(03-24-2010, 02:09 PM)NaturalViolence Wrote:Quote:You can't compare the temperatures of an Athlon X2 with an i7. The i7 is notorious for getting hot.
Also keep in mind that an I7 can tolerate much higher temperatures. Core2duo wolfdale can get up to 65 celcius while still being "safe" according to intel, meaning almost no loss of lifespan, and can function at up to 85 celcius with a loss of lifespan. Of course these numbers vary slightly from one individual cpu to another but those are the temps that intel provided which must therefore represent a minimum. For the I7 both of those numbers are about 20 degrees higher, 85 for "safe", and 100 for "functional". I can't say for sure but from what I understand I think it has something to do with the transistors being placed further apart from each other. I refused to believe this at first since it went against my past experiences (I had never in my wildest dreams thought a cpu could function at a temperature that high, I thought that it was impossible) but then my friend got a 920 and I ran some tests on it and the numbers are accurate. In fact in a poorly ventilated case the 920 did actually get up to about 83 celcius at full load on stock cooling and stock settings, and it was fine. Also keep in mind that raising the voltage will lower the maximum tolerable temperature. To test intels claims I overclocked it and got it up to 97 at full load, still was prime 95 stable (of course I reverted this after the test for obvious reasons, don't want to shorten the lifespan from heat damage). For those of you with the patience or interest to read this, thanks.
Sounds about right. When I reach 100C it starts to downclock itself to reduce temperatures. (And yes I did reach those temperatures when I had the thermal paste applied wrong). And even right now, 3.8 GHz and HT on in Prime95 = 100+ C easily. That's why I need better cooling lol.