Possible Cooling Problem?

[masterthief30]

Before I get into the description of the problem, I'll be up front and say that I don't know a whole lot about the technical aspects of tinkering with/building PCs. For that reason, instead of buying parts myself and assembling my own PC, I recently ordered one from Ibuypower. Fairly satisfied with the purchase so far, though after a few days have passed since I got it there have been a few little things that a professional builder should have been diligent enough to notice.

 

Anyway, here's what I'm running:

 

Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0ghz

4gb Corsair Xms2 Ram

2x EvGA Nvidia 512mb Geforce 8800gt running SLi

EvGA 780i mobo

650w corsair power supply

Thermaltake V1 cooler

Thermaltake Armor Jr. tower

 

 

Ok...the problem I'm having, or at least what I think may be a problem or at the least a little unusual, are my temperatures. I've read around the internet and found that the E8400, even with up to date BIOS, have widespread issues with their temp monitors. It's for that reason that I don't quite know what to make of the issue. The BIOS is reading the CPU temp at about 70C, the Nvidia system monitor gives me about the same...sometimes a little higher. That's obviously way too high, but since the numbers never change even under load I don't think they're correct. Real Temp gives me an idle speed of about 40-43c, and when playing games on max settings or running 3dmark6 it is peaking at 64c, but sits normally at just under 60c. That, of course, leaves me normally 35C under the TJmax. That's with a room temp of just over 25c(78ish F). I'm also using a NZXT brand thermal monitor, which is giving me readings of 30C idle, and about 40C under load.(I'm not overclocking, by the way). From what I've read, the Real Temp program has the best chance of being correct when used with the E8400, and that's the one I've mainly used to monitor the situation(just leave it running in background, and I check the temps every so often when in use).

 

The system has remained stable thusfar it appears. The machine turns in fairly consistent benchmarks of 15200 in 3dmark6, and I've never seen a slowdown while playing any game even for lengths of longer than 5 hours. When the system got here I didn't notice it at first, but the Thermaltake V1 cooler was installed backwards and upside down. I didn't notice it at first because a number of sites, this one included, showed images that had the cooler positioned horizontally. When I saw the temps, I figured they must have it upside down(which it was, if I was following the review of the V1 from this website), so after some difficulty I managed to get the cooler off(one of the pins was in an awkward place) and turn it around. At that point I realized that if the cooler was mounted that way that it would just be blowing air straight down onto the graphics cards....so I went to Thermaltake's website and read a couple of other articles, and found that the cooler needs to be mounted with the fan anchor facing the rear of the case. So again I changed the positioning of the cooler, this time making sure that thermal grease had in fact been applied when the system was built. It had been. I should also mention that I've tried touching the heatsinks on the V1 to see if they were ever burning up...they weren't, and in fact have only ever been mildly warm to the touch at their hottest. I've also gone through cycles of letting the computer run for 5+ hours, then letting it cool back down to room temp in an effort to help the thermal grease cure which I've heard can take up to 200 hours.

 

That's currently where I stand now...the cpu cooler is installed correctly, but I can't tell if my temperatures are normal or not given the known issues with the E8400, coupled with the fact that I'm running a lot of hardware in a case that in retrospect is a smidge small for it all. One other thing I noticed is that Ibuypower evidently didn't feel I needed an exhaust fan in the back of the case, since the V1 is a 120mm fan and, when positioned correctly, is currently throwing air out of the back vents at a pretty good rate. Would it help if I called them and got the actual exhaust fan shipped to me to be mounted, so then I'd have the intake fan, an exhaust fan, AND the V1? Or is that too much air being driven out the back of the case, and not enough being pulled in by the intake fan?

 

Any help would be appreciated...as I said, I'm new to all of this and I'm not quite sure what to make of it given the complexity of what could be wrong(if anything), combined with the disparities in temperature readings and everything else. Thanks in advance.

Edited July 10, 2008 by masterthief30

[Branjo]

I would be worried somewhat by the BIOS is giving a 70C reading, but RealTemp seems like the one that is reacting normally, just by reading what other E8400 owners are getting, your idle is a little hotter, but what little they have given you in in terms of airflow could explain that. They should have given you a fan as an exhaust, that is like the very basics of building so I think I would have been on the phone quite annoyed that you bought a pretty damn good system with no thought going into the airflow. It may seem like a good amount of air is being dispelled after you turned the HS around the "correct" way but some has got to be bouncing back and getting recirculated. So I think with the airflow corrected you would be seeing an all around drop in temps. As far as the BIOS reading I would be thinking about updating it, if you haven't already.

[masterthief30]

Quick update...I went out and just bought anotehr 120mm case fan for now and mounted it. Will report back whether I see any temp change...

 

*Update*

 

Putting on the rear case fan didn't seem to change much in terms of the temps reported from Real Temp. Idle temps are at 39-40C, and surfing the net kicks the Real Temp reading up to 42-45. However, these small decreases in operating temp may be from the fact that it's nighttime at the moment and the room is a degree or so cooler anyway.

 

One thing I did notice though is that when I booted up the PC the thermal monitor was reading everything at room temp, but the real temp program reported the processors at 42C right off the bat. Do they get to that temp that quickly? Or does this make it seem like the thermal monitor is more correct?

Edited July 11, 2008 by masterthief30

[T3mpest]

When you took off the heatsink did you re-apply thermal grease? or leave the stuff it came with? bad TIM application can cause bad temps. Also, if you dont have good airflwo in and out of your case then the hot air may be getting stuck in your case.