Xigmatek Dark Knight Does Not Perform Good

[Jeka789]

Hello guys!

I have Intel Corei7-920 cpu ( overclocked to 3,0ghz with stock voltages ) ,Im cooling it with XIGMATEK dark knight cpu fan cooler .( not a stock cooler ) 120mm with 2200rpms

 

I also have a gaming case : NZXT Lexa-s crafted series with four high speed fans on it ( 140mm, 120mm*3 )

Asus P6T SE motherborad

 

So its been about three weeks since I overclocked my i7-920 up to 3.0ghz ( using stock voltages and changing the bclk in the BIOS from 133 to 150 )

The system runs very stable no blue screens, no fatal errors and I am very satisfied with the performance. ( I also have 6GB DDR3-1600 and Geforce 295 GTX stock )

 

But I am very worried about my temperatures. I monitor my temperatures with CPUID Hardware monitor, On idle I'm getting about 35-37c >> Now, when I play heavy video games like Metro2033, Just Cause 2 or Battlefield Bad company 2 I will ALT+TAB the game to the desktop and the temperatures are running around 55-60c which is fine. But in the MAX coloumn it sais that I had reached 65-70c in some recent points especially after2-3 hours of non stopping game-play. ( the current temperatures will still stay around 55-60 and drop bellow 40 when I get out from the games)

 

Are those numbers too high for my CPU? And does that temperature will short my CPU lifetime very quick ? is there is a chance that the CPU fan is broken? I also noticed that my CPU fan is running on max 2008 RPM and never rached 2200RPMs as it sais on XIGMATEK's website.

 

Consider that I dont have a money for new i7-920 I want to be sure that this i7-920 can live long enough to satisfy my needs. Also I really love my PC and I dont want to damage it or brake it.

Are there any possible solutions for my problem? Like adding another fan on the cooler? or anything else...

Maybe it is not a problem at all and I am just making noise out of nothing? In that case lemme know so I can take a deep breath and relax :tongue:

Any help appreciated, thanks in advance !

[rmb938]

I currently have the Dark Knight and it works pretty good with my amd cpu. Did you use the thermal paste it came with or your own. If you use the one it came with go out and get some artic silver 5 because that one that comes with it is crap.

 

Look in your bios in power or fan options and make sure it is set properly on performance or max. The Dark Knight needs good air flow to work at its best. Also yes temps that high will lower your cpu lifetime but so will any overclocking.

 

Also if you cant get the fan to speed up try plugging it into a 3 pin connector instead of the 4pin PWN one. If that doesn't work I would see if Xigmatech can send you a replacement.

[JBags]

It is pretty much known that i7s can run pretty warm, however there max temp, according to Intel is like 95-100C, so, theoretically, as long as it doesn't reach or exceed 80/85C you should be fine, though 65-70C is typically considered too hot.

 

And the Dark Knight probably wasn't the greatest of choices to cool an i7, though I have it and find it to be an excellent cooler, i would not recommend it for an overclocked i7. though 37C idle and 60 load arent bad at all, i feel the DK is somewhat limited in capacity to cool an OC'd i7 due to only haveing 3 heatpipes and proportional surface area...

 

But overall, your temps arent THAT bad... considering the circumstances.

 

As for the fan, try checking it under a different program. SpeedFan, for instance has yet to fail me in regard to fan RPM readings. If it still isnt ramping up to 2200RPM, I would try either connecting it directly to the PSU if you can, or turning off PWM in the BIOS. (IDK if Intel boards can do this, I know I can with my AMD board, though..)

[RJR]

It is pretty much known that i7s can run pretty warm, however there max temp, according to Intel is like 95-100C, so, theoretically, as long as it doesn't reach or exceed 80/85C you should be fine, though 65-70C is typically considered too hot.

Intel's thermal spec for the i7 9xx cpu's is 67.9c (tcase), so roughly 70-75c core temp. Intel does state anything over this spec will degrade your chip, how much, they of course can't say because every piece of silicon is unique.

[JBags]

Intel's thermal spec for the i7 9xx cpu's is 67.9c (tcase), so roughly 70-75c core temp. Intel does state anything over this spec will degrade your chip, how much, they of course can't say because every piece of silicon is unique.

 

 

yeah, You are correct. Sorry, i just did a quick google serach for "i7 max temp" lol should have gone straight to Intel. my B.

 

In that case, you may want to look into investing in a bigger, better HSF for your chip, OP. TRUE and Megahalems are some popular ones.