I5 2500k heat/voltage issues

[TheAdvocate]

Sig rig below.

My issue is that my CPU is overheating to 85 Celcius+ everytime it comes under load. I have been toying with the overclock, and even running it in default, doesnt matter.

The only consistent thing is that no matter what I do in the Asus UEFI BIOS, the monitor says that I am running at 1.3V+ Vcore, which I believe is the problem. I cant seem to drop the voltage...

Help?

 

[dma0991]

Overclocked CPU + Tiny heatsink + Cramped case + GPU hot air = Answer

 

[Rvenger]

Unfortunately with smaller cases like yours, its going to be difficult to redirect the air since you seem to be limited to the size of the cooler you can run on your CPU. I am also assuming you have the type of videocard that dispurses the air in the case right?

 

[TheAdvocate]

Thread bump.

Yes I have a tight case with a GPU that dumps air in the case, but I proved over the weekend that the primary issue is with the VCore. Anything over 1.3V has an almost exponential effect on temps.

Been running it stock "turbo" (3.7 Ghz) @ 1.2V core and the load temp only goes to the high 40's, and finally hit 60 after a BF3 marathon session (luckily I am still getting highly playable framerates, but I miss the extra frames all the same.

So, I still dont understand what i am doing wrong to at least attempt a 4.2GHz OC at somwhere under 1.3Vcore (if it's not stable, so be it). I must be doing something wrong in BIOS.

As for the case heat issue, I just bought these:

AOC FC-2000 PCI Slot Case Cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835888309

SILVERSTONE SCOOL81 80mm Case Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220028

There are spots for two 80mm fans behind the CPU, but I just bought one. I think one could easily exhuast the small amount of air there.

And the case cooler claims 42CFM.

We'll see. I'm trying not to turn the box into a jet engine in terms of noise. That Silverstone fan is a bit pricier than a lot of other ones, but it is supposed to be around 16-17 db @ load.

I'd love some help with the BIOS settings though. Thinking maybe I put this in the wrong forum.

 

[dma0991]

You have a small heatsink to begin with and a cramped casing only makes it worse. You could only stress that small heatsink to a certain point that it will falter and becomes less efficient when it comes to heat dissipation. In case you didn't notice how big the Noctua NH-D14 is, size really matters.

 

[Kenmitch]

Been running it stock "turbo" (3.7 Ghz) @ 1.2V core and the load temp only goes to the high 40's, and finally hit 60 after a BF3 marathon session (luckily I am still getting highly playable framerates, but I miss the extra frames all the same. So, I still dont understand what i am doing wrong to at least attempt a 4.2GHz OC at somwhere under 1.3Vcore (if it's not stable, so be it). I must be doing something wrong in BIOS.

Not sure how you tried to overclock your chip or how much voltage it'll take to get you stable at 4.2ghz as it'll very from chip to chip.

If you wanna try for 4.2ghz again and see I've got some suggestions for you.

Change the vcore from auto to offset mode. Use the + value and then use and offset of 0.020v's to start at the 42x multiplier and then use something to monitor the vcore and load it with something like Intel Burn Test. < Just use default settings and hit start while watching the vcore. If it's still high then you'll need to reduce the offset value. If it look way to low then you'll need to up the offset value a little bit. Make sure you keep an eye on temps as it'll be a hard heavy load!

 

[TheAdvocate]

How is the scythe a small heatsink/fan? Do you know what you're talking about?

Low profile is not small. It's massive, and has a 120mm fan on it.

I've owned a ton of HSF's in my day, and while it's not the top of the line, it's the biggest one I have ever owned by a longshot. It also has very good ratings for OCing from the leading HSF sites.

I am also not shooting for some kind of 5.0Ghz overclock. 4.2Ghz stable without heat issues will do just fine.

Again, the issue is the VCore. I have seen it discussed in a lot of other forums.

 

[TheAdvocate]

ken, thanks for the suggestions.

One thing I forgot to say is that my mobo has a cmos reset button that my idiot brother pushed. Prior to that, i had been running @ 4.2Ghz on stock hardware for months with no issues (aside from a flakey SSD - my fault for buying OCZ). It reset my BIOS to defaults. I did it the first time and I thought I did it the same way again, but I must have done something wrong.

Will try your suggestions.

 

[Araemo]

You link to frostytech, but look at the comparisons(Maybe load a newer review and see where it places (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2419&page=5 ).. it's not very good compared to many other modern heatsinks.

