TRUE Temps higher than stock cooler, where have I gone wrong?

[Krow]

I got the TRUE 120 eXtreme Rev C for 2.8k for my Phenom II X4 940 BE as the OCZ Vendetta 2 was out of stock.

Mobo: GA-MA790GP-UD4H

I mounted the TRUE vertically and have installed no fan. My case is CM-Elite 334 and I need to keep the side panel open for the TRUE (only half an inch wider).

Now the problem is that the CPU vcore is 1.216V and the temps on stock were 41 idle and 62 load under prime 95. Under TRUE now the temps are 44-49 idle and about 70 on load. Used the Thermal Paste that came with the cooler.

Where have I gone wrong? Please help me with this and as you already know, I am new to third-party coolers. This is my first. :ashamed:

 

[kekerode]

I got the TRUE 120 eXtreme Rev C for 2.8k for my Phenom II X4 940 BE as the OCZ Vendetta 2 was out of stock.

Mobo: GA-MA790GP-UD4H

I mounted the TRUE vertically and have installed no fan. My case is CM-Elite 334 and I need to keep the side panel open for the TRUE (only half an inch wider).

Now the problem is that the CPU vcore is 1.216V and the temps on stock were 41 idle and 62 load under prime 95. Under TRUE now the temps are 44-49 idle and about 70 on load. Used the Thermal Paste that came with the cooler.

Where have I gone wrong? Please help me with this and as you already know, I am new to third-party coolers. This is my first. :ashamed:

Not able to understand ... have u installed fan for TRUE or not ? :S

 

[madnav]

you need to use a 120mm fan with TRUE 120... it's not going to do wonders without a fan

vendetta comes with a 120mm fan... and i suppose you did not know fan was necessary for TRUE (may be that is why you bought it over vendetta incase of unavailability)

try to get it replaced for vendetta incase 120mm fan is not affordable..

the cheapest..yet well performing fan you can opt for in 500 budget would be CM 120mm 90cfm fan...costs ~450

 

[-Anish-]

^ Not really, passive cooling can also give you good results. I had a Q9450 passively cooled by TRUE and the temps were 29-31 @ 3.6ghz idle.

@ OP : Try to reseat the cooler with appropriate amount of goop (use MX2 if possible).

 

[Krow]

@ kekerode: I have not installed any fan.

@ madnav: Isn't TRUE supposed to cool more than my stock cooler did without the fan? I do have the CM budget fan you mentioned and I will try it for sure, but before that I whink I'll reseat the TRUE first.

@ |Anish|: I used The Chill Factor Thermal Paste which came with the pack, is it any good? I also have a CM "High Performance" Thermal compound kit, is that good enough?

Also, when I tighten the screws fully, my board bends a bit, so I loosened them a little, is that a mistake? Does mounting vertically make a difference as opposed to horizontally?

Thanks for replies, please keep 'em coming.

 

[ronnie_gogs]

If you use too much thermal paste the temps will be affected... you have to use very less thermal paste

 

[Rockfella]

Use moderate thermal paste along with a good high quality 120 mm fan for optimum desired results.

 

[madnav]

the efficiency of passive cooling will depend on ambient temperatures and airflow in the case.

as suggested by many...use minimal thermal paste and try arranging a 120mm fan

 

[dOm1naTOr]

Ya, a 120mm fan makes a lot of difference.

Also the idle temps of yours with stock cooler too seems high. First of all, enable cnq in bios. I was getting idle temps of 28c with my stock cooler for B50. With TRU120A, now my idle temps are 25~26 and max load temps are 38~39c @ 3.5Ghz. I have installed two 120mm fans on it, both with PCI bracket speed controllers.

 

[mental2010]

check the instruction pdf's fr ur socket type on this site:

Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

assuming the components u have used match the socket type and they are properly secure. The thermal paste that comes with the heatsinks is definitely good enough cuz they wouldn't want their product to underperform!!!

Thin layer of thermal paste is to be applied to CPU surface and heatsink bottom. Depending on how fans adjacent to the heatsink act u may decide to mount vertically or horizontally.

 

[Krow]

If you use too much thermal paste the temps will be affected... you have to use very less thermal paste

Yes, I had used too much paste earlier, almost like toothpaste on my brush. :ashamed:

Use moderate thermal paste along with a good high quality 120 mm fan for optimum desired results.

Used CM HTK-002 thermal compound kit now and the thermal paste. This time around however, it was looking much neater, with a thin layer of paste evenly spread all over the base of the CPU and TRUE. Fan.. I'll try that now, although my cabinet back fan is pointing towards the TRUE mounted horizontally now, I know the fan is not great, but temps are still EXTREMELY high.

the efficiency of passive cooling will depend on ambient temperatures and airflow in the case.

as suggested by many...use minimal thermal paste and try arranging a 120mm fan

Yeah, well, ambient temperatures are a bit high, but its autumn and the temps can't be above 32-34 here in Mumbai can they? Airflow in the case is pretty average, the side panel is open if that helps and a CM 90CFM 120MM 2000RPM 19DbA fan is cooling the HDD's from the front. HDD1 temp = 36 and HDD 2 Temp = 32 degrees. I cleaned the entire rig yesterday before mounting the TRUE, using an old vaccuum cleaner. It looks pretty new now. Dust was pretty high and it is a rather buggy issue to me.

