CPU with CNPS9500AT running a bit hot

cascius · Post by **cascius** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:07 pm

My CPU uses a CNPS9500AT and when idled, it runs around 50-55c. Under load, it gets to 65c and then the Zalman kicks in higher gear to keep it at that temperature. When reading reviews of that heat sink on NewEgg, i see a lot of people having temperatures of 40c~ when idled and 50c~ under load...

Are those normal temperatures for a DualCore Pentium D 820? I'm thinking i might not have put enough Arctic Silver (~1 grain of rice), should i try with more?

I have pretty good airflow (1x 80mm intake fan, 2x 80 exhaust fans, CPU fan blows in the direction of the exhaust fans, no cables in the way, no dust...). My HDDs temperature ranges from 35-40c. My GPU ranges from 35-50c. I don't have access to the inside temperature of my system, but it's pretty descent for what i remember. Room temperature is probably around 17c.

Usefull Specs:
Mobo: intel 945psn
CPU: Dual Core Pentium D 820, 2.8Ghz
GPU: 8600GT 512Megs, OC 650/780
Can't think of the model of the case right now.

It's a black Antec MiniATX tower.

Any help/recommendation welcomed.

Thanks,

- Olivier

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:00 pm

to be honest with you, i find that temp to be a little shady.

i'd suggest opening your case, and checking to see how the heatsink is seated on the CPU, and if it appears to be seated well, take it off and look at the way the TIM (thermal paste) is spread. if the IHS on the CPU itself is a convex surface, you'll have to look into lapping it, because there's poor heat conduction. at the same time, check the surface of the heatsinks base, because if that is uneven, it will have the same effects.

at the same time, the heatsinks fan might just be too slow at idle, not dissipating enough heat. do keep in mind that most users here have heatsinks that perform better than the CNPS9500AT, such as TRUE, Scythe Ninja, etc and so forth. also, the Pentium D series is much hotter than the Core 2 Duos...so comparing temps is a silly thing to do.

your other temps are fine, but the CPU idling around 50-55 is something to check. do you have Intel Speedstep enabled in BIOS? C1E enabled? The fan is PWM controlled, so you just need to check the surfaces and BIOS. you may want to save yourself some trouble and snoop around the BIOS first.

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:21 pm

With what programme did you record the temperature values? There are huge differences between speedfan/core temp and HWmonitor. The former always state my idle temp to be around 24, while the latter states 40 degrees celcius.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:04 am

Are those normal temperatures for a DualCore Pentium D 820?

50C is high for idle,but then it is a hot CPU (95W), so probably normal.

do you have Intel Speedstep enabled in BIOS?

the PD 820 does not have Speedstep capability.

cascius · Post by **cascius** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:36 am

Thanks for the feedback,

I checked the speed using speedFan and Intel Desktop Utility. I looked around the bios but couldn't find any settings regarding fan speed.

I think this week end i'll just have to take off the heat sink and look at the way the TIM is spread. Anyway, if everything looks normal, i just won't bother any further. After all, frying this CPU would be a perfect excuse to get a new mobo/cpu...

Thanks guys,

- Olivier