high idle temp on new build. worried newbie here.

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:22 am

Hi.
Hope someone with a bit of experience can advise me here. Ive just put together a pentium d920 with a scythe ninja in a p180 case. The ninja has a fan running on it and both case fans are running on low. I used a rice grain sized amount of arctic silver 5.

In the BIOS it says

processor temp 58 C
internal temp 40C
remote temp 31C

This seems a little high. the temp in the room is about 20C.

Could i have botched the fitting of the heatsink.? This is all new to me and im a bit worried.
Thanks

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:03 am

you may have not used enough thermal paist. a grain of rice is pretty small. i usually put a "small dab", enough so when you put the heatsink, the pressure with squeeze it so it covers most of the cpu heatspreader.

i know the terms are very subjective, but its hard to describe how much to use without actually showing you.

if your really unsure, you can always use the method of putting a thin layer on the top of the CPU, and use a credit card or razor blade or buisness card to smooth it out till you have a very thin layer over the whole thing. this is the "foolproof" way to make sure you have enough, but not too much at the same time. it just takes a little while to do.

also note, most temp sensors on the motherboard are wrong, and some have been recorded to be up to 10c off in either direction.

diver · Post by **diver** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:07 am

Something is not right. It looks like a bad sensor or buggy bios. Does the manufacturer of the MoBo have a support forum? If so, look and see if others have the same broblem.

A grain of rice size drop of AS5 should have been enough. The stuff spreads out under pressure with the end result being a very thin layer.

KnightRT · Post by **KnightRT** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:12 am

Does the base of the Ninja feel at all warm when the computer is on? Before faulting the bios, make sure it's centered on the chip and all the mount tabs are secure.

To apply thermal paste, put a dab on the heatsink and use a playing card to smooth it out. EDIT: said already; consider this a second.

DI

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:20 am

The Pentium D 920 is the not the coolest CPU out there. If all fans are on low it's not unreasonable for 58C to be the correct CPU temp. This is uncomfortably close to the max cover temp of 63.4C, so the first thing to do is to crank up the fans and see what that does to temps.

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:47 am

The base of the heatsink is slightly warm. Certainly not hot. the motherboard is an intel d945gntlkr.

all clips are secure and the heatsink seems centered. I followed the arctic silver 5 instructions as per their website.

havent found anything about this board having bad sensor.

Im downloading a bios update now anyway.

From reading the spcr review of this case/cooler combo it should easily be able to cool this thing with all case fans on low.
The cpu fan is a nexus 120mm and spinning at 1020 according to the bios.

I guess if the bios update doesnt work i should probably take out the mobo, remove the heatsink. clean everything with whatever is recommended and try again?

thanks for the info

Groovealufagus · Post by **Groovealufagus** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:12 pm

Have you tried any other fan configurations?

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:02 pm

Im running the two fans on extract at full tilt now and idle temp is 54.

hmmmm?

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:50 pm

It is not the thermal paste.

I installed my Scythe Ninja once in a real hurry, with the AS5 being everywhere except where it should. The result? About one centigrade higher temps.

Either the base of the cooler is very concave, or the motherboard is simply measuring wrong.

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:48 pm

ackelind,
thanks for that info. Ive just got xp installed. Not sure how to proceed now. from what you say it looks like a dud sensor. hmmm. blast.
I just managed to procure a bottle of isopropol alcohol for the refit of the heat sink.
what to do. what to do.?

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:00 pm

A 920D consumes about 80% as much power as an 830D. My 830D idles at 51C with a duct and fan (700RPM Nexus) on a Ninja. Your system has much more airflow, so I'd say something is wrong. You should be seeing something in the 40's.

The way you describe using the Arctic Silver 5 sounds okay. But your later comment makes me wonder: did you clean the CPU and HS base before installing? Cleaning is a two step process: one to dissolve any gunk with one solution, then get the last bit of grease and soap off with the other solution. Use lint-free paper or cloth (I use coffee filters).

Here's the solutions I use: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835100010

After cleaning both the CPU and HS base, use a plastic bag on your finger to smear on and wipe off a bit of AS5 on the Ninja base -- when you're done the copper should look slightly discolored.

Another (possibly insulting) question: did you remove the plastic film from the base of the Ninja?

Mounting the Ninja is a bit tricky: best is to have the MB out on a table, press the Ninja flat onto the rice-grain-sized blob of AS5, then hook the clips in diagonal order. When you're done, wiggle the Ninja around a bit to help spread the AS5. It works best with a film about 1 mil thick, so you have a metal-to-metal contact with the AS5 filling all the irregularities.

