Overclocking, worth it?

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sitnet

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Hey guys :)

Ok so I am running a Intel Q8400 at it's stock 2.6 Ghz. With the stock cooler it was heavily overheating (got above 80"C on load, it even shut down once). I think the fan on that thing was not working properly. So bought this : http://www.deepcool-us.com/Product/ICE_BLADE_PRO/

It is now running at 39C idle and max 62C on 100% load for 10 mins with the Intel burn test. That is better than it was, but not very good either.

I am considering overclocking to 3.0Ghz, but do you think it will be worth the rise in temp, and a shortened lifespan of the CPU?

Here is a photo of how the case looks now with that cooler in (took me damn long to fit it in, and it is millimeters away from the south bridge heatsink and the top of the case):

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9638/img1789q.jpg
 
If you can remount the cooler so that it blows towards that case fan it should help a bit too(If its an exhaust fan). I dont really know what are the max temps for that cpu you have, but i had a E6600 at 3.0ghz for over 2 years and its still running in my dads rig. So you should not see any degraded life span. So in short crank it up to 3ghz and run a stability benchmark to check if its stable :)
 
Yeah, I have a 12CM fan pressed in above that CPU cooler, thata blows the air directly out of the case. And the rear fan is also an exhaust. The front 12CM is the intake. And later I will put in this 8CM 4000rpm Vizo windstorm as another intake.

But I am worried about those temps, my other pc has a E8400 (dual core) running at 30C idle and 45C max load, with a stock CPU cooler. That is why my temps are worrying me.
 
That box is an overclocking nightmare if the room is hot. You have no air coming in that i can see in the picture. That small side fan is not going to do the job. Everything is cramped. Air flow looks non existent.
 
Yeah I read that and I see what you mean. The problem is that it hits 62 max on full load, so upping voltage would probably take it over the 70C mark. My question though, I see there are people that run cooler temps with a stock cooler than I get with this huge cooler. Maybe there is something wrong with this CPU?
 
killadoob said:
That box is an overclocking nightmare if the room is hot. You have no air coming in that i can see in the picture. That small side fan is not going to do the job. Everything is cramped. Air flow looks non existent.
Click to expand...

It seems that there is good airflow? I have 3 exhaust fans (12 CM) and 1 12CM intake. The cables are as tidy as I can get them. I will add another 12CM and 8CM intake asap. But there isn't really anything I can do to get better airflow, is there?
 
sitnet said:
It seems that there is good airflow? I have 3 exhaust fans (12 CM) and 1 12CM intake. The cables are as tidy as I can get them. I will add another 12CM and 8CM intake asap. But there isn't really anything I can do to get better airflow, is there?
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Nope but you should not be overclocking then because temps are going to be a problem.

Overclocking you need air or water cooling, depends on the cpu of course but in general lots of air is preferred. You seem to have a lot of exhausts considering you only have one fan on the intake job.

Take the side panel off and put a fan on 3 or high. A normal fan for a hot day :D. A big cooler does not always mean better cooling, if anything it can block the airflow.

That cpu fan looks like it is sucking hot air in from the north bridge and vga card as well. The intake is blowing in air heating it up and sending it through the cpu fan hot . What happens if you disconnect the cpu cooler fan?
 
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Ok but can you give me a suggestion so that I can get the best airflow with my current setup (without using a normal desk fan, I don't have room for one)? Maybe I should add a 8cm intake fan on the rear just above the graphics card? Or should I just push 81cfm in from the front?
 
I can see only a deskfan or different box making a difference, if the room is hot you are screwed in my opinion without a desk fan. You will need to test, you need cool air to land on the cpu which is not happening, it is hitting the cpu fan hot depending on the room temp by the look of it.

Add some fans and see but i doubt you will get more than 2-3 degrees if you are lucky.

Take the side panel off and see what it does to the temps. Would be interesting :D.
 
Ok going to take the side panel off now. I think I am going to try and remount that CPU fan so that the fan faces to the front (I don't think there is enough space though, but worth a try), and then add another intake fan directly in line with the CPU fan.

Will let you guys now the results of taking of the side panel shortly...
 
sitnet said:
Ok going to take the side panel off now. I think I am going to try and remount that CPU fan so that the fan faces to the front (I don't think there is enough space though, but worth a try), and then add another intake fan directly in line with the CPU fan.

Will let you guys now the results of taking of the side panel shortly...
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No dude don't try and do things you are not suppose to be done haha, you will cry when you break something or get frustrated. A good test is taking the side panel off and you could also turn off the fan for the cpu, separate tests of course. It is about trying different things and checking the results. Can that fan go the opposite side of the cpu?

You should know what the temp in the room is or else the room temp could drop 5 degrees and you think Wow that worked wonders when it was just a drop in room temp :D.
 
Ok I removed the side panel and the CPU still runs 39 on 10% load. I then took this Vizo windstorm and held it under the heatsink of the CPU and pushed in cold air directly from outside, and still 39C!? It was running at 3900rpm, it sounds like a hairdryer!

Can it be that the CPU sensors are defective?
 
Try remount the cooler facing the rear exhaust fan ie. heatpipes vertical, check thermal paste contact..
 
HavocXphere said:
And fry the CPU in 60 seconds flat?
Click to expand...

With a heatsink that big?

It could be the program you are using. Wait for the room temp to drop later on and check if the temps dropped. My old 9550 would report 45 idle no matter what temp monitor i used. I could only check the temp in the bios.

Seems odd if you are putting cool air directly that the temp would not drop. Wait for later tonight rather.

Yea follow dude's advice.
 
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Ok I will remount later, and I am sure the paste is making proper contact, the screws are all tightened exatly the same.

I just hope it fits, because it is actually supposed to be mounted vertically like mentioned but I didn't think it would fit.
 
Dude don't remount just yet, sit tight and wait for the room temp to drop tonight, well assuming you are in an area where the room temp drops :D.

Rather make sure the temp monitor is working and see the temps when it's cooler. Mount the fan like it should be as well. This is all about testing and seeing what air affects the temps. No quick fix. If that still fails then you need to check the paste :eek:
 
sitnet said:
Ok I will remount later, and I am sure the paste is making proper contact, the screws are all tightened exatly the same.

I just hope it fits, because it is actually supposed to be mounted vertically like mentioned but I didn't think it would fit.
Click to expand...

I have a q9550 running at 3.6 and it never gets over 45. It's probably due to the thermarite ultimate extreme it sits under. Remount with good thermal compound and use a few other programs to check temps. You don't need hectic airflow in a case to do a mild oc. The old q6600's were fine with stock cooling and running at 3ghz( standard 2.4)


*Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk *
 
Ok the roomtemp is already cooling down a bit, but the core 0 temp is still 39C. I did a lot of reading in the time passed and came down on a post saying that it might be bios related that the readings are wrong.

I have a Intel DP45GS motherboard with shipped BIOS. I have heard a lot of people complaining that this "stock" bios version has a lot of issues in terms of hardware (like only 1.5V ram working).

Later (about 20:00) I will check the temp in the bios settings to see if it has gone down. But do you guys think it's worth a try to update the bios(I have never done this but I am good with things like this, for example flashing phones with custom firmware etc. And I know how flashing works and the dangers if it is done wrong)?

EDIT: Sorry I see I have said I have a DP45[GS] board, it's actually DP45[SG]. AKA Skyberg. I see there are new 2010 bios availible, do not know if I am going to flash though...
 
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