Pentium D 950 - CPU/Motherboard Temp Concerns`

[MobiusMuse]

I have recently built/configured a new system with the following spec:

Intel Pentium D 950 LGA775 - Presler Dual Core 3.4Ghz
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
2Gb Corsair XMS2 PC6400
ATI Radeon X1900 XTX
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 7200RPM SATA
Plextor Plexwriter PX-716SA/SW 16x DVD/RW
PC Power & Cooling 510 SLI-PFC 510W PS
COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN1 Full Tower
Dell 3007WFP 30" Flat Panel display
Windows XP Pro (sp2)
DirectX 9.0c

My concern is the thermal baseline and top-end temp readings I'm getting.

My baseline CPU temp is about 48C and Motherboard 44C. When putting the videocard and proc through its paces with games like HL2, the CPU has topped out at around the 67C mark -- this is with the current Intel retail heatsink and paste. I have just today ordered the Zalman CNPS9500 heatsink and a tube of Artic Silvers paste.

My question is A: is a baseline of nearly 50C on the CPU standard for this chip? and B: with the Zalman cooler and new paste, what range should the CPU be idling and topping out at?

Any feedback would be great.

 

[rushfan]

Your temperatures sound pretty average, though I have been using a 9xx CPU for just a couple of days and have no real experience to draw upon.

My 915 is overclocked to 4003 MHz at 1.36v using a Zalman 9500 and Arctic Silver 5 (well, OCZ Ultra 5+ which is supposedly rebranded AS/5) and my idle temps are 44c - 47c and at 100% load, both cores, 67c - 70c. I never used the stock fan or ran the CPU at stock speed so I don't have a baseline to compare to. I do know that while running 300 MHz faster than my "old" 805, the CPU is 4-5 degrees cooler under all conditions.

I didn't apply the thermal paste quite right, acording to the AS/5 website (http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm). I applied a thin coat over the entire surface of the heat spreader, as I have done in the past. Apparently, I should have used a 1/2 BB sized drop in the center of the heat spreader, directly above the CPU core, and then given the HSF a slight twist in each direction before fastening it permanently. Too bad that I learned this AFTER putting everything together! I'm going to redo it after posting this response because I'm never going to be satisfied knowing that I could have done it a little better. I'll give it a few days to settle and will report back with the results.