That said, remember that CPUs are semiconductors.. as the heat increases, so does resistance internal to the CPU, which means you need to up vCore to overcome the increased resistance.. but higher vCore produces more heat. So, if it's running into heat issues.. either A: you have a bad sample of the CPU, and it's just not handling the voltage as well as most of them, or B: you have too much heat in your case and the CPU is getting too hot.

 

[Araemo]

I also second the offset voltage though.. that's what I'm using for my overclock mentioned below.. ~75 degrees on the hottest core with 4-thread prime95 large running. AI Suite does report voltage as 1.32V at 4.4Ghz though.

 

[TheAdvocate]

yeah I use AI Suite to mointor temps, etc.

It may be that I have to run over 1.3 Vcore to get that kind of OC. If that's the case, it's me versus the tiny case over heat, starting with my extra fans solution.

I think if comes down to that, Im gonna throw in the towel, sell the GD05 case (great case, just not for this), and buy a Corsair 500R.

It's been a fun, if frustrating at times, project, to attempt to build a performance oriented HTPC. I knew that going in, but I really thought the nearly problem free run from October-Jan meant I had solved it.

 

[dma0991]

How is the scythe a small heatsink/fan? Do you know what you're talking about?

It is definitely not the best heatsink that I would consider doing an overclock with. In this review, it did not even have a delta temp comparable even to the CM Hyper TX3. While the cooler that I mentioned are not low profile and will definitely not fit your casing, I'm just pointing out that your heatsink is at it's limits.

If you firmly believe that it is not the fault of the heatsink then I will leave to the others to give an alternative solution that might work.

 

[Araemo]

One possible solution.. I don't know what thermal compound you're using, but some of them have been known to 'dry out' (I don't think that's the technical explanation, but it's good enough to get the point across) and need re-application after a period of time. It might be worth trying that since you HAD a successful overclock with the same hardware previously.

 

[Rvenger]

When you say it is overheating, what are you doing/running on it? Intelburntest, Prime 95? I have had (2) 2500k CPUs, one ran at 4.3ghz @ 1.3v and this one runs at 4.4@ 1.18v. Between the 2 cpus, the load temps are exactly the same on the same cooler. I honestly believe frequency has more of an effect on heat than voltage with these chips.

That is a low profile cooler blowing hot air externally from the case into the cpu and motherboard. Simply that kind of design is flawed in itself due to all the other components around it blocking heat dissipation. Your temps would decrease ~20c if you added a tower cooler. I understand you cannot use a tower cooler which puts you at a disadvantage to overclock in that case with acceptable temps. If you were using the stock cooler right now, your temps would hit 100c+.


EDIT: I just went from a Radeon 5850 (Blew hot air outside of case through the vent) to a Galaxy GTX 560 and that blows hot air into the case. My case temps raised ~8-10c under load in an Antec 300 case. In your case I would try to setup some more fans for negative pressure in your type of setup. Make sure you have more exhaust than intake in a case like that.

 

[TheAdvocate]

You link to frostytech, but look at the comparisons(Maybe load a newer review and see where it places (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2419&page=5 ).. it's not very good compared to many other modern heatsinks.

It's not on the list. Big Shuriken. Not regular shuriken. That's not the same one. Uses a smaller fan, etc. It's also older. The Big Shuriken was kinda like the 2.0 revision. More effective.

 

[Kenmitch]

ken, thanks for the suggestions.

One thing I forgot to say is that my mobo has a cmos reset button that my idiot brother pushed. Prior to that, i had been running @ 4.2Ghz on stock hardware for months with no issues (aside from a flakey SSD - my fault for buying OCZ). It reset my BIOS to defaults. I did it the first time and I thought I did it the same way again, but I must have done something wrong.

Will try your suggestions.

LMK if you need anymore suggestions/help. PM or reply in thread.

Tip: Modern motherboards allow you to save profiles which can be used in times of need like your current situation.

 

[TheAdvocate]

When you say it is overheating, what are you doing/running on it? Intelburntest, Prime 95?

That is a low profile cooler blowing hot air externally from the case into the cpu and motherboard. Simply that kind of design is flawed in itself due to all the other components around it blocking heat dissipation. Your temps would decrease ~20c if you added a tower cooler. I understand you cannot use a tower cooler which puts you at a disadvantage to overclock in that case with acceptable temps. If you were using the stock cooler right now, your temps would hit 100c+.

