[auricgoldfinger]

I've just invested in a new fan, a scythe kaze juni 1900 rpm, and spent the last 4 hours rearranging my fans to get the best temps (and having the fun of figuring out which screws go in which fans--are there any generic plastic plugs or something I can use to save me this headache?), and after all my efforts the temperatures are still a joke.

I am running my sig rig at 3.4 ghz and 1.1 vcore, which I don't think is high at all. Cores are average 45 degrees at idle, yet spike up above EIGTHY under stress.

The fan configuration is:
| |
v v
<- <-M<-

EDIT: the formatting got rid of the spaces in this diagram... the top two arrows are positioned above the "M".

The M is the megahalems. I moved the front fan that came supplied with my case to being an exhaust fan on the case, and the rear exhaust fan to being an exhaust fan on the heatsink, and stuck the two akasa Akasa AK-191-BL's that were formally heatsink fans to the top of the case as intake fans.

I applied diamond paste to the cpu by manually spreading it evenly with the fingertip of a clean disposal glove until it was hair-thin and I could barely see the writing on the surface of the cpu. I finger-tightened the megahalems until I couldn't tighten it any further, and I have pretty strong fingers.

Does anyone know if these temps look abnormally hot or are to be expected given that most of these fans are rather weak (the new scythe, the pushing fan on the heatsink, claims to have 110.3 cfm--I'm not sure how strong the stock case fans are that are now both acting as exhaust fans--I have all fans wired directly to the PSU).

 

[archangelabove]

What kind of ambient temps are you living in?

If you're idling at 45 degrees but going over 80 under stress.. that's kind of a wide gap. But not unheard of. Have you tried reseating the heatsink again? Make sure your heatsink fans are facing the proper direction.

Make sure your intake fans have plenty of space to bring air in, and the exhaust fans have plenty of room to push air out.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

There is no answer to be found there, this room is never higher than 17 degrees and is frequently lower than that.

 

[archangelabove]

Your room hangs out below 17 degrees? Assuming Celsius here.. and your core temps are idling at 45 degrees Celsius?

What the hell? That just doesn't seem right.

What software are you using to read core temps?

 

[Riou]

You said you finger tightened the Mega? You should use a screwdriver to tighten the spring-loaded screws.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riou You said you finger tightened the Mega? You should use a screwdriver to tighten down the spring-loaded screws.

You sure? That's quite a lot of, umm, tightness. I don't want to damage the CPU or the mainboard from the strain!

I read somewhere that you should only finger-tighten. It doesn't sound likely that I'll get a dramatic temp increase from doing the screws up super-tight. Maybe i'm wrong.

Another thing is that I didn't follow the thermal-paste's instructional recommendation of a pea-sized blob, and letting it spread out by itself. I think I did the right thing, but I can't be sure.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by archangelabove Your room hangs out below 17 degrees? Assuming Celsius here.. and your core temps are idling at 45 degrees Celsius? What the hell? That just doesn't seem right. What software are you using to read core temps?

I agree, it doesn't seem right. I'm using coretemp. BIOS reports similar temps, I think it goes off of the coolest core.

 

[archangelabove]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riou You said you finger tightened the Mega? You should use a screwdriver to tighten the spring-loaded screws.

Not necessarily. Even so, he probably got it down pretty damn tight. And there is no way his temps should be hitting 80 degrees in a 17 degree environment, if it's just because his heatsink is not as tight as possible.

 

[Riou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auricgoldfinger You sure? That's quite a lot of, umm, tightness. I don't want to damage the CPU or the mainboard from the strain! I read somewhere that you should only finger-tighten. It doesn't sound likely that I'll get a dramatic temp increase from doing the screws up super-tight. Maybe i'm wrong. Another thing is that I didn't follow the thermal-paste's instructional recommendation of a pea-sized blob, and letting it spread out by itself. I think I did the right thing, but I can't be sure.

Well I have my 920 running at 4.0GHz with 1.25 vcore on my Megahalems. My load temps are around 67C with HT on running Prime95 blend with ambient temps of 24C. I used a screwdriver to tighten down the spring-loaded screws. I could not turn the screws very much with my hands. You should follow what the TIM's direction as spreading the paste may not be optimal.

