My Intel i7 860 runs hot!

[jongleberry]

So my i7 860 runs hot from what I can gather from Google. I'm using the stock cooler and my case, Antec 300, is well ventilated. I think I have like 3 fans going in and 2 blowing out, all around 120mm. I did not overclock. I disabled hyper-threading since when I enable it and run folding@home SMP2, my computer shuts off randomly. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? Thanks!

i7 860
Idle: ~60 degrees C
100% Load: ~85-95 degrees C (folding@home SMP2, no HT)

eVGA GTX 260 Core 216
Idle: ~50 degrees C
100% Load: ~70 degrees C (folding@home GPU2)

 

[alyarb]

welcome to intel heatsinks.

 

[RussianSensation]

It's not just that Core i7 processors are hot...the heatsink is worth about 10 cents. Get Cooler Master 212 Plus for $30 and you'll see 50*C loads at stock speeds. The Intel heatsink included with Core i7 processors is worse than the Thermaltake Volcano AMD heatsink I used on my single core 1.4ghz Athlon XP1600+ processor: http://www.build-pc.com/volcano_6cu_retail_content.jpg

Now think about what would happen if you had to cool 4 cores with 2 virtual threads each at 2.93ghz...

 

[Borealis7]

lol when your CPU runs hotter than your GPU you know something ain't right

 

[classy]

I think you should check your heatsink install. Those temps are not right even with a stock heatsink. If your not overclocking that stock heatsink should be fine.

 

[Kenmitch]

Maybe check your bios and see what voltages the MB is feeding the chip. I'd replace the stock cooler. I buy intel retail chips but never ever use the stock cooler on anything anymore.

 

[yh125d]

We have very good reason for recommending an aftermarket cooler for all quads, regardless of OCing

 

[Absolution75]

My 860 idled at around 35-41C with the stock cooler (all power saving features enabled).

Your temps are too high regardless of the fact that you're using the stock cooler. Make sure the heatsink is making proper contact with the CPU.

 

[RussianSensation]

I think you should check your heatsink install. Those temps are not right even with a stock heatsink. If your not overclocking that stock heatsink should be fine.

You guys don't understand - the stock Intel heatsink is crap!!

I got very similar temperatures with mine, even after applying AS5 and Tuniq TX-2 to no avail.

Idle - Stock Intel fan

Load - Stock Intel fan

Load @ 3.9ghz with Prolimatech Megahalems + Single Scythe S-Flex F

 

[Bill Brasky]

I had the same issue with my i5 750, but the idle temps were slightly lower. It's hard to fathom how dogshit intel heatsinks really are. If you reseat your heatsink properly you'll probably idle at 50 and load at 80. An aftermarket heatsink is a must in my opinion. I like the scythe mugen 2, but pretty much anything will do.

 

[Zap]

I think you should check your heatsink install. Those temps are not right even with a stock heatsink. If your not overclocking that stock heatsink should be fine.

My thoughts exactly. Check to make sure the heatsink is properly seated. It can help to install the heatsink with the motherboard out of the case. This way you can verify that all four push pins are seated properly.

 

[Murloc]

even with the crap intel heatsink those temps ain't right, you gotta check if the pushpins are okay.
They tend to get out when you mount it.
And check what voltage is the cpu getting in the BIOS.

 

[jongleberry]

Can someone recommend a good LGA 1156 heatsink? There doesn't seem to be many options on Newegg. Thanks!

 

[Markfw]

Can someone recommend a good LGA 1156 heatsink? There doesn't seem to be many options on Newegg. Thanks!

http://www.svc.com/megahalems.html

 

[Bill Brasky]

http://www.svc.com/megahalems.html

An excellent recommendation. But like I said earlier, if you're not overclocking and just want better stock temps, most anything else will do. Here's a great site for comparisons.

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2481&page=6

Edit: Also note that more efficient coolers will allow you to run lower fan speeds. Quiet is better in my book. Make sure to get a 120mm fan with PWM control (ie 4 pin cpu fan plug) so that fan speed scales with cpu temp, instead of 100% all the time.

 

[ElFenix]

It's not just that Core i7 processors are hot...the heatsink is worth about 10 cents. Get Cooler Master 212 Plus for $30 and you'll see 50*C loads at stock speeds. The Intel heatsink included with Core i7 processors is worse than the Thermaltake Volcano AMD heatsink I used on my single core 1.4ghz Athlon XP1600+ processor: http://www.build-pc.com/volcano_6cu_retail_content.jpg

Now think about what would happen if you had to cool 4 cores with 2 virtual threads each at 2.93ghz...

they called it the volcano because that's how hot it let your cpu get

all the overclocker sites had me convinced that i needed massive cooling for my xp1600+ (and that i'd crack the core if i so much as looked at it wrong), so i had a huge swiftech thing (with idiot proof bolt-through mounting) with a delta fan that pushed more air than most 120mm fans do, with about 50 times the noise. the swiftech did serve me well though, going all the way up through a barton. i did change the fan.

 

[ekoostik]

My i7 860 idled at 25C with the stock cooler. That was with ambient temps of 18C, and Speed Step enabled. Under 8 threads of Prime95 it would shoot up to 80C. Intel Burn Test at 5x, High, 8 threads would take it to 85C.

With the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ the idle temps dropped to 18C (with ambient temps at 18C). Under 8 threads of Prime95 it hits 51C. And Intel Burn Test 5x, High, 8 threads only took it to 53C.

That was all at stock. I tested a mild OC to 3.2GHz and set the Dynamic Vcore lower by -.0125. Idle temps hit 19C, P95 hit 53C and IBT hit 55C.

 

[Phil1977]

I had the stock cooler for a week or so, these idle temps are not right.

Make sure all the pins are 100% pushed in. Likely one isn't in correctly. It does need a lot of force.

The 860 has power gaing and runs on 0.8v at idle. These chips run amazingly cool when idle. They are not hot chips, on the contrary. They are known for their amazingly low idle power draw. They use less voltage under load than a cheap dual core Athlon X II.

 

[capeconsultant]

You guys don't understand - the stock Intel heatsink is crap!! So true. I got the Noctua 9B for my Core i-650 and when put side by side with the Intel the Intel is laughable. Should be a law to replace it immediately.

That said, there could also be other reasons such as bad contact/seating etc.

 

[MrK6]

I didn't read the whole thread, sorry if it was mentioned, but I'm betting your CPU is on "Auto" voltage in the BIOS, and that usually allows the motherboard to set it insanely high. That said, manually enter your VID (which is probably much higher than you need anyway, so feel free to go lower as long as you stability test it) as the CPU's voltage and it should drop the temps. I've seen this issue on a couple of Lynnfield systems. The stock Intel heatsink, while crap, is more than sufficient to handle these CPUs at stock speeds as long as the voltage is correct.