Ya, a 120mm fan makes a lot of difference.

Also the idle temps of yours with stock cooler too seems high. First of all, enable cnq in bios. I was getting idle temps of 28c with my stock cooler for B50. With TRU120A, now my idle temps are 25~26 and max load temps are 38~39c @ 3.5Ghz. I have installed two 120mm fans on it, both with PCI bracket speed controllers.

I'll enable CnQ but even if I do, the temps with the stock cooler are not bothering me much. TRUE was tested by me yesterday night under prime95 for 5 minutes and temps touched 70 degrees. Today I remounted using evenly spread thin layer of paste and whoa, after 10 minutes of prmie95, temps are at 79 degrees.

check the instruction pdf's fr ur socket type on this site:

Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

assuming the components u have used match the socket type and they are properly secure. The thermal paste that comes with the heatsinks is definitely good enough cuz they wouldn't want their product to underperform!!!

Thin layer of thermal paste is to be applied to CPU surface and heatsink bottom. Depending on how fans adjacent to the heatsink act u may decide to mount vertically or horizontally.

Thanks for the link. I'm reading the PDF now and I'll let you know what instruction I missed.

This is frustrating for sure, does the fan have so much of a difference on the TRUE that it will decrease my temps from 40-80 to about 30-50 or thereabouts? I am willing to get the fan for sure, but only after I can be sure that temps fall significantly.

EDIT: I read the manual and it is the same as the one which was in the box. The only thing that was not there in the box was the anti vibration clip. Other than that I have installed the TRUE as per the manual. What could be wrong guys?

 

[madnav]

dude if you are living in mumbai and your room is not air conditioned then you should not think of passive cooling atleast in this month of year... it's October heat and temperature outside is as high as 34-36c during day.

you will kill your processor life at ~80c.. just transfer that 120mm CM 90cfm fan over to true as the HDDs seem cooler than usual anyways... the difference will be notable... idle temp with cool and quiet shall be below 38-40c mark and at load ... max 55c with fan at full speed.

you can always try to confirm your doubts when you have what it takes to try

also..
clean all that thermal compound with nail polish remover OR aceton (available at medical stores)... and use thermal compound/paste only as much as a rice grain.... the purpose is to for a thin layer of that compound between the processor and the heatsink base.

 

[Krow]

dude if you are living in mumbai and your room is not air conditioned then you should not think of passive cooling atleast in this month of year... it's October heat and temperature outside is as high as 34-36c during day.

you will kill your processor life at ~80c.. just transfer that 120mm CM 90cfm fan over to true as the HDDs seem cooler than usual anyways... the difference will be notable... idle temp with cool and quiet shall be below 38-40c mark and at load ... max 55c with fan at full speed.

you can always try to confirm your doubts when you have what it takes to try

Okay, thanks for quick reply. I will try it, sure now. I was trying to avoid it because installing that fan with screws in the front of my cabby was a BIG PITA! I'll try it and let you know.

 

[cranky]

The design of the TRUE does not give good results with passive cooling - the HR-01 is better suited to that task because of the wider gap between fins.

Your temps are within range for a passively cooled system. Such a system is not typically designed for benching with Prime, or indeed any heavy-duty tasks. You have to make some choices, and some sacrifices as a result of those choices. Without the fan you will have a much quieter system, but significantly higher temperatures.

 

[arun687]

I'll enable CnQ but even if I do, the temps with the stock cooler are not bothering me much. TRUE was tested by me yesterday night under prime95 for 5 minutes and temps touched 70 degrees. Today I remounted using evenly spread thin layer of paste and whoa, after 10 minutes of prmie95, temps are at 79 degrees.

Hey, just wondering, I've the same proccy with stock cooler and for me idle temps are 36C and with prime95 goes upto about 62-64 C depending on room temp. With air conditioning on, it rarely crosses 63C in prime95. I've read somewhere that the max temp for this proccy is 62C. Is it? What's the max safe limit for this proccy? Ofcourse, prime95 is the real torture and in real world apps and games, it never crosses 60C. But still, is it ok if it goes to 64C sometimes?

 

[Krow]

also..

clean all that thermal compound with nail polish remover OR aceton (available at medical stores)... and use thermal compound/paste only as much as a rice grain.... the purpose is to for a thin layer of that compound between the processor and the heatsink base.

