i7-980x downgrade CPU?- to run cooler, quieter fan speed

[JazJon]

For my home theater PC I'm using the Shuttle SX58J3 bare bones case.

http://global.shuttle.com/products/productsSupportList?productId=1389

I currently have the Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition I7-980X installed and it works/runs great.

I'm thinking that maybe this near top end i7 monster is right on the edge of running too HOT for my case.

My case has a built in CPU heat sink with heat pipes as you know. The Health Monitor BIOS settings has 5 options for fan speed.
Auto, ultra low, low, medium, high

-low is dead quiet, but my case will over heat and cause the video card to pixalate.
-medium is functional for heat, but the fan is too LOUD! (for the living room)
-Auto fan noise compares somewhere between low and medium speeds (most of the time), but it's variable and catches you ear when it changes up/down/up/down.

Since I don't need the horse power of the I7-980X what can I down grade too that will guaranteed run cooler resulting in a quieter fan set to Auto?
(other specs and manual are in the link above as well)

I already tried replacing the CPU paste with a top of the line brand. (no change)

Suggestions?

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Have you tired...

Underclocking?

Undervolting?

Disabling HT?

Disabling cores?

All of the above?

 

[JazJon]

No, these all sound like good things to try at least. Should I poke around the BIOS and see what I can do? Is there a utility I can install to do this inside Windows 7? What are the odds of these having a big impact on temperature under short spurts of load? (compared to switching to an i5 or lower i7)

 

[blckgrffn]

No, these all sound like good things to try at least. Should I poke around the BIOS and see what I can do? Is there a utility I can install to do this inside Windows 7? What are the odds of these having a big impact on temperature under short spurts of load? (compared to switching to an i5 or lower i7)

Well, given that you could sell that guy and get a good chunk of change... and you seem willing to potentially down grade your performance, I think your best bet would to switch platforms to something that generates less heat - and, hence, less noise.

http://www.cpu-world.com/info/Intel/Intel_Core_i7.html

There isn't a 1366 CPU under 130W.

I would sell your beastly shuttle (if you don't need the performance) and replace it with a nice, powerful and cool IVB setup in the near term.

If you are going to disable cores and crank down the top multiplier to save your self from the overheat apocalypse, you might as well sell the 980x and bank the difference between that and something like a i7-920.

I suppose that you might have better luck containing the power draw on that 32nm CPU though...

In a couple of other threads here, there was seeming agreement that if you want a low power draw CPU, you need to buy one to do it out of the box. Doing it the manual way is fraught with frustration and instability, an enemy to the HTPC

 

[jacktesterson]

What do you do with this PC? (Never heard of a 980x being used in a barebones mini computer )

Could help us answer better.

Do you have a SSD in this? If your not doing Anything extreme (Everyday Use), Sell the CPU and pick up a used i7 920/930.

Probably make some coin and not notice a difference.

 

[blckgrffn]

What do you do with this PC? (Never heard of a 980x being used in a barebones mini computer )

Could help us answer better.

Do you have a SSD in this? If your not doing nothing extreme (Everyday Use), Sell the CPU and pick up a used i7 920/930.

Probably make some coin and not notice a difference.

Haha, Extreme.

Adam said it better than I, please let us know what you have this PC doing

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Why does heat bother you so much? Just don't check the temp software. Unless it is getting heated to dangerous or unsafe levels for the chip.

 

[notty22]

I use windows 7 power options to control my cpu speed in my HTPC, it had a tendency to ramp the fan up once in a while. I chose to modify the power saver option. Go in to frequency and you can set maximum to 60%. This keeps my e4500 2.2ghz at 1.6 all the time, it won't go higher.
power saver
change plan settings
go to advanced settings
processor power management
maximum processor state
try 60%

 

[Maximilian]

I thought my 2400S was overkill for my Server/HTPC...

I would sell that 980x since they still fetch a very good price and get an ivy bridge chip on socket 1155. Either that or do what Balla suggested and disable stuff in the BIOS.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Well, given that you could sell that guy and get a good chunk of change... and you seem willing to potentially down grade your performance, I think your best bet would to switch platforms to something that generates less heat - and, hence, less noise.

http://www.cpu-world.com/info/Intel/Intel_Core_i7.html

There isn't a 1366 CPU under 130W.

