i7-2600K idle & load temps? What is everyone getting?

[Addikt]

So I just built a 2600K-based system and I have to say that the thing is scorching fast. My main issue however is that I'm seeing higher idle temperatures than my current E6600, around 40C vs 37C on the Conroe chip.

Another thing that I found interesting is tha the temps seem to spike on any kind of load. I was easily hitting 85C when running Prime95 whereas my E6600 wouldn't even touch 50C. That said, I think the heatsink may be improperly mounted.

Just wondering what everyone else is seeing, especially if you have a Conroe or Nehalem-based chip. I will report back once I remount the heatsink, just using the stock one for now.

 

[jackstar7]

You should lay out the rest of your build, including case and HSF/etc. Also, are you OC'ing at all, or is that just at stock?

That load temp makes me think your suspicion about the mounting being off is probably right.

 

[Zap]

Another thing that I found interesting is tha the temps seem to spike on any kind of load.

I think that either software is reading temperatures wrong, or it is just a quirk of Sandy Bridge processors. I've done two different 2500K systems and both of them will do a BIG temperature jump the instant it has a load. I'm talking about an instantaneous 20°C+ jump in temperatures.

For now I'm willing to chalk up the fact that everything we think we know about temperatures is wrong. Basically, if all of them act this way...

Seriously though, some days I feel that enthusiasts have taken obsessions over temperatures to new heights.

 

[Addikt]

Sorry about that, here are the full list of specs.

i7 2600K + Stock HSF
ASUS P8P67 LE
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB DDR3-1333 (2x4GB)
PowerColor Radeon HD 5570
Corsair Builder Series CX500 500W PSU
WD Caviar Black 500 GB (AAKS)

The thing that I find odd is that when I touch the HSF, it's still relatively cool, even when CoreTemp is reading at 90C. This could be as a result of an error, or the HSF not making good contact with the processor. Obviously, since I only have control over the latter, I will reseat the heatsink and see what kind of temps I'm getting.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

Well I have a 2600 (no OC) & I hardly ever go above 50C. Playing QL & DeadSpace right now, though I'm not sure if those games use that much horsepower to stress it. GPU temperatures however do fluctuate considerably. Idle goes from about 48C right now to 75C when playing DeadSpace.

Temps are from SpeedFan 4.42, they considered accurate?

 

[Addikt]

Not sure about those games, but you should really run something that is CPU intensive like a Prime95 Torture Test to see what your temps look like under max workloads. Regarding SpeedFan, I haven't used it extensively, so I couldn't say.

Regarding my issue, I'm scratching my head at the moment. I reseated the HSF and I'm still getting around the same idle temps and same drastic increases under load.

When running Prime95 In-Place Large FFTs tests the chip gets up to about 90C within roughly 5 minutes. What gives? Is this defective hardware?

 

[mlody]

I am also brand new to Sandy Bridge systems and was wondering the same thing.

On a stock heatsink I would hit almost 92-95 Celsius in about 2-3 minutes on all cores by either running Prime 95 or Intel Burn Test - all that on stock speeds

I ran to Microcenter and picked up Hyper 212+ and additional 120mm fan (for $2.99) and even after running Prime 95 for 30+ minutes, I barely go over 65+ Celsius.

My problem with the Hyper 212+ is that it touches the very first DIMM (I got all DIMMs used), so if you got the same board and even taller memory modules, this might be a bigger problem.

My current system is as follow:

Intel I7-2600k
Asus P8P67 Pro
16 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz
Corsiar Nova 64GB
Corsiar Nova 128GB
2x500GB Seagate (raid 1)
Antec Threehundred Case
OCZ ModXstreme 600 Watts
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+

 

[Addikt]

So it was the cooler that was the problem in your case? I just don't know. I've seen screenshots with temps in the mid 20s with stock coolers installed. The Hyper 212+ is the one that I was looking at getting, and I dont' think my memory heatsinks are as tall as yours are, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. So far, I see tons of compliants from people with similar issues. Most of these are remedied by an aftermarket HSF. My only issue still being, why are others out there getting great temps with the stock cooler? Could this be a bad lot that Intel sent through production, maybe with a defective temperature diode installed?

