Stock cooler - i5-2500k

hegulator

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
302
So I just upgraded to a core i5-2500k and was shocked at the stock cooler that came with it. Have you guys seen this thing? It's less than an inch thick. I wouldn't trust it to cool a Celeron. I can't believe Intel packaged this with an unlocked core i5. Even after lapping it (horrible contact out of the box) and putting on some decent thermal compound, at stock speeds it was like 70C under full load. I've used a lot of stock coolers from a lot of different CPU's, but never seen anything as sad as this.

intelcorei5750053326304.jpg


Replaced it with a H50 and now i'm at about 42C under full load at stock speeds.
 
Yeah, I got one of those with my i5 750. It's still in the box. I didn't even bother installing it.
 
I got one with my E8400. Even the e4300 i got before was twice as tall and had a copper core, instead of that pathetic excuse of a heatsink. Same heatsink with my 2500k. 95w on that ? No thank you.
 
Been running the stock cooler (at stock settings) on my 2600k since March, while mitigating the problems I have with the cooler I'm *supposed* to be using. Though, I have an NH-D14 coming next week which will inevitably replace the stock one.

The stock coolers are by far adequate if the CPU is left stock. They were, after all, designed by Intel and I like to think they know what they're doing.
 
Intel thermal compound is actually really good, beats Prolimatech and Gelid stuff according to hardware secrets, just saying.

Not too sure about that cooler though ;)

Also I read the manual (YES I READ THE MANUAL O.O)

Says the cooler has lead in it T_T
 
well with aluminium at Almost 87c a pound and copper at over $3.00 a pound intel saved a huge chunck of cash cutting there heatsinks into a 1/3 of what the used to be... and those are scrap prices not retail.
 
I have the stock HSF (heatsink/fan) running on my Intel® Core™ i7-2600K and haven't had a problem with it yet. Now I am going to overclock the Intel Core i7-2600K in the next couple days and when I do I am going to upgrade to a good 3rd party HSF. So at stocks speed the stock HSF is fine but if you are going to overclock or you are in an environment in which heat might be an issue I would advise that you use an after market cooler.
 
I was running my 2600K with the stock cooler at 4.3Ghz for a few weeks. Installed it as it came in the box... It worked fine.

Using a Zalman CNPS10x performa with 2 fans now
 
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I guess the days of being able to OC on a stock HSF are long gone.

Honestly though, I had to give the stock HSF a quick lap just to get it flat enough to get the temps in the reasonable range. I wouldn't have felt terrible good running it long term as it came out of the box, even at stock speeds.
 
I was very glad my 2500k had that HSF included in it. I went to install my old Tunq tower on my ASrock MB because it said 775 compatable but it wasn't. I was able to run the stock HSF until my 212+ was delivered.
 
I was very glad my 2500k had that HSF included in it. I went to install my old Tunq tower on my ASrock MB because it said 775 compatable but it wasn't. I was able to run the stock HSF until my 212+ was delivered.

it doesn't use the same holes as the 1156. The 775 holes are mounted offset a little bit.
 
What part of the install didn't work for you? I was able to mount my tuniq tower on my ASRock Z68 Pro 3. I was worried that the back plate for the tuniq wasn't going to fit over the socket back plate, but it did. You can also rotate the tuniq so it lines up properly once it's bolted down. I saved $30 on the 212+ I was going to get if it didn't work.
 
What part of the install didn't work for you? I was able to mount my tuniq tower on my ASRock Z68 Pro 3. I was worried that the back plate for the tuniq wasn't going to fit over the socket back plate, but it did. You can also rotate the tuniq so it lines up properly once it's bolted down. I saved $30 on the 212+ I was going to get if it didn't work.

Were you using the original tuniq?

As you said, the back plates I had wouldn't fit over the so socket back plate.
 
mount it on top of the backplate. It doesn't have to fit around it or anything.
 
Yes, it's the original tuniq. I have the tuniq back plate on top of the socket plate. It's not a perfect fit, but the corners bend as it's tightened so they touch the mobo. The only issue I can see is the uneven distribution of force on the socket backplate could possibly warp the mobo. I don't plan on moving the case with the tuniq installed, so I think the risk of damage is minimal.
 
I was also concerned with uneven pressure being applied to the tuniq and not making good contact with the proc.
 
The stock coolers for the 2500k and 2600k aren't the same now are they?
 
I use one, I didn't see a need in bending my pcb with a 900g e-peen shiny useless cooler, not OCing. If you plan on OCing a ton then get something else. If you run stock then yeah I'm sure intel would provide you with something useless, they don't want return customers. Sandy's don't run hot.. It's not a Q6600
 
My stock cooler is working OK at stock speeds on my 2500k. <30C (read: nearly ambient) when idle and no more than around 60C under real-world full load. It gets into the 60s with synthetic full load. It's not ideal, but it isn't going to kill anything at stock clocks.

I'm may upgrade it simply for noise reasons, and to get a little more headroom, but not because it's too hot.
 
I almost wonder if I got a bad one, then. Being that in the out-of-box condition, I had really lousy contact and was running over 70C at full load at stock speeds.
 
