Good cooler for I7-920 OC

[TanyaC]

Have you considered Thermaltake?

Thermaltake Australia & New Zealand - Chassis

Briefly.

I ended up getting an Antec 900 2. Building the system was painful because it hasn't really got fantastic cable management routes, and since the PSU is at the bottom of the case the 8 pin power cable to the mobo was too short, so I had to route it over the GPU until I can get an extension cable.

The side has a bracket for a 120mm fan, and only a 120mm. However, if you have an after market cooler, you can't use the side fan - no space.

It also only has 3 5.25" bays - so I had to lose the creative audio thingy. DOesn't matter, didn't use it anyway.

All up, this case has 5 x 120mm fans and 1 x 140mm fan.

The case fans use the old PATA connectors - dumb in my opinion. Can't connect them to the motherboard so can't monitor their speeds.

There are a couple of switches on the back for fan speeds. I have then all set to full. Even at full speeds, the noise is a little better than the old case I had.

The most important thing though is the temp... It seems to have lowered it.

IIRC, my CPU was typically 20c - 22c above ambient room temperature. Which is currently 26c

So, in the old case, I would have expected a temp of 46 - 48c.

In the new case it is 43c. Disappointing to say the least, but better than it was.

I will try to prove the CPU delta (diff between ambient and CPU), tonight as I try to cool the room.

I'm still running vcore at 1.1000. Everything else it still stock.

I couldn't get the new sabertooth mobo.

Tanya

 

[Dave76]

Thanks for letting us know the progress, too bad the temp wasn't a bit lower.

Keep us informed on the next step.

 

[TanyaC]

Thanks for letting us know the progress, too bad the temp wasn't a bit lower.

Keep us informed on the next step.

Next step? The only part of my computer that now has not been replaced is the motherboard, and generally people are saying that is unlikely to be the problem.

The new case got me a 3 degree drop in temps, not enough to do any real overclocking.

I am still where I was two weeks ago, except several hundreds of dollars poorer.

At the risk of being a pain, I am still looking for answers

Tanya

 

[Golden]

Watercooling perhaps? It seems a bit extreme, but what else.............I've run out of ideas

 

[TanyaC]

Watercooling perhaps? It seems a bit extreme, but what else.............I've run out of ideas

me too.

y'know what really irks me is that I've just upgraded the cases of three of the 5 systems, all identical in every way, all in the same size and shape room, with the same desks. There is nothing different about the environments or computers.

And they all have different temps. It's bizaare. Mine runs at 15 above ambient, another at 17 above ambient, and the other at 25 above ambient.

There has got to be some logical explanation for the wild temps.

Watercooling might or might not work. I didn't get the best case for watercooling.

In any case - I'm feeling it is better to identify the cause of the problem, rather than trying to keep putting bandaids on it.

I'm completely baffled.

 

[Dave76]

Just did some more reading on i7-920 core temps, here are a couple of things others have done to get cooler temps.

What is the speed and voltage of your RAM?

Can't remember if you've told us already but, what's the QPI/VTT set at?
This is the memory controller that is integrated in the CPU.

Are the C-states enabled in your BIOS?

Is the ACPI enabled?

Try turning the Hyperthreading off to see if the temps go down.

 

[TanyaC]

Just did some more reading on i7-920 core temps, here are a couple of things others have done to get cooler temps.

Thanks for sticking with this thread.

What is the speed and voltage of your RAM?

Can't remember if you've told us already but, what's the QPI/VTT set at?
This is the memory controller that is integrated in the CPU.

Are the C-states enabled in your BIOS?

Is the ACPI enabled?

Try turning the Hyperthreading off to see if the temps go down.

To answer those questions I took some pics of my bios settings. I hope they are readable.

I had read about these in the early days of trying to solve my temp problems. Originally I didn't have the C-States enabled, but that was one of the first things I tried. The rest are all at stock settings, except vcore which I set to 1.10000v a few days ago.

Is the multi-threading option for hyper threading?