Erm... I cleaned with a clean dry cloth, did I do something stupid? :ashamed: But I applied for the second time as much as 1.5 rice grains. Layer is thin and evenly spread. Finally learned how to apply the compound...

The design of the TRUE does not give good results with passive cooling - the HR-01 is better suited to that task because of the wider gap between fins.

Your temps are within range for a passively cooled system. Such a system is not typically designed for benching with Prime, or indeed any heavy-duty tasks. You have to make some choices, and some sacrifices as a result of those choices. Without the fan you will have a much quieter system, but significantly higher temperatures.

Very informative. Thanks. The noise is really not an issue for me as I can take it, I want a cool system with a tolerable level of noise, need not be quiet as a valley.

Hey, just wondering, I've the same proccy with stock cooler and for me idle temps are 36C and with prime95 goes upto about 62-64 C depending on room temp. With air conditioning on, it rarely crosses 63C in prime95. I've read somewhere that the max temp for this proccy is 62C. Is it? What's the max safe limit for this proccy? Ofcourse, prime95 is the real torture and in real world apps and games, it never crosses 60C. But still, is it ok if it goes to 64C sometimes?

I used to get 41 idle and 63 max load @ vcore 1.23V. IMO, its not really a big issue if CPU is going a couple of degrees above limit, as on stock, my system used to touch 77 degrees on load. I updated the BIOS and reduced the vcore to bring it down to 63 before I felt a bit at ease though. Try a better thermal paste and temp should decrease further.

UPDATE TIME: After about 15 minutes on prime95, the system touched max 55 degrees and was 38-42 idle. All this after placing a single CM 90 CFM 120mm 2000RPM fan (450 bucks). I also found this software called Intel Burn Test/Linpack somewhere on google. Should I try that to check system load temps on this setup now or is it too risky?

Was having a look at fans for my TRUE just now and could not come to a significant conclusion. I want a high performance fan, budget is a bit tight, but I narrowed down to Silverstone 110CFM fan with controller (is it 750 bucks)? I wanted to buy this one as the controller is a real help. Any other fans you people may want to recommend? I am looking for a high performance fan and i don't want LED/fancy fans. As for budget, I can get the aforementioned fan for 750, but if there is something for higher, then it should justify its price tag with some serious performance gain.

EDIT: Can anyone please recommend a good utility to regulate fan speed (don't wanna reboot everytime toget into BIOS)? I have plugged the fan to the motherboard itself.

Repping most repliers. Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[arun687]

Erm... I cleaned with a clean dry cloth, did I do something stupid? :ashamed: But I applied for the second time as much as 1.5 rice grains. Layer is thin and evenly spread. Finally learned how to apply the compound...
Very informative. Thanks. The noise is really not an issue for me as I can take it, I want a cool system with a tolerable level of noise, need not be quiet as a valley.
I used to get 41 idle and 63 max load @ vcore 1.23V. IMO, its not really a big issue if CPU is going a couple of degrees above limit, as on stock, my system used to touch 77 degrees on load. I updated the BIOS and reduced the vcore to bring it down to 63 before I felt a bit at ease though. Try a better thermal paste and temp should decrease further.
UPDATE TIME: After about 15 minutes on prime95, the system touched max 55 degrees and was 38-42 idle. All this after placing a single CM 90 CFM 120mm 2000RPM fan (450 bucks). I also found this software called Intel Burn Test/Linpack somewhere on google. Should I try that to check system load temps on this setup now or is it too risky?

Was having a look at fans for my TRUE just now and could not come to a significant conclusion. I want a high performance fan, budget is a bit tight, but I narrowed down to Silverstone 110CFM fan with controller (is it 750 bucks)? I wanted to buy this one as the controller is a real help. Any other fans you people may want to recommend? I am looking for a high performance fan and i don't want LED/fancy fans. As for budget, I can get the aforementioned fan for 750, but if there is something for higher, then it should justify its price tag with some serious performance gain.

EDIT: Can anyone please recommend a good utility to regulate fan speed (don't wanna reboot everytime toget into BIOS)? I have plugged the fan to the motherboard itself.

Repping most repliers. Thanks a lot for your help.

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure the temps are in safe limits.

As far as your temps go, it's looking very impressive. I've the same CM fan for exhaust in my cabby.

 

[madnav]

EDIT: Can anyone please recommend a good utility to regulate fan speed (don't wanna reboot everytime toget into BIOS)? I have plugged the fan to the motherboard itself.

try speedfan

do a google search

 

[Krow]

Okay. Intel Burn Test passed on standard 1024MB settings with max temp 54. Trying on higher settings and will report.

Erm, can anyone recommend a good performance fan please?

 

[ronnie_gogs]

Yes, I had used too much paste earlier, almost like toothpaste on my brush. :ashamed:

Not trying to make fun of you but this statement seriously made me laugh :rofl:

Hope the temps are fine now....Do use a 120mm fan too to get good temps....