High temp with e6600?

[Angelus]

I was wondering what normal temps are for a e6600 at stock speed (not overclocked). I've been able to get the CPU up to 61 C under load (encoding movies with CCE) and I think it idles around 45-50C, all of which seem pretty high. I'm using the stock Intel heatsink and Artic Silver 5. I've put on thermal compound before with my other PC that I built, so I don't think I did that bad of a job with applying it. I've also read about how either the heatsink or the CPU for the Core 2 Duo processors can be concave and thus doesn't make good contact between the two. Are these temps high? Should I try to look for an aftermarket cooler, and if so, any suggestions?

I have an aftermarket heatsink on my old P4 2.6Ghz and that only gets up to 36C under load, so I just wanted to make sure. Thanks!

[Cricket]

Are you sure you have the LGA775 heatsink installed properly? It's not easy to get installed right if the motherboard is already installed in the case.

Cricket

[blue60007]

What does your case cooling setup look like? Do you have fan in the rear exhausting hot air? The worlds greatest cooler won't work well if it's sitting in hot air...

While 61C isn't terrible it does seem a little high.

[Angelus]

@Cricket

I'm pretty sure that the LGA775 heatsink is installed properly. The pins seem to be pushed down all the way, and it doesn't seem loose if you try to move it or pull the heatsink.

@blue60007

I have an Antec P180 case, it has 3x120 mm fans total: 1 on the top to exhaust heat, one in the back to exhaust heat (these are both close to the CPU), and one down in the bottom of the case blowing on the PSU. When I was putting together the system I did think that it was weird that there wasn't any intake fans in the front of the case...perhaps I should try moving the bottom fan to the front?

Here's a picture of the setup:

[newbuilder14]

Just wanted to let you know that my temps for my e6600 are:

Idle: 40-50C
Load: 50-60C

Don't worry too much about it. My Pentium 4 idles 63C, and it is a Gateway.

[blue60007]

Yeah, as long as your computer isn't crashing under loads or anything like that, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Also, if you put a little too much Artic Silver on, that may lead to higher temps.

[flanzig1]

Did you remove the Intel thermal pad from the Intel HSU before applying the AC 5?

[Angelus]

Yeah, I heated it up using a hair dryer and then scraped it off with a plastic credit card.

[newbuilder14]

Very original way of removing it.

[fizz]

Hi Angelus

just finished a DUO E6600 based PC today don't know if this may help but CPU cooler is Tuniq Tower -120mm 9 blade centre fan on a Abit AW9D-MAX Intel 975X (Socket 775) this cooler was recommended to me by a very experienced Computer builder, Fizz.

Cooler Here

PS Nail varnish remover works on Thermal Paste

[Mr.Ferrari]

What program are you using to get these temps?

And always when applying as5. You must remove all the thermalpaste with 91% alcohol, or acetone. I like to personally use a cotton swab and use it to remove all the thermalpaste from the heatsink and processor.

Then apply the thermalpaste in a very thin line about the size of a bb pellet or grain of rice.

Also to double check, do these temperatures drop after removing the case side panel?

[Angelus]

I'm using Asus' PC Probe to get the temps. After using the hair dryer to soft the stock thermal pad, and after I scraped it off with a credit card, I did use 91% alcohol and a q-tip to clean it all off. Sorry I forgot to mention that . I might have applied too much thermal paste when I put it on, but I don't think I went completely overboard on it.

I just checked the temps with the side panel on/off and here's the results. On full load with the panel on, it was at 61 C. On full load with the side panel off, it was 55 C. So that would lead me to believe that there's too much hot air inside, and not enough cool outside air blowing into the case, right?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yes..You are correct. Too much exaust not enough intake. Correct me if im wrong, but isnt there a 120mm fan infront of the drive cage on the first level of the case?

What I would try is to take that fan in the rear of the case, and turn it over so it blows air onto the heatsink. Then your fan on the top will exaust it. See how it works.

55C-60c is just where the stock heatsink at load should be.

Just 2 more notes:
1. I suggest you use Intel TAT or Core temp, (just google them). They are much more accurate at temps then pc probe. And in this your proc shouldnt give a reading higher then 70-75c.

2. I noticed you mentioned concave. And yes that is a issue with these new core 2 duos. Intel doesnt really care, because technically they are still not overheating in stock operation. Its more of a quality control fault. The heatspreaders on some core 2 duos have been coming in slightly concave, so the contact between the cpu and the heatsink is not as great as it was in the past. Its still nothing to worry about if your running stock.

[Angelus]

I think the fan you are talking about is the one that is between the power supply and the hard drive cage, at the bottom of the case. I think that this fan is pretty pointless to being with, because the power supply already has a 120mm fan on it, plus it's at the bottom of the case.

So are you saying to remove this fan from the bottom, and place it at the top of the case in the front? In the manual they mention adding an optional front fan by the upper hard drive cage.

I'll take a look at those other programs too...I'll install them before I move the fan around so I can get a clear picture of the before and after temps. Thanks for your help and I'll see what happens!

[Mr.Ferrari]

See the attached pic.

The one where it says Intake/Exaust-Set it to intake (Blowing into the case) and see what happens. Thats the one im talking about.

And about the fan infront of the hard drive cage or powersupply-Keep that fan wherever your hard drives are. If they are in the top chamber, put it there, if your hard drives are in the lower chamber. Then keep that fan there.

[Angelus]

^Thanks a lot for your help! I switched around the fan that was at the bottom of the case and put it as an intake by the upper hard drive cage and that seems to help things a bit. I measure the temps using Core Temp and they were around 33-34 C idle, and about 48-50 C on load. I'm not sure what effect moving the fan actually had, because I only measure using Asus' PC Probe tool (which is horrible!). It was about 10-12 C off the readings compared to Core Temp.
Thanks again for your help!