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[BonzaiDuck]

IGP: Enabled (idle in desktop)
NO OVERCLOCK
HT: On
Turbo: On (so 3.7GHz with all cores loaded)
Ambient temp: ~20°C
TIM: Arctic Cooling MX-2

This is the 'black' Megahalems - it has some kind of stupid powder coating on it.

The fan is a Noctua NF-S12B on the motherboards auto controller (~650rpm at full load).

Temperature at full load: 58°C, 64°C, 68°C, 66°C

What do you guys think? I used approx. 6mm blob of MX-2 right in the center.

Have you read the threads on Ivy Bridge de-lidding projects? Those cores run hotter than they should for certain reasons - particularly a certain reason. Those temperatures are likely right at the stock turbo speed if you're loading up the processor.

The Megahalems -- more recent revisions -- are neck-and-neck with my NH-D14 as well as the Corsair H100 water-cooling system. Only IMHO, you could use a better TIM, but you wouldn't see temperatures drop more than 5C from those numbers.

Did you get the "K" processor or the version with the locked multiplier?

 

[soccerballtux]

NO OVERCLOCK????? WHY NOT????


6mm blob is a lot of compound

 

[BonzaiDuck]

NO OVERCLOCK????? WHY NOT????


6mm blob is a lot of compound

On one level, I would say for someone getting the "K" version that it would be silly not to do it -- whether it's a Sandy or an Ivy.

If he didn't buy the "K," or if he's testing the water and new to this, I wouldn't push him too hard about it.

 

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[BonzaiDuck]

Yes it's the locked chip. This isn't an overclocking system, and I'm not going to void the warranty by messing with the IHS. I might try re-seating with less TIM.

Should I use MX-2 again or the stuff that came with the Megahalems. Apparently it's not PK-1, but slightly inferior.

If you have no intention of OC'ing, it shouldn't matter that much. Anything I could tell you other than recommending other TIMs would void the warranty, and it won't matter much to your objective. MX-2 -- whatever it's made of -- has support here. Diamond paste, "metal pads" or "liquid metal" reduce the thermal resistance and perform better, to shave off a few degrees.

But with those temperatures, you needn't worry about it. That's what I say . . .

 

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[Termie]

OP - what exactly was your question? Whether your temps are too high?

They're not. Your fan is running at 650rpm. You're fine.

You want lower temps? First, increase your fan speed, obviously. Then drop your voltage below 1v, which should be possible at 3.7GHz. Don't bother with re-seating your fan or reapplying the MX-2.

 

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[BonzaiDuck]

OK' if you think the temp is normal with that amb and that fan, then I'm happy with that. It's extraordinarily quiet.

Any idea about the fluctuating idle though?

First, the reported idle temperatures on Intel sensors are not accurate; the temperatures under load are accurate, but they can vary in error by 5 or 6C.

Second, the sensors on the IB chip respond instantaneously -- or so it seems -- to temperature change. Any little computer activity for one core of the processor could make it jump, in my opinion.

 

[Idontcare]

Any idea about the fluctuating idle though?

That's normal for Ivy Bridge, mine dance between 27 and 38C, open task manager while your system is "idle" and you'll notice that even at idle there are enough background threads spuriously doing things that the CPU utilization is still ~2-3%.

All those microbursts of thread activity causes your CPU to jump through hoops with its power states, really makes the temps pop around, but it is real.

 

[coffeejunkee]

Full load means exactly what?

But in general sounds quite normal to me. You have the igp enabled so that would cause a little higher temps when compared to igp disabled. And a very low rpm fan while the megahalems like high airflow. Maybe a bit too much thermal paste but still, those temps are nothing to worry about.

 

[dma0991]

High fin density heatsinks like Megahalems should never be paired with a low RPM, low static pressure fan like the Noctua NF-S12B. You're not pushing enough air through the heatsink and temps will be higher than it needs to be. Using a faster fan could result in a 3-5C difference but it isn't necessary as your current idle and load temps are acceptable.

 

[2is]

Yeah nothing wrong with this temps