Problem with CPU cooler, CPU reaches 93C using prime95

[Omar Khan]

Hello Tom's Hardware community

I'm sorry I keep posting various questions about this and I am extremely great full and hopefully this will be the last one.

I have an Enermax Ets T50 cooler on my i7-6700k

Previously I had problems with my idle temp where it was idling around 50C-60C. Now imediately on boot, I can now get my idle in the low 30s, but as soon as I do anything, open a web browser, open a program, use MS paint, it would go in the constant mid 60s until I close all programs.

I thought this was still way too high and decided to see what would happen if I used a cpu stress test and load my cpu. Using prime95 My cpu immediately went to 91C and a less than a minute later went to 93C. I used the pea method when placing the thermal paste and, as evenly as I could, pressed and screwed the radiator.

Here is a picture of the thermal paste spread after taking the cooler off.
http://imgur.com/a/fRyXs

Is this temp normal, and if not, What else can I do?

 

[Eximo]

Looks like you slightly overdid it on the paste, but that is probably a good thing for a cooler like that. All the grooves between the pipes and aluminum block need to be filled.

According the specs, and just the size of the thing, it should be doing better under a full load. Idle temps are a bit miraculous. However, that depends on the voltage you are running and any overclock. If you are using the stock settings, then it is likely the motherboard is supplying too much voltage to the chip to insure stability. You can probably back it down a few notches.

P95 is a punishing test, and if you are using a recent release, it is really too much. P95 26.2 is the one to use I believe. Newer Intel CPUs have a lot of instruction sets that P95 can take advantage of, but they aren't used for other tasks in general, and not simultaneously with everything else, usually.

 

[Omar Khan]

Looks like you slightly overdid it on the paste, but that is probably a good thing for a cooler like that. All the grooves between the pipes and aluminum block need to be filled.

According the specs, and just the size of the thing, it should be doing better under a full load. Idle temps are a bit miraculous. However, that depends on the voltage you are running and any overclock. If you are using the stock settings, then it is likely the motherboard is supplying too much voltage to the chip to insure stability. You can probably back it down a few notches.

P95 is a punishing test, and if you are using a recent release, it is really too much. P95 26.2 is the one to use I believe. Newer Intel CPUs have a lot of instruction sets that P95 can take advantage of, but they aren't used for other tasks in general, and not simultaneously with everything else, usually.

Sorry I didn't quite understand what you're meaning by "All the grooves between the pipes and aluminum block need to be filled". Because most of my CPU was covered in thermal paste, I do not think I can cover anymore of the area on the radiator. Also, in the picture it looks like some thermal paste has spilled over and is on the side next to the bracket, It actually has not

As far as settings go, they are all in stock settings, brand new MOBO and brand new CPU with no changes in the bios.

For p95, I saw a few people use it for their i7-6700ks and I just wanted to use it as a reference to see where I would hit as far as temps go not to really test it's performance and temps as far as real life performance. My ambient room temp was between 69-72F btw

 

[Eximo]

Not sure what brought up the radiator...

All about surface contact, and that type of cooler is not as flat as it appears. Each heatpipe was pressed into that aluminum block and then ground down. At each interface is a small air gap, air is an insulator. It should be filled with thermal compound.

The heat spreader on an Intel chip is about three times the size of the chip, which is rectangular. Depending on the orientation, some of the heatpipes are a but superfluous.

What you need to do is see what the voltage reaches under a full load. It is likely higher than it needs to be. This is done so that any off the shelf chip is guaranteed to work and be stable. The majority of chips need a lot less voltage.

One way to cover it is to go through a Skylake overclocking guide and try and squeeze the most performance out of your CPU. By manually setting the voltages and offsets you can probably take 10 degrees off of your absolute maximum, and keep it in the 70s during normal use.

 

[Omar Khan]

Not sure what brought up the radiator...

All about surface contact, and that type of cooler is not as flat as it appears. Each heatpipe was pressed into that aluminum block and then ground down. At each interface is a small air gap, air is an insulator. It should be filled with thermal compound.

The heat spreader on an Intel chip is about three times the size of the chip, which is rectangular. Depending on the orientation, some of the heatpipes are a but superfluous.

What you need to do is see what the voltage reaches under a full load. It is likely higher than it needs to be. This is done so that any off the shelf chip is guaranteed to work and be stable. The majority of chips need a lot less voltage.

One way to cover it is to go through a Skylake overclocking guide and try and squeeze the most performance out of your CPU. By manually setting the voltages and offsets you can probably take 10 degrees off of your absolute maximum, and keep it in the 70s during normal use.

Okay, I'll go ahead slowly lower the voltage. But as far as testing stability at a lower voltage goes, is there anything you suggest using to test that? Unless it's something ill find in an overclocking guide, then don't worry about that.

I have not reinstalled the cooler yet, but before I do, you were suggesting that I use slightly less then what is shown in the linked photo, correct?

Update, SO i reinstalled my CPU cooler and currently getting 31-32C with the spurratic 55C on idle and with my cpu fan at 100%. BUT, as soon as a program is loaded be it, a web browser or ms paint. it goes to the 60s and stays there even after all the programs are closed.

I checked my voltageand it is at 1.248V which is the default with the updated bios and drivers. I looked into the issue that mobo companies were using a slightly higher voltage for skylake, but that was for previous drivers and bios.

 

[Eximo]

This is one of the odd use cases where pre-applying the paste to the cooler is a good idea. What I like to do is do an application, place it down on the CPU to check the spread (gives you an idea on the amount needed), remove it and 'clean' the bottom of the cooler. This really lets you force compound into the joints and defects in the surface.

I saw this with a off brand cooler I had, my thermaltake tuniq 120, and the Evo 212 I am using temporarily right now. The second application produces much better results.

P95 is okay, just have to make sure the settings are correct or to use the older version.

http://overclocking.guide/stability-testing-with-prime-95/

 

[Omar Khan]

This is one of the odd use cases where pre-applying the paste to the cooler is a good idea. What I like to do is do an application, place it down on the CPU to check the spread (gives you an idea on the amount needed), remove it and 'clean' the bottom of the cooler. This really lets you force compound into the joints and defects in the surface.

I saw this with a off brand cooler I had, my thermaltake tuniq 120, and the Evo 212 I am using temporarily right now. The second application produces much better results.

P95 is okay, just have to make sure the settings are correct or to use the older version.

http://overclocking.guide/stability-testing-with-prime-95/

After doing this, i am pretty sure the CPU cooler is not the Issue.

Thanks Eximo for all your Help!!!!!

Also thanks for the OC guide will def use.