 

[archangelabove]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auricgoldfinger You sure? That's quite a lot of, umm, tightness. I don't want to damage the CPU or the mainboard from the strain! I read somewhere that you should only finger-tighten. It doesn't sound likely that I'll get a dramatic temp increase from doing the screws up super-tight. Maybe i'm wrong. Another thing is that I didn't follow the thermal-paste's instructional recommendation of a pea-sized blob, and letting it spread out by itself. I think I did the right thing, but I can't be sure.

I think many people on OCN will tell you different things about applying the thermal paste. Me personally, I draw a line down the center of my CPU with the paste, then apply the heatsink, and fingertighten a little bit. As I tighten I keep an eye for any excess.

Wipe away any excess, and then I tighten all the way down.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

I'm pondering taking the entire thing apart and check under the mainboard to make sure the heatsink is fastened down properly from the underneath. It seems kinda wobbly, but then I always thought it had a bit of bounce to it.

I hate going inside my computer all the time though, I'm rather clumsy and worry I'll break it. Not that I'm not confident around a computer's innards, I just can't afford any mistakes.

For that reason I'll hold off until I get some more responses in case it could be something else.

 

[Tech-Boy]

I live in 85f ambient and my cpu never goes above 50c at sig settings. So something is wrong, are you sure that the tim was applied properly and that the megahalem was installed correctly?

For comparison my Fan Configuration is: (X being the Xigmatek; < being 120mm "^^" being 200mm)

"^^"
|
^
X
^
< --
-----<
v-----<

You could also consider lapping it, it could be your chip is not very flat

EDIT:
Another thing to try is to feel the cpu cooler under load, and see if it is slightly hot to the touch. If it is not fairly warm, it could mean two things: either the cpu cooler is not making good contact with the cpu or a faulty cpu sensor, but don't count on it being the sensor.
Hope that helps some how.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by archangelabove I think many people on OCN will tell you different things about applying the thermal paste. Me personally, I draw a line down the center of my CPU with the paste, then apply the heatsink, and fingertighten a little bit. As I tighten I keep an eye for any excess. Wipe away any excess, and then I tighten all the way down.

Wouldn't that create more paste one way than the other? Maybe doing it in a + pattern would be better.

The thing about diamond paste is that it's extremely unwieldy, thick but with little stickiness.

 

[Riou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by archangelabove Not necessarily. Even so, he probably got it down pretty damn tight. And there is no way his temps should be hitting 80 degrees in a 17 degree environment, if it's just because his heatsink is not as tight as possible.

The screws that attaches the Megahalems to the mounting kit is very stiff. I doubt he could screw the Megahalems down very much. I use a screwdriver and alternate each side after 3 full turns with the screwdriver.

The rest of the mounting kit can be screwed down by finger-tightening, just not the heatsink itself.

 

[archangelabove]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auricgoldfinger Wouldn't that create more paste one way than the other? Maybe doing it in a + pattern would be better. The thing about diamond paste is that it's extremely unwieldy, thick but with little stickiness.

I dont draw the line all the way across the cpu, just sort of like a piece of long grain rice. It has always worked.

Maybe make sure your cpu and heatsink are both flat. It could be that one of them isn't flat. Or that you mounted it incorrectly.

 

[macsbeach98]

I have never used the Mega but generally as far as heatsinks go you do the screws up tight and the springs will be at the right tension as long as the springs dont bottom out completely you will be right sheesh everyone does washer mods on the true to get them down that bit tighter thats your problem there proberly isnt enough pressure to sqeeze the excess paste from between the heatsink and processor thats your problem nothing surer

 

[auricgoldfinger]

Is lapping a huge improvement or just a minor one, like the difference in which paste you use?

 

[archangelabove]

Some people claim to get 10c degree difference in load temps when they lap.

 

[rastablast]

- Tighten the heatsink with a screwdriver!

- Lap your CPU

- Use Gelid Extreme Thermal compound (the best)

- When you put the compound on, spread it evenly w/ a debit card etc.

- Fans on top of case should be exhaust, rear exhaust also.

- Do push/pull with the heatsink

 

[Riou]

OP, I have the same CPU and heatsink as you. I am getting better idle/load temps than you with 4.0GHz, more vcore, worse thermal paste, and higher ambient temps.

You are not mounting your heatsink properly. Clean the thermal paste off the CPU and heatsink with isopropyl alcohol. Just put a small BB size amount of IC7D paste on the CPU, put your heatsink on top, and then tighten down the heatsink with a screwdriver alternating each side after every few turns.