mmparkskier

EDIT:

THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN FIXED.

I lowered the temps by reseating the HSF and reapplying the TIM. Check last post for current temps.



Original Post:

After a rebuild, I installed my Zalman CNPS9500 AT and Arctic Silver Ceramique thermal grease and my temps are ridiculous under load with Prime95.

With CoreTemp:
Core1: 78C
Core2: 71C
Core3: 72C
Core4: 71C

This is my first time with a quad core, and my first time applying thermal paste to anything more than a couple old P3s. I followed the Arcitc guide to applying the thermal paste on a quad core CPU.

I cleaned the HSF and CPU with rubbing alcohol and then a coffee filter. I also rubbed a bit of the grease into the base of the heat sink, then cleaned it up with a coffee filter. Then I placed a line of Ceramique across the CPU (horizontally if the arrow is in the lower left hand corner) and mounted the heat sink, wiggling it gently as I did.

I did have a bit of a problem screwing the heat sink down. It seemed the screws weren't long enough. I ended up forcing it down. Even with this problem, I feel my temps should much lower at stock speeds with an aftermarket cooler.

I never used the stock cooler so I don't know what my temps would be with it, perhaps my application of grease was poorly done. Ambient temps are about 17C-21C (62F-70F) and my airflow is great as my case is open with a fan blowing on it...

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FREELINE57

mmparkskier, it is possible that you may have put to much thermal paste on the hs. Generally use 1/2 rice grain size applyed to hs base will be more that enough. I have owned several zalman hsf and ended up lapping them as they were not as flat as you might think and reduced my temps by as much as 6c for me. Personally i'd ditch that zalman and get ya a xiggy dark knight.
At stock settings, considering ambients, you should be idleing at 32/35c or even lower.

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corky dorkelson

That cooler isn't the best for quads, but I am thinking more paste is needed, as stated above.

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mmparkskier

He said that I "may have put to much thermal paste on the hs," not too little.

Anyways, why isn't the cooler the best for quads. It can't be worst than stock... can it?


I agree with the temps you shot me FREELINE, most people with stock HSF and stock clock end up with temps idle in the mid 30s, under load around 50C.

My idle temps are as follows (CoreTemp):

Core1: 45
Core2: 40
Core3: 41
Core4: 42

"Ditching the Zalman" is not an option, I plan on making this setup work as it should.

On another note, I plan on submerging an old computer in oil in an aquarium, just for kicks. Perhaps if all goes well, I'll throw this one in. I've found a pretty good site that shows how they did it. http://www.pugetsystems.com/

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umgill45

The Zalman is better than the stock don't worry.

I use the drop in the centre method.

Try it this way. And tighten down the heatsink.

My 9650 had a delta of 4-5C between the cores. After reseating the heatsink
the delta came down to 0-1C between the 4 cores.

Attached Thumbnails

   

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mmparkskier

Okay, thanks Umgill. I will try the drop method, as I already tried the line as shown in the second thumbnail.

You also confirmed one of my suspicions... that the temp difference between cores was caused by the heat sink and not usual for quads.

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umgill45

The temp difference between the cores can be normal but sometimes its the heatsink seating that counts too.

(Also make sure that when taking idle readings that NONE of the cores are being loaded i.e if Core 0 is doing some work then it obviously will bump up the temps.)

Goodluck

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mmparkskier

Yes, I made sure of that, and this was with another fan blowing into my open case.

Is it really core 0? Damn, tis. Oh wells.

Idle temps still in the high 30s/low 40s.

I plan to update after reapplying the Arctic Silver Ceramique and resetting the HSF. If this doesn't improve anything, I will likely try the thermal paste that Zalman included in the package. If I still have high temps, I'll throw the stock cooler on, and see where that puts me with all 3 instances.

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umgill45

high 30's are fine .
Its the load temps you need to worry about. As long as they aren't crossing 60-65C on 100% load then Iwudnt worry abt it to much.
And try the MX-3 compound. It helps lowering the temps at 100% load.
Its better tha nthe AC ceramique.

I'm pretty sure the stock cooler is pretty bad for the speeds you're overclocking to.

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DEC_42

Well, there's your problem! If anything, re-apply the TIM with less than you used before.

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