Bad luck with a HOT CPU?

[trulaker9]

Hey all,
I have a B3 Q6600 CPU on a Gigabyte P35C-DSR3 Mobo. Now I have heard all about the B3 Stepping CPU running hotter than the G0 CPUs, but many places are saying that is just a myth and that there really isn't much difference between the 2 revisions. As for my experience with the B3 stepping I must say that mine runs on the warm/hot side. With the crappy Intel stock fan, I would get temperatures in the mid 60s on load with just Windows running. I changed the fan to an Artic Freezer Pro 7 with A5 silver paste and my temps dropped about 20c to mid 40s on load with just windows running. I wanted to overclock my chip and have heard that the Q6600 can get to 3Ghz on stock cooling and stock voltages. I performed a minor OC to see how the temps would react and OC'd to 2.6Ghz (stock voltage) and running a prime95 stress test I was getting temps of about 60c which is pretty warm. If i push this OC to 3.0Ghz I know I will be hitting 70c and that just isn't acceptable to me. I know I can lower the voltages some and maybe get the temps down, but how are prople getting their CPUs to OC to 3.0Ghz on stock cooling and voltages? I know my cooler isn't a great cooler, and that a Tuniq Tower or Zalman Cooler would lower my temps further, or will they? That is my dilema, should I spend the money to buy a Tuniq Tower or Zalman fan or forget that idea because I unfortunately got a HOT b3 stepping CPU? I have a Coolermaster Full Tower case with 3 120mm fans and 1 60mm side panel fan. My case ventilation is good and my Geforce 8800GT runs cool overclocked to 700Mhz with 1000mem with the stock cooler, so I really think my heating problem is just because I got a HOT chip. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[dragonsprayer]

there is a big differene if you want to overclock and not overvolt/cook

you can use ultra xp-90 to cool it and its $20, the zalman 9700 will cool it about 3c better and the ultra120 will do evern better - if installed right.


as far as 60c being hot its not - there is a huge misconception on what is hot and what is not. the cpu will last for years at 60c

plus you do not run prime 95 with your system 7 days a week, 365 days a year do you?
under normal condtions it runs 5-10c lower

 

[endyen]

Is 60c okay for silicon? Not really.
Generally, below 55c is optimal. It will yield a life expectancy of 80000 to 100000 hrs. For most 65 nano chips, 75c will get you about 30000 to 40000 hours. 30k is about 4 years, so if you plan on keeping your chip for more that 4 years, and need it at 100%, 24/7, you should keep it below 70c. If you plan on using the chip 24/7 for the next 8 years, you need it running below 60c.
Intel's mounting system has gotten trickier an trickier. Make sure the hsf is locked all the way down, then give it a slight twist or two to help seat the TIM.

 

[trulaker9]

So what do you guys suggest? Should I get a new cooler? Should I just let it be considering the temps aren't out of control? Should I sell this CPU and get a G0 stepping? I dont plan on havin the CPU for more than 2 yrs. 2 yrs will be MAX I have this CPU.

 

[randomizer]

Don't worry then, keep it under 80C and it's all good

Heck my E6600 runs low 60s under load at stock vcore/frequency, and it has half the cores.

 

[fenixrisingxl]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, fellas, but apologies in advance (didn't want to start a new thread about essentially the same problem).
I'm having some heat issues with a retail AMD 6400+ chip I bought last week. I'm currently using the stock heatsink and fan.
If I let it sit idle overnight, it'll run at about 27C. Typically during 'normal' use (i.e. surfing the internet), it'll jump to about 35C-45C. My concern, however, is when I start gaming. No matter how low it idles before I start a game, I'll see the temperature gauge (Speedfan or CoreTemp) jump to around 50C during startup, and by the time I exit the game, I see it coming down from 58C.
Does anyone out there know if these are typical temps? I'm thinking this chip is running too hot when I play any of my games.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.

 

[yay]

dont worry about it, your temps really arnt that high, it will survive 2 years easily at those temps.