I would sell your beastly shuttle (if you don't need the performance) and replace it with a nice, powerful and cool SB setup in the near term.

If you are going to disable cores and crank down the top multiplier to save your self from the overheat apocalypse, you might as well sell the 980x and bank the difference between that and something like a i7-920.

I suppose that you might have better luck containing the power draw on that 32nm CPU though...

In a couple of other threads here, there was seeming agreement that if you want a low power draw CPU, you need to buy one to do it out of the box. Doing it the manual way is fraught with frustration and instability, an enemy to the HTPC

Fixed that for ya.

 

[nanaki333]

sell and get an APU setup. you can get a 65W dual or tri core CPU with a decent GPU on there. should cover all your bases assuming it's like most people's HTPCs

 

[blckgrffn]

Fixed that for ya.

haha

I am sure that a stock clocked IVB is going to be OK

 

[JazJon]

Here's my complete environment (mostly a copy and paste from my thegreenbutton.com profile) Shuttle PC SX58J3 Win 7 x64 Ultimate Media Center, i7-980X, Ceton quad cablecard tuner (Comcast, SF), Geforce GT-240 single slot card, SSD C: & 2GB D: gigbit network, 3 XBox extenders, two Linksys Extenders, Slingbox Pro HD, PowerDVD 10 Ultra for integrated MCE Blu-Ray playback via http://MyMovies.dk app & also have a WHS 2011 with StableBit Drive Pool. (many TB of storage) Denon AVR-4311CI & HDMI Detective box, EX495 Windows Home Server with "My Movies" 4 plug-in, AirPort express and speakers in every room. iPhone 4, Lenovo W520 Thinkpad.

Primary use for HTPC is to watch recorded HD shows recorded via cablecard tuner stated above. Secondary use WAS going to be for editing HD home video recordings and some gaming. I've been doing the video editing on my new Lenovo W520 laptop and it's good enough. (also has i7) I havn't been playing games so yeah.

I just set the CPU power options to be:
Minimum: 25% (should I have left this 100%?)
Maximum: 60%
and I changed Cooling from Active to Passive.

It seems a little better so far but not much. I can still hear the fan RPM's go higher once in awhile. I'll try going even lower next. After that I'll play with voltage levels in the BIOS. I think the voltage levels would have significant effect on over all heat which is what causes the CPU fan RPM's to ramp up/down/up/down. Since this is a set it and forget it DVR machine, with some occasional iTunes & Youtube watching via couch, my main goal is to keep the fan noise from being overly noticeable.

Once I have the money I'm sure I can build a dead silent machine, but It will be awhile before I catch up. (laid off, bla bla, new job around the corner)

Can I put any modern CPU's in my existing CPU slot? I thought you to have a specfic chip set/motherboard etc. If my current CPU is worth enough on eBay I'd be interested in getting a lower power CPU if it's going to run cooler for sure.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Here is a crazy idea: Sell the system, get a Llano box or wait for trinity based APUs. You SHOULD get to pocket some change in this case and it will meet all your needs!

 

[blckgrffn]

Here's my complete environment (mostly a copy and paste from my thegreenbutton.com profile) Shuttle PC SX58J3 Win 7 x64 Ultimate Media Center, i7-980X, Ceton quad cablecard tuner (Comcast, SF), Geforce GT-240 single slot card, SSD C: & 2GB D: gigbit network, 3 XBox extenders, two Linksys Extenders, Slingbox Pro HD, PowerDVD 10 Ultra for integrated MCE Blu-Ray playback via http://MyMovies.dk app & also have a WHS 2011 with StableBit Drive Pool. (many TB of storage) Denon AVR-4311CI & HDMI Detective box, EX495 Windows Home Server with "My Movies" 4 plug-in, AirPort express and speakers in every room. iPhone 4, Lenovo W520 Thinkpad.

Primary use for HTPC is to watch recorded HD shows recorded via cablecard tuner stated above. Secondary use WAS going to be for editing HD home video recordings and some gaming. I've been doing the video editing on my new Lenovo W520 laptop and it's good enough. (also has i7) I havn't been playing games so yeah.