 

[paperwastage]

On a stock heatsink I would hit almost 92-95 Celsius in about 2-3 minutes on all cores by either running Prime 95 or Intel Burn Test - all that on stock speeds

My problem with the Hyper 212+ is that it touches the very first DIMM (I got all DIMMs used), so if you got the same board and even taller memory modules, this might be a bigger problem.

the cooler itself(metal part, not the fan) shouldn't be touching your ram slots at all... the fan could be touching, but the fan clamps are adjustable and you can push it a little higher over your ram

on my 212+, stock clocks i5 2500k stresses below 50C. at 4.5ghz @ 1.30v stress, it goes under 60C

 

[StrangerGuy]

I think that either software is reading temperatures wrong, or it is just a quirk of Sandy Bridge processors. I've done two different 2500K systems and both of them will do a BIG temperature jump the instant it has a load. I'm talking about an instantaneous 20°C+ jump in temperatures.

For now I'm willing to chalk up the fact that everything we think we know about temperatures is wrong. Basically, if all of them act this way...

Seriously though, some days I feel that enthusiasts have taken obsessions over temperatures to new heights.

...And people think here I'm crazy when I say I have a 2500K with a 40C idle @ 0.98V.

 

[T101]

System in signature; 36-39C idle, 67-70C load. I have yet to find a better cooler that will fit on the motherboard with the Corsair Vengeance ram heatsinks.

 

[Syzygies]

Noctua NH-D14 cooler with two Cooler Master Blade Master PWM fans swapped in, scaled to run about 50% at full load. Nine Scythe S-Flex SFF21E case fans at 5 volts (12 volts makes at most 1 C difference).

At 4.5 GHz I'm seeing 40 C or less above ambient, and the system is nearly silent.

 

[Bartman39]

2600K @4.6Ghz 1.312V with a H70 fans on the lowest setting possible and resistors installed... Storm Sniper with case fans at lowest possible setting...

.... idle @26-28C
full load @60-62C (after 1 hour prime95 mix)

It too does spike temps right off the bat but also drops real quick which I think is also due to software reading the temps...? But after about 10-15min I can touch the pump on the cpu and its for sure kinda warm but the radiator on either hose is almost always cool...

 

[tweakboy]

Well I have a 2600 (no OC) & I hardly ever go above 50C. Playing QL & DeadSpace right now, though I'm not sure if those games use that much horsepower to stress it. GPU temperatures however do fluctuate considerably. Idle goes from about 48C right now to 75C when playing DeadSpace.

Temps are from SpeedFan 4.42, they considered accurate?

Well you might need to set a offset -15 per core ,,, hmmmm:'(

 

[Crap Daddy]

Hi, this is my first post here. i5-2500K, stock cooler, idle 28-30 C, under load BFBC2 max temp 62 C running in a Cooler Master CM 680 II Advanced. Indeed, when running prime95, stock clocks, it jumps above 80C within 5 minutes, stopped the test. So I wouldn't gamble any kind of overclocking with the stock cooler which I'm sure is doing its job for regular use.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

Well you might need to set a offset -15 per core ,,, hmmmm:'(

I just tested Prime64 & within 30 seconds the temperatures jumped from an average of 30C to 60C. Increases tapered off after that, highest I saw was 67C or so after 2 minutes. Looks like all is well then .

 

[mlody]

So it was the cooler that was the problem in your case? I just don't know. I've seen screenshots with temps in the mid 20s with stock coolers installed. The Hyper 212+ is the one that I was looking at getting, and I dont' think my memory heatsinks are as tall as yours are, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. So far, I see tons of compliants from people with similar issues. Most of these are remedied by an aftermarket HSF. My only issue still being, why are others out there getting great temps with the stock cooler? Could this be a bad lot that Intel sent through production, maybe with a defective temperature diode installed?

Yes, it was. After putting Hyper 212+ I no longer have crazy high temps.

 

[mlody]

the cooler itself(metal part, not the fan) shouldn't be touching your ram slots at all... the fan could be touching, but the fan clamps are adjustable and you can push it a little higher over your ram

on my 212+, stock clocks i5 2500k stresses below 50C. at 4.5ghz @ 1.30v stress, it goes under 60C

You are correct. The only part that is touching the 1st DIMM is the fan itself. No matter how I adjust (within a reason) the fan on the heatsink, it touches it, but i cant feel any force on the module or it does not even apprer to be crooked, so I left it as is.

