q9450 with Thermalright Ultima-90 Running Hot

SirMoby

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Oct 3, 2006
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Brand new build and my CPU temps are idling at 54 - 57. When running Prime I hit 59-63.

I'm using Arctic Silver 5, a thin line, Q9450, Thermalright Ultima 90, Scyth 92mm fan and Antec P182. The case fans are set at medium and air flow seems good since I can feel a good draw from the front panel. The fan on the heat sink is blowing through it and towards the back.

I think these temps are way too high.


I know that this sink is a little small but it still gets good rating and should do the trick. There's plenty of air flowing through the case.

I'll be out for about 1/2 the day but when I get back I'll pull the heat sink and double check everything but is there something special to check?

TIA

~Sir Moby
 

It's probably not set properly. Other than that, go into bios and disable fan auto control, then see temperature with full fan speed. If you do reset it, make sure the fan is directed so air is blown into one of the case exhaust fans.

That cooler is not ideal, since with heatsinks, size and weight matters. But it should still do far better than the temperatures you're getting.
 
Does your HS base look flat or convex? The Thermalrights are known to have a wicked curve in their base. Lapping the base would no doubt help you out but it takes some work.
 
It turns out to be Core Temp providing temperatures that are way high. I'm running EasyTune and it shows temps of 44 under 100% load.

I tried reseating the back plate of the 90 because one of the O rings was a little off but it didn't change things. It's nice to know that it's forgiving. I also installed the stock coolor. The temps are 15 degrees higher with the stock cooler.

Here's what I learned.

My Ultima 90 does about 15 degrees better then stock so it's a good unit. If Easy Tune is accurate my CPU probably won't go above 45.

It's not easy to remove a stock cooler without breaking a push pin 🙁

CoreTemp gives different temps in Windows 32 bit vs 64 bit (a few degrees) but not enough kill you.

There's enough Arctic Silver in a small tube to install at least 5 coolers. I know this one for sure :)

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.