# i7 motherboard



## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

i have a i7 motherboard and i overclocked it to 3.4 Ghz with 50% load and the temp stayed at about 44-48C is this a fine temp for it?


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

If it never gets over 60c, then I would not worry about it. I didn't know if this was the idle temp or the under-stress temp, so difficult to say, but look at the top under-stress temps as a guideline to being safe.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

where can i test out the stress test for overclocking it? i am using easytune6 but i dont see anywhere where it says anthing about stress test or guideline for temps


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

If you simply want to know how hot it gets, then play a very stressful game and check the temps while it is working very hard. I use SensorviewPro to check the temps through different phases of stress.


I also use Prime 95 when I want to stress test a total computer.

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Prime95-Download-76537.html


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

wrench shows me this guide and it seems pretty good
http://images.tweaktown.com/imagebank/Core i7 920 oc 4G 2008.12.12_(ENG).pdf
i needed up using the orthos program, it seems really simple
seems like i need some thermal compound any recommendations for good thermal compound? i dont need alot i just need a good one


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

typo on needed - ended
i am going to get another hard drive as well any suggestion on a high speed one/decent hard drive? within the 60 dollar range and a dvd burner 20-30 dollar range, suggestion please


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Arctic Silver 5 for thermal compound> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

Hard drive> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148335

DVD Burner> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249045
Newegg must have had a sale slim pickings on the instock models.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

iono that hard drive seems like people say it stops working does this one seem ok?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
arctic silver 5 seems fine i will probably buy that and whats so good about that dvd burner compared to these 3?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152
they seem cheaper and better? and more reviews to go off of, lots of comments please


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

isnt the processor suppose to come with thermal compound? cause this one didnt


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The heat sink comes with thermal compound pre applied.
The DVD drives are good but all out of stock.
The WD HD will work.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

ok i finally actually have everything set for the computer, have been pretty busy with stuff, does having the heat sink that came with the processor make that big of a difference compared to a different heatsink? i tried the orthos program but when i started on 4 of the cores being stress tested the temp got over 65 so then i just turn them off, temp doesnt seem to be very low, processor not overclocked yet just normal 2.6 ghz


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

What is the idle temp, and the temp in normal game usage?


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## floydfan (Oct 18, 2006)

65c under load on stock heatsink is not a bad temp for core i7, they run hot. If you want load temps under 60c, you would need to get aftermarket cooling.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

the idle temp is 35-40 and with gaming about 45-50 but overclocking to 3.2 ghz idle is 43-46 and gaming is about 49-53, when i use the orthos and stress test just 2 of the cores not overclocked it easily gets about 65c,i wonder if i put the thermal compound on wrong on the cpu


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Your gaming temp look good, did you apply the thermal paste in a straight line or spread it?


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

pea shape on processor and spread it in a oval/circle on cpu, i tried the straight line first but temp was at like 45c idle and i retried it with the oval shape, do i need to let the thermal compound sit for like a few days to break in the thermal compound or something like that? does heat sink make that big of a difference compared to the one it came with, with one i can buy?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You don't need to let the thermal compound sit before installing the heat sink, however some like Arctic Silver 5 have a break in period of up to 50 hours of use before it works at it's peak efficiency. 
The stock heat sink will work fine at stock speeds, for overclocking it is a good idea to get a better after market cooler.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You don't need to let the thermal compound sit before installing the heat sink, however some like Arctic Silver 5 have a break in period of up to 50 hours of use before it works at it's peak efficiency. 
The stock heat sink will work fine at stock speeds, for overclocking it is a good idea to get a better after market cooler.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

any suggestions on any coolings?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Zalman 9700 > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019
And the 1366 bracket for it> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118045


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

The zalman will make your load temps drop by around 10C, maybe more.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

the guide wrench showed me made it seem so easy to get it at low temps lol but of course thats just a guide, ill think about buying this, what about overclocking the ram? can u show me where to start with that


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## floydfan (Oct 18, 2006)

the zalman is overpriced and a poor performer, even the 9900 model can't keep up with even midrange coolers from xigmatek. a much better option would be this heatsink http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055&Tpk=cooler master v8 which is also $10 cheaper than the zalman.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

so which one does everyone else thing is good/better?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

xigmatek are better than the Zalmans I use a tuniqu tower which is of similar design and about as good.

With my tuniq I get 37 degrees at idle and 56 degrees at full load. When overclocking you need to focus on cooling as much as anything else because in essence you are putting more power into the cpu and so it will get hotter than normal. I would never overclock with a stock heatsink it isn't worth the hassle and I don't have a fire extinguisher at home either.

whilst gaming for long periods especially on power intensive games like Crysis and World in conflict the cpu temp can rise drastically so aftermarket cooling is a must.

When choosing a cooler sometimes the more you pay the better quality in cooling you get but this is becoming less prevelant now. When I bought my tuniq tower I think it was about £40 odd quid you can get coolers and better ones at that for less than this now. Have a look around and read some reviews (as you should with all hardware) before buying.


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## montiaro (Jul 21, 2008)

any guide on overclocking my ram?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

It's in the guide if you raise the Bclk the Uncore, QPI and DDR3 change at the same time.


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