Thermal compound advise

[MrGav]

I`m a little concerned about my temps on my new build, in linx and occt they get to a maximum of 72-73 degrees which I`m not too worried about as this is in line with what other people are getting with the Q6600.

At idle the temps are 35-44 though which seems way too high, 28-32 seems is where it should be.

I used Arctic Silver 5 and followed their instructions (putting a line of compound across the centre of the CPU) but I reckon it`s too much. I`ve read that an amount the size of half a grain of basmati rice is sufficient but is it different for quad/dual core chips?

Any advise or recommendations?

I`ve got a Q6600 running at 3Ghz
OCZ Vendetta 2 cooler
EP45 DS3P mobo

[Nickel020]

Follow the instructions here:
Arctic Silver Incorporated - Route to Product Instructions for Arctic Silver 5

Works fine for me, using both Ceramique an A5.

Your cooler may not be seated perfectly though, causing the higher temps. Remove it and install it again and see if you get better temps. This somethign taht one should always do when installing a cooler, isntall it several times and note the temperatures.

Temperatures can vary widely between installtions, this is also the reason why different review websites come to different conclusions as to which cooler is the best: They just did one mount instead of 3 or more to make sure that the cooler is actually properly seated.

[Chucko]

IME idle temps are more affected by air temperature inside the case. A case that "breathes" well can be as much as 10-15C cooler than one that has poor airflow. The temps you quoted definitely suggest this is the problem, since your load temps are OK.

[Royalfork]

I`m a little concerned about my temps on my new build, in linx and occt they get to a maximum of 72-73 degrees which I`m not too worried about as this is in line with what other people are getting with the Q6600.

I believe over 70c is beyond the thermal limits for a Q6600...Most people shoot for 60c max under load unless they're pushing the envelope for a bench or something.

What program are you using to monitor your temps?

[Xtra3dB]

Chucko is right on the mark about airflow. Try running the system with the case completely opened up and see if your idle temps go down. If they do, you may need to work on your ventilation a bit. My idle temps were running around 38C until I removed my 80mm exhaust fan, punched the hole out bigger and installed a 140mm fan. Now I consistently run at 27C to 31C idle.

[MrGav]

I believe over 70c is beyond the thermal limits for a Q6600...Most people shoot for 60c max under load unless they're pushing the envelope for a bench or something.

Never gets near 70 unless I`m using linx or occt so it shouldn`t be too much of an issue but something to keep an eye on.

What program are you using to monitor your temps?

I use Coretemp to monitor my temps and have used realtemp too which gives identical readings
I took the side of the case off and left it for 10 mins and the temps had dropped by 4 degrees, so the case may be some of the problem. The case BTW is NZXT hush with two 120mm fans, one in and one exhuast.

One thing to note is core 0 runs 3-5 degrees hotter than cores 1&2 and core 3 is inbetween. Normal or not?

Remove it and install it again and see if you get better temps

I take it you mean without cleaning the compound off?

Thanks for the reply`s guys

[Nickel020]

Can't hurt to clean the compound off, in fact I usually do so. If you install it again now compound gets squeezed out at the edges and you may end up with too little compound in some areas.

[Comers]

I don't think idle at 35-44 is that high. For example my rig with GA-EP45T-ud3p and Q9550 with Intel stock fan gives average temp of 35 (but CPU cores vary as much as 30-33-34-40) and that's since I've started using Arctic Cooling MX-2.
Just make sure you use a LITTLE of it (single drop in the center will spread perfectly
if you tighten the clips in 1-3-2-4 order). I've also tested line/cross/2 lines
way of spreading but the drop shows lowest idle temps.
Anyway I can say that only for MX-2 due to it's low viscosity. And it's non-conductive!
Just for reference my stress temps are in 64-67 degrees range, but never above 70.
Honestly 72-73 is a bit high.

[MrGav]

Just make sure you use a LITTLE of it (single drop in the center will spread perfectly
if you tighten the clips in 1-3-2-4 order). I've also tested line/cross/2 lines
way of spreading but the drop shows lowest idle temps.

I did wonder if anyone had tried the different methods but the most common one I found on different forums was the single drop method but being a newbie I stuck to the arctic silver method. I`m definately going to take it off and try again with the single drop.

Just for reference my stress temps are in 64-67 degrees range, but never above 70.
Honestly 72-73 is a bit high.

Thanks for that, hopefully re seatingthe cooler will sort that out but I`m also going to look at some different case fans, but they need to be as quiet as these though ; )

[Nickel020]

Drop or line doesn't make much difference in my experience. The method you used for applying the thermal compound isn't the problem, by itself that can't cause this high a temp difference. Try reseating the cooler.

72-73 will not by itself damage the CPU. To avoid damage from overheating Intel CPUs slow themselves down if they reach more than 90C/95C/100C (depending on the model). That alone should tell you that 73C is not a problem as long as the system is stable.