I just set the CPU power options to be:
Minimum: 25% (should I have left this 100%?)
Maximum: 60%
and I changed Cooling from Active to Passive.

It seems a little better so far but not much. I can still hear the fan RPM's go higher once in awhile. I'll try going even lower next. After that I'll play with voltage levels in the BIOS. I think the voltage levels would have significant effect on over all heat which is what causes the CPU fan RPM's to ramp up/down/up/down. Since this is a set it and forget it DVR machine, with some occasional iTunes & Youtube watching via couch, my main goal is to keep the fan noise from being overly noticeable.

Once I have the money I'm sure I can build a dead silent machine, but It will be awhile before I catch up. (laid off, bla bla, new job around the corner)

Can I put any modern CPU's in my existing CPU slot? I thought you to have a specfic chip set/motherboard etc. If my current CPU is worth enough on eBay I'd be interested in getting a lower power CPU if it's going to run cooler for sure.

Your chip is worth enough on Ebay to build a whole system that is cool, quiet and relatively strong. FYI.

But yes, you are right, you CPU choice is limited and there are no ready made low power options for it.

Wait... except...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819117258

Something like that. Just make sure your motherboard supports it - it nearly has to if it supports that 980x.

That would still have a lot of grunt and use a lot less power...

 

[notty22]

Ultimate Media Center, i7-980X, Ceton quad cablecard tuner (Comcast, SF), Geforce GT-240 single slot card, SSD C: & 2GB D: gigbit network, 3 XBox extenders, two Linksys Extenders, Slingbox Pro HD, PowerDVD 10 Ultra for integrated MCE Blu-Ray playback via http://MyMovies.dk app & also have a WHS 2011 with StableBit Drive Pool. (many TB of storage) Denon AVR-4311CI & HDMI Detective box, EX495 Windows Home Server with "My Movies" 4 plug-in, AirPort express and speakers in every room. iPhone 4, Lenovo W520 Thinkpad.

The OP is doing a lot potential work. With what you are doing, all those possible apps over network, for many possible sources is a server. Meaning those cores probably help, if everyone is streaming something from the base unit.
I also use a program, air video server that compresses and streams video to my Ipad on the fly,using the rig in my sig. It takes some cpu cycles, for sure.
Slower clocked 6 cores is probably going to satisfy everyone, depending on goals. quietness, money. You could look in to a unique HSF to replace the stock Intel HSF, that fits in the case.

 

[JazJon]

Power Setting in control panel to 60% helped a little but not that much still changes RPM frequency up/down which is what catches your attention

Any BIOS tweak suggestions? Here is a video walk through, not sure what to try first.

http://youtu.be/GfDRG90jyGA

Any ideas on possible water cooled CPU heatsink retrofit? Would it fit? Check out this photo of how my current heat sink/heat pipe system works.

But yeah if my current CPU is worth enough I guess maybe I could build a whole new system at some point. Not sure what the best "silent" HTPC case option is currently. It can be bigger too, doesn't need to be as tiny as my Shuttle.

Not sure the newegg cpu posted above would work, hmmm

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Sell that bad boy. You could get a decent price for that 6 core monster.

Get a different platform for htpc.

 

[RavenSEAL]

The OP is doing a lot potential work. With what you are doing, all those possible apps over network, for many possible sources is a server. Meaning those cores probably help, if everyone is streaming something from the base unit.
I also use a program, air video server that compresses and streams video to my Ipad on the fly,using the rig in my sig. It takes some cpu cycles, for sure.
Slower clocked 6 cores is probably going to satisfy everyone, depending on goals. quietness, money. You could look in to a unique HSF to replace the stock Intel HSF, that fits in the case.

Watercooling is always an option too

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Watercooling is always an option too

I think he could get a h80 and fit it in there

 

[aigomorla]

wow not 1 person said with speedstep enabled the 980X will shut off active cores.

Enable Speed Step, run the system @ stock settings.

You'll run cooler then a quadcore overclocked with C1E enabled and inactive core shutdown.