alright basically i want to see how far i can oc but i think my cpu runs to hot. i was fooling around and found that at 2.4ghz stock, after 10 min prime 95 small FFT, core voltage at 1.875 set in bios (slightly under stock), i get to 59 58 55 55 on the cores. this kinda seems too high for my cooler, a zalman 9500. also when speedstep kicks in and processor at 1.6ghz with zeor load cores are at 40 39 36 37 which also seems too high. i applied the AS5 according to their website, should i reseat cooler?

Ive been up to 3ghz with 1.2v in bios but the same prime95 run gets cores to almost 70C. should i just buy a TRUE, ive been told the 9500 is not suited for quad cores. also if it helps my VID is 1.2375 according to core temp.

What, you set the core volts to 1.875? Are you mad? That will fry the chip pretty quickly...

Must be a typo.....

lol yea it is...i meant 1.1875 must have forgot the 1. any suggestions however?
also the 70C thing at 3ghz must have been a hot day where i wasnt running AC because im running 3ghz right now at the same 1.1875 setting in bios, cpuz shows 1.112v at 100% prime95 small FFT load and im at 63 62 59 59 after about ten minutes, still kinda high i think.

The Zalman 9500 isn't the greatest cooler, but I think temps should be a little lower. Definitely reseat the cooler and see what that does.

Actually I'm not sure those temps are all that bad. I run a Q6600 GO and a Noctua NH-U12 with a single 120mm fan and my idle and load temps are on average a few degrees cooler than yours. The only thing I could suggest is try lapping the cooler base, and if you're really adventurous, lap the spreader on the cpu also. Not being critical, but the Zalman is an average cooler, and you might be better off with a Thermalright 120, a Noctua 12 or a Zigmateck They all are excellent coolers and run within 1-2 degrees of one another.
Here are a couple of links on paste and applying it. Some interesting material here.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index. [...] &Itemid=62

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index. [...] &Itemid=38

Hope this is of some help

Cheers,

The Canuck

I buld gaming computers for a living and use Q6600s a lot. I use AC freezer 7 pros and overclock the CPUs to 3.0 GHz with stock or slightly higher voltage usually. Load temp peak in the high 50's, 60 for a sec with all cores loaded. I'm not sure why the $17 7 pro works so well, but I use them in almost every build.

Well can you share with us which case you have, as well as how many case fans and what types they are? If your case isn't getting enough airflow, or if the ambient temperature is fairly high then that can cause the higher than average temps you're experiencing with the CPU.

Edit: Grammar

CPU fan speed too low
Bad seat or misapplied AS5
Poor air circulation in your case
Too much heat from a poorly cooled GPU (kinda goes with 3)

Those temps aren't bad load temps as long as you know that those are TJunc (coretemp) not Tcase (speedfan/PC Probe) temps. You could always try a new HSF or lapping if you think it necessary.

My Q6600(lapped) @3.5Ghz 1.5V Zalman 9700 and AS5, with good case airflow, ambient ~22C loads at;
Coretemp: 68 68 62 62
Realtemp: 63 63 57 57
PC Probe/ Speedfan: 52

aight first, thanks random for those links, will come in handy when i reseat. as far as some questions you guys had, heres a link to my case on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811133154

also, my cpu fan speed is maxed with the fanmate that came with it, 2400rpms. the AS5 is applied according to their site by putting a small line across the heat spreader so it would go over both cores under the spreader. i have all case fans installed, 2x 90mm and 2x 120mm. as for the gpu its a plain old evga 8800gt 600/1500/1800.

also, blotch, i never really understood the whole tjunc vs tcase thing. what should i go by when overclocking to be safe?

Yes your temps are high. Mine are not that high on full load using prime at 3.4ghz. mine stay under 60 and i have been told this is what you want. I agree with other people that the heat sink is not installed and seated correctly. I have the Xigmatech HDT-S1283 and use the back plate with screws i hate the push pins. this is a cheap and good cooler. I also have a sythe Craze fan on it instead of stock. i wish my VID was as low as yours because my voltage is 1.35. so this is what is limiting me on overclocking higher.

