Hi all,My CPU runs a lot hotter than other CPUs I know of. It's a G0 stepping. Idling, it runs at 49-49-45-44 degrees Celsius. In FSX, it runs to the high-50s to high-40s. Prime95, it runs in the 80s-70s. I know a LOT of people who can take their quad up to 3.3-3.4 GHz on a Thermaltake V1, but if I do it, the CPU overheats very quickly on Prime95, despite having some of the best cooling around: 2 25 cm fans and 4 12 cm fans in the case. In FSX it runs to the mid-60s and low-70s. I have to stick with 3.2 GHz. And my 3DMark06 score is pretty low compared to other systems with my setup. Is there something wrong here?Thanks,

Did you play around with the vCore? You're aware that the more voltage you give the cpu, the hotter it gets.What are you using to measure the temps? Maybe that's not really the true temperature of the cores. And even at 80

A Q6600 when overclocked is going to generate some heat.Make sure the thermal compound on the cpu was applied correctly. A common mistake is to apply too much when installing aftermarket coolers. It can result in poor cpu cooler performance.I don't know what voltage you are running; If it were me I would want to compare that to what my friends run with their Q6600's. I would also compare my specs (memory, motherboard, BIOS settings) with theirs to see what makes them do better than me.RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

Thanks for your replies, (Mace replied as I was writing this)Right now I'm using 1.35 Vcore for 3.2 Ghz. Is this too much? If so, could you give me a better value? And is it possible to bump up the clock speed with that value?The machine didn't shut down. It did however, throttle itself and shut down all apps and processes.I double-checked the thermal paste and it's applied fine.Thanks guys,

It doesn't really seem high as I've seen 1.4925 to get to 3.6. You may actually need to bump it up in the smallest increment your motherboard will allow and see how it goes.I still don't think those temps are excessively hot unless you're in the arctic.Those quads as well as everything Intel makes have thermal protection which should save the processor should you try something dangerous. Just be cautious with the voltage increases and watch the temps as you go.Regards,Jim Karn

Looks fine. My Q66 runs at 3.6 with at ~ 1.45V, in the high 70s with prime. Everest will get into the mid 70s. FS is a light load compared to those stress testers. Try setting 1.45v in the bios and check that voltage with Everest or CPUZ. Never trust the bios setting. If your cooler will handle it, those GOs will run at 3.6 all day at ~1.45v. I'd suggest to use Intel's speed step. That will drop the multi to Y (6?) under noload and pop it up to X (9?) under load. Save a tree.

Thanks for the replies everyone,I'm going to reduce Vcore to 1.3 or 1.275, raise clock speed and see if it works. Let me clarify, if voltage is too low, the PC won't POST, is that correct?Here's the thing. I know a friend with the exact same setup as mine, same cooler...in short, everything. He can go up to 3.4 GHz easy, and his CPU doesn't get hot even with Prime95 running. I try to do the same thing, but I cannot pass 3.2 without at least throttling the CPU. But I'm at 3.2 GHz in a weird way. To get a 1.6 Ghz FSB, I have my mult. at 8, and my FSB at 400. Is this what's causing the extra heat?I'm readily willing to sacrifice FSB speed to reach a higher clock speed, like 3.3 or 3.4 GHz at the least. But will a lower FSB speed reduce performance in FSX?Thanks very much everyone,Regards,

(This is a Q6600/GO?) If the voltage is too low, the PC will likely boot but will be unstable (fail prime etc).Your CPU is not throttling. This is a system that is built into the CPU core that declocks that CPU if temp hits 95C. The FSB speed will not create CPU heat. Additionally, FSB speed will not influence performance. For instance, the new Nehalem will run a 133Mhz FSB. There's no need to run 400Mhz other than to drive the CPU's speed. Try a 400Mhz FSB, 9X multi and 1.45Vcore If your core is getting hotter with the same settings, this is a cooling issue. Check fan speeds, HS install, etc.

Motherboards vary in how they handle overclocking. It may not post if the vCore is too low, though there could be other issues at play within the BIOS as well to cause the machine not to boot.Are you sure the heatsink was installed correctly with the right amount of paste? The heat is being generated by four cores that have a lot of voltage (relatively speaking) running through them which needs to be dissipated by proper contact with a heatsink.You also could have one of the unlucky chips that just doesn't overclock very well. Using something like CoreTemp (http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/), what is the VID? Regards,Jim Karn

My VID is 1.2250 according to CoreTemp. Thermal paste was applied correctly, and the heatsink is tightly on the CPU.Thanks!

Does your friend have the same VID? That might explain the differences in temps.Regards,Jim Karn

Actually, his VID is 1.2650. I'll overclock a tad more and report the temperatures.Thanks!

BG - Don't take this wrong but you commented that you checked and the thermal paste was applied ok. If you lifted the heatsink to check, you need to reapply. It has been mny experience that the overwhelming majority of heat related issues can be traced to improper heat sink/thermal paste issues.I don't have the link handy but Arctic Silver has a diagram on their website indicating the proper application for a quad. The cores run in s specific pattern and if you just put a dab in the center you may not be getting good coverage.If it were me, I'd bite the bullet, remove the heatsink and CPU. Get some coffe filters (good lint free paper source) and some denatured Ulcohol and clean off the CPU and heatsink thoroughly. Apply a VERY small amout of paste, I prefer Arctic Silver 5, according to the diagram and replace the heatsink.Usually takes quite a few hours before the paste "sets".VicQ6600 G0 CPU 2.4 o/c 3.65Evga 680i A1 with P31 BIOS 2G XP2-8500 DDR2 1066FSB Mushkin 996535 RAM 5-5-4-12-2T320G 7200 HD partitioned for XP/Vista/Programs 2 - 74G Raptors in RAID0 500G 7200 HD for backup SATA DVD burner Evga 8800GTS 640 PCIx XG 174.74 702/1620/792Kandalf LCS case w/ built in liquid cooling 850W Thermaltake power supplyVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-supporter-sigbanner.jpg

Thanks Vic,I did what you said, now everything works great. Prime95 running for 12 hours with some programs in the background, the CPU CoreTemp temps were 67-67-63-62 and wavering a bit. Idling, it's at 50-50-46-44 and wavering. It used to be in the 80s, but I lowered my Vcore dramatically, so it runs a lot cooler now. I tried running 3.3 GHz (366x9), but on bootup, I got a BSOD!!! So now I'm back at 3.2 GHz on a 1600 FSB with 1.3 Vcore.Thanks everyone!