled]

CPU Ratio Setting..................: 20 
C1E Support........................:[Disabled]
Hardware Prefetcher................:  [Enabled]
Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch.......:  [Enabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit..............: [Disabled]
Intel (R) Virtualization Tech......:  [Disabled]
CPU TM Function....................:  [Enabled]
Active Processor Cores.............:  [All]
Intel(R) SpeedStep(TI1) Tech.......:  [Disabled]
InteI (R) TurboMode  Tech..........:  [Disabled]
Intel® C-Start Tech................: [Disabled]

I'm rather unsure how to proceed from here on. I could try lowering the voltages a bit and see how low I can get and still be stable, although I'd welcome any and all input regarding that and any other you may want to share I'm rather disinclined to change my cooler (just got it, was told it's good), but I could add the fans mentioned above.

Also, I think the cooler's mounted at least decently. Was getting middle 35-40 in idle on stock. Seems a bit high as I've seen folks getting low 30's with similar air cooling, so maybe I should try remounting it? I'm using a zalman thermal grease btw.

final solution i could just downclock it. but, yeah, I quite like how the 3.8 looks in cpu-z

 

[jtracc]

i have a similar build. i dont have a aftermarket cooler yet so i am stuck at 3.4 at 1.10v. dont want to hit over 80 on any o/c. right now i hit max prime95 temp of 77. you can always lower your multi and increase bclk. you can hit 4.0ghz if try that but u need to work on your temps. seems a bit high with a after market cooler. did u apply thermal paste properly? is it seated right?

 

[SecrtAgentMan]

OP if I read the chart right, if your CPU voltage at 1.8v?

 

[SecrtAgentMan]

i have a similar build. i dont have a aftermarket cooler yet so i am stuck at 3.4 at 1.10v. dont want to hit over 80 on any o/c. right now i hit max prime95 temp of 77. you can always lower your multi and increase bclk. you can hit 4.0ghz if try that but u need to work on your temps. seems a bit high with a after market cooler. did u apply thermal paste properly? is it seated right?

What cooler do you have?

 

[jaymz9350]

OP if I read the chart right, if your CPU voltage at 1.8v?

That's the CPU PLL at 1.8, vcore is at 1.25

What cooler do you have?

If he doesn't have an aftermarket cooler, I'd guess the stock Intel one.

 

[SecrtAgentMan]

That's the CPU PLL at 1.8, vcore is at 1.25


If he doesn't have an aftermarket cooler, I'd guess the stock Intel one.

Sigh I failed twice, didn't see the vcore at first then I didn't see the second guy saying he didn't have an aftermarket cooler

 

[Gyumaou]

jtracc: I think I have the paste right. looked thin and even (used a plastic card to spread it). the fan's mounted ok, screws seem neither too tight nor too loose. I'll probably try to re-mount it later in the day when I finish work.

SecrtAgentMan: as jaymz said, i'm running 1.25 VCore and 1.8 PLL.


I ran Assassin's Creed 2 yesterday at all max settings (only 1280 res cos of my monitor) and temp stopped at 65, so at least that's good

 

[Killador]

jtracc: I think I have the paste right. looked thin and even (used a plastic card to spread it). the fan's mounted ok, screws seem neither too tight nor too loose. I'll probably try to re-mount it later in the day when I finish work.

SecrtAgentMan: as jaymz said, i'm running 1.25 VCore and 1.8 PLL.


I ran Assassin's Creed 2 yesterday at all max settings (only 1280 res cos of my monitor) and temp stopped at 65, so at least that's good

Adding another fan to your cooler can reduce temps as low as 10°C less.

 

[jtracc]

he has a aftermarket cooler and his vcore is 1.25. find it odd his temps are that high. playing games wont max your temps out. only benchmarking software will. when i play any games temps dont go past 55.

 

[Killador]

he has a aftermarket cooler and his vcore is 1.25. find it odd his temps are that high. playing games wont max your temps out. only benchmarking software will. when i play any games temps dont go past 55.

