Hello all! On January 21st (a week ago) I upgraded my aging (but perfectly functional) AMD Phenom II X4 945 to the AMD FX-8350 (both Black Editions) and was wondering if I needed to change my heatsink or upgrade to a new one. FYI: I did test out the stock heatsink it came with, but it idled at 50C-60C.
Maybe it is because I so used to cool temps on the Phenom and my Zalman, but I noticed that it runs, on average, about 36-45 C on idle (according to Core Temp and AMD Overdrive). The Phenom, in the summer heat (ambient 100 F) would get no hotter than 40 C.
Now, running The Sims 3 with six (6) expansions, it would stick around 50-55 C. I haven't dared try anything more intensive. One-minute and five-minute stress tests using AMD Overdrive haven't put any of the "cores" above 46 C, but TMPIN has gotten up to 55 C. Cool n' Quiet and Auto Voltage were turned off last week to help, but with the Phenom everything was automated in the BIOS.
I am using the Zalman Fanmate 2 fan controller to manually adjust the CPU fan speed, which I keep on 2200 RPM. I did this because the fan speed fluctuations were happening so often (and on idle with both heatsinks) that it was pissing me off. With this mobo and RAM, the clearance for the heatsink is no greater than 110mm wide. That's the major issue.
MY RIG (** I do not overclock anything, ever **):
~ Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5%, X-Method
My cable management is what I consider "okay". I have three exhaust fans: one in the rear, one to the left, one on top. I have one intake fan in the lower front. As soon I get some screen mesh, I plan on putting a 180 intake on the bottom. I tried to funnel air bottom-to-top, front-to-back and leftward.
My chassis supports a liquid cooling system, but my budget for a heatsink is around $30 (I might splurge a little on a cheap Noctua). So, what does the community recommend for a heatsink, given my limited 110mm wide clearance? Or maybe I just need to let the thermal compound cure? The Zalman was reinstalled on today (the CPU has been installed/cleaned three times thus far).
Thank you for any input you may provide! I appreciate it. 😀
PS: I noticed after removing some compound (AS5) that dribbled on the sides of my CPU after testing and reseating, there was corrosion on the sides. My Phenom, which always had dribbling on the sides, did not have any corrosion. Thoughts?
[[ SOLVED? ]]
Cooler Master Hyper T2 (BUT NOT FOR THIS CPU; AMBIENT TEMPS OVER 25C MAY CAUSE OVERHEATING!)
Maybe it is because I so used to cool temps on the Phenom and my Zalman, but I noticed that it runs, on average, about 36-45 C on idle (according to Core Temp and AMD Overdrive). The Phenom, in the summer heat (ambient 100 F) would get no hotter than 40 C.
Now, running The Sims 3 with six (6) expansions, it would stick around 50-55 C. I haven't dared try anything more intensive. One-minute and five-minute stress tests using AMD Overdrive haven't put any of the "cores" above 46 C, but TMPIN has gotten up to 55 C. Cool n' Quiet and Auto Voltage were turned off last week to help, but with the Phenom everything was automated in the BIOS.
I am using the Zalman Fanmate 2 fan controller to manually adjust the CPU fan speed, which I keep on 2200 RPM. I did this because the fan speed fluctuations were happening so often (and on idle with both heatsinks) that it was pissing me off. With this mobo and RAM, the clearance for the heatsink is no greater than 110mm wide. That's the major issue.
MY RIG (** I do not overclock anything, ever **):
- AMD FX-8350 Black Edition CPU
- Zalman CNPS9500A-LED Heatsink
- 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 SDRAM (<-- Primary Issue)
- EVGA GeForce 680 GTX GPU
- Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 MOBO
- XION Supernova XON-800R14N 800W ATX12V Power Supply
- Cooler Master HAF 932 Chassis
~ Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5%, X-Method
My cable management is what I consider "okay". I have three exhaust fans: one in the rear, one to the left, one on top. I have one intake fan in the lower front. As soon I get some screen mesh, I plan on putting a 180 intake on the bottom. I tried to funnel air bottom-to-top, front-to-back and leftward.
My chassis supports a liquid cooling system, but my budget for a heatsink is around $30 (I might splurge a little on a cheap Noctua). So, what does the community recommend for a heatsink, given my limited 110mm wide clearance? Or maybe I just need to let the thermal compound cure? The Zalman was reinstalled on today (the CPU has been installed/cleaned three times thus far).
Thank you for any input you may provide! I appreciate it. 😀
PS: I noticed after removing some compound (AS5) that dribbled on the sides of my CPU after testing and reseating, there was corrosion on the sides. My Phenom, which always had dribbling on the sides, did not have any corrosion. Thoughts?
[[ SOLVED? ]]
Cooler Master Hyper T2 (BUT NOT FOR THIS CPU; AMBIENT TEMPS OVER 25C MAY CAUSE OVERHEATING!)
Last edited: