Are these temps normal for i7 920?

[DaveyB221]

I have a 920 with a Zalman 9900 mounted to it. At stock speeds and a processor load of about 2% @ ~1600 MHz using RealTemp, it reports that my idle temps for my cores are 41-40-39-39 with an ambient room temp of about 26-27c. Is this normal? After about 10 minutes of Prime95 w/small FFTs, it shot up to a max of about 69c, but normally fluctuated between 67c and 68c.

Even on a cooler day it hovers idle right around 39c or 40c. I used the "line method" of applying AS5 when I installed the Zalman as per AS's website. I'm reading now that perhaps I should've used the "BB-sized dot" method instead? Do these numbers seem high or am I just paranoid? This is in a Coolermaster HAF 922 with a rear 120mm fan, side 200mm, top 200mm, and front 200mm fan blowing air into the case. Am I expecting too much from the Zalman or is it mounted wrong?

Speaking of mounting, I noticed that when I was mounting it to the motherboard, the 1366 bracket could move around slightly, no matter how tightly I tightened the back screws. That was before tightening the lockdown plate on the Zalman itself. Also, with the spring-screws, are you supposed to tighten them down until they can't turn anymore? If so, then perhaps I should remount it as I didn't turn them all the way until they couldn't move (although not far from it) for fear of crushing the processor. Thoughts and opinions? Thanks in advance!

 

[lowteckh]

Normal. What did you expect an i7 to be like?

 

[paco16]

I have a 920 with a Zalman 9900led. my temps are lower than that, but I just used some Arctic Silver and spreaded it thinly with a piece of cardboard. I did in fact tighten all the mounting screws until they wouldn't screw down anymore. The bracket should not move at all. If that's the case, you may have a defective mount, or stripped mounting screws. I'd call Zalman and ask for their help.
My temps idle are around 28-32c, with Prime95 small FFt's test bumps it up to and sometimes above 70c. The i7 is a hot chip when under stress, but the silicon I've heard takes higher temps much better than the old process.

Don't take my word for it. I don't pretend to be an enthusiast when it comes to over-clocking and/or cooling.

 

[DaveyB221]

Normal. What did you expect an i7 to be like?

The thing is I see posts (like the one above) all over the internet where people get in the upper 20's idle, and I'm not seeing that. Perhaps I should remount with a different application style of AS5 and tighten the screws all the way down until they don't budge? I'm assuming that won't crush the cores since the springs are supposed to stop over-tightening? I'd rather not turn my new computer into a doorstop. Mounting heatsinks with backplates and such always makes me nervous....

 

[DaveyB221]

I have a 920 with a Zalman 9900led. my temps are lower than that, but I just used some Arctic Silver and spreaded it thinly with a piece of cardboard. I did in fact tighten all the mounting screws until they wouldn't screw down anymore. The bracket should not move at all. If that's the case, you may have a defective mount, or stripped mounting screws. I'd call Zalman and ask for their help.
My temps idle are around 28-32c, with Prime95 small FFt's test bumps it up to and sometimes above 70c. The i7 is a hot chip when under stress, but the silicon I've heard takes higher temps much better than the old process.

Don't take my word for it. I don't pretend to be an enthusiast when it comes to over-clocking and/or cooling.

Hmm....would definitely love to have your temps at idle! I understand the i7 is a hot chip and I've never had any issues running anything, but I'm just worried that my idle temps are too high.

As for moving the bracket, that we before I screwed down the actual heatsink. I didn't try to move it around after that. It seemed solid and didn't seem to move after I scewed the two pieces together. However, that being said, I didn't screw the screws in all the way until they couldn't turn anymore for fear of crushing the processor, but I guess with a heatspreader and the latch around the socket, there's probably little chance of that unless you're hammering on it like a dope. I used the "X" criss-cross method of tightening the screws a bit at a time until they were mostly unable to turn. I'm beginning to think that perhaps this is where I went wrong and it's not making flush contact with the IHS; or perhaps I have a defective heatsink? I'm almost tempted to go with a Prolimatech Megahalem due to it's better/easier mounting design and better cooling.

 

[engiNURD]

It sounds like you most likely have a thermal controlled fan.

Yup...

Ultra quiet PWM fan for automatic fan speed control according to the CPU’s temperature.

Turn that feature off in the BIOS and your fan should run at full speed full time. If its already running at full speed full time, then its either a mounting issue or defective heatpipes.

 

[RAD]

I built 2 computers with i7 920 chips ad cm v8 coolers over the summer.

Almost identical configurations and hardware both currently running at stock,
Mine (a c0 stepping chip): Idles between 39 and 45 depending on the core. Under prime 95 load gets up to 65 to 69 depending on the core.

My brothers (a d0 stepping chip): Idles at 27 to 32, under prime 95 load hits 50, 55 max.

I don't believe it is a c0 vs d0 stepping thing so much as just some chips run much hotter than others. Having said that I am still tempted to reseat mine and see if I can get better temps. But god its a PITA to reseat this HSF.

As far as paste application goes; on both I just drew a very thin "X" lined up from corner to corner on the chip (without the ends of the "X" going all the way to the edge of course)