Phenom II 965 BE - Case Fans Only?

[Absolution75]

I just built a rig for my sister with fairly decent specs including PII 965 125TDP.

I've read in various forums/threads that you should be a little hesitent about running the chip too hot.

The bios of the MB (MSI 785G-E53) detected the CPU correctly but overvolted it pretty hard. When set to auto the voltage would hit about 1.47V which would spike the CPU temp to 70C+ when prime95 ran for a few minutes. I've since reduced the voltage to 1.301 in bios (1.345 in windows - will try to bring it down even further) and thus have brought the load temps down to 65C after an hour of prime95.

I'm using an extra cooler I had in storage rather than the stock heatsink - a scythe ninja mini. I haven't attached the fan because I want to see if I can get away with just running the thing with just the case fans to lower the overall noise.

The case is an antec 300 - it has a 120MM & a 140MM fan directly next to the cooler (no tunnel). Both fans run on low RPMs (guessing 600-800RPM's each).

Just curious on people's thoughts on this kind of setup. Is it too risky?

And if this should go in the Cases & Cooling forum - feel free to move it figured it would make more sense as it primarily deals with the CPU.


Spark Notes
AMD Phenom II 965 - 125TDP
Scythe Ninja Mini Cooler, no fan
2 Case fans directly next to cooler
CPU hits absolute max 65C in prime95

To risky?

 

[WildW]

The Phenom II's really don't like high temperatures - I think when overclocking people say don't take them over 50c.

When it comes to heatsinks, a very slow and very quiet fan is much much better than no fan at all. If you want quietness maybe try attaching a fan to your cooler but keeping the speed very low.

Depending on your motherboard, what software comes with it,etc, you should be able to get a program to automatically vary your fan speed in a way you define. If your motherboard doesn't come with one, Speedfan works well, if being a bit complex to set up. Ideally you can set up your cpu fan to run dead silent at idle, but ramp up when things start getting hot.

 

[BD231]

Don't give a family member a computer with no cooling fan on the CPU.

If and when the CPU gets to hot, errors will occur that could potentially cripple the operating system. Not worth your trouble when you consider your load temps should be more around 40's to 50's if you're at stock clocks.

Anything lower than 1.35v is considered undervolting for the 965, which can also cause errors.

Leave everything at default, don't be cheap with the cooler and don't set your sister up for crashes when you know you won't be watching the computer closely. Stability is everything if you're building a computer for someone unless they specifically ask you to go all MacGyver like.

FYI, definitely set your voltages manually though, that board dose some massive over volting if it sits at 1.47 default.

 

[fffblackmage]

Depending on what your sister does with the computer, it's unlikely all 4 cores are ever fully utilized. I have a similar setup with an unlocked 550BE (with overvolted and OC'ed CPU-NB) cooled by a fanless Scythe Ninja in an Antec 900. I have yet to encounter any issues, even while gaming.

The 1.47V is rather worrisome though. Even set at auto, the cpu voltage shouldn't be that high. Do you have CnQ enabled? In my case, I had a slight overvolt at 1.4V with CnQ disabled, but cpu voltage would sit at 1.35V (under a load) with CnQ enabled.

edit: Just to be clear, I don't have the same mobo, but CnQ is just something you could try anyways.

 

[VirtualLarry]

yeah, that mobo loves to set the CPU vcore to 1.45v, even if the CPU doesn't request a vcore that high.
Use CoreTemp to find out the VID, and then set the vcore manually.

 

[LoneNinja]

I would say it's risky, especially once dust starts to build up in the computer. This is something I would have personally done with an Athlon II, you get 85%+ of the performance and much cooler temps due to lower power draw.

 

[deimos3428]

The bios of the MB (MSI 785G-E53) detected the CPU correctly but overvolted it pretty hard. When set to auto the voltage would hit about 1.47V which would spike the CPU temp to 70C+ when prime95 ran for a few minutes. I've since reduced the voltage to 1.301 in bios (1.345 in windows - will try to bring it down even further) and thus have brought the load temps down to 65C after an hour of prime95.

The max "safe" CPU temp for this chip is 62C, so you're running hot.

Your motherboard is apparently not setting the voltage correctly; lowering it to 1.3 to 1.35V is a very good idea if you're not overclocking.

You could potentially run this with a large passive heatsink + case fans, but you'll need a much larger sink than either the stock or the scythe mini and the case fans would have to be turned up fairly high to generate sufficient airflow.

As others have suggested, you're better off with a large fan on the sink at a low speed. A Coolermaster Hyper 212 or Xigmatek 1283 + quiet 120mm fan of your choice is an economical solution. Another option might be the Corsair H50 or H70, if within your price range.

[edit]Sorry, didn't realize you already had the mini. Just add a fan!

 

[Rifter]

need a bigger heatsink. I would not consider passive cooling a chip with that high a TDP without one of the biggest sinks(TRUE, NH-D14, Megahalems, silver arrow)

 

[Absolution75]

62C just seems so low for a max temp. My old E7200 would hit 62 on my Thermalright 120 Ultra - I can't imagine what it'd be with stock cooling. . . TjMax on intel CPU's just seems so much higher.

I'll throw a fan on the mini, see how much it lowers the temps & perhaps reseat it.

Thanks for the input.