Socket problem?

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   I recently put together a new build:
ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+
Intel 6600k
MSI NVidia GTX 970 OC 4 GHz
32 GB Corsair LPX Vengeance DDR4 rated for 3000 MHz

I had a little trouble getting the board to post, but that really wasn't a big deal.

Problem is, the CPU has run hot from day 1. It never runs below 62 degC, even idle with 7x120 mm case fans on high. Any time I try to run a game, or edit video, the CPU temp jumps up to 100 degC and stays there. 

Admittedly, I am running just a stock-ish passive heatsink I salvaged out of another computer, so it doesn't surprise me that it's getting hot when I try to run a game. What does concern me is the 62C idle temp. 

That seems crazy hot to me. Is this normal? Could it be a hardware compatability issue? Could it be an issue with the CPU or the board?

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jjmelic Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 Oct 2015 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jjmelic Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Socket problem? Posted: 15 Oct 2015 at 1:27pm
	I recently put together a new build: ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+ Intel 6600k MSI NVidia GTX 970 OC 4 GHz 32 GB Corsair LPX Vengeance DDR4 rated for 3000 MHz I had a little trouble getting the board to post, but that really wasn't a big deal. Problem is, the CPU has run hot from day 1. It never runs below 62 degC, even idle with 7x120 mm case fans on high. Any time I try to run a game, or edit video, the CPU temp jumps up to 100 degC and stays there. Admittedly, I am running just a stock-ish passive heatsink I salvaged out of another computer, so it doesn't surprise me that it's getting hot when I try to run a game. What does concern me is the 62C idle temp. That seems crazy hot to me. Is this normal? Could it be a hardware compatability issue? Could it be an issue with the CPU or the board?

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15 Oct 2015 at 3:54pm
	You're using a "stock-ish passive heatsink"? I'd like to know more about it, for example what was the computer like that you borrowed it from? Any idea what CPU was in that PC? How is this heatsink attached to the CPU/board? How much thermal compound did you use? I have the same ASRock board and i5-6600K processor that you do. I use a Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler with two fans on it. At a mild OC of 4.2GHz when stress testing with the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility program, I never exceed ~45C. My idle temperatures are ~20C, dipping below that frequently. Granted that is a large CPU cooler, weighing ~two pounds without fans. It's not the board or CPU that is the problem, it's the CPU cooler you're using. While Skylake 6600K's run cool in my experience, I have all the CPU power saving options enabled in the UEFI/BIOS that allows the CPU to clock down to 800MHz at idle. The Windows Power Plan should be set to Balanced too. If I disable those option so the CPU is operating at 4.2GHz at idle, with automatic fan speed control for the CPU cooler fans (really all the case fans too), I'm still a bit below 30C. The actual processor die of a Skylake processor is smaller than a postage stamp, about a 1/2" x 3/4" rectangle. If your CPU cooler is not contacting the CPU's top firmly, the heat transfer will be poor. With no fan on the (mystery) heatsink, trying to cool your processor will be impossible, as you have seen. Sorry to say, yes there is a hardware compatibility issue, your CPU cooler is woefully inadequate, either in mounting or heat dissipation, or most likely both. If you can get a stock Intel CPU cooler from any Intel i5 processor as far back as an i5-2500, or any Intel socket 115x processor, that will work much better than what you're using now. Compatibility between the CPU cooler and the CPU socket and board are critical for correctly cooling a processor. CPU coolers that are designed to be passive are even larger than my NH-D14. Even with the best passive CPU cooler, the processor temperatures will be greater than a good quality CPU cooler with a fan dedicated for its cooling. You can try enabling (not Auto settings) all the CPU power saving options (SpeedStep, C1E, C States down the C6, and package C State) which is not done by default in the UEFI/BIOS. But that is just a small bandaid on a big problem.