Well there shouldn't be any problems with air flow in that case unless you removed the fans for another build or you left on the bag that it came in
I might be inclined to throw a couple more 120mm fans in if you're not thinking of upgrading the CPU cooler. The 8800GT is probably a single slot design, so it's venting inside the case and the additional fans would help some I am sure.

You're welcome for the links. Good luck

The Canuck

The Tjunc read by coretemp is the actual temp of each of the cores vs Tcase which is read at the geometric center of the CPU. The Tjunc temps will always be higher than the Tcase temps. If you use Speedfan dont let it load above 60C to be safe and if you use coretemp its hard to tell but i dont let mine exceed 80C. I will always use the Tcase temp for overclocking but other people will have their own opinions.

BTW i believe your 8800GT has a single slot cooler so it vents it's hot air into your case. I'm not sure if i matters at all because one of my 3870s is a single slot design and a never really noticed a difference.

Personally i have no idea what the VID number means but mine is 1.2875 if it matters.

i think VID means the voltage that the cpu is rated at by intel for stock or default usage. but anyway yea i think ill try reseating the cooler or something, although i was pretty careful and read multiple guides when i did it originally. might try lapping the cooler if i find the time, not confident enough to lap heatspreader after hearing about ppl destroying their chips. also if the reseat doesnt help and i decide to go with a TURE, can anyone reccomend a good fan to put on it?

quick additional question/update. before i reseat i wanted to test at 3.2ghz and observe vdroop. i set my fsb to 400mhz (ram 1:1) and ran 8x multiplier. manually set voltage in bios to 1.25v, but when i run prime95 after like an hour or two i get errors. once i got BSOD so obviously not stable. problem i believe is that when this happens cpuz shows 1.16v, is the vdroop killing me? if so, does this call for load-line calibration being on to try to help control the issue? also, i have let the NB at default voltage so far, should i up it to 1.4v or should my mobo (p5k-e wifi) be fine? thanks for all the help.

hmmm.... All I know is my Q6600 G0 @ 3GHz on a Zalman 9700 run cooler than that.

OCCing wise it depends on how low of a voltage you can get it stable at. For 3.2GHz if you can stay near or a bit above the stock voltage you are pretty good.

for 3.2ghz do you think i should use the load line calibration to help with vdroop? i seem to be loosing .09v to vdroop and i think it may be causing the prime95 errors and the bsod. either that or the 400mhz fsb requires a 1.4v nb. not sure which, im just asking for an opinion. the p5k-e isnt rated at 1600mhz but i think it should be able to handle it right, most p35s can from what i hear.

These fans run very quiet. I have one of each in a push pull configuration on my Noctua, (which I just polished and reseated again, cause you got me thinking..LOL) and I'm very happy with the lack of fan noise. They aren't cheap, but they work well.
By the way, I didn't think my temps were quite as good as they could be, hence the reseat. Found my TIM coverage wasn't as good as it could have been, so it wasn't the fault of the cooler or the fans...just shoddy workmanship on my part. :-)

http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] ure=Noctua

http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] ure=Noctua

i dont mind spending money for a good fan even if its that much. i was looking at a silverstone for liek $16 on newegg with a fan speed control that i liked too. i am probably going to try the reseat and possibly lap the heatsink if it looks bad. if that doesnt help itll probably be a true with a nice big 120mm fan.

also is AS5 a setting compound? ive heard that it can almost hold the heatsink to the processor sometimes.

I second that. I run one of the S-12-1200's on my Thermalright HR-03 and I can't even hear it over the other fans in my case, which aren't much louder. Keeps that heatsink cool too, runs around 40C at idle.

And as for AS5, it's called a thermal compound. Its' purpose is to fill in any gaps between the CPU and the heatsink, which helps to transfer heat and effectively lowers the CPUs temp by a couple degrees or so.