Reasonable temps for an i7 920?

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,408
39
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I get around 50-55C idle at stock voltage with the system temperature being around 30-35C.

I'm using the Zalman CNPS10x Performa cooler which seems to be a solid contender
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/zalman_10x_performa_review,1.html

I reseated the cpu several times and doing different thermal paste spreads including the line, center dot, and spread. I get the same results across the board.

I'm tightening the screws all the way. I mount the HSF before mounting the mobo so I can get a side view to see that the screw is indeed all the way in.

My temperatures seem much worse than what I've been seeing others get.

I just bought a new case, the Fractal R2 XL. I'm getting a system temperature of 33C now with all three stock 140mm fans running at 12V. Ambient temp is measured at 23C.

My system temp is considerably higher than the CPU temp of anand's tests.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6764/...-xl-r2-case-review-maybe-we-can-have-it-all/5

What am I not understanding or doing wrong here?
 

waxbytes

Junior Member
Sep 7, 2008
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0
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You are aware that all the temperatures listed in that link are delta over ambient?
For instance you say your Fractal case has a temp of 33C in an ambient of 23C so your delta over ambient is 10C.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,408
39
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Yup I am aware of that and everything I said is true while being fully aware of that.

Anand's CPU tests show 5.8C above ambient for stock/idle CPU temp. My case temperature is already well above that. And even my CPU temp is well above that at 53-33=20C delta over system temp or 53-23 = 30C delta over ambient.

My Zalman heatsink should be about on the same level if not slightly better than the 212+ evo.
 

waxbytes

Junior Member
Sep 7, 2008
16
0
66
The temperatures in that table are based on a system with a core i7 2700 which has a TDP of 95 watts and you are comparing it to a core i7 920 which has a TDP of 130 watts.
Not the same beastie.
 
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yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,408
39
91
True but even the overclocked/overvolted one is significantly lower temp than mine?
 

Deders

Platinum Member
Oct 14, 2012
2,401
1
91
I have to agree with the OP, 50c is far too warm for idle.

do you have c1 enabled in the bios?

Download this and tell me what frequency (MHz) your CPU is idling at.
 

RaistlinZ

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
7,629
10
91
Seems high for stock voltages at idle. Even my old i7-930 @ 4.0Ghz 1.300v only idled at 44C.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,900
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IIRC, when I had my i7-920, it used to idle at about 45°C. My case fans and CPU fan were all low RPM though, if I ramped up the fan speeds I could get it under 40°C. The cooler is the same as now, Scythe Mugen 2, similar to that Zalman one.
 

lsv

Golden Member
Dec 18, 2009
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0
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My i7 920 is currently doing 54c idle. Goes to about 65c load. I run my fans are uber low rpm and bring them up to 100% during load to keep the temps manageable on load.

I've not seen any issues and this rig is 5~ years old now.
 

43st

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 2001
3,197
0
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Seems high compared to mine as well. With the overclock I idle at 30C and max out at 55C (The individual cores report 40C and 70C respectfully)
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,408
39
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Are you guys mostly looking at core temps or the cpu temp? My cpu temp is in the low 30s/high 20s and seems to match anand's data. It's actually lower than my system temp. My core temp are in the 50s.
What is the CPU temp?