Hi there,

I am posting this help request for I have not found a solution yet, neither on Tom's Hardware nor on the rest of the internet.

The problem is that the cores of my Q6600 have temperature disparities of around 10°C. To be precise, cores one and two are about 10°C higher than three and four.
At first I thought that's simply because the first two cores suffer most of the stress, but even with Prime95 and all four cores at 100% workload the difference in temperature persists. My CPU cooler is a Noctua NH-U 12P and I am using Arctic Silver V heat sink paste.

I am sure that the paste is spread correctly and the cooler is in the correct position. I have read about the same problem in another forum. The guy simply loosend the screw on one side of the cooler in order to release pressure on the first two cores. I am not sure what to think about that. Should I try that? Or is this solution simply an indication for wrongly spread heat paste? Anyway, I would need to know on which side core one and two are located on the CPU. I suppose they are on the left, but I am not sure. Have a look at this picture which I took from the instructions of Arctiv Silver V:



So what do you suggest? Am I right about the fact that 10°C difference in temperature on 100% workload is not normal? Should I reapply the heat paste? Or try to loosen the screw on one side of the cooler? And anyway, where are which cores located (1+2 on the left, 3+4 on the right?)?

I appreciate your help, thanks guys!

10C difference is not normal.make sure you have tighten the screws and even if you did you may still see 2-4C difference between cores.

Well, as I said. The screws are bomb-proof.
Can anyone tell me (according to the image) where the cores are located so that I could recheck the heat paste?

the cores are one on top the other if its in the case.so i think its 1,2 and 3,4

Sorry for asking again, but I want to be sure. I feel like having put this thing into pieces and together again for one hundered times already.
So you think 1,2 are on the left and 3,4 on the right, don't you?
Thanks a lot man!

yep.

I have the same problem on my amd 6400 BE and I'll tell you it has nothing to do with your paste , I believe that the 10c higher core is acually reading the cpu temp. not the core temp like it should , that's my theory , my cpu 's performance is not being held back with the incorrect sensor reading and if you don't rma your cpu then you'll have to live with this wrong core reading , it's a common problem with intel and amd and some think the wrong reading is because of the placement of the core sensors , I don't but some do , so don't go crazy with the paste and if you can't rma it then dont worry about it and in the future I no I won't keep a cpu with the wrong readings just because it's incorrect , I hope I save you the work of r+r ing your cpu a few times !

pcnazz 6400 is dual core where as Q6600 is quad core so its totally different.

where talking about the difference in core temps , it dose not matter if there are 16 cores !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

because your dual core is on 1 die where as this quad core is on 2 different die. there could be many factors that will affect them. like the pressure being greater on oneside due to gravity pull,platness of the heatsink base,flatness of the IHS and heatpipe orientation. its just not as simple as you think mate!

okay you do get my point that it is a waste of paste and time for a fix , there is no fix , sorry mate I thought you didn't understand

isnt it always nice when misunderstanding gets sorted?

have a nice day!

I have the same issue as the OP -- CPU Temp in SpeedFan is 35C, and the core temps are:

0 - 38c
1 - 34c
2 - 28c
3 - 35c

I have an Asetek 120mm watercooler for the CPU, one of those sealed water cooling systems -- factory installed.

I have nothing overclocked.

Is it worth checking the contacts between the cooler and the CPU? OR should I leave it alone and not worry about it?

Well, I disassembled the cooler and put it together again applying fewer heat paste. It's a bit cooler now in general, but the difference is still there.
Right now in idle its 40 - 38 - 34 - 34. I think I can live with it, for even with 100% it does not cross the 60°C line, and it's running OC at 3,1GHZ.
I suppose I can live with that, although I would like to have the issue solved... Well, one cannot have everything.

Maybe I will recheck the heat paste in some days.

Thanks for your advise. :-)