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Ambient temperature and it's importance

M

MoeB

n00b
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
20
Hi there,

I'm running a q6600 with a zalman cnps-9700led.
When I installed the heat sink and was applying thermal paste (i used the thermal paste that came in the package - ZM-STG1) I followed the arctic silver user guide (for quad cpus) in which you're told to spread a thin line across the middle of the chip and spread a small drop on the heat sink itself.

Here are my temp readouts, and I'm mostly concerned about my idle results:
CPU:37c
Ambient 55c
System:38c
It is important to note that these results were collected when the fan on the heat sink was running at its lowest speed.

I've read comments on newegg that others have had better experiences using the same heat sink and cpu as mine. We're talking 26 degress on idle.

Do you think that it's my ambient temperature that's the culprit?

Thanks.
 
Ambient temperatures are certainly a factor, but there are other factors as well. Did you happen to notice how smooth your heatsink/processor lid were? How's the airflow through your case (55C ambient sounds pretty damn hot to me; that's around 130F)? Etc, etc.

You also mentioned you used the stock paste, which is usually pretty terrible. I'm not sure what kind you have, but some require time to set and some are just plain crap.
 
Where are you reading that ambient temp? That is certainly not the ambient temp in your room. I'd say 37C idle for that chip and cooler is not too bad, considering the true room temp is probably 23C or so.
 
You did not mention what motherboard etc. Speedfan has difficulties determining what sensor is what on a lot of motherboards and you cannot take the labels given to temps seriously unless you determine by your own investigation or by finding a specific config file for your motherboard exactly what is what.

If you are using anywhere near the latest version your CPU temps should be reported as core 0, core 1, core 2, core 3 .

You probably do not need a lot more paste, just add a little and spread it over the entire surface with your finger inside a baggie.

90% of the comments on newegg are very good from an entertainment viewpoint and that is the best I can say about them. So much depends on airflow, case setup, ambient temps (for example your speedfan reported ambient is ridiculous, it is impossbile for the cpu to be running at a temp lower than ambient on air cooling) and accurate monitoring. Use the sofware from the motherboard supplier and coretemp.

37C is not much out of line for a quad, I have seen better but it is not alarming and it will be interesting to see what you get with a new paste job.
 
BillParrish said:
You did not mention what motherboard etc. Speedfan has difficulties determining what sensor is what on a lot of motherboards and you cannot take the labels given to temps seriously unless you determine by your own investigation or by finding a specific config file for your motherboard exactly what is what.

If you are using anywhere near the latest version your CPU temps should be reported as core 0, core 1, core 2, core 3 .

You probably do not need a lot more paste, just add a little and spread it over the entire surface with your finger inside a baggie.

90% of the comments on newegg are very good from an entertainment viewpoint and that is the best I can say about them. So much depends on airflow, case setup, ambient temps (for example your speedfan reported ambient is ridiculous, it is impossbile for the cpu to be running at a temp lower than ambient on air cooling) and accurate monitoring. Use the sofware from the motherboard supplier and coretemp.

37C is not much out of line for a quad, I have seen better but it is not alarming and it will be interesting to see what you get with a new paste job.
Click to expand...

I'm using the p5k e wifi ap mobo.
My core temperatures vary. One of them is always high and one is always low and it's always staying like so. I'm going to try and redo the thermal paste job. thanks for the comments and info.
 
Wow, just wow. What a difference that made. I covered the entire base of the cpu and the headsink with a thin layer of thermal paste and my temperatures have dropped significantly. Before i was getting 37 on idle, now i'm getting 25. :jawdrop:
I'll be interested to know what happens under load but i'm betting that it will have made a difference there as well.

thank you guys for your help.
 
Wow, that is quite a difference. I'm not sure about anyone else but I see huge changes in my results and temps based on the room temperature. Last night my daughter cranked up the heat on the thermostat and I woke up to a blistering 32C inside. I have the Zalman CNPS9700LED in mine and idling I was sitting at 43C. On regular days I'm around 35C-39C. Now this might be cause for concern for some but at 1.45V to the core I expect some pretty high temps. Just for kicks I monitored for a while of dual priming. 73C before I decided that's enough of that. cooled things off and now I sits at 57-59. Those are reasonable temps for an overclock as high as mine. So I'd say a REAL big factor for any air cooled system is how much variance in room temperature there is.
 
My cpu isn't overclocked. Nothing on my pc is overclocked as a matter of fact. I dont have any case fans but i have the cover open for now. I need to buy a new case :(.
Mind you this is a pc that i built 2 days ago and i just havent had time to buy a case and fans.
 
Yeah but it was just an example. Your Q6600 will run a bit hotter than my E6300 at stock anyhow though. At least that generally seems to be the case.
 
I dont have a Q6600, But I do use a Zalman 9500LED and my temps at idle are 23-24c and around 39c load, But I used AC5. I think you should use AC5 instead of that crap that comes with the Zalman, Its not really all that good from what I've heard and read. I beat you'd see a difference in temps.
 
fantomau said:
I dont have a Q6600, But I do use a Zalman 9500LED and my temps at idle are 23-24c and around 39c load, .
Click to expand...

What are your room temps? I'd be suspicious if my idle temps were that low unless my rig was in a Colorado garage.
 
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