X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

[Jasagna]

Hi guys I have a GB X58A-UD3R (Socket 1366) with a I7 960 (LGA 1366 Socket B) @3.20ghz that seems to be running way too hot.

Current temps at 5% load = 50 Min/68 Max (measured by Core Temp 1.0 RC6)

Cannot for the life of me figure out why.
In an attempt to rectify the heat, the other day installed a Antec Kuhler H20 620 Water Cooler on it. (before the cooler it was running 60min/75max)
I've got 3 80mm case fans in the front, one in the back that is piggybacked on to the radiator of the Water Cooler, two 120s in the top.
The case is thoroughly cleaned.
Latest GB bios with it set to Optimized Defaults

[wazza300]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

felt to see if the pump is running? it could be a faulty cooler

[profJim]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

It looks like the inside of your computer case is way too hot!!

Three 80mm front case fans instead of three 120mm fans?
Two top mounted 120mm fans instead of two 140mm fans?
Is there an additional 120mm fan on the rear panel below the radiator?
37^oC for your video card at idle? It should be ~ 30^oC or slightly less.
How hot does your video card get under maximum load? It should be ~80^oC or less.

Is the water pump wire connected to a motherboard fan header? If yes, which one? What is the pump speed?
Note: The Sys_Fan header's speed might only be 50% of the other fan headers.

Did you remove all of the thermal grease from the top of the cpu before you connected the KUHLER H2O?
Did you use denatured alcohol or 90% Isopropyl alcohol to thoroughly clean the top of the cpu?

Is the water pump securely attached to the cpu? Can you wiggle the pump at all?
What is the normal room temperature?

You might need to remove the water block assembly to see if the thermal grease pattern shows that it is making full contact with the cpu. The X-Bits Lab review has a picture near the bottom of page 2 that shows if there is full contact. If you remove the water block, you must thoroughly clean thermal grease from the cpu and water block surfaces and then reapply new thermal grease.

Check out the Antec KUHLER H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System Review - X-bit labs review with a similar setup that is overclocked to 4.30GHz.



On the last page of the review they show somewhat better cooling when the radiator's fan provides intake cooling air from the room and even better results with a dual push/pull fan setup.

[Jasagna]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

felt to see if the pump is running? it could be a faulty cooler

I can't really tell if the pump is running by feeling it. But the fan is spinning on the Kuhler radiator.

[Jasagna]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

Thanks for your response Prof. Jim!

Three 80mm front case fans instead of three 120mm fans? < my mistake they are 120's,
Two top mounted 120mm fans instead of two 140mm fans? < my mistake they are 140's
Is there an additional 120mm fan on the rear panel below the radiator? < yes but with the radiator it doesn't fit

37^oC for your video card at idle? It should be ~ 30^oC or slightly less. < it's actually running at 50-55 at idle
How hot does your video card get under maximum load? It should be ~80^oC or less. < it jumps up to near 100 and shuts down

Is the water pump wire connected to a motherboard fan header? If yes, which one? < yes, it's the one labelled CPU FAN on the MB.

What is the pump speed?
Note: The Sys_Fan header's speed might only be 50% of the other fan headers. < unsure, how do I check this

Did you remove all of the thermal grease from the top of the cpu before you connected the KUHLER H2O? < no, we just stuck it on
Did you use denatured alcohol or 90% Isopropyl alcohol to thoroughly clean the top of the cpu?

Is the water pump securely attached to the cpu? Can you wiggle the pump at all? < secure
What is the normal room temperature? < 72F degrees

You might need to remove the water block assembly to see if the thermal grease pattern shows that it is making full contact with the cpu. The X-Bits Lab review has a picture near the bottom of page 2 that shows if there is full contact. If you remove the water block, you must thoroughly clean thermal grease from the cpu and water block surfaces and then reapply new thermal grease.

On the last page of the review they show somewhat better cooling when the radiator's fan provides intake cooling air from the room and even better results with a dual push/pull fan setup. < I tried this, no different results.

[wazza300]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

you still have the stock intel cooler? just to test with?

its way too hot for the antec imo,mid 60's full load imo

[Jasagna]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

It was running 60's at idle with the stock Intel. The approx 10 degree drop I'm assuming the water cooler is doing something.
So yeah running too hot all around. Really baffled on this.

I'm no expert, but enough of one to know my way around. I don't even want to overclock it but just to simply get the temp down.

[wazza300]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

howmuch qpi/vtt voltage are you using?

and is all powersaving enabled/working? it should use less than 1v at idle,full speed/voltage at load

you can set cpu v to normal and try undervolting the cpu with dvid so maybe -0.0200v = 1.205v at load instead of 1.25v

[Jasagna]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

howmuch qpi/vtt voltage are you using?

and is all powersaving enabled/working? it should use less than 1v at idle,full speed/voltage at load

you can set cpu v to normal and try undervolting the cpu with dvid so maybe -0.0200v = 1.205v at load instead of 1.25v

is powersaving enabled/working < ??? what's this mean? What's powersaving? Something in the Bios?
According to Easy Tune 6 QPI/Vtt Voltage is set to Power On & Target = 1.175v
CPU Vcore is set to 1.275

Also what's dvid?

[wazza300]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

so the cpu runs at full speed and 1.275v all the time??

powersaving is in the bios it allows the cpu to automatically downclock itself in speed and voltages at idle,then if you stress the cpu in gaming/video editing ect it switches to full speed/voltages

dvid is dynamic voltage control it allows you to adjust cpu v and still let the cpu downclock at idle,fixed/manual cpu voltage wont allow the cpu to idle/powersave it will run at whatever you manually set the cpu v to

powersaving is eist,c1e and c3/c6 powersaving states in the bios

if the cpu is running at a constant 1.25v and full speed then the temps seem about right,you can improve idle temps a lot if you enable powersaving,and improve temps more if you undervolt the cpu

also set to balanced power profile in windows 8 power saving options

[Jasagna]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

so the cpu runs at full speed and 1.275v all the time??

powersaving is in the bios it allows the cpu to automatically downclock itself in speed and voltages at idle,then if you stress the cpu in gaming/video editing ect it switches to full speed/voltages

dvid is dynamic voltage control it allows you to adjust cpu v and still let the cpu downclock at idle,fixed/manual cpu voltage wont allow the cpu to idle/powersave it will run at whatever you manually set the cpu v to

powersaving is eist,c1e and c3/c6 powersaving states in the bios

if the cpu is running at a constant 1.25v and full speed then the temps seem about right,you can improve idle temps a lot if you enable powersaving,and improve temps more if you undervolt the cpu

also set to balanced power profile in windows 8 power saving options

powersaving is in the bios < Well after googling for it this is what I found on the net

however the BIOS I am running (FH) does not have those two highlighted areas in it for some reason.
How exactly do I undervolt this BIOS?....do I do this in EasyTune 6?
Would this be a good guide?

As you suggested I set to balanced power profile.

[wazza300]

Re: X58A-UD3R I7/960 running too hot, baffled

when you load cpu-z program does it stay at constant 1.275v or does it switch to less than 1v? if so then power saving is working,if not try a previous bios as it might be locked out on fh bios

undervolt it through the bios,first set cpu v to normal in the cpu voltage list,this unlocks dvid for adjustment,then set negative to take off voltage so -0.0200v will take off 0.0200v making 1.255v instead of 1.275v