 

[Axon]

My 2600k @ 4.6 hits 75-80c at load on two cores. But I've been able to fold with it for 24 hours straight, so I'm not worried about it.

 

[Diogenes2]

So it was the cooler that was the problem in your case? I just don't know. I've seen screenshots with temps in the mid 20s with stock coolers installed. The Hyper 212+ is the one that I was looking at getting, and I dont' think my memory heatsinks are as tall as yours are, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. So far, I see tons of compliants from people with similar issues. Most of these are remedied by an aftermarket HSF. My only issue still being, why are others out there getting great temps with the stock cooler? Could this be a bad lot that Intel sent through production, maybe with a defective temperature diode installed?

I would really like to see evidence of mid 20's with a stock HSF ..

Even idling at 1.6ghz with .9 vcore , that sounds ridiculously low, unless the ambient is mid teens..


I haven't hear of anyone doing a reasnoable overclock - 4.2 - 4.5 - with a stock HSF, without temps going into the 80's ..

 

[AMDScooter]

^^^ Yup.. that stock HSF is crap. Spend $20 and get a Hyper 212+ at the very least. Your CPU will thank you for it. My temps usually between 30~40c at idle and just under 70c full load with H70 and much slower and quieter fans than the ones that ship with it stock. System specs in siggy.

 

[Seero]

Sorry about that, here are the full list of specs.

i7 2600K + Stock HSF
ASUS P8P67 LE
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB DDR3-1333 (2x4GB)
PowerColor Radeon HD 5570
Corsair Builder Series CX500 500W PSU
WD Caviar Black 500 GB (AAKS)

The thing that I find odd is that when I touch the HSF, it's still relatively cool, even when CoreTemp is reading at 90C. This could be as a result of an error, or the HSF not making good contact with the processor. Obviously, since I only have control over the latter, I will reseat the heatsink and see what kind of temps I'm getting.

That is because the HS isn't radiating heat off the IHS for the CPU. In simple terms, the HS either isn't seating properly, or TIM isn't applied properly.

2600K stock, idle 40c. IBT, under 60c.

 

[Addikt]

So, I didn't think that it would be nice if I didn't provide an update in my own thread about my progress. I'm happy, but not completely. I just got the CM Hyper 212 Plus, and it has prevented me from seeing those 80C temps, but now they are only down to high 60s to low 70s. A nice improvement, but not that significant under a torture test. Also, this is without overclocking enabled.

It looks like Turbo Boost is enabled though, as I see the processor is running at 3.8 GHz at full load. I don't really know how this is possible, since it is being max threaded and you're only supposed to use Turbo when cores are idle. It's relatively confusing...

Edit: One other thing I noticed is that I can wiggle the CM Hyper 212 Plus around a bit after it has been securely mounted. I figure this is normal, but I'm including it just in case anyone else has experienced something different. It looks like the little peg on the block doesn't align perfectly with the groove on the mounting bracket. If anyone has experienced this, or if this sounds like a problem, I would appreciate it if someone could bring it to my attention.

 

[SolMiester]

The stock HSF on my 2500k didnt appear to be any good either, idle around 35 and shoot up to high 80's and even 90s at load. Got the 212+, and idling around 29 now with fans low...I havent tortured the cpu yet as waiting for the AS5 to settle....but running at 4ghz

 

[DrBoss]

My recent 2600K build is running at 4.4Ghz
idle temps hover between 27C and 32C

my load temps during 24 hours of prime95 as well as Intel burn test never stepped over 65C
I am using a Thermalright Archon heatsink with Shin Etsu thermal paste.

Your core voltage is high in my opinion. See if you can lower the voltage and remain stable. Decreasing the voltage will lower temperatures during both idle and load conditions.
For reference, my 4.4ghz voltage droops to around 1.12 under 100% load.

My build thread from last month contains some pretty useful information about tweaking the 2600K.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2155564&highlight=

As for the wiggle in your heatsink, this is probably normal. My Archon can be twisted approximately 2 degrees if i apply a rotation force. However, it does not move on it's own.