Is my CPU running too hot?

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:26 am

I just finished building my quiet PC. I would like to thank everyone on this site for the great information. This is my setup:

- Antec P182
- 3 Nexus 120mm fans with diode limited voltage of about 6.5V - 7V
- Gigabyte P35-DS3P
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
- Scythe Ninja heatsink
- EVGA GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3
- ZALMAN VF900 for the Video Card
- Silverstone ST30NF fanless PSU

I am currently running the system with only the three Nexus fans. They are located in the top rear of the case, in front of the upper HD case, and in the middle of the lower chamber. There is no fan on the ninja. I am not overclocking. The top vent is sealed off. The computer is extremely quite. My flat panel monitor is actually making more noise. But the CPU temp right now at idle is 60C. That seems a little high. I have not really had a chance to find a tool to do a CPU stress test to watch the temperature under load. Does that seem a ittle high, and if so, should I put another Nexus on the Ninja?

Tom

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:34 am

that probably doesn't help really. It seems you have bit pressure issue with your Ninja like quite many peoples have had in here. when you're computer is idle and you have thermalmonitor open, press the ninja lightly to see if temperatures drop. If they do, then its contact pressure problem.

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:49 am

Yes, that temperature is very high. I believe it's a contact issue - whether that be because of too little pressure or a concave IHS you'll have to determine.

Also, make sure to turn on EIST and Power Management in your OS.

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:41 am

I am running the test right now, monitoring using SpeedFan 4.32.

1. Starting temperature - 59C

2. Removed case side and pushed on ninja with light pressure

3. temps slowly dropping to 56C

4. letting temps stabilize due to the fact that I removed the cover and will attempt to push again.

5. Temps stable at 55C

6. Pushed on the Ninja - No change in temperature.

What approximate temp should I be seeing with this setup?

Tom

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 12:06 pm

you should be idling below 40 degree's... For stressing your system, Orthos is one of the best.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 12:11 pm

My E4300 overclocked to 2.4 GHz idles at about 40 degrees with the stock Intel cooler (fan running at roughly 900 rpm). I'd be very surprised if a fanless Ninja couldn't beat that.

It's probably poor contact and a rev.B Ninja...

Just in case, kuhnto, what is your CPU voltage?

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 12:48 pm

It is funny that you asked about the CPU voltage...

I just checked a bit ago and the BIOS had it set at 1.35V. I read somewhere that it could be run at 1.25V for reduced heat. So I switched it over to 1.25V and restarted everything. SpeedFan temps right now are showing 46C-47C and slowly dropping. So things seem to have cooled down a bit. But when I check the voltage now, I am showing:

VCore1 - 1.22V
VCore2 - 1.89V

Vcore2 is now worrying me if it should be so high?

I just switched back to the 1.35V setting in the BIOS, and the temps are climbing back to the mid 50s. But for some reason the VCore2 voltage is still at 1.89. VCore1 is at 1.31.

Tom

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:00 pm

That's probably the memory voltage. There is only one CPU voltage

And you have other issues, it seems. Your idle is 1.22/1.31V and your E6600 is probably running at 2.4 GHz. Looks like you don't have EIST enabled, or something is chewing up your CPU cycles. In idle, your CPU frequency should drop to 1.6 GHz, and its voltage should be below 1.2V. Something definitely seems wrong there. Go check EIST and C1E.

FWIW, my E4300 is undervolted to roughly 1.12V, so you probably have even more room for improvement in that regard, but I'm willing to bet that something is wrong with your Ninja. Probably bad mounting. Once you solve that, you can play around with further undervolting.

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:47 pm

Are you using Windows XP?

If you are, go to the power management options and set it at "minimal power management". This will give the CPU the signal to throttle down if it's not being used. EIST requires both hardware and software support.

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:51 pm

I actually have EIST set in the BIOS and Minimal power management set in XP. I can not seem to get it to cycle down.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:58 pm

Maybe it doesn't work if you set the voltage manually... What if you leave it on Auto?

aef110 · Post by **aef110** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 3:18 pm

That sounds funny. I just built a similar system, though in what should be a hotter case (Antec Sonata Designer, same as Solo or P 150), and just installed a Ninja the other day. (The other relevant parts of the system are E6750, single Noctua case fan and passive 7600GT.) I have the Ninja running passively and the CPU hits a mere 30 degrees even after it's been running for several hours.

I hesitated to buy the Ninja with an Intel processor since I had read of reports such as yours -- maybe I got lucky? I installed the Ninja with the motherboard already in the case, since I was too lazy to take everything apart. One thing I did was to use a butter knife for the four pins, which I tapped very gently with a hammer until they clicked. I seem to have gotten a solid connection this way... maybe that will help in your case (pun intended) as well.

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 3:29 pm

Well,

I pulled the board, and lapped the CPU and the Ninja. The thermal paste was still sort of centered in the middle of the chip. This time I coated the entire cpu surface with a thin layer of artic silver and Added everything back in, and what do I get...

