SOLVED Whats a good cooler for a 955 BE

[starbert]

Hi everyone, i did my first build as a xmas present for my wife to play WOW. This is the build:

case - Cooler master elite 430, 2 120mm fans, 1 in front of case pushing air in and 1 in the back pulling air out

MB - MSI 970A-G45 am3+

CPU - AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE

Heatsink - Cooler master vortex plus, purchased this because it has a low profile and figured it would be better than stock heatsink

Thermal paste - Artic silver 5

Memory - Corsiar vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 1600mhz

GPU - Evga Nvdia Geforce GTX 550 Ti superclocked

HDD - WD Caviar Blue 500GB, 7200rpm/16mb, SATA 6GB/sec

PSU - Cooler master extreme power plus 500w

So i have oc'ed the cpu to 3.6mhz just by changing the multipler to x18, and the voltage to 1.375, idle temps where 29-31 degrees C, i ran prime95 for a hour and maxed out at 55 degrees C but mainly stayed around 53-54.

This was a little higher than i wanted cuz i was hoping to oc to 3.8mhz but i dont want the temps to get any higher, so i figured i may need to up grade my heatsink.

Also, i wish i knew how to post snap shots of CPU-Z and Core Temp and HWMonitor to show u guys what im working with and to get any advise on what else i should be doing to oc.

Any help with a better heatsink and how to post snap shots would be great!!!

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[blackersabbath]

I'd say go with the Cooler Master 212 plus or Cooler Master 212 Evo. They are pretty tall though so make sure your case has enough room. I have the 955BE too and have trouble getting mine past 3.6 although mine can run 3.6 stable at 1.32 voltage in cpu-z, 1.3 volts in BIOS.

 

[starbert]

I'd say go with the Cooler Master 212 plus or Cooler Master 212 Evo. They are pretty tall though so make sure your case has enough room. I have the 955BE too and have trouble getting mine past 3.6 although mine can run 3.6 stable at 1.32 voltage in cpu-z, 1.3 volts in BIOS.

thanks, i was thinking of the 212+, my case actually recommends the 212+ so i think it will fit, what kind of temps do u get running ur 955BE at 3.6 at 1.32 volts if i may ask?

 

[blackersabbath]

thanks, i was thinking of the 212+, my case actually recommends the 212+ so i think it will fit, what kind of temps do u get running ur 955BE at 3.6 at 1.32 volts if i may ask?

I get around 32-33c idle and 48-49c load. I think I need to remount the heatsink though. Seems like I was getting better temps last year when I built this rig. Not sure if this is due to ambient temps or the thermal paste is dried out. If you are buying new, you should get the EVO to be honest with you. There are no gaps between the heatpipes and I feel that will help temps a lot. I'm contemplating replacing my 212 plus with the EVO.

 

[starbert]

I get around 32-33c idle and 48-49c load. I think I need to remount the heatsink though. Seems like I was getting better temps last year when I built this rig. Not sure if this is due to ambient temps or the thermal paste is dried out. If you are buying new, you should get the EVO to be honest with you. There are no gaps between the heatpipes and I feel that will help temps a lot. I'm contemplating replacing my 212 plus with the EVO.[/QUO

lol i was just looking at the 212 EVO vs the 212+ and did noticed that that was the main difference between the two, so for know do u think im fine with the temps im getting now? as long as they dont get over 55C

 

[starbert]

I get around 32-33c idle and 48-49c load. I think I need to remount the heatsink though. Seems like I was getting better temps last year when I built this rig. Not sure if this is due to ambient temps or the thermal paste is dried out. If you are buying new, you should get the EVO to be honest with you. There are no gaps between the heatpipes and I feel that will help temps a lot. I'm contemplating replacing my 212 plus with the EVO.

also, how was the install of the 212+, is it a PITA or was it pretty simple, i would like to be able to install without removing the motherboard.

thanks for your help sabbath!

 

[blackersabbath]

Yeah, your temps are fine now. You don't really need another heatsink unless you want to overclock more or need to raise the voltage. You can even try lowering the voltage of the CPU and running Prime95 again. I'm thinking you can get it stable at lower voltage

 

[starbert]

Cool, i will try that, didnt even think of lowering the voltage

thanks again sabbath

 

[blackersabbath]

No problem at all. Start trying the lower voltage at 1.36v in BIOS and go by little increments from there. Increments of .01 at a time should work. Just run Prime95 for two hours between each change.

 

[starbert]

will do! ty

 

[Mjolnir]

55 under full load at 3.6ghz on a stock heatsink is pretty sweet. If you can keep temps at 55 or below on stock; and still up the OC, you're sweet.. But, as an over clocker; I'm going to still recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo as already recommended by someone else.

Even if you can hit 3.8-4ghz on the stock heatsink... The difference in temps, and more importantly (for me), noise is quite large.. If for nothing else but a noise reduction I'd buy the CM Hyper Evo. Even when I build a computer for a friend with little to no plans on OC'ing (on their request), I still try to fit a custom cooler into the budget.. A, it's quieter, B, it's cooler, and C, it lasts longer with less issues.

I find stock coolers; over time; especially if you're using the stock thermal compound; build up with dust very fast and the compound dries out very quickly.. So it's worth it IMO.

 

[starbert]

55 under full load at 3.6ghz on a stock heatsink is pretty sweet. If you can keep temps at 55 or below on stock; and still up the OC, you're sweet.. But, as an over clocker; I'm going to still recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo as already recommended by someone else.