jjmelic Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 Oct 2015 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jjmelic Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 Oct 2015 at 3:29am
	The heatsink I'm using is out of an older Dell. It's a very plain-jane affair. It's a block of cast metal with some cooling fins sticking off the top. I don't know the exact socket of the mobo I pulled it off of, but the mounting-screw pattern is the same 75mm spacing as the board, so it was a 115x series. I used Arctic Silver thermal paste to mount it. I did attempt to remount it once, thinking that it might not have been making proper contact with the processor lid. When I remounted it, I carefully cleaned the heatsink and the lid of the processor with denatured alcohol and re-applied the thermal paste. I had also considered that the airflow pattern in my case might be the issue. I removed one of the side case fans and (don't try this at home, kiddies), have that fan sitting directly on top of my video card blowing across the heatsink and towards the rear exhaust fan. This did improve things by 2-3 degC, at idle but that's not much improvement considering the chip is running 30 degrees hotter at idle, and 40-50 degrees hotter under load than anything else I've ever owned. I've been building my own computers since the 1980s, and I've never had a chip run this hot, no matter how woeful the heatsink. But this is my first Skylake build, so I don't know how hot they normally run. In a month or two when I get a break from the 70 hr/wk schedule that I'm currently on, I will be installing a custom water loop - so the heatsink that's on there was never meant as anything besides a stopgap to keep from getting thermal damage on the chip until I get time to install the custom copper. I did order a better brand-name active heatsink last night to try to eliminate poor heatsink perfomance from the list of possibilities. It's a CoolerMaster EVO 212, which is capable of dissipating ~300W depending on the ambient temp and airflow through the case. There are people online OC'ing the 6600k on that heatsink to 4.5 GHz with full-load temps in the low 50s. So when I get it in early next week, and install it, I'll be able to see if it really is the rinky-dink heatsink to blame or, if I may actually have a defective chip or board on my hands. I'm not going to bother adjusting the off-BIOS chip settings, because like you say, if the CPU won't run <35 C at stock voltage once the CoolerMaster is installed, I obviously have bigger issues to deal with. Which brings us to the second (far more minor) issue I'm having with this build... I have 4x8 GB Corsair LPX Vengeance DDR4 sticks that are rated for 3000 MHz, but will not run at anything besides 2133 MHz even with the xmp 2.0 profile enabled. And when xmp is enabled, it causes stability/boot issues. Will I have to manually adjust the DRAM voltage to get my RAM to run its stock frequency? Any help is appreciated.

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 Oct 2015 at 12:29pm
	The CM EVO will be much better than what you are using now. It is a decent mid to upper midrange CPU cooler. The temperatures you mentioned for a 4.5GHz OC when using an EVO should give you an idea how Skylake processors are regarding temperature. They are cooler running than Haswell processors and IMO are amazingly cool running given they use TIM between the IHS and processor die, rather than solder. If that Dell PC was only using a passive CPU cooler, that must have been a very weak processor. DDR4 memory at 3000 or above, when using the XMP profile, tends to set the BCLK to 125MHz, from the standard 100MHz. That causes an automatic CPU OC of any processor. The 3.5GHz base clock of an i5-6600K becomes 4.375GHz with the BCLK at 125MHz, and 4.875GHz as its Turbo speed. That does not take into account any affect the 125MHz BCLK has on other components that use the same BCLK. Check the BCLK speed in the UEFI with the XMP profile enabled, and memory speeds above 2133 selected. You can check the memory voltage with XMP enabled, which I'm sure will be above the DDR4 standard of 1.2V.


Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 25028	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 Oct 2015 at 1:03pm
	I doubt there is anything wrong with your board or CPU, my Haswell system would rocket from 35c at idle all the way up to 76c under load on the stock cooler it came with which is at least 3 times more effective than what you are using. Once the load ended it would quickly return to the mid 30s. I would suspect that the system you pulled the cooler from was using a celeron or a low power CPU like intel's T and S CPUs that run as low as 35w. I am sure the new cooler will bring your temps in line. Just be careful in the mean time not to burn out your system, 100c can be dangerous to the system with prolonged use.

scajjr2 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 05 Oct 2015 Location: NH, USA Status: Offline Points: 11	Post Options Post Reply Quote scajjr2 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 Oct 2015 at 6:19pm
	having refurb'd a lot of older Dells, a lot had big heatsinks on them BUT also had a fan that would blow across them. A lot had a big shroud over the CPU, the fan was mounted in the front of the case and the shroud /tunnel directed the air over the heatsink. Sam

jjmelic Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 Oct 2015 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jjmelic Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 Oct 2015 at 7:48am
	It really was the heatsink. I feel a little sheepish for having posted now. Idle temps now in the high 20s to low 30s, and even stress tests OC'd to 4.4 GHz won't push it over 70C. Appreciate the info in this thread on how to set up the RAM for 3000 MHz. Cheers!