I have two 120mm intake fans blowing right on it. I mean right on it. Like maybe 5mm away from it. They move a good amount of air at load.

Again, let's not overlook that I ran this rig @ 4.2GHz (actually 4.4 Ghz for a while, but the fans where whining so I throttled down), for nearly 3 mos., then suddenly had that BIOS reset where I am willing to bet I introduced user error to the equation. I had used some settings from similar ASUS UEFI/2500k users on [H] forums and it worked great. I'd hit maybe 69/70 celcius on the cpu after a 5 hour gaming session.

Come to think of it, I may still have those somewhere.

 

[Araemo]

It's not on the list. Big Shuriken. Not regular shuriken. That's not the same one. Uses a smaller fan, etc. It's also older. The Big Shuriken was kinda like the 2.0 revision. More effective.

Actually, according to their tests, it isn't more effective:
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2425&page=5

I actually got close to making that my choice of heatsink until I decided I wanted to overclock this time around.. but I chose a case to make it easy.

In either case.. I hope you can get your original overclock back.. I had an E8400 that was stable at 3.2Ghz (Not much of an overclock, but stock intel cooler..) until a USB port went bad and forced me to reset bios to get things booting again.. never could get it stable overclocked again after that... but I may have just forgotten some tiny little setting I had used. This actually just happened back in November.. and then I ordered my new stuff at the end of December. ;P

Edit: I'll try and check back in on this thread tonight when I get home - I can check my UEFI settings for you if you want then.

Edit2: My 6950 does vent into the case.. so that's probably part of why my temps get to 75.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback. Sorry if I sound combatative. Don't mean to. I'm pleased to get so many ideas.

Plan of attack:

1) Check thermal compound on CPU
2) Introduce much more negative pressure on case, starting with the two fans i ordered
3) Double check offset settings/power profile for errors (its going to be something I am absolutely missing if there is one)
4) Screw it, sell GD05, buy 500R case, and buy dma0991 a beer and bump his rep
5) listen to wife bitch about how I waste money on my hobbies (step 5 is unavoidable)

Oh, and step 2.5 - I am seriously thinking about moving my GPU to the 2nd PCIE slot (only 8x). If that article on the front page of AT is right, I will lose like .0001% performance going from 16x to 8x, but gain more separation between my two biggest heat sources.

 

[Araemo]

Just for the record.. try with the extra case fan but without the slot cooler.. if you don't want noise, you're going to hate the slot cooler.. (Just an educated guess, but those fan designs tend to be horrible compared to the classic case fans..) While a good case fan like you bought will likely not add much noise (depends on the fan grille your case has, but starting with a low noise fan is a good thing).

 

[Charlie98]

I don't know how I missed this thread...

I'm having somewhat of the same problem (rig in sig below.) Running LinX at full memory I'm getting to 80C with a 4.10GHz OC... and that's in a HAF922 with 4 case fans and 2 on the 212+... It's dead-on stable, but I don't like those temps.... and this, mind you, is without a GPU.

I'm having a bit of a time getting a straight reading on the Vcore, I'll have to try AI Suite...

 

[Araemo]

I don't know how I missed this thread...

I'm having somewhat of the same problem (rig in sig below.) Running LinX at full memory I'm getting to 80C with a 4.10GHz OC... and that's in a HAF922 with 4 case fans and 2 on the 212+... It's dead-on stable, but I don't like those temps.... and this, mind you, is without a GPU.

I'm having a bit of a time getting a straight reading on the Vcore, I'll have to try AI Suite...

What settings are you running? 4.1Ghz was effortless on mine with the same cooler, similar # of case fans (3 x 120mm fans in my case).

I don't know the gigabyte bios though.. :/ What heatsink compound did you use?

 

[gpse]

if you use the XMP memory profile, the bios will overclock the cpu and raise vcore.
For me turbo boost is 3.8ghz on one core, 3.5ghz on all 4 cores default. When I select XMP memory profile, I was getting 3.8Ghz on all 4 cores and raised voltage, this caused it to overheat. I would set bios to default, and manually select memory speed, don't use XMP.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Interesting. I really do think it is a VCore issue. ANd if you're havingt he heat problem on that HSF, then it is not the culprit.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Damnit.

I have tried everything but step #1, because I dont have any extra thermal grease right now...

Check the VCore. I put 2x80mm exhaust fans. I am running stock/default settings on the CPU.

Unless the thermal paste has given out or the cooler has come unseated, this makes no damn sense.