I could only find the suspend option for ACPI mentioned in the bios, and nothing else related to ACPI. Since WIndows 7 doesn't use a boot.ini there is no ACPI=ON.

Tanya

 

[Dave76]

Multi-threading is hyper-threading, disable it just to check if the temps go down, depending on your usage this might not be noticable.

Your ACPI is on, that setting is ok.

Lets get a little more info on the RAM and other settings.

Post a CPUZ snip of the CPU (at idle, just to check with the previous one), Mainboard, Memory, and SPD tabs.

 

[sygnus21]

In the new case it is 43c. Disappointing to say the least, but better than it was.

Honestly there's nothing wrong with those temps on an i7-920. To be quite honest they are average.

You can get caught up in chasing other people's temps, and spending unnecessary amounts of money – and in the end, when you add up all the time and money - just to get that processor in the low to mid thirties you’re going to wonder if it was worth it.

I have an i7-950 that's idling around 42c degrees. My i7-930 idled around the same temps stock, and I have an aftermarket cooler!!!

Temps depend and a few factors – Cooler/Fan, case, RAM, Processor, ambient temps, time of year, location of case, ventilation - you get the point.

I stopped paying attention to the "your temps seems high" a long time ago once I understood the above factors.

Again, there's nothing wrong with those temps - other than bragging rights!

My two cents.

 

[spinifex]

I couldn't get the new sabertooth mobo.

Tanya

Try here for the Sabretooth mobo, Tanya. The Handbrake and I have dealt with them since James and his mother (free office lady) started. We rate them highly. They are huge now and have more coolers, etc, than you can poke a stick at.
I don't like going to their website as they have too much i want at good prices.

Local pick up available, i believe. Too far from Perth to Melbourne for us, so we use airfreight.

Hope this helps.

Jon

 

[TanyaC]

Try here for the Sabretooth mobo, Tanya.
Hope this helps.

Jon

Thanks. I'll check it out

 

[TanyaC]

Honestly there's nothing wrong with those temps on an i7-920. To be quite honest they are average.

:::

Thanks for the feedback. We've certainly examined all the factors you mentioned over the last two weeks.

All up, the exercise was well worth it. I have learnt heaps and we've got the temps down a little. The kids love the new cases (for the location of the USB and headphone jacks, just as much as the aesthetics).

I want to overclock the PCs. With the temps as they are, thet is not practical.

And it has certainly brought out just how wonderfully helpful some people are; like Dave76 and Golden to name a couple (Credits to all who have contributed tho').

As frustrating as this is, I've enjoyed it too.

 

[TanyaC]

Post a CPUZ snip of the CPU (at idle, just to check with the previous one), Mainboard, Memory, and SPD tabs.

Here you go...

I've disabled multi-threading but there was no change.

 

[TanyaC]

In the new case it is 43c. Disappointing to say the least, but better than it was.

Honestly there's nothing wrong with those temps on an i7-920. To be quite honest they are average.

Seriously, have these comments by Sygnus21 scared everyone away from helping with this problem?

 

[Golden]

I'm still here....hoping that you managed to find a solution to your bizarre problem, or move to South Australia where its hotter (logic dictates the PC should run cooler then )

In all seriousness, I guess people may be researching further, or dont have further ideas. Its a pretty baffling problem to say the least.

Sorry this isn't of any help, but it will keep it at the front of the queue at least.

Regards,
Golden

 

[DeaconFrost]

I'll admit, I skimmed the thread, but I can't believe no one mentioned the best air cooler, especially for the money. CoolerMaster Hyper 212+. $30 USD.

 

[TanyaC]

I'm still here....hoping that you managed to find a solution to your bizarre problem, or move to South Australia where its hotter (logic dictates the PC should run cooler then )

In all seriousness, I guess people may be researching further, or dont have further ideas. Its a pretty baffling problem to say the least.

Sorry this isn't of any help, but it will keep it at the front of the queue at least.

