I hate my prescott

[stevty2889]

I give up, don't know what else to try, stupid thing runs way too hot. I am using a P4 550 3.4ghz, D0 stepping, on an Abit AS8 motherboard, thermalright XP-120, with a 98.6cfm fan, and artic silver 5, and can't keep my load temps below 70c, even underclocking to 3.2ghz. Load temps go to between 70 and 74c weather underclocked or overclocked. I have removed and re-installed the heatsink and re-applied the thermal paste 5 times, and always get the same results. Gets up to 70c, and thermal throttling kicks in. My 3.2ghz ES runs at about 63c max at 3.6ghz(highest stable OC) on the same motherboard, with the same heatsink, and running at the same temp on the gigabyte motherboard I moved it to, with a thermaltake jungle 512. The 3.4 runs stable at 3.74ghz, but what good does it do when it's throttling even when underclocked...short of water cooling I don't know what else to do with this crap chip..

 

[karma17]

buy a new one

 

[stevty2889]

yeah, thats not exactly a possiblity..can't afford to buy another, but if anyone has any ideas on how to actualy cool this thing down enough that it doesn't throttle, that would be great...

 

[Shenkoa]

Maybe the AS8 is reporting the temps wrong. That is very hot, even for a prescott.

 

[Vee]

P4s rated above 3.2 can be a pain. My sympathy (from one that has suffered thremendously from throttling).

First of all, check if your heatsink is hot enough to make the temperature or the AS5 interphase layer credible.

I understand the XP-120 to be an impressive heatsink, but I've had no immediate contact with one. Is the bottom base copper? I think you should aim for a HS with copper base.

If your HS isn't hot enough, you either have a too large temp jump across CPU - heatsink, or your temp readings are false.
Try "throttlewatch" (google for it) if you haven't already. If throttling kicks in, it doesn't matter much if your temps are right or not, you still have a problem.
If you think your HS could be a bit hotter, considering a 70+C cpu at the bottom of it, there is one final thing you could try. With a very good surface finish on your HS, try an extremely thin layer of white silicon heatpaste instead of AS5. It's a bit difficult to get it really, really thin. It should be really, really thin and evenly spread from the start. You're aiming for less than one tenth of the thickness of a AS5 layer. Don't spread any on the HS. and try to get it as thin as you can, while still fairly even. It should be quite transparant. Of course, your cpu and HS should be ABSOLUTELY clean to start with. We are basically trying to avoid even dust particles here.

OTOH, if your HS is quite hot, you should question if your fan is blowing in the right direction. It should blow air ONTO the heatsink! Not suck from it. This is important, since it increases the exchange of air in the boundary layer considerably, much improving cooling. Secondly, consider if your airflow through the case is sufficient.

If you can't get it to work under sustained load without throttling, I think you're entitled to a replacement. Of course, what I think don't matter so much. Still, if you can't rma it, try contacting Intel directly.

 

[Wisey]

It is important for the AS5 to be applied correctly. Applying too much will affect the conductivity.

 

[stevty2889]

I have cleaned and re-applied the artic silver several times, always using a thin layer. I was using throttle watch thats how I knew for sure it was throttling. Again, with my 3.2e engineering sample, it ran at 3.6ghz and maxed out at 63c on the same board, in the same case, with the same heatsink. I moved it to a differant PC, because I didn't want to use an engineering sample in my main rig, and it is getting the same temps on a differant motherboard, although with a differant heatsink, so I don't think the abit motherboard is really reporting the temps wrong, even though I have heard abit's have a tendency to report a bit high. I was considering using a Zalman 7000CU, but it won't fit on my motherboard, because the northbridge heatsink would get in the way of it. The XP-120 has a nickle plated copper base. I may try moving the thermaltake jungle 512 from the other PC to this one, but it will be a bit of a pain, since I'll have to take out the motherboard to be able to remove the mount for the XP-120. I do have some other types of thermal paste, so I may give those a try as well. The fan is blowing on to the heatsink, although thermalright says it should work as effectivly both ways. I'll try your suggestions, and let you know how things turn out, thanks..

 

[JohnAn2112]

Have you tried updating to the newest BIOS to see if that fixes any incorrect temp readings? Also, try using Motherboard Monitor 5 to see what that tells you as well.

 

[miketheidiot]

just a question, but what are your case temps? Are all your fans running?

 

[Duvie]

How is the case cooling??? Have you tried doing some duct modding??? Does having case open effect the temps much???

I think the temps are probably as right as any board reporting temps...throttlewatch is just confimring the obvious..Throtlingdoes not kick based on motherboard but its own internal findings.....

Maybe you have a bad chip...maybe it has poor coonection of IHS to the core....

 

[o1die]

I had a similar problem with my overclocked northwood. I changed power supplies to one with a big side fan. Fortron, sparkle, tti (superflower) and coolmax all make models with the 12 or 14cm side fan. It lowered my cpu temps by 3-5 celcius under load. The sparkle model I run was only $35 shipped at newegg.

 

[Zebo]

1. Thin layer, almost cloudy, of thermal compound on HS and DIE..just enough to fill microscopic vallys.

2. Tweak (i.e. bend) those xp120 springs so they put MAJOR pressure on CPU upon fastening.

this should reduce temps by 5C with practice.

