BleepingComputer.com: CPU Temperature

I've recently assembled a Core i7 build, and the CPU temps have been idling around 53 degrees Celsius (after reapplying AC5; room temperature is 21 degrees Celcius w/side panel off). Leaving the side panel off only seems to make a difference of about 1 degree Celsius. I can only check the temps while I'm in the BIOS (GKrellm doesn't want to probe temps for some reason), so I have no idea what happens while I'm gaming.

Here are the pertinent specs:

Case: Rosewill Wind Knight Mid-Tower ATX Case
Cooler: Scythe Katana3 CPU Cooler
MB: ASRock X58 Extreme
CPU: Intel Core i7 930 @ 2.80Ghz (non-OC'd)
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5770

I'm want to get the temps lower, so as to keep the CPU from reaching 70 degrees Celcius during extended use. I've reapplied the thermal paste due to air bubbles, and I used the grain trick instead of the vertical line. The temps only dropped 3 degrees Celcius. I plan on getting chassis fans (this was planned before I even started the build).

Any suggestions?

Thanks for any input.

well, chassi fans is a definite plus, secondly, what PSU are you running?

Here's the PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817182200

while Im not a big fan of rosewill PSUs, that one appears to have the specs to run that system without overloading. This is often the case-(Ive even done it myself) bought a cheap PSU thinking that its 600 watts should run it right? only to find out it doesnt have the amps, and it overworks itself and overheats the computer, and that doesn't seem to be the case here, and seeing that the case uses a bottom mounted PSU all its cooling should be seperate. Which brings me to my next point, this case seems to be a copy cat of the Coolermaster cm690, which I have. I cant see in the pictures, but the CM 690 has rubber mounts on the bottom which lift the case off the ground, and you mount the intake fan for the PSU so that its sucking air from under the case. Im assuming thats the case here, if so, do you have it set up that way, and is the case on carpet or anything that would block that bottom flow?

The reason for this line of questions is because in my experience, the 3 things that produce the most heat in a case is A: PSU, B: video card, and C: CPU. And they can tie in together, if the video card is drawing to much power it can cause the PSU to overheat thereby raising the system temp which raises the temp of everything else. If you have the PSU set up, and its functioning properly, then I think we can eliminate that, that PSU should be able to handle that video card with no issues whatsoever, so thats not the issue. with that cooler on that CPU, Id say that most likely isnt the issue.

What Im thinking is, Ive used XFX cards in the past, and they have a bad habit of running really hot, theyre cooling is so-so, so that combined with no chassis fans, is what Im thinking is your problem. I would purchast at least 4 120 mm fans, if not 5, That case, unlike the CM690 does NOT have a bottom mount for a fan, which is to bad thats a nice feature, but I would have one intake on the front, at least one intake on the side, if not to, and two exhaust, one on the back, and one on the top. Hot air rises, so if you have the intake on the front and side pulling the cool air in, it heats up rises, and gets sucked out the top, it should allow for decent cooling. If you opt to only have one side fan, mount it on the vent over the video card. If these fans dont do the trick we can go from there, but my guess is your CPU is running hot because your system is running warm due to improper airflow.

Thanks for the info, especially on the XFX card and the airflow. The PSU runs pretty cool, so yeah, that's not an issue. The case does have rubber feet, which keep it about 2 cm off of the desk. I did put the graphics card pretty close to the CPU, so the heat coming off of it may be heating up the CPU. If I move the card, then I'll have a ribbon cable blocking the fan, which will lead to a different issue altogether. That very ribbon cable as well as the card may be messing with the air from the front intake.

I saw a 4 for $15 on chassis fans at Newegg (complete with matching LED lights ), so I'll go ahead and pick those up. Thanks again for the info.

ya moving the video card up may help, at least get more airflow around the card at the very least. Im not sure what slot you have it on, but only the 2 top blue x16 slots run at the full x16, the bottom x16 slot, the orange one, only runs at x4, so for optimal performance you want it in the top two, and since most motherboards default to the very top, that is where I would put it if I had a single card. and ribbon cables can cause issues, which is why I went to a totally SATA system, did away with IDE altogether, though unfortunatly Im using it again (until I can get a different optical drive) the CM690 I have has plastic brackets that hold all those cables to the side out of the path of the airflow, not sure about that case, but if it doesn't I have found twist ties are very good at moving cables, even IDE cables out of the way to allow airflow.

Well, the card is in the top slot, so I guess that's not really an issue. The only IDE cable I have is tucked behind the hard drive bay, and I'll just use some twisty ties for the floppy and PSU cables, since I don't have the plastic brackets. My cable-management is kinda inefficient, so tying them down should help.

it should, and once you get your chassis fans in you said you ordered and setting them up with good intake and exhaust should in theory solve your problem, like I said that case is modelled pretty closely behind the CM690, and while I can see it doesnt have some of the nicer features the CM does, it is a very good overall design and with good fan placement, should bring your temps down. I also dont know what your monitoring your temps with, but I would check it with 2 or 3 different programs-some CPU temp programs work better with certain motherboards then others, and double check them in the BIOS if your not (which Im sure you probably are) just to ensure accuracy.

On a side note, I almost forgot this, often times the built in fan controller on ATI cards suck, it did on mine (I have a 3870 x2) and like I said XFX cards seem to run a bit hotter-download and run rivatuner, and use that to manually up the CPU fan to 50-60% under load, and see if that makes any difference, It may get a bit noisy, but I know in my system that alone dropped my system temp down 10+ degrees F. Of course Im running a dual GPU setup, so you probably wont see a 10 degree difference, but I suspect you may see it go down a few degrees.

None of the temperature programs I've downloaded (lm_sensors, GKrellm, etc.) probe the temps for some reason. I'm using Ubuntu, by the way. Whenever I get my hands on a copy of Windows I'll see if I can use SpeedFan or something. I'll also check out RivaTuner. In the meantime, I'm left with checking the BIOS.

Thanks for the extra info.

Just update here: I only got two case fans, because the CPU cooler is pretty big. I later found out that I can only use one, because the 8-pin power connector is in the way of the top vent. (It's just slightly too far up) Anyway, the fan I was able to install only cools the CPU by 2 degrees C, but the motherboard is cooled by 10 degrees. The CPU never seems to reach uncomfortable temps, (although it peaked at 68 degrees during a memtest86+ pass) and it cools down pretty quickly, so I won't worry about it any longer. Thanks again for the advice.

Not a problem. I think I would still try to get another fan or two in there, on the side panels at least, if you dont have the mobo connectors plug them straight into the PSU, 68 degrees Celsius is a little hot in my opinion.

This post has been edited by the_patriot09: 14 July 2010 - 08:54 PM