Hot Clarksdale i7 XM

I recently installed a 940XM ES in my R2. Right after first installing it, I noticed what seemed like high temps, so I did a repaste before putting it back (using ArcticSilver 5 with all four heatsink screws in until they won't turn any farther).

Even now, though, it still gets really hot, like 90°C+ when it's idling with Turbo on (the first and second cores usually go to 99°C, but never hit 100°C). With Turbo disabled, it usually stays under 70°C, but I didn't get an XM to use it in a crippled state. I've noticed that the fourth core is consistently about 15-30°C lower than the other cores, even under load.

Is it possible that it's mis-reporting its temperature (I think it's suspicious how often it goes up to 99°C without ever going half a degree higher)? Is this normal behavior? I realize that Intel's maximum operating temperature for it is 100°C, but I was under the impression it shouldn't be running quite so warm with adequate cooling.

 

I had the same problem. Re-pasting plenty times with different paste and was sure i had a faulty CPU.

Tried in the end with the Diamond paste.
Laid a semi thick strip of it like in the video describing 7970 GPU on youtube for eurocom in alienware M17/18 computers. (not spreading since the screw pressure will squeeze it out, but heating the paste slightly in very hot vater when applying since it is quite hard)
I have done some electronic work before but never expected the type of paste to mean that much. And i also know how to normally apply paste.


Now i can overclock 5%. And run 3dMark etc and never ever hitting 90 deg.

The reason for temp staying below 99 i think is that its reducing speed on the specific cores to save itself.

BTW

screwing the screws to hard bottom could cause the heatsink to not be totally flat on the CPU.
It should be fastened in sequence and a little at the time.

I unscrewed it at least 1/4 turn from bottom in the end not to press to hard.

 

Thanks for the replies! I ordered some Arctic MX-4 last week; how would it compare with the Diamond?

Are the XMs engineered to run safely at higher temperatures than other i7s? What's the desirable range for processor temps on a gaming laptop? (e.g. Mobility video cards tend to 15°C hotter than their desktop counterparts; are mobile processors the same way?)

 

Yes and no, it's all the same silicon, but the chips tend to run at lower voltages so they take the same degradation at higher temperatures.

How is contact to the CPU? If a thick layer of paste (and diamond is a very thick paste) is helping then maybe a copper shim would reduce temperatures.

 

Thicker isn't necessarily better, it depends on the how well the compund carry temperature. (dissipation)
Normally thinner layer is better since the heatsink is about as good as it gets, not the paste, and you want to get to the copper of the heatsink as soon as possible from the CPU.
A "hard" metal shim will not give 100% contact, all small microcracks and uneven surfaces need contact with the copper. (uneven both sides and even talking about glass it is not 100% even)
Its like trying to cook something in a dry hot frying pan. When adding a little bit of butter you see how quickly it finishes since you get 100% contact, not just spot contact.
(Could also be your heatsink beeing to uneven to give good short travel distance from all of the CPU surface and you dont see it until now when you have a "very high performance" CPU.)

The diamond paste is thinning as it gets hotter and the pressure from the screws squezes it out. They claim it takes a bit of time (and operation heat) before it runs perfectly.
Could of course also be trapped air in the paste like you will see if you take a plate of glass and press it directely and flat on water. Not easy to get rid of when you cant jiggle the plate.
Perhaps its the strip of paste in stead of flattening dragging it out, and the heat making it move outwards leaving it air free.

Not sure how other pastes run.
I tried only the paste delivered with the CPU. I tried Cooler Master'High performance Thermal Compound, and i third done for fun that i dont know the name of.
The cooler Master should be very good, but...... not enough.
When i got the Diamond in my GPU upgrade kit i used it for my CPU as well and runs very good now.

 

It could be that the processor is just faulty. If you are still under warranty we might be able to help you with a replacement. Please send us an e-mail to [email protected] with your service tag and phone number and we'll make sure you get the help you need.

 

OP said he bought an ES CPU, unless it is new Alienware policy to cover parts not with the original machine.

 

Didn't see that part Tsunade Sama We can still help with the troubleshooting and/or replacement parts needed though.

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

I repasted earlier tonight, and found that there had actually been very little contact between the die and the heatsink (area covered on the heatsink by thermal paste was about a fifth of the size of the die, and only at the edges). I don't know if the ArcticSilver 5 I used on it was one I bought recently, or a few years ago (it could've hardened slightly), and I also had spread it before affixing the heatsink. After putting on Arctic MX-4 (with the pressure spreading technique), it maxes out at 82°C (Overclocked 5% to 140MHz at 28x on all cores), and stays consistently at 50°C (±2°C) idling without Turbo.

I noticed, though, that Windows recognizes it as "Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU X 940" - is that to be expected? (Just having an 'X' instead of 'XM')

 

Glad you got it figured out

When you said you though it might be misreading the temps... I'm sure you could tell if it was blowing out 100 degrees out the back

 

Good for you.