He can also go into the Bios and change the fan control to PWM. That can help some

 

[Gyumaou]

he has a aftermarket cooler and his vcore is 1.25. find it odd his temps are that high. playing games wont max your temps out. only benchmarking software will. when i play any games temps dont go past 55.

Yes, I realize that. That's why I've not lowered the settings immediately. Rig seems stable enough for a few hours of gaming with tolerable temps. Would sure like drop them a few degs just for mental comfort

I find it odd too, I thought maybe someone here would have some sort of idea why them temps get so high. I'll replace the TIM and reseat the cooler now, just to be sure that's not the problem.

Adding another fan to your cooler can reduce temps as low as 10°C less.

He can also go into the Bios and change the fan control to PWM. That can help some

I'll add a fan or two to the Mugen once I verify it's not the TIM and see how that works. The mugen fan has max 1.3k rpm and that's what my bios is telling me is the current speed. so I can't make it faster. Unless you mean something different, then I'm all ears


Thanks for responses

 

[Killador]

Yes, I realize that. That's why I've not lowered the settings immediately. Rig seems stable enough for a few hours of gaming with tolerable temps. Would sure like drop them a few degs just for mental comfort

I find it odd too, I thought maybe someone here would have some sort of idea why them temps get so high. I'll replace the TIM and reseat the cooler now, just to be sure that's not the problem.




I'll add a fan or two to the Mugen once I verify it's not the TIM and see how that works. The mugen fan has max 1.3k rpm and that's what my bios is telling me is the current speed. so I can't make it faster. Unless you mean something different, then I'm all ears


Thanks for responses

It thats the max speed then its not good enough. You need at least 1900RPM or higher to get some good air flow IMO. It can make it a bit louder, but not by much sometimes depending on the cooler model. You can try disabling fan control as well to have it run max at all times. Make sure your fan is blowing the air out, as well as any other fans you have. If you have any on the side, make sure they blow in on the motherboard. I would check your CPU cooler again and make sure its nice and tight on the CPU. I had to check mine 4 times before i was certain it was good, but thats because i dont have a back panel open for the CPU to remount properly.

 

[Gyumaou]

i've reseated the cooler along with a new layer of tim.

here's what the old one looked like right after unmounting the cooler:

and on the cooler itself:


the paste seems stuck only to bottom part... is it because the mobo is vertical and so cooler presses more against bottom of cpu? should the top screws be tightened a bit more?

and here's the new layer I applied screws a bit tighter than before, I think they're as tight as I feel comfortable with.


I'll need to get my room to above freezing temperature to be sure, but idle seems 1-2 deg cooler now. prime is still high 90's >.>

As for the fans, I'm getting them fan clips for the cooler (preposterous, scythe only provides one set! ) and will hook up some more fans.

Speaking of this, my cooler allows up to 4 fans. If one wanted to add more than 1 to it, what would be a good positioning?

|__c_
|_dXa
|__b_

let's say the |'s are the backplate, X is cooler, and abcd are positions for fans. currently I have one in a. I'm thinking it'd be good to add to both b and c slots? so as not to push the air up or down? But what would happen if I added all 4 fans?

edit: forgot to add, the two SUNONs 120mm are running at 2300rpm need to hook them up to an ide power cable though >.>

 

[Nixa]

Well I have basically the same setup as you:

cpu - i5 760
motherboard - asus p7p55d (not -e)
ram - cheap n nasty transcend jetram 1333mhz 9/9/9/24
cooling - thermalright mux-120 at 1150 rpm
case cooling - 3x 120mm at 800/800/950rpm
gpu - 460 gtx 1gb OC

anyway more importantly my figures

cpu at ~4 ghz
ram at ~1450 mhz (slightly tighter timings aswell)

only voltage change is

memory controller - 1.10 ---> 1.15 (probably go lower haven't tested)
ram - 1.5 ---> 1.65 (again probably could go lower but not worried)

Intel burn test passed 20x at max stress

The temp peaked at 78 but only for a few seconds, most of the run was < 75 C
To be honest that seems a little high for the MUX-120, but my room temp is about 15 C and I've turned all my fans down to low speed.

