Cant figure this out, getting too hot...

[Djk1]

I recently built a new system consisting of a:
ASUS P6T deluxe v2
Intel i7 920
6 Gb ocz gold
evga 275 gtx video
and zalman 9900 for cooling

I have a older mid tower lian li case that barely fit the video card inside, but everthing else seemed to be ok and seems to have decent air flow. My problem is this, I have overclocked from 2.66 to 3.71 using some specs from these forums. But for some reason at idle I am at 43 C and with prime running i am at 75-80 C. I have tried three different types of thermal grease, the one that it came with Zalman brush on type, the Silver Artic 5 and the OCZ thermal grease. I have tried different layouts of putting the grease down. Such as indicated on the silver artic website. I have tried the pea size and let it do its own thing, I have tried the pea size and spread it with rubber gloves. I can not get these temps to go lower. I have done my reviews and everything says that that zalman should idle at 32-35 and load at 55-65. The only thing I have not tried is a bigger case. But this numbers are when I side panel is open, they get even higher with I shut the side panel. I have two front 80 mm fans and one top 80 mm fan and one exhaust 80 mm fan all running at about 1900 rpm. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know

 

[rubix_1011]

Simple test:

Get a house fan, remove the side of your case and blow the fan inside. If your temps go down, you have airflow issues. If the temps stay the same, either you have issues with the cooler, mounting or its just the temps you will see.

Remember, even at idle, an OC'd chip will run slightly to significantly higher than the same chip at default clocks/idle.

Edit: 80mm fans don't do nearly enough anymore for airflow for newer hardware...especially i7 chips. You need some 120's.

 

[Djk1]

I am sorry I forgot to mention that I tried the fan blowing into the case idea. It made no difference. The only difference is when the side panel goes on, the temps go even higher. I wonder if anyone with specs like these experience the same temps. I guess what I am trying to conclude is, should I go out and buy a newer case or is there something else that I have over looked

 

[rubix_1011]

Well, to be honest, idle at 43C for that chip OC'd is still fairly decent; your load temps are kinda getting up there... It also depends on your ambient room temperature. There are some simple physics involved with air temperature and the ability to absorb heat as the surrounding air is warmer vs. cooler. Do you know what your approximate room temps are? If you can move the case to a cooler room (as in substantially cooler...like a cold, dark basement) and see if you get different results.

 

[Djk1]

Room temp is at 72 F and its already in the basement, which happens to be the coolest room I have. If I try to get the room any cooler, the house upstairs starts to get really cold and upstairs drops down to 67-69 F, which is a little too cold for me. By the way Rubix_1011 thanks for the help.

 

[rubix_1011]

Hey, NP...just trying to rule out any extra variables before you make your head spin with theories...

Good luck.

 

[spinny]

Those temps seem not-unreasonable for the speed and heatsink you are using. The 9900 just isn't that good on an i7. What is your Vcore at on your overclock? Because that can change your temperature very fast.

 

[Djk1]

1.35 is what I set the CPU volt at.

 

[orangegator]

Post links to those reviews. I don't believe them. An overclocked i7 920 runs hot and the Zalman 9900 is just a mediocre cooler. Your temps sound right.

 

[daship]

Your temps are fine with the way your set up.

 

[Djk1]

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/zalman_cnps9900_led

http://www.guru3d.com/article/zalman-cnps-9900-led-review/1

is a couple of them. But if you guys think that these temps are fine than I have my answer. I just thought for idle and load it seemed a little high

 

[spinny]

1.35 is what I set the CPU volt at.

You don't need it that high. Try lowering it to 1.23 and see what happens. I'm running the same mobo/proc/ram at 4 GHz on 1.23v. This should lower your load temps at least a bit.

Also, neither of the articles you linked are testing it on an i7, so you can't expect those temps.

 

[Shadow703793]

^+1. Reduce vcore and see. Also the Zalman HSF is OLD. It no longer works well on i7s and even C2Qs.

@OP: If you can spend money, take a look in to the Core Contact Freezer + i7 bolt in. ~$50-55 with bracket. Direct Touch Heatpipes are the new tech for air cooling.

 

[Djk1]

I will look into core contact freezer

 

[rubix_1011]

Yeah, I guess I didn't think about that Zalman cooler being old...I didn't check to see which one it was...

 

[overshocks]

^+1. Reduce vcore and see. Also the Zalman HSF is OLD. It no longer works well on i7s and even C2Qs.

@OP: If you can spend money, take a look in to the Core Contact Freezer + i7 bolt in. ~$50-55 with bracket. Direct Touch Heatpipes are the new tech for air cooling.

It's only 30-40 dollars with bracket with MIR
+1 core contact freezer, i use it and its great cools 20C lower than my stock cooler