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:08 pm

Hi
can anyone explain what the difference is between the different temperatures.
processor temp
internal temp and remote temp?

respectively they are now at 57 35 and 29 C.

p180 case. d920 intel d945gntlkr with 2 GB ram (twinX 667 ddr2) and scythe ninja.

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:46 pm

hmmmmmm
cmthomson thanks for the input. I did indeed remove the plastic but when i did i noticed the base wasnt the cleanest. it had some kind of residue. Also the d920 bizarrely had some slight marks that looked like it had been previously used (i freaked about this for a while but the box was completely sealed with the intel factory tape when i received it so i guessed it was normal)
the cpu heatsink mobo was assenbled out side the case but i guess super careful but i guesss i should have cleaned the heat sink and chip before asssembly.
i feel the best thing to do now is remove the mobo from the case. unclip the ninja. clean everything with lens clothes (ive loads of them ,super myopic and into photography) and isopropyl alcohol and re build more carefully.

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:02 pm

nickytl wrote:hmmmmmm
cmthomson thanks for the input. I did indeed remove the plastic but when i did i noticed the base wasnt the cleanest. it had some kind of residue. Also the d920 bizarrely had some slight marks that looked like it had been previously used (i freaked about this for a while but the box was completely sealed with the intel factory tape when i received it so i guessed it was normal)
the cpu heatsink mobo was assenbled out side the case but i guess super careful but i guesss i should have cleaned the heat sink and chip before asssembly.
i feel the best thing to do now is remove the mobo from the case. unclip the ninja. clean everything with lens clothes (ive loads of them ,super myopic and into photography) and isopropyl alcohol and re build more carefully.

I'd recommend using the two-stage cleaning with the $6 Arctic Silver fluids. The first softens all the gunk but leaves an oily residue. The second is a very nasty solvent that takes off all the oils, greases and soaps, and evaporates cleanly (I think it's MEK). Most readily available isopropyl solutions leave a residue.

Also, don't skip the step of pre-applying AS5 to the HS base (and rubbing as much as possible off), it ensures there are no air gaps in the milling marks on the Ninja base. The CPU lid should be almost shiny after cleaning; it is a thin nickel coating on top of copper.

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:19 am

just an update.
Ive dropped my case fans to low again.
Ive installed speedfan 4.28.
it shows my idle cpu temp as being 41C?
If i run burnin v1.01 it climbs to 53C and settles.

Who should i believe regarding the temps?

I still havent updated the bios as intels site seems to be offline or something.

thanks again

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:43 am

nickytl wrote:just an update.
Ive dropped my case fans to low again.
Ive installed speedfan 4.28.
it shows my idle cpu temp as being 41C?
If i run burnin v1.01 it climbs to 53C and settles.

Who should i believe regarding the temps?

I still havent updated the bios as intels site seems to be offline or something.

thanks again

in my experience, you NEVER believe motherboard bios temps. ever.

Groovealufagus · Post by **Groovealufagus** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:11 am

nickytl wrote:Im running the two fans on extract at full tilt now and idle temp is 54.

hmmmm?

You could try removing the top fan but leaving the duct open, and running a fan on the front of the Ninja blowing through it toward the rear of the case, and the rear fan. This would create a push pull across the heatsink and out of the back of the case, as well as a causing the rear fan to pull fresh, cool air from outside the case across the Ninja from the top. Try running the rear fan on low and the fan on the ninja at 12v or 7v. Also, go ahead and completely remove the upper drive cage (unless you're using it). If you still need further cooling, try removing the door that covers the upper intake so that the filter is exposed.

nickytl · Post by **nickytl** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:51 am

thanks for those tips. Everything seems okay now. I used some burn program to run both cores at 100% and the temp settled at 64. Throttlewatch showed no signs of throttling.
I have to leave it now for the weekend and maybe try switching off the top fan then.

coming from my powerbook g4 800mHz this thing sure flies

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:15 am

nickytl wrote:just an update.
Ive dropped my case fans to low again.
Ive installed speedfan 4.28.
it shows my idle cpu temp as being 41C?
If i run burnin v1.01 it climbs to 53C and settles.

Who should i believe regarding the temps?

I still havent updated the bios as intels site seems to be offline or something.

thanks again

Aha! Mystery solved.

I was misled by the title "high idle temperature", when you were talking about BIOS temperature!

The BIOS does not idle like Windows does. It sits in a loop polling various devices. That is about equivalent to running protein folding as far as CPU temperature is concerned. Windows enters one of several power-saving modes that turn off most of the CPU functions waiting for an interrupt.

Your system is fine. You don't need to modify or redo anything, unless you want to make it quieter.