Also, when applying thermal paste I tend to run a line down the middle over the 4 cores then dump the sink onto to disperse it. It looked like far to much TP on your first attempt, but try that new layer and see how it goes.

 

[Nixa]

Well I have basically the same setup as you:

cpu - i5 760
motherboard - asus p7p55d (not -e)
ram - cheap n nasty transcend jetram 1333mhz 9/9/9/24
cooling - thermalright mux-120 at 1150 rpm
case cooling - 3x 120mm at 800/800/950rpm
gpu - 460 gtx 1gb OC

anyway more importantly my figures

cpu at ~4 ghz
ram at ~1450 mhz (slightly tighter timings aswell)

only voltage change is

memory controller - 1.10 ---> 1.15 (probably go lower haven't tested)
ram - 1.5 ---> 1.65 (again probably could go lower but not worried)

Intel burn test passed 20x at max stress

The temp peaked at 78 but only for a few seconds, most of the run was < 75 C
To be honest that seems a little high for the MUX-120, but my room temp is about 15 C and I've turned all my fans down to low speed.

Also, when applying thermal paste I tend to run a line down the middle over the 4 cores then dump the sink onto to disperse it. It looked like far to much TP on your first attempt, but try that new layer and see how it goes.

Update - now pushing 4.2 Ghz on 1.248 V stable 20 runs of Intel burn test

 

[jtracc]

i've reseated the cooler along with a new layer of tim.

here's what the old one looked like right after unmounting the cooler:

and on the cooler itself:


the paste seems stuck only to bottom part... is it because the mobo is vertical and so cooler presses more against bottom of cpu? should the top screws be tightened a bit more?

and here's the new layer I applied screws a bit tighter than before, I think they're as tight as I feel comfortable with.


I'll need to get my room to above freezing temperature to be sure, but idle seems 1-2 deg cooler now. prime is still high 90's >.>

As for the fans, I'm getting them fan clips for the cooler (preposterous, scythe only provides one set! ) and will hook up some more fans.

Speaking of this, my cooler allows up to 4 fans. If one wanted to add more than 1 to it, what would be a good positioning?

|__c_
|_dXa
|__b_

let's say the |'s are the backplate, X is cooler, and abcd are positions for fans. currently I have one in a. I'm thinking it'd be good to add to both b and c slots? so as not to push the air up or down? But what would happen if I added all 4 fans?

edit: forgot to add, the two SUNONs 120mm are running at 2300rpm need to hook them up to an ide power cable though >.>

is it me or is the cooler base plate look like its not making full contact with the cpu? look where the paste is stuck too. only around the edges.... you should have the full base touching the cpu therefore there should be thermal paste on the entire portion of the cooler that touches the cpu. that explains the high temps.

 

[||Console||]

twist those thumb screws more =)

 

[Killador]

twist those thumb screws more =)

I agree. Don't be afraid to tighten the cooler to your board. You may hear a small cracking sound when you screw it tight enough, that tells you its good to go... or you can feel it out. Take your time on this when mounting on the CPU...

 

[Gyumaou]

I went and tightened them, as much as I can without resorting to an electric screwdriver Didn't hear any cracking sounds, but I'm rather happy about it
My cooler has a backplate with a soft insulation layer facing the pcb, so there's not much to crack, except the cpu, which I'd rather avoid anyway, I may have lost between 1 and 2 degrees, depending on the core (39,37,38,36 in idle). will start prime soon as I have a few hours to spare and post back if load temps changed.

also have to wait a bit more for the scythe fan clips, the shop suddenly changed to out of stock and discontinued >.> ordered from a different place though

@Nixa:
so good to hear from you!

only voltage change is

memory controller - 1.10 ---> 1.15 (probably go lower haven't tested)
ram - 1.5 ---> 1.65 (again probably could go lower but not worried)

does that mean you left the vcore on auto, as it is by default? or have you forced the stock 1.1v?
I tried auto vcore and matched my settings to yours, as far as I can see them, and the vcore was set to 1.35v, which seems to be quite a lot (0.1v more than I was running earlier). I didn't test to see how hot it'd get, though. I'll bump that up on my todo list.