Windows 7 - CPU Temps

This is not so much a thread about my cooling, as I know I am fine in that area, this is more a question about safe / comfortable operating temperatures.

The reason I say this is because right now, with it being summer, my room can get rather warm. While running games such as Bad Company 2, or any other graphically intensive game, I run just under 60, with the occasional spike to 62. Idling and doing basic tasks keep me at around 35-40.

While I know the 35-40 degree range is good, I am wondering if 60 is a reasonable operating temperature while under load, or if I should be stepping up my fan speeds.

I have a 2600k clocked at 4.4 GHz.

I would keep an eye on it but the chip should hold into the 70+ range without damage. If you ever push 80 I would just shut it down or reduce the clock, then you're pushing it too far.
If 60 is as high as you are going the chip should be fine though.

Ya, ever since I upgraded to this new system I keep SpeedFan open when I run any game, as well as my graphics card monitoring software.

I have never seen it go above 63. It's just that SpeedFan shows little flames (if you have ever used it, you know what I mean) next to the temperature when it gets that high.

Thanks for the input!

On an intel chip 60 degrees doesn't strike me as too high. As long as it doesn't start creeping up more and more, I think you should be ok

Might not hurt to stress it with prime95 or something for a bit just to make sure it's not going much higher. I've heard of people running them at 75c but I would consider that the absolute cap personally.
Aiming for right about 60 should keep you safe and keep the chip life decent.

It usually is 50-55 if I turn my air conditioning on. I'll look into a stress test. Thanks!

yeah 50 under load is about normal for that chip.
You're overclocked so we expect it to be a bit higher.

Just bump the top temp a couple of degrees in the config settings,



then you won't see the flame until it actually does start to get too hot. For your CPU set it to somewhere around 72°C or so,

Intel® Core

The I7-2600k Tcase temp is 72.6c which is the max safe running temp. Anything above that will activate the Thermal Control Circuit and it will start backing off to lower its temp and at about 130c do a Thermal Trip and shut off to avoid damage

Jim

Thanks for the info guys. And thanks for that info Phone Man, glad to know it has safety features like this.