After initial troubles with my new build (see sig), everything is working fine... but my CPU temps are *way* too high. In idle they are ok (~40-45°C not great, but ok), but when there is any kind of semi-serious load, they rise far too quickly... For example today I backed up some steam local files (= compressing about 15GB worth of data), the processor reached tjmax... not good. Any idea what could be causing this? All fans are running, so it's not a broken fan or anything (would have probably noticed that much sooner)
![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Q9550 overheating (boxed cooler, stock speed)
- Thread starter l0calh05t
- Start date
D
Deleted member 184142
Guest
modomandude
n00b
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 36
Yep. My friend had this issue with his PC and I fixed it for him. It wasn't on properly and it was getting really hot. I verified that it wasn't secure by trying to wobble the heatsink.
ok i checked the pins as well as i could without removing everything, and two of the pins had somehow loosened themselves. anyways I pushed them all back in, but I didn't really see any change in the temps... if anything they became 2-3 degrees worse
Took the cooler off and as far as I can tell it was making contact (the preapplied thermal paste which was already on the HSF was spread both on the CPU and the HSF in an approximately disc shaped area in the center). Any other suggestions what could be going on here?
Did you remove the existing thermal paste completely and apply new paste? If so, how did you apply it (how thick?)
Are you 100% sure you are installing the heatsink correctly, I've seen a couple people who were sure they were doing it right but in fact where not applying enough pressure and not locking the pins in. Don't be afraid to push a little, it requires a bit of pressure to get all of them locked in.
No, I just removed it (EDIT: the HSF, not the paste) to check if it was making correct contact (which it appeared to be). Going out to buy some thermal paste & thermal paste remover (for the leftovers of the preapplied stuff) was my next thing on the list of things to try.
100% sure? No. But I don't believe pushing any harder would be a good idea (it was already significantly bending the motherboard as is), also it doesn't budge a bit, so I think it should be mounted correctly.
100% sure? No. But I don't believe pushing any harder would be a good idea (it was already significantly bending the motherboard as is), also it doesn't budge a bit, so I think it should be mounted correctly.
D
Deleted member 184142
Guest
Not putting on new paste is probably why it is running hotter now, you should ALWAYS clean and then reapply fresh TIM every time you remove the HSF. Not only does it make sure you have fresh (not cured) TIM but it also makes sure it is redistributed evenly.
How is the air flow in the case? Maybe its time to start thinking about getting an aftermarket cooler (with a bolt through kit!).
How is the air flow in the case? Maybe its time to start thinking about getting an aftermarket cooler (with a bolt through kit!).
Possible. Guess I'll go shopping for thermal paste tomorrow (if I manage to find the time for that...)
Shouldn't be too bad, two 120mm case fans (one in the front blowing in past the hard drive cage, one blowing out the back, both running at full speed at the moment) and a 120mm PSU fan (albeit usually running at ~500rpm).
About the aftermarket cooler: but shouldn't the boxed fan be appropriate for stock, non-oc speed??
D
Deleted member 184142
Guest
Yes, but to start with they don't do all that great of a job, I never used the cooler that came with my Q9550, but it seems really small, even smaller than the stock cooler that came on my E2180. Also, with an aftermarket cooler you can get a bolt through style, and save your self the trouble of having to mount the stock style.
@OP - In your sig you're running stock 8.5x333 @ 1.20 vcc? Isn't that a little high for stock? The vast majority of your heat is a function of that voltage.
My X3360 (the xeon version of your chip) can do 8.5x333 @ 1.000 V stable; 8.5x400 @ 1.125V stable. That 1.20 seems like overkill to me. Have you attempted to minimize it? See my overclocking guide for more.
My X3360 (the xeon version of your chip) can do 8.5x333 @ 1.000 V stable; 8.5x400 @ 1.125V stable. That 1.20 seems like overkill to me. Have you attempted to minimize it? See my overclocking guide for more.
D
Deleted member 184142
Guest
I believe he read my sig, but I am running 3.8GHz, 450fsb 8.5 multi 1.20v.
And yes, 1.20v does sound kinda high for stock, my VID says 1.875v but can do MUCH lower at stock speeds, hell, I can do almost 3.8GHz on 1.875v.
So after you get the new TIM on and take your time putting the cooler back on, I would take the time to lower the voltage and then do some more stress testing and see how low you can get.
And yes, 1.20v does sound kinda high for stock, my VID says 1.875v but can do MUCH lower at stock speeds, hell, I can do almost 3.8GHz on 1.875v.
