[Advice needed] Temperature tests on new gaming build

[Manticoon]

I just built a new gaming system and I read somewhere that it's a good idea to perform memory checks and temperature tests just to make sure everything is working fine and there's sufficient cooling in my system.

I was wondering if I could get specific advice on how to run these tests for my system, and what are the temperature ranges that I should be encountering.

I want to test the temperature of both my CPU and my GPU idle and under load.

CPU: Intel Skylake Core i5 6600K
Motherboard: Asus Gaming Series Z170 PRO GAMING ATX Intel Z170 Chipset
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400 Black
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper X212
Storage: WD Blue 1TB HDD 7200RPM
Storage: Samsung 750 EVO 250GB SSD
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 X 8GB) DDR4 2400Mhz
Video Card: ASUS Strix GEFORCE® GTX 970 STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 750W
Operating System: Windows 10 Home OEM

 

[azaran]

All about temps and your CPU. It's long but worth the read.
www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1800828/intel-temperature-guide.html


For more than you probably wanted to know about thermal compound and why it matters
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-heat-sink-heat-spreader,3600.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616.html

Basically use a good temp reading program and a stress tester. I like Coretemp for simple temp readout or Hardware Monitor for knowing every temp and fan speed in your comp. For testing Prime95 v26.6 and use Small FFT or go with something like Intel Burn Test and stress on high for around 10 runs (IBT is faster and easier than Prime). You're CPU's max temp is 100c but you want much lower than that. Stock coolers tend to run 70-80 under load at stock speeds, and typically throttle past that. Your cooler should run cooler than that stock and then any OC will change that.

The Cooler Master Hyper series is good, but the Cryorig H7 would be better at cooling and not overlap the RAM slots on the board should you ever want to max out your memory.

As for the GPU, Furmark is a good stress test. The max temp on the refrence GTX 970 card is 98c so shoot for under that.