Krindor wrote:
During normal day work the cpu will never be pushed so hard so that overclock is succesful. If you're still uncertain run prime95 in blend there is probably no other program out there that pushes the processor to it's limit like pime 95. If the temps are still 86C then for daily use there shouldn't be any problems.
What are your temps in idle?

Oh? Okay, I'll give it a shot. I've heard that LinX is more exhaustive, but I guess the only way to tell is to try both! I idle around 45-48ºC idle at a fixed voltage. I'm going to try using offset mode and get a stable overclock that way so that my cores can throttle down to 1.6GHz (and a lower voltage) when they aren't in use.

Thanks for your help!

Zka17 wrote:
Which temps are you referring to and what application are you using to assess them?

Your most important temps are the temps of the individual cores... use an application which is able to show them... - then you could be on the safe side for 24/7 usage if your core temps are staying below 75C-80C during LinX...

The Noctua NH-D14 is a very potent cooler... - if you can supply enough airflow through it...

I am referring to the peak core temperatures (I thought I mentioned it in my original post). I have validated this with both CPUID HWMonitor and AIDA64 Extreme's temperature monitor (individually, of course).

And yeah, the NH-D14 is working great. My idle temps are already 10-15ºC lower, and I think it's pretty impressive that I'm stable at this voltage given I'm at 4.5GHz.

When I'm up to it, I'll probably de-lid the CPU - I've heard this gives some phenomenal results.

squatchy wrote:

And yeah, the NH-D14 is working great. My idle temps are already 10-15ºC lower, and I think it's pretty impressive that I'm stable at this voltage given I'm at 4.5GHz.

I'm quite jealous of you at the moment, the voltage is really nice, though the cpu seems to be a hot one. My 3770k is wc cooled and for a stable OC at 4.5 ghz I have to have 1.34v.

Krindor wrote:
I'm quite jealous of you at the moment, the voltage is really nice, though the cpu seems to be a hot one. My 3770k is wc cooled and for a stable OC at 4.5 ghz I have to have 1.34v.

Yikes! What are your peak load temperatures for the hottest core? Something doesn't seem right with your chip - maybe it's one of the chips that just needs a higher voltage?

Yeah, I was a little surprised at how easily I achieved it. I had to tinker with the LLC for a little bit - so actual load voltage is around 1.233V. To be honest, I think this is the best that can be done with air-cooling if you don't want any degradation in performance over time.

I could probably push my overclock to 4.8 or even 5.0 GHz, but then I'm guessing even normal workload temperatures would start hitting 85ºC+ and that's not something I'm comfortable with.

Right now, I probably don't have the best air flow as my front intake is jammed with 4 HDDs running at 7200RPM. I think I'll add some side-fans and increase my intake, or maybe switch my top exhaust fan to an intake instead. (I have a Corsair 600T White case)

Zka17 wrote:
Well, having 45-48C on the cores during idle at 4.5GHz, 1.225V, doesn't seems too good... it depends on the ambient temps, but at such low voltage, you should be at least in the mid 30s... again, depends on the ambient temps (I'm supposing around 24-26C)...

Regarding the de-lid of the CPU... well, there are some good experiences about that... and bad too... - I'm about to doing it, changing the internal TIM if you meant that... One thing is sure, we will loose the warranty... 🙂

I think it's pretty reasonable. I haven't gotten better than 38ºC for my peak temperature on the hottest core (idling) even at stock settings. So a 10ºC increase when my voltage is 0.225V higher and I'm running at 4.5GHz is pretty reasonable, in my opinion. My ambient temperature is about 22ºC. I suppose it's a little higher than what it could be because I have 4 HDDs in my system in addition to an SSD. All of them are 7200RPM drives too. If I removed them, I'd assume my temperatures would drop maybe 1-2ºC.

What is your peak core temperature under idle at 4.5GHz (what voltage are you running it at)? What is your ambient and cooling setup, also?

And with regards to the de-lidding, yes, it is a risky gamble. I'll probably wait, as my system is new and I don't want to unnecessarily risk it when there's no need to.

And no, the TIM is not the issue. It's the glue/adhesive they use to attach the heat plate to the die. It adds a lot of space inbetween the die and the heat plate and so, a lot of TIM has to be used to fill this gap. Removing the glue significantly decreases this distance, and so this is what yields the better temperatures (not the TIM itself).