So after you get the new TIM on and take your time putting the cooler back on, I would take the time to lower the voltage and then do some more stress testing and see how low you can get.
sirmonkey1985
[H]ard|DCer of the Month - July 2010
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2008
- Messages
- 22,414
on a stock cooler anything in the 40-50C range idle is about normal.. hence why its a stock cooler.. if you want to see temps lower then that your going to need to upgrade the cooling.. stock coolings only designed to keep it below the max temp range eg intels is 71C so as long as its under that on stock cooling thats all intel cares about.. same goes with amd.. and pretty much any other hardware..
um.. you sure you wrote that right? lol 1.87v would insta-kill a 45nm processor on air and water cooling.. and pretty much anything else..
um.. you sure you wrote that right? lol 1.87v would insta-kill a 45nm processor on air and water cooling.. and pretty much anything else..
1.875 VID .... ???
I think so too.
I have been trying to find an official intel document stating the correct voltage, but was unble to find any...
Will do that tomorrow if possible (and if I find a local shop around here that sells thermal paste...)
If it didn't go over 71°C under a 30% load I wouldn't be complaining... I don't mind 40°C at idle but it shouldn't be overheating under load...
D
Deleted member 184142
Guest
Haha, yeah, looks like I made a big ass typo two times, there should be a 1 in front of the 8, 1.1875v. Lol, man that would be one hell of a VID.
Here's what you have to do:
1. Take the motherboard out of the case (I know its a PITA, but its almost impossible to install those heatsinks with the mobo in the case).
2. Spread some new thermal compound on the CPU heat-spreader. I suggest just making a thin line down the center of the CPU heat-spreader.
3. Place the heatsink on the CPU as evenly as possible.
4. Push in each pin, making 100% sure that you hear a click. You MUST hear 4 clicks, I cannot emphasize this enough. The heatsink can feel perfectly secure with just 3 pins, but it won't cool properly. For the last pin or two, you might want to lift up the motherboard from the bottom to improve your leverage and get the push-pins in.
1. Take the motherboard out of the case (I know its a PITA, but its almost impossible to install those heatsinks with the mobo in the case).
2. Spread some new thermal compound on the CPU heat-spreader. I suggest just making a thin line down the center of the CPU heat-spreader.
3. Place the heatsink on the CPU as evenly as possible.
4. Push in each pin, making 100% sure that you hear a click. You MUST hear 4 clicks, I cannot emphasize this enough. The heatsink can feel perfectly secure with just 3 pins, but it won't cool properly. For the last pin or two, you might want to lift up the motherboard from the bottom to improve your leverage and get the push-pins in.
You sure about that? Most of the guides (at least those i found) to installing these push-pin coolers seem to recommend doing it after mounting the mainboard. Besides my first, failed attempt was "outside the box" and mounted in the case it at least seemed easier (though it didn't do any good apparently)
l0vslh05t, I agree with jbz7890's suggestion to remove the motherboard and install the stock cooler that way. You can push down the pins with one hand while you support the board from underneath with the other. This way, you will not cringe when you put pressure on it. I have done many of these installs with stock coolers, and it's the only way I feel comfortable doing them now.
I agree with everyone's suggestions here to clean and re-apply thermal paste. The voltage suggestions are also extremely relevant. You might want to experiment with lowering your voltage, while testing for stability - after you are positive the heatsink is properly installed.
It's a terrible design, and the aftermarket coolers available that use a screw base plate under the board are a vast improvement - plus they give you overclocking headroom - but like you say, the stock cooler should be fine. Give it one more try....
I agree with everyone's suggestions here to clean and re-apply thermal paste. The voltage suggestions are also extremely relevant. You might want to experiment with lowering your voltage, while testing for stability - after you are positive the heatsink is properly installed.
It's a terrible design, and the aftermarket coolers available that use a screw base plate under the board are a vast improvement - plus they give you overclocking headroom - but like you say, the stock cooler should be fine. Give it one more try....
matrix563
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2006
- Messages
- 19,136
i use a xig s1283 on my Q9450's which works great 
I was at two local computer shops today and the only thermal paste i could find was this cheapo Spire Sp-420 stuff rated at <0.06°C-in²/W. Is it even worth trying with that stuff? For comparison: Arctic Silver 5 is rated at <0.0045°C-in²/W.
Also, I wasn't able to find any appropriate cleaning solution (in one of the shops, the guy recommended nail polish remover... which iirc contains all kinds of crap that'll stay on there as residue.)
