Hi Guys,
I've been following this thread and would like to point out a few obvious, and not so obvious considerations that shouldn't be overlooked or taken for granted.
hephaistos,
Apparently you have 2 stock coolers; one you received with your i5-4670, and another stock cooler of unmentioned origin. Since you haven't told us which CPU the second cooler was packaged with, and since Intel has many different "stock" coolers, before we proceed any further, it's important to confirm that you're running the correct stock cooler, as it can make a huge difference.
The i5-4670 is an 84 Watt TDP processor which specifies the PCG 2013D stock cooler: Intel Product Specifications -
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...5-4670-processor-6m-cache-up-to-3-80-ghz.html
The PCG 2013"D" is one of Intel's "universal" stock coolers. It's rated at 95 Watts TDP, and has been used for many generations on 77, 84, 88 and 95 Watt CPUs. It looks identical to the PCG 2013"C" which is another universal stock cooler, except it's rated at only 65 Watts TDP. They're both aluminum coolers, but the way to differentiate between them is that the 95 Watt cooler has a round copper center visible from the bottom, while the 65 Watt cooler is solid aluminum. Intel Stock Coolers -
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10500/stock-cooler-roundup-intel-amd-vs-evo-212/3
If the seller from whom your purchased your 84 Watt i5-4670 packaged it with the 65 Watt all aluminum "C" version cooler, and your other cooler is also the same 65 Watt cooler, then your Core temperatures will always be higher, regardless of your efforts.
(
Q): Which stock coolers do you have?
Although "Throttle" temperature for your i5-4670 is 100°C, it’s not advisable to run your CPU near it's thermal limit. If your hottest Core begins to approach it's specified Tj Max Throttle temperature, then your CPU is already too hot. The consensus among well informed and highly experienced system builders, reviewers and overclockers, is that cooler is better for ultimate stability, performance and longevity. Experts all agree that it's prudent to observe a reasonable thermal margin below Throttle temperature. As such, here's the nominal operating range for Core temperature:
Core temperatures above 85°C are not recommended.
Core temperatures below 80°C are ideal.
Concerning the application of thermal compound, the "pea" size approach is most popular, as it allows the compound to spread evenly using the compression of the cooler. The objective is to eliminate voids or air pockets, so the cooler is ideally secured using even pressure simultaneously from opposite sides. For users who favor the "spread" method, the narrow end of a flexible business card works best by "trowelling" the compound from 90° angles until a thin, smooth spread is achieved, free of streaks, air pockets or voids. Patience, a strong light and attention to detail are key.
As you may already be aware, push-pins can be deceivingly tricky to get them fully inserted through the motherboard and properly latched. It's exceedingly easy to mis-attach a corner, which even the best of us have done, so take great care to avoid damaging a pin, and to fully seat the cooler to achieve the best thermal performance.
Further, the international "standard" for "normal" ambient room temperature is 22°C or 72°F, so for every degree ambient temperature is above normal, your Core temperatures will also be that much higher. This is an often overlooked but hugely important factor when users toss around Core temperature numbers like Gorilla fling-poo in a cage, especially when discussing idle temperatures.
Additionally, many users overlook the fact that "idle" means exactly that;
idle ... specifically, NO foreground activity, and only 1 or 2% CPU Utilization in Windows Task Manager. "Idle" does NOT mean a light workload with "tray trash" running in the background or YouTube running in a browser while typing in the Forums.
Comparing apples to apples is about minimizing and eliminating as many environmental, hardware and software variables as possible. So for thermal testing, we normalize our test results to standard ambient temperature, we test with case covers removed and fans at 100% RPM, and we run Prime95 v26.6 Small FFT's, because it's non-AVX stead-state 100% TDP workload which conforms to Intel's Datasheets.
... the Tcase max temp for the 4670 is 72 degrees, so 80 degrees is a bit high ...
PC Tailor,
Tcase has always been a confusing and very misleading Thermal Specification. Here's why:
When users of 6th Generation and earlier processors see their Thermal Specification at Intel’s Product Specifications website, most don’t realize what Tcase actually means. Since there are numerous software utilities for monitoring Core temperature, users
assume Tcase must be maximum
Core temperature. This is a basic misconception which has persisted since 2006.
Tcase is not Core temperature.
Tcase is IHS temperature, which is a factory only measurement using a thermocouple embedded into the IHS of an engineering sample. Retail processors don't have a thermocouple sensor, so users can't monitor IHS temperature. Tcase is intended to be used for designing cooling solutions. As Core temperatures are measured at the heat sources where temperatures are highest and can be monitored by users, but IHS temperature (Tcase) can't, Core temperature is the standard for thermal measurement. Accordingly, Tjunction (Tj Max) or "Throttle" temperature is the
limiting Thermal Specification;
not Tcase.
The Datasheets show both Tcase
and Tjunction (Tj Max) specifications for Desktop processors, but the website shows
only Tcase for 6th Generation and earlier, or
only Tjunction (Tj Max) for 7th Generation and later. Nonetheless, as the 6th Gen 6700 and 7th Gen 7700 are essentially the same, they have
identical Tcase and Tj Max specifications in their Datasheets. Mobile (laptop) processors don’t have an Integrated Heat Spreader, so they don’t have Tcase specifications; only Tj Max.
Intel’s move away from Tcase on their website synchronizes Desktop and Mobile Thermal Specifications. Although users can’t monitor Tcase (IHS temperature), it's a useful specification for developers of cooling solutions. So from Core 2 processors in 2006 to today's Core i processors, Tj Max has
always been the
limiting Thermal Specification;
not Tcase. For end users, this means
Tcase is an irrelevant Thermal Specification.
Respectfully, before you quote Tcase values in our Forums, as WildCard999 has suggested, please read our Guide so you can get yourself up to speed on this topic: Intel Temperature Guide -
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/intel-temperature-guide.1488337/
You'll find the full explanation revealing the misleading basis of the Tcase Thermal Specification within the Guide.
CT 😎
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