i7-950 Overheating

[TheGamingScout]

Hello,

I recently got an i7-950 based PC from my uncle.  I turned it on and it was idling around 70C, which concerned me, and when running games or anything more intense than a download from steam it heats up to 98C.  It reaches 100C here and there, especially in Prime95.  Thankfully cinebench R15 and R20 Don’t throttle it.  I replaced the thermal paste with arctic silver 5 and made sure the cooler was making proper contact.  I am using the stock cooler and have and extra fan blowing towards my exhaust fan and they are all running at 100%.  No change with the max temps but it idles around 60C and occasionally I see sub 55C temps.

[ir_cow]

Well I can tell you that the problem is simply the stock cooler. Intel coolers that come with the CPU is garbage and this why Intel kinda stopped including them for mid-range and up.

Realistically though, Prime95 is an extreme stance meant for only stability. It will reach 100c easily with the stock cooler every time. If you are playing games and its below 90c you are fine for such a old CPU. not worth spending the money. Though if you really want to a Cooler Master EVO 212 for $30 will do the trick.

Personally I would have just re-pasted it like you have done and called it a day. Prime95 is only for stability testing due to the stress it puts on the CPU.

Edit: I made a video on this subject a few years ago

 

[RHKCommander959]

The old Intel retention pins don't always bite to apply enough pressure between the heat sink and IHS. That combined with the fact that a lot of people had trouble with actuating them can cause insufficient pressure leading to high temperatures. I would just get a new heat sink, like the Hyper 212 that is only about 30 bucks usually.

Depending on the motherboard you have, there is a LOT you can still do with that older platform. A very cheap upgrade is to buy a Xeon X5650 or better, which will get you past i7-980X performance very easily with mild overclocking. They are going for under $20, or for very little more you could step up to a X5670 or X5680 - which is nearly identical stock for stock to the 980X, as is the Xeon W3680. Any of these upgrades will do wonders for that older system, and moving down to 32nm from 45nm will mean a cooler running CPU too.

 

Doing that, you wouldn't be beating new high end systems. But you would be able to play modern games without much issue at 2K resolution.

I do similar with a secondary PC of mine: a R9 290X, and an X5670 overclocked to 4.2 GHz daily.

[sticknstone]

An extra fan blowing towards an exhaust fan is a waste.  Use that extra fan as an exhaust fan.  I hope there is enough air entering the case for two exhaust fans though.

[AngelMerman]

On 8/28/2020 at 12:50 AM, RHKCommander959 said:

The old Intel retention pins don't always bite to apply enough pressure between the heat sink and IHS. That combined with the fact that a lot of people had trouble with actuating them can cause insufficient pressure leading to high temperatures. I would just get a new heat sink, like the Hyper 212 that is only about 30 bucks usually. MyGroundBiz Website

Depending on the motherboard you have, there is a LOT you can still do with that older platform. A very cheap upgrade is to buy a Xeon X5650 or better, which will get you past i7-980X performance very easily with mild overclocking. They are going for under $20, or for very little more you could step up to a X5670 or X5680 - which is nearly identical stock for stock to the 980X, as is the Xeon W3680. Any of these upgrades will do wonders for that older system, and moving down to 32nm from 45nm will mean a cooler running CPU too.

 

Doing that, you wouldn't be beating new high end systems. But you would be able to play modern games without much issue at 2K resolution.

I do similar with a secondary PC of mine: a R9 290X, and an X5670 overclocked to 4.2 GHz daily.

Thank you for sharing superb informations. Your website is very cool. I’m impressed by the details that you have on this website.

Edited September 28, 2020 by AngelMerman