 

[nvalhalla]

what program are you using to measure the temps with? you might be running cooler than you think if the program is reading things wrong. I would worry about temps once they reach 70, but lower is fine. that said, you should be getting lower temps at those frequencies. make sure your voltage is correct with cpu-z. try and undervolt too. I wouldn't get a better hs/fan just yet. you probably wouldn't get a lot cooler on air and spending a lot of money on cooling defeats the purpose of overclocking. if you can't get comfortable temps with the overclock you want, then look at the cooler master hyper 212. affordable and it provides top quality cooling. just exhaust all the other options first.

 

[fenixrisingxl]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm currently using Speedfan and CoreTemp to get my readings. Are there any better alternatives out there?
Because I'm so bad at computer cooling solutions and such, I just bought the normal 6400+, and not the Black Edition.
My biggest problem is this Acer computer (which has run a heck of alot more reliably than my old Compaq) doesn't have any space for an extra case fan. Basically, I'm limited to just the one rear case fan, the power supply's fan, and the cpu fan.
The thing I'm worried about is the stock cpu fan is a four-wire plug that I'm running on my three-connector motherboard. My guess is the fan's not spinning as fast as it should be since I'm missing the extra connector.
If that's the case, should I just go ahead and order a better heatsink and fan combo? I'm currently looking at a Zalman combo (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118019). It runs on a three-wire connector, which is what I figure I need.
Any suggestions, or am I pretty much good to go as is?

 

[rickpatbrown]

spending a lot of money on cooling defeats the purpose of overclocking.

You also have to consider that the aftermarket cooler will last almost till you a very long time, multiple CPUs. I imagine you can replace the fan when they die also, so were talking forever with a $15 maintenance every ten years.

You probably won't be able to get more than another 100Mhz out of the CPU with better cooling. To me 67C is a little warm (which is why you are writing this thread), but shouldn't be a problem unless you want the chip to last ten years (what overclocker wants that?)

I don't overclock to save money. It's an addiction. I just spent almost $400 on a water cooling (had to get a bigger case too ) I dropped 20C of load temps, but was only able to get another 100Mhz or so out of my Opteron 170. Maybe a volt mod will get me another 100Mhz, but I doubt it.

 

[rickpatbrown]

spending a lot of money on cooling defeats the purpose of overclocking.

You also have to consider that the aftermarket cooler will last almost till you a very long time, multiple CPUs. I imagine you can replace the fan when they die also, so were talking forever with a $15 maintenance every ten years.

You probably won't be able to get more than another 100Mhz out of the CPU with better cooling. To me 67C is a little warm (which is why you are writing this thread), but shouldn't be a problem unless you want the chip to last ten years (what overclocker wants that?)

I don't overclock to save money. It's an addiction. I just spent almost $400 on a water cooling (had to get a bigger case too ) I dropped 20C of load temps, but was only able to get another 100Mhz or so out of my Opteron 170. Maybe a volt mod will get me another 100Mhz, but I doubt it.

I could have bought a new motherboard, RAM and C2D for the money and had much better performance. I am very happy that I made my liquid loop though. It really impresses non-geeks. Geeks are only semi impressed.

 

[AnonymousX]

 

[trulaker9]

So what I am taking from these replies is that overclocking your chip basically boils down to luck in getting a good chip that overclocks well while not getting very HOT? Is that correct to assume?

 

[benzene]

So what I am taking from these replies is that overclocking your chip basically boils down to luck in getting a good chip that overclocks well while not getting very HOT? Is that correct to assume?

To be honest I don't think that's correct to assume.

"luck" , when talking about overclocking a CPU like a Q6600 should only enter the equation when you're trying to push extreme overclocks - beyond 3.6ghz. With a decent cooler, even an arctic freezer, properly fitted you should have no trouble reaching 3-3.2Ghz at a satisfactory temperature even with a slight overvolt. I have managed 3.2Ghz on a Q6600 with the stock cooler and one case fan, admittedly a G0, but I can't see it being a problem you having a B3.

If I were you I'd reseat the HS, taking great care over the process, and try again. Also it is worth remembering that using Prime95 etc will likely raise the temperature of your CPU beyond anything it will encounter in day to day use, if it hits 70*C with all cores running prime, chances are it'll never get above 60*C under normal conditions - this has been my experience at least.

 

[trulaker9]

I've tried reseating the heatsink, I even tried putting the stock cooler back on. It just seems like my chip runs HOT.