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Sinept · ‎09-15-2017

So last night I replaced my cooler master thermal paste with some arctic silver, and my cpu seems like it's running slightly hotter than before. I adjusted the fans in the bios to run faster, earlier, due to this. At 35% the cores will peak around 50c (after the fan adjustment), and the package will rise to a steady 50C, according to HW Monitor. Temps will also spike to 50C and package will fluctuate from mid 40s to 50C at as low as 15%. These temps seem a little high for such low utilization, and also a little higher than before. I try to keep my room between 68 and 72F (20-22.2222C, according to google). My other PC, a windows 8.1 with an i5 3570 will run at 30-40C at 35%, using the same thermal paste (from the same tube), in the same room, and running the same program (pcsx2, because it's a cpu hog and I don't have a stress test on hand).

I had a little trouble getting my paste applied yesterday despite having done it correctly several times in the last few months, and had to reduce the amount of paste a total of 3 times to get temps somewhat back to normal at idle. My question is, is this the best that I can expect now? I know this paste is supposed to have a cure time, but I saw an immediate reduction in temps on my other PC (the 8.1) using this paste (but a rise in temps in my windows 10 i7 7700k). I know that I initially applied too much paste, but at this point there should be the same or less paste in my 10 as in my 8.1. Should I reduce the amount of paste again? should I wait and see? should I just leave it alone?

I know this isn't technically about overclocking, and I don't really intend to OC this rig, but I would guess that overclocking enthusiasts should know a thing or two about cpu cooling, and may be the best people to ask.

Chino · ‎09-15-2017

Which method did you use? Personally I always roll with the dot/rice method of application. I wouldn't expect miracles either. Maybe you'll get a 1-5C improvement. If you're really fixed on getting better temperatures, upgrading your cooling is your best bet. Either that or delid which basically throws the warranty away,

Sinept · ‎09-15-2017

X method. I'm not expecting miracles either, but having my temperatures INCREASE (by 5-10C) using better paste is concerning.

Chino · ‎09-15-2017

Probably a bad application and needs more time to cure then.

Sinept · ‎09-15-2017

I guess I'll give it a week, and if I don't see better temps I may completely clean and reapply. I've got paste left.

tommiboi · ‎09-18-2017

Sinept wrote:
I guess I'll give it a week, and if I don't see better temps I may completely clean and reapply. I've got paste left.

Yes artic sliver needs cure time. The X pattern is not what I use. It mostly give to much "Paste" on the cpu. Artic silver is very thick as well. Using to much could give bad contact. The pea mothed is safe and if you are not sure you can use a little more as well.

Am take you did X cross thightend the cooler ?

Try more, Try harder, Try and previal

Nate152 · ‎09-17-2017

Hi Sinept

If you're running at defaults with the CPU Core/Cache voltage on Auto, your 7700k is likely getting overvolted which is generating extra heat. You should be able to get the Vcore down to 1.15v - 1.20v which will lower temps.

The 7700k is notorious for running hot, the best thing you can do is delid it. I delidded my 7700k with Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut and got good results, if you'd like to see, see the link below page 9, 6th post down.

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?92094-Maximus-IX-Code-A-little-insight-and-delidded-7700k/...

Here is some gameplay with temps, clocks and voltage, Watchdogs 2 puts a heavy load on the cpu.

ROG Strix 1070 OC Guide - ROG Spatha X Rapid Fire - ROG Falchion Touch Panel - z270 BCLK Overclocking - Xsplit Gamecaster Guide - ROG RX 460 OC Guide

Sinept · ‎09-20-2017

core voltage is 1.168 in the bios on auto so I don't think it's that. The cpu is still running slightly higher than I'd like but hasn't topped 70 (max I've seen is like 67 or something, and that's a spike, not a running temp). I don't feel at all comfortable delidding my cpu, and I'm pretty sure that I overapplied the paste, though it is running slightly cooler now than it was when applied. I haven't gotten many games yet so I've mainly been playing emulators and some modded minecraft (all somewhat cpu heavy). I'm thinking about getting hellblade and dark souls next month (and maybe the witcher), so I'll see how it performs then. I'll still probably reapply the paste later but the cpu is running cool enough that I don't think it's really an urgent problem.

Oh, and yes I did cross tighten, though the cooler sits slightly loose anyway. Enough to twist the cooler a bit and spread the paste. It did come with a shorter set of attachment bolts for the motherboard, so maybe it would help if I used those to get it tighter? I'm not sure if the mounting screws would reach if I did though. I'll test it whenever I get around to reapplying my paste. It's worth noting that I've got a similar cooler (a hyper 212 evo) in my 8.1 that's just as loose or maybe more, but as I've stated keeps my 8.1 cooler than my 10.

Sinept · ‎09-20-2017

I did just realize that I forgot to check my ram frequency when I installed it though, and it was set to 2300MHz instead of it's rated 3000MHz (which is good because I thought it was underperforming a bit).

And I did go ahead and manually set my cpu core voltage to 1.150v, just in case.

Edit: Ram timings were off too. 17-18-18-36 instead of it's rated 15-17-17-35. I'm not sure if the command rate was off before because I didn't look for it in cpu-z, but it's set to 2N now.

i7-7700k running ~50C at ~35% not OC, air cooled. normal?