Cooling the CPU...

Here's my little story...it's mostly paranoia I'm assuming, but any input would be great.

I just put together my new computer about 1 1/2 weeks ago...at first I noticed my CPU was running incredibly hot...around 60-65c IDLE! My system specs are as follows:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0) @ 2.4GHz
MOBO: NFORCE 680i LT SLI
Cooling: 2 case fans and stock Intel fan for CPU

This really worried me so I bought what seemed like a great cooler for the price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835124017

This is the first full day of using my new cooler and as I type I'm running about 35-37c on the first 2 cores and around 33c on the other 2.

My only worry is that when I first had it on, my idle temp was around 30-32c...I'm worried that I may have applied the thermal compound wrong (artic silver 5)...I tried to do what most people said, pea sized drop...spread around evenly.

So now I have a few questions...

Am I just paranoid? Or is 36c a good idle temp for my CPU? Also, since the 35-37c is Idle temps, what should my full load temps be, and how can I test a full load? If I want to overclock to at least 3.0, or MAYBE 3.2, what would good temps be then?

Thanks for any replys!

 

The pea sized dolup of thermal paste goes back to the days of 2"x2" processors. Todays procs require about a B-B sized drop and even less than that for the exposed chip type processors (3/8"x1/2" chip on the die). Too much paste can cause problems too. The excess will squeeze out the edges and actually insullate the edges of the processor and prevent cooling there. The size of the drop is also related to how well the two surfaces meet one another. Perfectly matched surfaces with spread a small amount further than surfaces with gaps.

Its probably best if you leave things alone right now and worry about it later when you do your first major cleaning. Depending on the suface fit of you proc to sink there might not be so much excess that you need to worry at this time.

I like to Lap my heatsinks perfectly flat and close to a mirror finish. It allows me to use the least amount of thermal paste and gives me at least 10 degrees better cooling than the stock sink. If your interested Google "heatsink lapping" and look for a tutorial rather than someone selling kits. You can find the wet/dry paper in many places and to achieve the mirror finish use a car polishing compound on paper for the final polish and finish up with some tissue paper with car polish on it and your finger.

 

That cooler looks ok but some dont like the combined flat bottom (that is heat pipes merging with the base plate), compared to one single contact surface on the IHS of the CPU. Those Temps are very good, my Q6600 is at 34,31,31,35 but the IHS is at 23C so I would not be overly concerned about those temps. The Arctic Silver 5 will improve temps even further after 100 hours off use as the compound "beds in". I would just wait for your next Housekeeping (say in 2-3 months) to worry about re-application.

Here is some good links:

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=154105

CPU Temps:

http://users.erols.com/chare/elec.htm#intel

"Core 2 Quad Q6600
(quad 2.4GHz - 2x4MB - 6-F-B) ?V
(0.85V~1.5V) 1.55V 115A 95W 71° C
Core 2 Quad Q6600
(quad 2.4GHz - 2x4MB - 6-F-7) ?V
(0.85V~1.5V) 1.55V 115A 105W 62.2° C"

Hope this helps. Make sure you read:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=52812

And then read it again and then again before you begin OC.....temps will potentially go up expotentially.

 

Thanks for the info...I figured I was just being a bit paranoid.

I ran nTune today to do the system tuning (the 3 hour one) and it overclocked my CPU to around 3.1 and it's still only running at about 42c, so I'm sure that's fine.

I actually read the opposite...every cooling site I went to that tested the H.D.T. type coolers said it was the greatest invention yet lol. And mine in particular, most were 'amazed' at how a $30 CPU cooler performed that well. *shrug*