Regards,
Golden

I was born and raised in South Australia - In Barmera in the Riverland. If I thought that would solve the problem I would uproot the kids and move immediately

Well, with the changes made so far, the systems still seem quite stable, that's one good thing. As DeaconFrost says, another cooler might be the go. This Notcua certainly doesn't seem to cool much, better than the stock coolers. I might even try putting my stock cooler back on my machine to test that theory.

I had a look at the Coolermaster 212+ and the review didn't look that favourable, stating that the Noctua was actually a better cooler..

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cooler-master-hyper-212-plus-review/7

 

[Cr00zng]

I was born and raised in South Australia - In Barmera in the Riverland. If I thought that would solve the problem I would uproot the kids and move immediately

Well, with the changes made so far, the systems still seem quite stable, that's one good thing. As DeaconFrost says, another cooler might be the go. This Notcua certainly doesn't seem to cool much, better than the stock coolers. I might even try putting my stock cooler back on my machine to test that theory.

I had a look at the Coolermaster 212+ and the review didn't look that favourable, stating that the Noctua was actually a better cooler..

Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus review

I've never used stock coolers and do have a Noctua NH-D14 on my i5 CPU. Most, if not all sites had rated this heatsink as one of the, if not the best cooler out there that provides relatively low noise. Like this site for example:

FrostyTech - Best Heat Sinks & PC Cooling Reviews

While it took some time normalizing CPU temperatures with the D14, I am still not convinced that it is as good as most sites had rated it. Without OC-ing the CPU, the D14 does pretty well at room temperature of 20-22 degree Celsius:



Crank up the clock for the CPU without changing voltage, the temperature jumps a lot:



Prime95 has been used for 100% CPU load and the images are from Core Temp gadget.

It's probably OK in the winter with 20-22 degree room temperature, but in the summer when the room temperature will rise to around 30, so will the CPU temps even at non-OC idle.

My estimate for the summer, the non-OC-d CPU temps going to look like the OC-d temps now with this D14; pretty much what you are seeing with your i7 down under in the middle of the summer....

 

[A Guy]

I'm still here....hoping that you managed to find a solution to your bizarre problem, or move to South Australia where its hotter (logic dictates the PC should run cooler then )

In all seriousness, I guess people may be researching further, or dont have further ideas. Its a pretty baffling problem to say the least.

Sorry this isn't of any help, but it will keep it at the front of the queue at least.

Regards,
Golden

I was born and raised in South Australia - In Barmera in the Riverland. If I thought that would solve the problem I would uproot the kids and move immediately

Well, with the changes made so far, the systems still seem quite stable, that's one good thing. As DeaconFrost says, another cooler might be the go. This Notcua certainly doesn't seem to cool much, better than the stock coolers. I might even try putting my stock cooler back on my machine to test that theory.

I had a look at the Coolermaster 212+ and the review didn't look that favourable, stating that the Noctua was actually a better cooler..

Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus review

Yes the Noctua is better. The key phrase for the Hyper 212+ is " for the money". I use it and it's great, but if I was to attempt a big overclock I'd be pickiing one of the choices I posted in 1st reply, so... You're problem has me stumped. If it was one PC, I'd say there was some weird hardware problem, but you tried most everything, so unless the MB is reporting erroneous temperatures, then it's hard to fathom. A Guy

 

[Dave76]

The CPU-Z tabs all look good.
Your RAM is running at 1600 MHz and I'll assume at 1.65v.
If you feel like a little more experimenting you could bring the RAM down to 1333 MHz and 1.5v.
I did see a couple of posts saying this helped lower the temps a little, but I'm skeptical as to how much it would be.


I have seen the same temps for the same CPU and board on other sites, some higher (with problems), some lower.

Pretty much everything has been tried, up to water cooling.

This one might be due to binning, luck of the draw, your lot of CPUs just run a bit warm.


It is possible that the temp reading are not correct, as A Guy mentioned, there is a way to calibrate them with the temp apps.
When you swapped the CPU, it read the same temps, so this points to, maybe, something due to the board.
The CPU temp sensors are geared towards the upper end, its there to enable throttling if it gets too hot, the lower end of the temps are known to be less accurate.