Should I rather order
http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...er_5/34218/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Cooling&l2=Zubehör
http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...30ml/34220/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Cooling&l2=Zubehör
and maybe
http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...775/306550/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Cooling&l2=Zubehör
and just wait a couple days? (Was planning to replace the case fans anyways because the stock lianli ones are too loud, and I'd have to order those anyways...)
Also, I wasn't able to find any appropriate cleaning solution (in one of the shops, the guy recommended nail polish remover... which iirc contains all kinds of crap that'll stay on there as residue.)
Should I rather order
http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...er_5/34218/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Cooling&l2=Zubehör
http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...30ml/34220/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Cooling&l2=Zubehör
and maybe
http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...775/306550/?tn=HARDWARE&l1=Cooling&l2=Zubehör
and just wait a couple days? (Was planning to replace the case fans anyways because the stock lianli ones are too loud, and I'd have to order those anyways...)
You get 40-45° idle (with cpu clocked lower and voltage lowered), 80° at ~50% (at full clock and 1.2V) and your TJmax is reached long before 100% load is reached with water cooling????
"micro center"? Is that some shop? In any case, it's unlikely we have one around here (germany). Besides, I went to the 2 local computer shops I know, and they both only had the aforementioned spire stuff and I'm pretty sure there are no other computer shops nearby. So, no chance to get any AS5 locally.
Yeah, I'm probably going to order some better thermal paste. Anyways, what do you guys think of that Scythe stabilizer? (And maybe also this case fan http://www.alternate.de/html/product/Gehaeuse_Luefter/Enermax/UCMA12_Magma/286155/?baseId=146170 which seems pretty good)
D
Deleted member 184142
Guest
Isopropyl alcohol works great for cleaning CPU's and is cheap to come by. The ArctiClean kit does work good as well though. Yes, just go ahead and order some good TIM off line if you can't find any around you. But before I got that other kit you listed I would put the money to a new cooler, but that's me.
I finally received my thermal paste & cleaning supplies (along with two S-Flex fans, which although quieter than the lian-li ones have more of annoying high-pitched sound instead of the "rumble" of the lian-li fans...). I removed all the previously applied thermal paste, applied the silver 5 (maybe slightly too much, but that's still better than not enough) and put the HSF back on the CPU. The temperatures are now down to 42-45 (core 1), 35-37 (core 2), 40-42 (core 3) and 36-39 (core 4), which isn't a big improvement (and cores 1&3 still get hotter than the others) but I managed to get through 1 test of prime95 without reaching tjmax and the thermal paste requires 200h and a number of thermal cycles to reach full potential according to AS, so I guess I must have gotten it right this time (yay).
BillParrish
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2006
- Messages
- 7,519
Keep in mind that with standard (auto) bios setting for CPU fan speed, Enhanced Intel Speed sTep (EIST) will trade off reduced noise for higher temps. Unless you have disabled EIST you will run much warmer than a lot of people here as the bios will keep the fan speed low, just fast enough to keep the temps under control and at what most of us would consider the upper range of acceptable. This is fine, the bios/motherboard/CPU is designed to work that way. Disable EIST and disable Fan speed control (should run fan at 100% - check the bios section of your manual for exact settings, and then you will see temps more like the ones in a lot of our Sig's.) You can tell if you have it at 100% because the noise will noticeably increase.
They are wrong. It can be done and it is one of the pro's of the pushpins but its not optimal. On new builds install push pin heatsink and memory before you install the board. Due to the alarming amount of board flex (not good for the solder balls that solder the cpu socket to the board) I also recommend removing the mother board to reset the pins or if possible slide something like stacked popsicle sticks under the board near the cpu socket to support it while you press thumb over thumb until it hurts and you hear the "click" on the pins in an X pattern.
They are wrong. It can be done and it is one of the pro's of the pushpins but its not optimal. On new builds install push pin heatsink and memory before you install the board. Due to the alarming amount of board flex (not good for the solder balls that solder the cpu socket to the board) I also recommend removing the mother board to reset the pins or if possible slide something like stacked popsicle sticks under the board near the cpu socket to support it while you press thumb over thumb until it hurts and you hear the "click" on the pins in an X pattern.
I don't mind the higher idle temps (40° really isn't any problem at all) and I'd much rather have those than more noise, the problem was (which seems to be mostly solved, although still not as good as I'd hope) the high temperatures under load. I mounted the HSF inside the case again, and it seems to be mounted correctly now, unlike the time where I tried to mount it outside of the case... so maybe those guides weren't as wrong as you think?