What part of the install didn't work for you? I was able to mount my tuniq tower on my ASRock Z68 Pro 3. I was worried that the back plate for the tuniq wasn't going to fit over the socket back plate, but it did. You can also rotate the tuniq so it lines up properly once it's bolted down. I saved $30 on the 212+ I was going to get if it didn't work.
Hi Scrumtrulescent

How easy is it to mount the original Tuniq Tower on the Asrock Z68? I want to reuse my Tuniq Tower on a new Asrock Z68 Extreme4 that I will be getting. Anything I have to take note of?
 
Hegulator, if it makes you feel better, my i5-2500k gets to 80 degrees with the stock cooler at stock speeds :)
 
Hi Scrumtrulescent

How easy is it to mount the original Tuniq Tower on the Asrock Z68? I want to reuse my Tuniq Tower on a new Asrock Z68 Extreme4 that I will be getting. Anything I have to take note of?

Since the tuniq backplate adhesive pad doesn't make full contact with the mobo backplate, it was difficult getting it lined up with the holes without it moving when trying to tighten down the heatsink. My adhesive pad was also damaged a bit from removing it from old mobo. So overall, there was just too much play in the backplate, heatsink, and mounting bracket...and with one person it was hard to get it just right.

So to line up the holes and secure the backplate w/o putting the heatsink on I put the screws through the mounting bracket and mobo holes from the top and tightened evenly until the backplate/adhesive pad was firmly secured. You will need some spacers on the screws to make up for the heatsink not being there, otherwise the backplate won't even touch. I used 3-4 similar sized nuts on each screw..make sure to put the spring touching the mobo so the nuts don't scratch it while tightening.

After it's tight, lay the mobo down flat and remove screws and hope the backplate stays put! (If it doesn't, maybe find some other adhesive pad to replace the possibly damaged tuniq pad.) Now install cpu, thermal paste, and tuniq without lifting up mobo.

This probably isn't the best description of how I did it, let me know if it's unlcear. Unfortunately, I don't have pics.

I used this method on the old mobo to get the holes lined up and it worked on this mobo as well.
 
I use one, I didn't see a need in bending my pcb with a 900g e-peen shiny useless cooler, not OCing. If you plan on OCing a ton then get something else. If you run stock then yeah I'm sure intel would provide you with something useless, they don't want return customers. Sandy's don't run hot.. It's not a Q6600

Intel validates EVERYTHING very thoroughly. You could probably run that CPU on the surface of the sun for 10 years at Intel specifications.

Think of all the CPUs that get stuck in workstations running in warehouses and so forth so full of debris you can barely see the parts. They take this stuff into account when they specify a product. Sure, sometimes they might consolidate parts lines, but that only means you're getting something with a higher spec than the part (has to meet minimums).

It's not going to work for overclocking and for your best "feeling" and cool temps, but that's not what they certified it for. When I used to work with a lot of Intel CPUs, we had to be careful to make sure we matched the right heatsink to CPU series, as there are big differences in heat sinks (aluminum core vs copper core vs no core, fan speed, etc).

Intel's CPU QC is pretty good by my experience. I would trust it--at factory specifications. With some extra server-grade fans blowing on the factory heatsink, I've gotten some pretty massive overclocks with it (nearly 1Ghz overclock on a x6800).

My complaint is it can be pretty noisy sometimes. It also isn't optimal for an overclocked system. With today's CPUs, you can easily passively cool them with the oversized coolers (I have an E3300 on a Zalman 9700 without the fan plugged in).
 
I usually use the stock cooler in my builds...i'm too cheap to buy an aftermarket. Did the same with my new i2500k. But the H50 Best Buy sale changed that. Went from about 80c under full load to about 50c.
 
Using a stock Q6600 cooler on my i5 2500K until I can get my water cooling system configured for my new case. Nice thing to have socket 775-cooler capability with the ASRock Extreme4.
 
Of course the stock cooler is small. Intel designs their stock coolers to be economical and to do the job. They are not designed for overclocking enthusiasts who want to push things. They are designed to keep the processor under its max allowable temperature and to not cost much.

Looking at the spec, Tcase for a 2500k is 72.6 degrees C. So as long as it is keeping your CPU at or under that, and allowing it to perform at its rated speed (which is 3.3GHz) it is doing its job.

If you are interested in lower temperatures, higher speeds, etc then you look aftermarket.

Intel coolers are the minimum you need, not the best you can get.
 
wow OP I think intel boxed the wrong heatsink with that chip. My 2500K heatsink was the same as the big lame ass 2600K heatsink. All made from Al and had a Cu core.
 
You guys are using the CPU temp instead of the core temp in these stated temps, correct?

I'm getting 36C idle on my 2500k, but core temps are mid-40s.
 
My stock heatsink runs ~95C under load, non-overclocked btw.

Can't wait until my H60 gets here. :rolleyes:
 
I agree that it is horribly inadequate. I've even used a few chassis where the stock cooler would not keep the temps within the intel spec. And although these weren't "enthusiast" chassis, they still had reasonable air flow.
 
I just got my antec 620 and even at 4.5ghz my 2500k never goes near what it did at stock speed with retail heatsink.
 
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