First OC done...Now I'm fighting temps

[sansoo22]

Here's the rig:

CPU: Q9300 @ 3.13Ghz
VCORE: 1.225 (BIOS) / 1.176 - 1.200 (CPU-Z)
COOLER: Corsair H50 push/pull intake w/ MX-3 TIM
MOBO: XFX 780i
RAM: 8 Gigs Micron ddr2 800 w/ D9HNP chips
GPUs: 2 x 9800gt 700\1750\1050
CASE: Cooler Master CM690

Case Cooling: 3 x 120mm Fans intake @ front, bottom, & side + 2 intake for H50 Rad
2 x 120mm fans exhaust @ top

This is my first overclock I have ever done so I'm really not sure I did any of this correctly. I did about a weeks worth of research before I attempted anything. The problem I'm facing right now is my temps. Before I OC'd I had a Xigmatek Dark Knight for my CPU cooler and my temps were the same as they are now. I have tried re-seating the H50 3 times now with varying amounts of TIM and still get the same results.

I've come to 3 conclusions about this. One I suck at mounting CPU coolers. Two the AC Mx-3 TIM sucks and I need something better. Or Three my CPU which originally came from an HP has defective temperature sensors.

Any suggestions would be great. I have googled this and tried just a few varieties of TIM amounts and application methods as well as setting up the H50 rad fans in both exhaust and intake. The only thing I haven't tried is rotating the rad on its side so Hot flow in at the top and cold out the bottom because I don't know which is which.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sansoo22]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233009

Forgot to mention these are the fans I have on my RAD for the H50. If I need something better please let me know.

 

[sansoo22]

Update.

The first thing I tried to lower my temps was to try and tighten the screws to the H50 a bit more. Didn't do much really. All I noticed was core 3 idle dropped about 2 degrees. But it makes me wonder if re-seating the H50 could give me an improvement overall.

 

[mstenholm]

It is higher then one would expect that is true. How did you obtain the max temperature? OCCT, Prime95 or is the just everyday use?

Edit:
Ups - sensor movement test, sorry.

 

[brandonwh64]

Ok theres something wrong with this. if your only running 1.2v and getting 50 deg idle then you need to reseat your H50 or change the TIM to MX-3. I have a H50 on my HTPC and it cools an unlocked phenom II OCed to 3.2ghz @ 1.375V down to 29 deg idle and 49 deg full load with a set of 53CFM cooler master UV fans in push/pull

 

[mm67]

What kind of temps do you get when not overclocked ? Maybe temp sensors are stuck at those readings, my E7400 system has both core temps stuck at 42 C. With that kind of Vcore you should be getting a lot lower idle temps. Our cooling systems are pretty much equal and I get this kind of temps if I run with same Vcore but higher FSB & multiplier (ambient temperature 26 C)

 

[Mussels]

its a 45nm intel 775, they dont have working idle sensors.

they only work at load - as long as you have more than 20C to go til TJMax at load*, you're fine.


*go by synthetic load, like the linpack test in OCCT

 

[mm67]

Exactly that, when idling motherboard temperature sensor is more accurate, on my Q9550 system both core temps and MB sensor show almost same readings even while idling but things look very different with my E7400 system.

 

[sansoo22]

Ran the linpack test in OCCT for the the default time and settings. Temp maxed out at 69 with a 31 degree delta to TjMax.

@Mussels -> I had no idea 45nm 775's had bad idle sensors. Thanks for the info. I had been wondering this all along considering I've had an AC Freezer 7 Pro, a Xigmatek Dark Knight, and now the H50 with similar idle temps with all three.

Do you thinks it's safe to push the OC a little higher?

 

[Mussels]

Ran the linpack test in OCCT for the the default time and settings. Temp maxed out at 69 with a 31 degree delta to TjMax.

@Mussels -> I had no idea 45nm 775's had bad idle sensors. Thanks for the info. I had been wondering this all along considering I've had an AC Freezer 7 Pro, a Xigmatek Dark Knight, and now the H50 with similar idle temps with all three.

Do you thinks it's safe to push the OC a little higher?

TJmax is the temperature before the CPU throttles, so as long as its below that (more than 0C remaining) its all good.


TJmax is the temp it throttles at, NOT the temp it takes damage at.

the reason i suggest leaving 20C remaining is just so that in hotter weather, or after some dust accumulates, you still wont have any problems.

 

[sansoo22]

Thanks for the info on the TjMax. I thought that was the damage point of the CPU. I live in Kansas and these are the temps. I'm currently seeing in one of the hottest summers we've had in years. A week ago we had a heat index of 117. So my ambient temps are quite high in my home office right now.

All right then looks like I will be overclocking this little bastard a little further then. Never overclocked anything but my vid cards before but I must say it's quite a bit fun.

 

[sansoo22]

UPDATE:

Just got 2 BSOD's today. Both with stop error 0x01E. No error or driver listed. First error occurred while playing Bad Company 2. And after that I decided to run OCCT Linpack and I got the same error again.

Not sure where to begin troubleshooting this one...Please Help.

 

[{JNT}Raptor]

Bump up your core voltage 1 notch at a time until your error free....no more than 1 notch at a time though.....only use what you need.

Hope it helps.

 

[Mussels]

just so that this is clear... dont just keep bumping volts indefinitely. it could be something else causing the problems, core voltage is just a likely one.

 

[sansoo22]

I found one driver issue. I forgot to install my Realtek drivers and I think that was the cause of BSOD while playing BC2.

the BSOD i got while running OCCT came after the program had froze and i tried to launch the task manager to kill it. So that seems to make sense that it could be voltage related.

I will try and up the voltage one notch and then run OCCT Linpack. If it still hangs I will repeat this a few times to see if it clears up the error. I'll update this thread tomorrow with my outcome.