Hi all,
My first post here. So, please excuse me butting into this thread, but there is obviously a lot of talent here and maybe you guys can give me some quick guidance on an embarrasing matter.
I read this great thread with interest after designing/building/installing a gaming system for a friend in another country, monitoring the build remotely from Australia, so, I'm not "hands-on" per se.
I prematurely chose a 3770k for him, not knowing about the chip's heat issue until he tried playing BF3 with us online, and the resultant bios temp alarms alerted us shortly afterwards.
He's not an overclocker, but the GA-Z77 DS3H auto overclocked the CPU at default settings, upping the Vcore slightly in the process, and he immediately had at least one core @ 89*C running prime95, small FTT's, 8 threads running, with Aida64 reporting. Task manager showed all 4 cores @ 100%. Mobos "Turbo" set cpu to 3.8-3.9ghz or so, and the Vcore was then noted 1.1xx odd volts IIRC.
I aborted the test quickly, so no idea how high the temps would rise.
At first I was alarmed by the high temps, I've been out of the building loop for a few years and didn't realise core temps were ok over 70*C for this cpu, so we tried finding a solution and ended up here.
After considering this thread, we turned off the cpu's Turbo mode in bios and locked fan to 100% speed of +-2500rpm. The fan was only reaching 1800rpm at stock bios settings. I'll probably use the slope pwm later to slow it down when it's not under load, but guiding my friend remotely through an unfamiliar bios is painful to say the least.
He then obtained some decent TIM and re-seated the HSF.
Stock supplied Intel HSF used in cold environment with decent case ventilation. Removing the side covers netted a 3-4*C reduction in temps with a desk fan blowing across the opened case.
CPU now maxes @ 3.5ghz, priming for 1 hour stable (test conditions as above except for reduced CPU speed and resultant auto drop in Vcore) with temps only spiking to 79*C, probably averaging 76-78 with minimal core differences, and Aida64 reporting Vcore @ 1.080v and 52watts, well under the nominal 77w.
He's happy to run at that speed with no "Turbo" overclock which was taking it up to 3.8-3.9ghz or so as we originally observed, and the Vcore was then noted 1.1xx odd volts IIRC.
Temps still seem high to me, especially considering:
a) the cold environment the PC is in, (at the moment it's winter in a cold room)
b) Present max setting of 3.5ghz could accidently be reset to stock auto-overclock and he'll also get the slow default fan profile restored.
c) the present low Vcore. (Concerns me because of limited overhead?)
d) dust buildup through neglect
I'm a little worried that as next summer approaches he's going to run into trouble with temps. Also it's a shame he can't just leave the default "turbo" setting switched on in bios for a nice little "gamer's overclock", without risking a BBQ in his PC.
I showed him this thread, and he's not keen to attack his 3770k at all. I can't blame him really, (I want one to dissect!). His supplier at Overclocker's UK offered to replace or refund if his cpu (tested by them), was found to exhibit overheat symptoms, though in my experience, I've seen RMA tech's using platform games to test for overheat and I don't like his chances of them finding a problem, so he'll likely get stuck with a big testing bill if my prediction is correct, and still have the same cpu to take home
I'd recommend a big cooler, but if he's got the underlying CPU>IHS issue, it still may not provide a cure.
What do you guys think?