jonezeen :
... i7 920 ... I was told that it's dangerous for the CPU to reach 70c, so I am worried that the CPU will die ...
jonezeen,
There's nothing to be concerned about; 70°C is not too hot.
Excessive Core temperatures and Core voltage (Vcore) over time can cause degradation, which is called "Electromigration". This is premature erosion of the traces and junctions within the processor's layers and nano-circuits, which will eventually result in blue-screen crashes that become increasingly frequent over time.
This is typically only an issue for people who overclock. Nevertheless, the topic has been blown way out of proportion. CPUs rarely fail, but instead become obsolete, are retired, then replaced with current hardware.
Your Dell Studio XPS 435T/9000 was a top-of-the-line rig back in it's day. The i7 920, which I've owned and overclocked, is a 130 Watt TDP (Thermal Design Power) CPU. This is a bit high for mainstream Quad Core processors, most of which are 77 to 95 Watts. However, if you're using Dell's cooler, it should be OK, as their coolers are typically decent.
Here's a link to the i7 920 as shown on Intel's Product Specification website -
https://ark.intel.com/products/37147/Intel-Core-i7-920-Processor-8M-Cache-2_66-GHz-4_80-GTs-Intel-QPI
Here's a link to Intel's Datasheets for their 900 Series Desktop processors -
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/core/core-i7-900-ee-and-desktop-processor-series-datasheet-vol-1.html
There are actually 2 versions of the i7 920. The earlier Stepping Revision C0 was later followed by D0, which overclocked higher at lower voltage and temperatures. Both versions share the same Thermal Specifications. Intel Desktop processors have 2 Thermal Specifications; "Tcase" is "CPU" temperature and "Tjunction" is "Core" temperature.
The 1st spec, Tcase, is 67°C for the i7 920, which is shown on the Product Specifications website. However, Tcase is a
misleading specification, as it applies only to the development of cooling solutions. This spec should be
disregarded for the following reasons:
(A) It's a
factory only analog "thermocouple" measurement on the surface of the Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) where the cooler is seated, which can
not be measured by the end user.
(B) Tcase is
not Core temperature. Core temperature is instead measured by individual Digital Thermal Sensors (DTS) at the heat sources near the transistor "Junctions" deep within each of the Cores where temperatures are hottest. Therefore, Tjunction is considerably higher than Tcase, due to the differences in the proximity of sensors to heat sources.
The 2nd spec, Tjunction, which is shown in the Datasheets, refers to "Tj Max" or "Throttle" temperature, which is 100°C. Tjunction is the Core temperature thermal "limit" where the processor will throttle (reduce Core speed) to protect itself from thermal damage.
Intel used the Tcase spec up through and including 6th Generation, but then changed to the Tjunction spec for 7th and 8th Generation. Here's an example of both specifications, as per any given processors:
i7 920 (1st Gen)
Tcase
67°C
Tjunction 100°C
i7 7700K (7th Gen)
Tcase
64°C
Tjunction 100°C
The 7th Gen i7 7700K is in
no way any less thermally capable than the 1st Gen i7 920!
So how hot should the i7 920 be allowed to get? Common sense once again prevails. Here's the explanation:
Although most processors Throttle at 100°C (212°F), it’s not advisable to run your CPU near it's thermal limit, just as you wouldn't run a vehicle with the temperature gauge pegged in the red "hot" zone. If your hottest Core is near it's specified Tj Max Throttle temperature, then your CPU is already too hot.
The consensus among highly experienced and well informed system builders and overclockers, is that cooler is better for ultimate stability, performance and longevity. Accordingly, experts agree it's prudent to observe a reasonable thermal margin below Tj Max. So regardless of environmental conditions, hardware configurations, workloads or any other variables, here's the bottom line:
Core temperatures above 85°C aren't recommended.
Here's the operating range for Core temperature:
Core temperatures increase and decrease with Ambient temperature.
Idle temperatures below 25°C are generally due to Ambient temperatures below 22°C. Normal or "Standard" Ambient temperature is 22°C or 72°F.
Highest Core temperatures occur during stress tests, rendering or transcoding, but are lower during less processor intensive workloads such as applications and gaming. Core temperatures can vary greatly among games due to differences between CPU and GPU workloads.
On my i7 7700K personal rig, Core temperatures never reach 80°C during any extreme applications or stress tests. Here's a Sticky you might want to read:
Intel Temperature Guide -
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1800828/intel-temperature-guide.html
CT
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