Intel Core i7 930 running hot or not?

[Crafty]

I have an Intel Core 930, the temp on idle is 51 C, do you think this is to hot? The system was sold to me overclocked to 4Ghz. I'd also like to know the max temp these cpu's should run at. Thankyou!!

[Azzaboi]

For i7 Core - it normally idles 40 C and goes up. It's just recommended to keep it under 80 C. 
That's a super overclocked processor, so might run a little hotter for max performance!

Intel Core i7 CPUs throttle down their speed starting at 100C. So, 100C is the maximum operating temperature of Intel Core i7. Due to the great power management, even at this temperture it would still run stable.

I've peak tested a i7 Core up to full stress testing at 100C and had no errors!
They are really something, but not recommended to keep them running at that high, will probably lower the life span.

The i7's are the hottest running processors out there.

In the long run, the cooler you run your CPU, the better, however i7 Core is very comfortable at up to 80C, even though this would be considered a very hot temperature with an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU or less.

To help, you could remove any cables away from the components to allow airflow and ensure all fans are running smoothly and possibly get a liquid cooling system for it.

How does that baby handle the games?   

[Crafty]

Not installed a game yet, but I am so looking forward to it . Thanks for the info!!

[Broni]

100C is the maximum operating temperature of Intel Core i7

Total nonsense and dangerous statement.

I can't quote max temp for I7-930, but both, 920 and 940 are listed at 67.9C!

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_i7/Intel-Core%20i7-920%20AT80601000741AA%20%28BX80601920%20-%20BXC80601920%29.html
http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_i7/Intel-Core%20i7-940%20AT80601000921AA%20%28BX80601940%20-%20BXC80601940%29.html

[rthompson80819]

Hey, for a couple of weeks it works great.  Also doubles as a hot plate to heat water for your tea.

[Azzaboi]

Broni - You are correct it's a extremely high temperture (100 C) and should be avoided. However, it's no nonsense.

You missed reading the rest of my post:

Intel Core i7 CPUs throttle down their speed starting at 100C. So, 100C is the maximum operating temperature of Intel Core i7. Due to the great power management, even at this temperture it would still run stable.

I've peak tested a i7 Core up to full stress testing at 100C and had no errors!
They are really something, but not recommended to keep them running at that high, will probably lower the life span.

At the maximum 100 C, a safety feature kicks in slowing the processor down inorder to reduce the temperature so it won't go above that. I also said in the long run, the cooler you run your CPU, the better.

[Broni]

The feature, you're talking about is nothing else, but an "emergency brake".
You're not saying, you want to drive your car using emergency brake only?

This discussion is senseless, because the FACT is that any minute you use your computer while CPU temperature exceeds its maximum temperature, you're causing non-reversible damage to your CPU.
End of the story and there is no reason to argue anymore.

[BC_Programmer]

All CPU's since the 386SL throttle back their speeds when they get too hot.

Broni's point is it's not designed to do that very often. It's like constantly needing your car to go into overdrive to get over hills. It's a designed-in feature, but it's only there to prevent the car from stalling out altogether- you shouldn't need to use it on every hill, otherwise there is something else wrong. Same story with CPUs. during hot weather or in extreme circumstances are the only times a CPU should ever even come close to approaching their max operating temp, and one shouldn't assume everything is fine just because it's still working.

Most motherboards temp warnings are set a lot lower then 100c for very good reasons.

Doesn't mean they are comfortable. And it certainly doesn't mean that its work flawlessly as long as you keep it below that temperature. This is especially true with an overclocked chip, which not only runs hotter then a stock CPU but also has different thermionic properties so that the stock CPU's "max operating temp" may be completely off the mark.

[Crafty]

I am lucky really because it was the computer firm I bought this from that overclocked it. They also placed a 3 year warranty on it aswell, so I presume if the CPU fries they will be the ones responsible  . Anyways, back to my question. What temp do you think this should run at both idle and max?

[Azzaboi]

The point I'm trying to make is it's actually quite hard to damage the i7 Core from high temperature. Unless your do something crazy like increase the q-cores too much, your'll be very unlikely to fry the cpu. I'm not saying anything about getting it up to or running it continuously at 100 C temp, that would be crazy. However, if it does there are some safety features. Plus it's under warranty, you can keep an eye on the temperature but it should worry you too much.

As I said before:

For i7 Core - it normally idles 40 C and goes up. It's just recommended to keep it under 80 C.

 
and

In the long run, the cooler you run your CPU, the better.

Recommended Temperatures (you can give or take 10 C - up to 20 C)
Idle Temp: 40 C
Max Temp: 80 C

Fans, closed areas, computer near the floor, dust build up, cables, room temperature, size of computer case, and the number of other components, etc, all can affect it.

Since overclocked to 4Ghz, I bet the temperatures should be around 50-80 C (min/max) when gaming, which is fine.
If you really wanted to, or if you believe it's too hot, with a cooling system like a CPU Cooler by Thermaltake, you could keep it under 65 C at heavy load.

[Crafty]

The bit I don't get is why it's running 52c Idle? Do you think it's because it's been overclocked? I know cooler I have is a good one, so are these temps due to the overclock?

[Broni]

I know nothing about overclocking, but under NORMAL circumstances CPU idle temperature shouldn't be higher than couple of degrees over your room temperature.
...and I like to keep it this way and I do.

[Azzaboi]

Yes, overclocking your processor draws more power and make it run hotter. If you do extreme overclocking it is recommended to use liquid cooling or something similar. Also being i7 Core, they are well known to run quite hot compared to other processors (this is normal). In your case, it should be fine.

Make sure the heatsink is clamped down correctly and firmly (a bad mount can increase temperature a lot). Check the max temperture when doing a stress test or playing some game with high system demands. If that's going over 80 C then you might want to think about cooling. Also note that there are four core temperatures, not just one.

Do you have any neon lights (extras), a lot of components (hard drives, etc), high powered graphic card(s) / SLI, or a mess of cables in the computer case? Whats the size of case? Amount of intake / out take fans?

[BC_Programmer]

The bit I don't get is why it's running 52c Idle? Do you think it's because it's been overclocked? I know cooler I have is a good one, so are these temps due to the overclock?

My Stock speed Q8200 idles at around 55(c) or so, usually only get's to about 60 under load so I don't worry about. (the GPU causes a lot more problems with heat anyway). Nothing higher then a Pentium 3 is going to idle at less then about 30 degrees without some sort of liquid cooling or cryogenic thing.

[killerb255]

If it's of any help, my i7-920 runs at 46C idle and around 58C load (encoding with all 4 cores/8 threads at 100%).  This is using a Zalman 9700 HSF.

i7-930s tend to run at similar temps.