Core i7 Heatsink suggestions?

embrik

So I've upgraded recently and put in a bunch of kick-ass components into my old case (which is not that old and is still in great shape). Does anyone have any suggestions for a new heatsink/fan to replace the stock on the Core i7 920?

This is the case I have - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112061

I've already used Arctic Silver on the stock, which has helped, but it's still running hotter than I'd like.

PeregrineFalcon

Post your motherboard as well, because some of the bigger ones have clearance issues.

But assuming it fits: Noctua NH-U12P

wunderbar

How hot is it running?

Dman

if you're not overclocking it the stock heat sink should be fine....and I'm trying to think of why you'd need to overclock an i7 and coming up blank, I don't think a game exists where you'd see noticeable difference from overclocking it.

That being said, I'm using an arctic cooler on my q6600 and it works well. Is the i7 not compatible with earlier heat sinks?

Slagmire

Ars Technica put an article out there not too long ago with some suggestions for the i7 and parts for a high end gaming box. They do confirm that if you're not overclocking, the stock heatsink should be fine.

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2009/07/gaming-guide.ars

PeregrineFalcon

Dman wrote: »

if you're not overclocking it the stock heat sink should be fine....and I'm trying to think of why you'd need to overclock an i7 and coming up blank, I don't think a game exists where you'd see noticeable difference from overclocking it.

That being said, I'm using an arctic cooler on my q6600 and it works well. Is the i7 not compatible with earlier heat sinks?

1. ePeen, dude, ePeen.
2. Video editing, encoding, etc.

bigguy_132

This is the heatsink that I am using and I love it. I ran CPUTemp and made the processor hit 100% and the max it hit with this heatsink is 80 degrees C. http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/thermalright-ultra-120-extreme-1366-rt.html

It is a bitch to put on but I believe completely worth it.

Rohan

bigguy_132 wrote: »

This is the heatsink that I am using and I love it. I ran CPUTemp and made the processor hit 100% and the max it hit with this heatsink is 80 degrees C. http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/thermalright-ultra-120-extreme-1366-rt.html

It is a bitch to put on but I believe completely worth it.

80c is not a good temperature. The max temp I could stand with my processors would be around 60c under full load. I can overclock my E8400 to 4.0GHz if I want and it'll only ever reach around the late 40's, on stock cooling.

embrik

Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039

It idles around 55-56 C right now, I think. I'll know better when I get home tonight. I guess if that's normal, I'm not as worried. My last system (an AMD Athlon 64 x2 4400+) idled around 42-45 C.

embrik

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

Dman wrote: »

if you're not overclocking it the stock heat sink should be fine....and I'm trying to think of why you'd need to overclock an i7 and coming up blank, I don't think a game exists where you'd see noticeable difference from overclocking it.

That being said, I'm using an arctic cooler on my q6600 and it works well. Is the i7 not compatible with earlier heat sinks?

1. ePeen, dude, ePeen.
2. Video editing, encoding, etc.

1 - Ha, I definitely don't have that issue.
2 - Yep, Video, Audio and a ton of photo editing work (Pinnacle Studio Ultimate, Sony Sound Forge and Photoshop, all legal copies even!)

PeregrineFalcon

The EVGA X58 board is specifically mentioned as not having the clearance for a push-pull fan configuration, so the Noctua is probably out of the picture then.

Also, idling at 55-56C is pretty terrible IMO. My OC'd E5200 (3.33GHz) loads at 48C and idles in the low 30s.

Edit - I'd love to get my hands on an i7, that would cut my video encoding times like whoa. Enjoy it.

bigguy_132

It may not be that high either. I dont remember for sure what the temps were. It was better then what I had with stock cooling I was hitting 100C and would crash the computer.

Fats

55C is what my i7 hits at load (when my apartment isn't hotter than Baghdad, anyway), you're definitely at the upper end of acceptable there. I have that Noctua and it's all kinds of awesome, but any big tower heatsink will get you comparable cooling for much cheaper.

vonPoonBurGer

Apparently i7s don't throttle until they hit 100C, and I don't even know what the failsafe shutdown temperature would be. They're really quite tolerant to running hot. It's better to run them at the lowest temperature you feasibly can, to extend the life of the part, but I wouldn't be really concerned unless you're consistently getting over 70C under load. I have to say though, 50-55C at idle seems overly high, unless your house is really hot right now and you don't have AC or something.

embrik

vonPoonBurGer wrote: »

Apparently i7s don't throttle until they hit 100C, and I don't even know what the failsafe shutdown temperature would be. They're really quite tolerant to running hot. It's better to run them at the lowest temperature you feasibly can, to extend the life of the part, but I wouldn't be really concerned unless you're consistently getting over 70C under load. I have to say though, 50-55C at idle seems overly high, unless your house is really hot right now and you don't have AC or something.

Thanks, very interesting article! Especially interesting to see the Core Temp app referenced. That gave much different temps from SpeedFan, which has actually been reporting cooler temps today. When I last checked it, it was 55 or so (a week or so ago), and now it's listing idle temps around 45. I think the Arctic Silver break-in period has helped.
Also interesting in the temps that Core Temp gives - idle temps between 57 and 61 C. However, given the data in that article, that doesn't seem unreasonable. Does that mean I'll stop and leave it at that? Hard to say... probably not. I'll still probably invest in a nice new heatsink, so any other suggestions are still helpful.