Problems with temp 75c- i7 930 @ 2.8 Ghz with Corsair H50

[leecka]

I recently decided to OC my i7 930

 

Below are temperature readings I observed;

Standard no overclocking @ 2.8Ghz (room temperature 28c)

Core Temp 0.99.7 showed me an idle cpu core temperature of 60c

At load (Prime 95 torture test) it showed a temperature of 85c.

 

From the readings above, it doesn't look like the H50 is doing its job properly.

 

I have since reseated the pump, cleaned and reapplied with new thermal paste (Artic Cooling MX3) and remounted.

 

In addition, I have added another 120cm fan to the radiator, so it is now a push - pull configuration.

 

These are the new temperature readings.

Idle temp 51c

load temp 75c

 

I keep on reading people with the H50 and i7 930 CPU with about 60c load temperatures.

 

I have checked the airflow configuration and they should be ok.

Air intake: Side (1 x fan 120cm) and Front panel (1 x fan 140cm)

Air exhaust: H50 (push-pull 2 x fans 120cm) and top (1 x fan 120cm)

 

I have also checked the voltage in the BIOS and they are all AUTO.

I have tried it with the case side panel removed and the temperature was almost exactly the same. I have also tried laying it flat and the temperatures were almost the same.

 

I can feel hot air venting out of the exhaust point so in theory, the H50 is working to a certain extend.

My question is.

 

IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY H50 ? or might there be another problem?

 

If I OC it to 3.5GHz (1.22v), idle temp 60c, load temp reached 95c (I stopped it when it reached 95c).

 

Suggestions?

 

 

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard

Intel i7 930 @ 2.8GHz

Corsair H50 Cooling

Gigabyte GTX480 GPU

Kingston HyperX 2000 6GB Ram (running @1866Ghz)

Cooler Master CM690 II Advance Case

CoolerMaster UCP900 Ultimate 900w PSU

Win 7 64Bit

X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series

[ebarone]

First off, voltage set to auto is never good when overclocking. Set it to something definite in the BIOS, then try again... auto almost always sets the voltage too high.

 

Secondly, use a razor blade or something similar and check the concavity of both the H50 heatsink and your chip itself. It may be one of those cases where theres such a dip in the middle of the chip that your cooler isnt making good contact.

[leecka]

First off, voltage set to auto is never good when overclocking. Set it to something definite in the BIOS, then try again... auto almost always sets the voltage too high.

 

Secondly, use a razor blade or something similar and check the concavity of both the H50 heatsink and your chip itself. It may be one of those cases where theres such a dip in the middle of the chip that your cooler isnt making good contact.

 

Thanks. Will try that tomorrow.

 

I will also try and use the stock cooler tomorrow and see what the difference in temperature is.

[Foozle]

I have the exact same problem, seen in my thread here: http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=177033

 

I am currently in the proccess of re-applying the thermal paste as i had way too much on there. It needs to be a thin layer, evenly spread, like a film of paste. This is wat i believe was my problem. Maybe take a look at the distribution and thickness of your thermal paste?

[leecka]

Did another remount and this time I turned the radiator upside down aswell.

 

and the results..no big changes in temperature.

 

I also measure the flatness of the heat sink and CPU. As far as I could tell they were pretty flat.

 

I tried to take the back plate off so I could try the stock cooler but the thermal pads were stuck on too well and I didn't want to rip them off. So no stock readings there.

 

I am putting this quest on hold for the time being.

 

If any of you guys out there has any info other then what I have done already. Please let me know.

[wevsspot]

could be a faulty temperature diode on the cpu itself........

 

what does your bios report your cpu temp at idle?

[leecka]

could be a faulty temperature diode on the cpu itself........

 

what does your bios report your cpu temp at idle?

 

 

The bios cpu reading hovers around 47c.

 

I'll be getting another i7 930 cpu for another machine later on this week. Will use that to check and compare.

[wevsspot]

Sounds like a plan......

[Foozle]

Yeh i had those idle temps as well, using a stock cooler they came right back down to 21 and my temps while using the cpu and under load were normal as well. It was an issue with my cooler not contacting my CPU properly or just not working at all, so i am now on the hunt for a new cooler. I doubt you will see a difference with a new CPU as your temps are exactly the same as mine were with a half working cooler But will be good for comparison, I am using the thermal pads on my stock cooler, so no paste in there at the moment and it is running fine, all be it with no overclocking done on it at the moment, so just to get the thing working with normal temps id suggest sticking the stock cooler in there until you find a solution.

 

EDIT: or at least to compare the temps and see if there is a difference, it will at least rule out your CPU and the sensors as the problem if there is.

Edited July 21, 2010 by Foozle

[leecka]

Yeh i had those idle temps as well, using a stock cooler they came right back down to 21 and my temps while using the cpu and under load were normal as well. It was an issue with my cooler not contacting my CPU properly or just not working at all, so i am now on the hunt for a new cooler. I doubt you will see a difference with a new CPU as your temps are exactly the same as mine were with a half working cooler But will be good for comparison, I am using the thermal pads on my stock cooler, so no paste in there at the moment and it is running fine, all be it with no overclocking done on it at the moment, so just to get the thing working with normal temps id suggest sticking the stock cooler in there until you find a solution.

 

EDIT: or at least to compare the temps and see if there is a difference, it will at least rule out your CPU and the sensors as the problem if there is.

 

Yeah. I was thinking that the new cpu will probably give me the same readings, but we'll find out over the weekend.

 

I have written to Corsair already, but they have not come back to me.

[leecka]

Yeah. I was thinking that the new cpu will probably give me the same readings, but we'll find out over the weekend.

 

I have written to Corsair already, but they have not come back to me.

 

 

UPDATE:

 

You know how some things can bug you day and night. Well, this temperature issue has been doing exactly just that.

 

Yesterday, I said the back plate holding the H50 heatsink were stuck on too well with thermal pads. Today, I had another go and carefully, I took the back plate off.

 

Once it was off, I installed the stock cooler with its original thermal paste on it and the results were surprising (to me, anyway)

 

All the results below were carried out using default clocks and volts. There were no OC at all.

 

Ambient Temperature 24c. The case was lying flat with the side panel opened.

 

Stock Cooler Idle Temp, 4 cores ( 49c 48c 49c 45c)

H50 Idle Temp 4 cores (44c 43c 43c 39c)

 

Prime95

Stock Cooler 100% load Temp 4 cores (90c 88c 90c 87c) - fan @ 2531rpm

H50 100% load Temp 4 cores (71c 70c 70c 67c) - fan @ 1388rpm

 

As you can see from the results, it appears that the H50 is working and seems to be doing an excellent job It reduced the temperature at load from a high of 90c(stock cooler) to 71c, that is a difference of 19c. Is that a lot? or should it reduce it further?

 

At idle temperatures the H50 cooled the CPU down by about 5c as compared to stock cooler.

 

I think from the above results, we can conclude that the H50 is working.

 

Our focal point of the next investigation should be why is the idle temperature of the i7 930 so high as compared to other i7 930 reviews scattered all over the Internet.

 

When I get another i7 930 cpu this weekend, I will look at the issue further and report any new findings.

 

 

Comments and suggestion?

[ebarone]

Can you post a CPUz screenshot while under load with either cooler?

 

If its not a voltage issue, then it must be a contact issue- commonly people put too much TIM on but its also very possible that your CPU has a worse-than-average depression in the middle of its heatspreader. I've seen them before that almost look like a bowl.