Bad mount on Be Quiet Dark Rock 3 pro or very impressive Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA?

[fubar_frammer]

So this is sort of a strange thing. I've just upgraded the cooler in my PC to a be quiet! Dark rock 3 pro. I had a little Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA on there for about a year and it always ran kinda warm with the I7 6700k (stock clock). Under a prime95 test (Max heat) it would run well into the 80s and touch 90° from time to time. I would expect the much larger dark rock 3 to perform much better but it tops out at 85°. similar systems barely break 70 overclocked. That being said the thing is a bear to install into a mid tower and I might have smeared the thermal paste to got a bubble under it, which is the main question. Should I remount the monster or is this an expected result?

Note: stock core voltages were 1.36 volts which is kinda dumb but for the sake of consistency I left it for the new cooler because that's what the old one was tested at. Dropping it to 1.2 chopped near 15°.

 

[Lutfij]

You may want to install the cooler outside of case to rule out the formation/trapping of an air bubble under the heatsink. FYI, for stock clocks you could deal with lower voltages on any given day.

 

[Signature818]

1.36 Volts can result in 85° max temp because you are using Prime95 which is a cooler frying software.

Remount Dark Rock Pro 3, use a flashlight to see if the cooler is properly kissing your processor.

I suggest you use Aida64 for stress testing.

I am running at 4.9 speed with dark rock pro 3 and my max temps are 75, monitor the temps and if there are spikes like from 40-50 degrees to 70+ then dropping back again, this is a sign of a loose mounted cooler.