 

[karma17]

i had exactly the same problem and i found that the hsf wasnt mounted properly i.e. one of the pins was loose. I then remounted the hsf and almost bowed my mainboard at the same time but in doing so, my temps dropped from 60-64 to 40-45. As soon as i would switch on my pc first thing in the morning, it would register 61 degrees. Now, 40 degrees. So maybe you should invest in a cpu cooler or check to see that its mounted properly. Today i will be mounting the zalman 7700cu so ill see how that baby cools.

 

[Sc4freak]

That is certainly interesting. I love my Prescott, idleing 45C and on load 63C. The Thermalright XP-120 is pretty much the best heatsink you can get, it's base is copper coated in nickel. Either you don't have enough case ventilation or your mobo is reading the temps wrong (I heard Abit mobos are notorious for doing so).

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: Sc4freak
That is certainly interesting. I love my Prescott, idleing 45C and on load 63C. The Thermalright XP-120 is pretty much the best heatsink you can get, it's base is copper coated in nickel. Either you don't have enough case ventilation or your mobo is reading the temps wrong (I heard Abit mobos are notorious for doing so).

Too bad you need a beast hsf like that to still get 63c load temps....I see for some ppl reporting throttling was kicking in at 66c to 70c.....Doesn't give much headroom...

Defintely stock hsf dont have a chance at these speeds...

 

[stevty2889]

My case temps are in the mid 30's, buts to about 38-39c when the CPU is under full load. THe heatsink seems to be making good contact, it is hot to the touch when the CPU is under full load. I have a 120mm intake fan, and a 120mm exauhst fan, and a side fan that is blowing in to the cpu fan. The temps actualy increase a bit by opening the side of the case. My other prescott is a 3.2 engineering sample, with a thermaltake jungle it is idleing at 39c, and maxes out at 63c after even 18hours of prime95. When I had it on this motherboard, it had the same max temp of 63c, with the XP-120. I cleaned the artic silver off and tried applying a silicon based thermal compound, with no improvements to temp. I did update the BIOS as well to see if it would change the reported temps, but again, no effect. I am gonna try and see if I can do some kind of ducting from the side fan to the xp-120.

 

[Amaroque]

Instead of working around the problem, fix the problem...

Either get a Northwood, or an A64.

 

[beatle]

Thermal grease on P4s and A64s with IHS should NOT be spread out in a thin layer. According to Arctic Silver's instructions, you should use a tiny dab in the center of the heatsink and let the pressure of the heatsink spread it out naturally.

 

[Amaroque]

Originally posted by: beatle
Thermal grease on P4s and A64s with IHS should NOT be spread out in a thin layer. According to Arctic Silver's instructions, you should use a tiny dab in the center of the heatsink and let the pressure of the heatsink spread it out naturally.

I've tried it both ways. It doesn't seem to make much of any discernable difference.

 

[Dough1397]

i thought the prescottts had labelling in the manual or box tellign users teh case temp MUST be under 38 Celcius?

 

[stevty2889]

I've tried both ways for the thermal compound as well. A thin layer spread out over the IHS, a small blob in the center, pushing down and twisting the heatsink(artic silvers directions), thin layer on the heatsink, and then pushing down, thin layer on both the heatsink and and the cpu. Same results every way.

 

[Duvie]

I think the case temps may be too high....IMy case temps are just about 2c over room temp and under load go to like 6c over room temp....Since my room is a constant 66-68f (20c) I only see like 26c under load....I think if you have 30c then the case temps are 86f and the room is like 82f...if iot is not then maybe that is the sign of bad case coling...

Ofcourse this is all academic cause who knows where that sensor is and is it really measuring case air or is it being affected by some nearby heat source.

 

[Vee]

First, I think you should make some contacts to see if you can get a replacement cpu.

Your heatsink is hot. Fine, that's good. Then you should start to think about what you can do to cool the heatsink better. Blowing harder will always help. Quite a bit too.

Also, Can you lower voltage?

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Vee
First, I think you should make some contacts to see if you can get a replacement cpu.

Your heatsink is hot. Fine, that's good. Then you should start to think about what you can do to cool the heatsink better. Blowing harder will always help. Quite a bit too.

Also, Can you lower voltage?

Yup get a deep throw 38mm x 120mm fan like this panaflo.
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556001096.html

I've actually tested several fans and found this to have the most effceint blade design. CFM/RPM.

this is poor mans watercooling.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Vee
First, I think you should make some contacts to see if you can get a replacement cpu.

Your heatsink is hot. Fine, that's good. Then you should start to think about what you can do to cool the heatsink better. Blowing harder will always help. Quite a bit too.

Also, Can you lower voltage?

I can't lower the voltage below default, it only lets me increase voltage. Even underclocked at default voltage it still gets up to 70c. The fan is a 120mm fan pushing 98.3cfm. The base of the heatsink is hot, but it's a lot cooler near the top where the fan is. It's an OEM chip that I got off of ebay, but maybe Intel will help me out, can't hurt to try. I'd like to avoid water cooling since I prefer to keep my PC on at all times.