Even if you can hit 3.8-4ghz on the stock heatsink... The difference in temps, and more importantly (for me), noise is quite large.. If for nothing else but a noise reduction I'd buy the CM Hyper Evo. Even when I build a computer for a friend with little to no plans on OC'ing (on their request), I still try to fit a custom cooler into the budget.. A, it's quieter, B, it's cooler, and C, it lasts longer with less issues.

I find stock coolers; over time; especially if you're using the stock thermal compound; build up with dust very fast and the compound dries out very quickly.. So it's worth it IMO.

thanks for the info, but i am not using a stock cooler, i have a CM vortex plus and used artic silver 5 thermal paste, so do u think those temps are still ok? i just lowered the voltage a tad (thanks to sabbath's advice) and im running prime95 now and from the looks of it the temps have come down a few degrees, going to see how the do after a couple of hours, i may try to go even lower on my voltage.

thanks again guys, i will report back here shortly

 

[Mjolnir]

Oh; didn't see. Haha. That's what I get for skimming the thread and not reading it properly .

You could probably go for something better cooling wise.. But going from that to a Hyper Evo may not be the greatest increase (rather decrease). Temps are okay.. But I wouldn't push through anymore voltage than that.

Keep lowering the voltage as much as you can bit by bit. You could possibly up the voltage a notch on the NB. May help stability.

Arctic Silver 5, whilst still a decent compound; is becoming outdated. The fact that it has cure time is probably it's worst attribute; considering you can get Arctic Cooling MX-2/3/4 which performs a bit better, and also has no cure time.

Keep max temps under 55 and you should be sweet. Mind you, WoW is more CPU bound than GPU bound assuming the GPU is decent. A GTX 550 Ti should play WoW no sweat, so it'll be more on the CPU. If you can get it higher; go for it; otherwise keep it to 3.6ghz.

 

[starbert]

Oh; didn't see. Haha. That's what I get for skimming the thread and not reading it properly .

You could probably go for something better cooling wise.. But going from that to a Hyper Evo may not be the greatest increase (rather decrease). Temps are okay.. But I wouldn't push through anymore voltage than that.

Keep lowering the voltage as much as you can bit by bit. You could possibly up the voltage a notch on the NB. May help stability.

Arctic Silver 5, whilst still a decent compound; is becoming outdated. The fact that it has cure time is probably it's worst attribute; considering you can get Arctic Cooling MX-2/3/4 which performs a bit better, and also has no cure time.

Keep max temps under 55 and you should be sweet. Mind you, WoW is more CPU bound than GPU bound assuming the GPU is decent. A GTX 550 Ti should play WoW no sweat, so it'll be more on the CPU. If you can get it higher; go for it; otherwise keep it to 3.6ghz.

ty again, lol i am guilt of skimming threads to! so i tried to lower my voltage from 1.355 to the next lowest which is 1.333 in BIOS and my system would not restart without me pushing the reset button. So i switch it back an ran prime95, after an hour max temp was 53C, so im happy, it went down a couple of degrees. Im happy as long as it is under 55C i guess.

what do u guys think, should i upgrade heatsink or maybe upgrade thermal paste and reinstall my CM vortex plus? I was hoping to maybe get to 3.8mhz, and in doing this i feel i need to upgrade something to get my temps down, or maybe i should up it to 3.8mhz and run prime95 and see what my temps do?

any suggestions?

 

[Mjolnir]

Push it up to 3.8ghz on 1.375v and see what happens. Fact is; during WoW gaming; you're not going to hit full 100% loading on the CPU. If you can keep temps at or below 55 degrees running Prime95, it'll be fine for gaming.

 

[starbert]

Push it up to 3.8ghz on 1.375v and see what happens. Fact is; during WoW gaming; you're not going to hit full 100% loading on the CPU. If you can keep temps at or below 55 degrees running Prime95, it'll be fine for gaming.

cool i'll try that, lets say i get around 55C or even a few degrees high (i really dont want to get above 60C) running prime95 after going to 3.8mhz, do u think will be fine for playing WOW since WOW doesnt stress it to 100%? or should i bump it back down to 3.6?

 

[Mjolnir]

If you hit 55-57 degrees, it should be fine. Any higher (close to or above 60) you'll want to drop it back down. But yeah if WoW is the only thing that it's used for (Or gaming in general), I wouldn't worry too much. If you ever, though, do any rendering of any sort or video editing/encoding; (things that WILL push 100% CPU usage), just watch the temps.

 

[appelsos]

with the stock cooler on my 955 i was hovering around 55C load. upp'd to a 212+ and dropped idle temps about 12-15C, load temperatures to around 44C.


i'll say this much about the 212+ though, a PITA to install your first time, especially depending on if your case supports it without having to remove the mobo to install it.

 

[starbert]

If you hit 55-57 degrees, it should be fine. Any higher (close to or above 60) you'll want to drop it back down. But yeah if WoW is the only thing that it's used for (Or gaming in general), I wouldn't worry too much. If you ever, though, do any rendering of any sort or video editing/encoding; (things that WILL push 100% CPU usage), just watch the temps.

WoW is the only game for now, and i dont see doing any type of video editing or encoding, i will let u know what temps are after i run prime95 at 3.8mhz.

thanks for all ur input, greatly appr.!!!!!

 

[starbert]

with the stock cooler on my 955 i was hovering around 55C load. upp'd to a 212+ and dropped idle temps about 12-15C, load temperatures to around 44C.


i'll say this much about the 212+ though, a PITA to install your first time, especially depending on if your case supports it without having to remove the mobo to install it.

well that is very encouraging, that would be worth the hasle of installing if it would drop my temps by that much, think im going to pick one up here in the very near future or the 212 evo.

thanks everyone for all the help!!!!!!!!!!