Higher temps... 63C max. (THis is with the voltage set back to 1.35V)

This time when I push the Ninja, the temps drop by 5 to 10 degrees. I definatly think it is a mounting issue. I know that the first time I ever installed the Ninja, it was very hard to push those pins in. Now it is real easy to push them in and I do not think there is really any pressure on them now. I might have worn them out. Can I use the push pins that are on the Intel fan that came with the processor? Is there a bolt kit that can bolt the ninja with (I threw out the other mounting plates though)?

TOm

Fayd · Post by **Fayd** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 3:44 pm

you can get a thermalright-made mounting kit from sidewindercomputers for a few bucks.

i have one on mine, and it dropped the temps significantly. works quite well, looks good.

Fayd · Post by **Fayd** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 3:46 pm

here's what you need.

that site has a minimum order amount... i dont know what it is though.

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lgbowiscsp.html

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:19 pm

I finally got in the Thermalright 775 thru-bolt kit. I must say that the difference is apparent.

- Closed case
- CPU Voltage 1.35

Idle was running 44C-46C
CPU burn is giving me 58C - 59C

It still seems a little high, and I am wondering if I did not apply the AS5 properly. I know that it says to put a small bead down the chip, but I used a razor to smooth it out to a thin coat, as many people have mentioned to do. I will let it burn in for a few power cycles a see what happens.

Tom

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:40 pm

Sorry if I didn't read it, but is your Ninja basically passive? If so, those temps look pretty good.

Is your CPU throttling down when idle?

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:03 am

Yes the Ninja is passive. I am still working on getting the second core to throttle down, but am having problems with EIST.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:15 am

Hello Tom,

kuhnto wrote:I finally got in the Thermalright 775 thru-bolt kit. I must say that the difference is apparent.

- Closed case
- CPU Voltage 1.35

Idle was running 44C-46C
CPU burn is giving me 58C - 59C

It still seems a little high, and I am wondering if I did not apply the AS5 properly. I know that it says to put a small bead down the chip, but I used a razor to smooth it out to a thin coat, as many people have mentioned to do. I will let it burn in for a few power cycles a see what happens.

I think these new temperatures are fine. You might improve them by ducting, though?

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:54 pm

An E6600 at 60C under load is just fine. I run mine considerably hotter than that to keep the fans quiet. Anything under 70C is okay; you'll want to replace the CPU for performance reasons long before it expires due to heat...

Lensman · Post by **Lensman** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Are these temps with the front door open or close? Also, did you take the optical bay covers off?

oscar3d · Post by **oscar3d** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 1:24 am

I know what's going on and someone has to say it. It's Scyhte's fault with the new revision B of the Ninja.

I've onwed 3 of them already, the first revision, then the Ninja Plus, and then the Revision B.

What happens is that the new mounting system for the ninja sucks, because it doesn't use a backplate too firmly attach the heatsink. Instead they have come with these plastic screws (FUCKING PLASTIC FGS!!), to mount a big ass heatsink like this.

It's all Sythe's fault.

You might want to try the Universal Mounting Kit, new egg has it, and it has those precious backplates that will make sure that the heatsink make even contact with the CPU surface.

My guess is that Sythe just dropped the ball, and all former customers are feeing to Thermalright and the 120 Extreme.

kuhnto · Post by **kuhnto** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:06 am

These temps are with the case closed, Only three fans going, with no fan on the Ninja. I still have all the bay doors on the case. I have since lowered the CPU voltage to 1.25 and am now hovering around 45C-47C. I agree that the aftermarket mounting kit is a world of difference from the plastic mounting clips. The Ninja does not "move" like it did before when I bumped it with my hand trying to get the cables all connnected. Not to mention that with the Thermaltake mounting kit, I can actually remove and replace the heatsink easily without having to remove the MB from the case. This is something Scythe really needs to think about.

Tom

Wibla · Post by **Wibla** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 6:24 am

I'd be happy with those temps on a passive heatsink... better than what I got with the U120E passive

vortex222 · Post by **vortex222** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 3:34 pm

Wibla wrote:I'd be happy with those temps on a passive heatsink... better than what I got with the U120E passive

I have read on several occasion that SPEEDFAN will read the temps about 15c too high on some core2duo cpus... and needs to be calibrated.

Could this be the issue?

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:38 pm

Those temps are absolutely fine. I have an E4300 that runs at 2.4ghz and at 1.15 volts. I lapped both the CPU and the Ninja and used AS5, and am using the Thermalright Bolt-Thru Kit. The Ninja is passive and the only two fans in the case are at the exhaust behind the Ninja and above the Ninja in the PSU (both are Nexus 120s at 550 rpm, wired to the same PWM controller on the mobo). I see 46-47C idle and 58-60C load. I wouldn't worry at all if I were you.

EDIT: Speedfan actually reads the C2Ds 15C too low, so hopefully you don't have to add 15C to those. Double check with CoreTemp.