Quad 6600 at 65 degrees safe?

[duinchlfc]

Hi there,i recently got a new com with a quad 6600 psu,HD 4870 1 gig and 2 gig ram.I managed to overclock the psu to 3.4 ghz but the temperatures go up to 65 degrees on load.I've already have the fans at 100% rpm's.Is it running a little too hot? I'm using the stock cooler,should i invest in a market cooler instead to bring down the temperatures? Thanks

 

[randomizer]

65C is fine, actually it's quite good for the stock cooler.

 

[cliffro]

lol, I agree....although Im not sure my PSU lets me overclock it...I think Ultra locked its multiplier...... :lol:

 

[duinchlfc]

Oh really? haha thanks for the input guys.Anyway whats the safest i can reach? in this case i feel like pushing a little more,maybe 3.6 or 3.8 just to see how far i can go

 

[randomizer]

The estimated highest temperature for the cores is ~97C from testing. Is the 65C you mentioned your core temperatures or your "CPU" temperature? And what program are you monitoring with?

 

[duinchlfc]

its the core temp i think,i'm using core temp

 

[randomizer]

What does CoreTemp report Tj. Max as for your CPU?

 

[aeiouandxyz]

try real temp. core temp reads the temperatures around 5 C higher than real temp. if you're worried about temps, get an aftermarket cooler. its not too expensive and you can oc alot more. personally i prefer ones with mounting brackets. the push pins on the intel stock cooler are a b**** to put in.

 

[duinchlfc]

100 degrees so is that the safest max i can go for?

 

[randomizer]

I find them a pain to get out, not get in.

 

[duinchlfc]

Yeah i agree.i almost broke my mobo in two while pushing the pins in......

 

[randomizer]

100 degrees so is that the safest max i can go for?

If it is correct (and everything suggests that it is within a few degrees of that), then yes, it is. But you probably don't want to go that high anyway as the extra hot CPU may cause instability (never did for me, but your CPU is different). Keep it under 75C to maximise lifespan and stability.

 

[duinchlfc]

alright thanks for the advise! so i'll try to keep it below 70 degrees to be safe then.No reason to overclock so much now until the intensive and demanding games start popping out.

 

[randomizer]

Also the stock cooler will come to a point where it reaches thermal saturation (it can't transfer heat fast enough to cool the processor) and your temps will go up alot faster.

 

[Zorg]

100 degrees so is that the safest max i can go for?

What? Absolutely NOT!

That is the temp at which the cpu will start to throttle. You don't want to be anywhere near that. Keep it below 75C on the absolute outside, preferably under 70C, and even better at 65C.

CompuTronix put his blood into this guide and you should take the time to read it. At the higher temps you need to be concerned about Tcase. Here is a quick quote to hold you over until you can read the whole thing.

By the way, it's a sticky.

Core 2 Quad and Duo Temperature Guide

Scale 2: Quad
Q9x50: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping E0, TDP 95W, Idle 16W
Q9x50: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping C1, TDP 95W, Idle 16W
Q9400: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping R0, TDP 95W, Idle 16W
Q9300: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping M1, TDP 95W, Idle 16W
Q8200: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping M1, TDP 95W, Idle 16W
Q8200: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping R0, TDP 95W, Idle 16W
Q6x00: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping G0, TDP 95W, Idle 16W (Your CPU)

-Tcase/Tjunction-
--70--/--75--75--75--75-- Hot
--65--/--70--70--70--70-- Warm
--60--/--65--65--65--65-- Safe
--25--/--30--30--30--30-- Cool

 

[V3NOM]

ol pushpins were fine for me on both stock C2D cooler and my later purchased xiggy S963 i actually put em in a different way to what you're supposed to... its supposed to be diagonals at the same time eg top left+bottom right at the same time but i just did top left+top right first lol! and the bottoms went in ok and to this point in time, not loose or anything! W00T

 

[duinchlfc]

Okay folks for a newbie to overclocking,i managed to overclock my q6600 to 3.5ghz just by adjusting the fsb and making the ram to 1:1 ration and putting the fans on 100%.

I tried pushing to 3.6ghz but i came up with a blue screen.Is that the max i can go or do i have to go into voltages or some other settings now?

3.5ghz is running games like crysis and supreme commander very sweetly now but i have the urge to push it a little bit more,am i pushing my luck risking a total system burn?

 

[vinegarjoe]

@ Duinchlfc

Did you test for stability in Prime95? if not, you are not stable. And the BSOD is a prime example of instability. Thing is, just because you boot into windows and can run some of your games, it doesn't mean you are stable. Prime pushes your cpu to the max and tests the cpu's answers against known answers, and if it's wrong, it's b/c your cpu is not stable. Stressing the cpu in this way also gives you a true idea of what temps you'll face. Personally, I highly doubt you were able to get 3.5ghz stable without adding any voltage.

-edit

I sure hope that you are prime stable though. If you are: you got ONE HECK OF A GOOD CHIP

 

[duinchlfc]

thanks for the advice,first things first i gotta learn how to use prime 95 haha...i'm actually overclocking sort of blind haha...i'll get back with the results soon i hope Cheers

 

[vinegarjoe]

Get prime95 v25.6 from here: http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?t=9779

For cpu stability, use the small fft torture test. After 10 min or so your cpu will be at it's hottest. For rock solid stability you want to be able to run it for 24+ hours straight. For initial testing I do 1hr minimum, for mid grade testing I do 4-6hours. If one of the cores has a failure, it just means your OC is not stable. This can usually be fixed by upping the voltage (provided you haven't hit a wall)

 

[Zorg]

You might want to pick up a spare Q6600 before they are all gone. Based on your posts I think you might need it.

 

[V3NOM]

Duinchlfc your mobo probably has the cpu vcore at auto default..

 

[duinchlfc]

okay so i ran prime 95 and well into 10 mins the system just reboots itself.What does that mean? I don't see any errors though

 

[DigitalD]

It means your system is not stable. You MIGHT need to increase the voltage, but be aware that this will most likely increase temperatures. If I were you I would set everything back to default and get a better cooler like an OCZ Vendetta 2 which can lower your temps by up to 20 degrees.\

 

[V3NOM]

OCZ V2, Xigmatek HDT-S1283, Sunbeamtech Core Contact Freezer, all much of a muchness, only fractions of a degree between them really since they all use heat pipe touch technology... just a matter of size and noise ^^