Coolermaster Hyper 212+ not performing

[Yurkinator]

Looking for some suggestions on what is going on with my setup. I have a Phenom II 960t with the 212+ and my temperatures are pretty high. I am idling at 40-42c and under load with prime95 it goes up to 58c+. My ambient temperature in my house is 25c. Motherboard temperature is 32c.

I have all this in an antec 300 with good airflow (2 120 intake fans in front, 120 out the back 140 out on top). I have just the single fan on the heat sink pushing air directly towards the back 120 exhaust fan.

I have taken the 212 off a couple times, double checked to make sure I put it on correctly, and reapplied the thermal paste (AS5) with no change. I am using the two line method which seems to be the recommended way for this hsf.

I have noticed that even with all the screws/bolts tight I am still able to wiggle the heatsink a little. This doesnt seem right to me but I have seen some people also mention this with theirs.

Any suggestions?

EDIT: I also want to note that CPU voltage is set 1.2v in BIOS yet CPUz reports it as 1.34v.

 

[KingFatty]

When you removed the 212, what was the pattern left on the chip, did it look like good coverage?

I recall seeing something online where they identified the 212 as the type of cooler that had gaps that benefitted from filling them in with a layer of paste before installation, then using the typical application. Otherwise, you'd have air gaps. did you pre-fill the air gaps like that? I think the gaps are in the spaces where the heat pipes are exposed, you just fill those in before installation, then apply the line method or whatever so that it will spread without creating air bubbles/gaps.

I guess as a comparison, you could put the stock cooler on and see if temps are normal, so you'd know it's a problem with the cooler. Maybe all the heat pipes got damaged so the liquid spilled out or something. But I have a feeling you'd see the same issues whether you used the 212 or the stock cooler (but even worse with stock).

 

[Yurkinator]

The coverage looked good but i am going to reinstall one more time to make sure. I did see where it was recommended to fill in the gaps between the heat pipes but I honestly did not see any gap.

 

[blastingcap]

Read the fourth post of this thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/759011/hyper-212-how-to-apply-thermal-paste/0_100

It is for a TX3 I think, but the same principle applies: gap-fill the gaps, and have a dot in the middle or maybe a couple of tiny stripes.

 

[Yurkinator]

Thanks, I have seen this method before. The 212 looks a little different. I really couldn't see any space between the heat pipes but I will take it off and have another look. Any thoughts on the wiggle?

 

[blastingcap]

A little wiggling is perfectly normal, if by that you mean you can still rotate the cooler a little bit from side to side after installation.

Note however that the X-shaped retention has a notch that is supposed to fit into the little post/pillar that sticks out of the base. Make sure that the post is fitting into the notch properly. Easiest way to do this is to put the X-shaped retention piece into the notch and then gently lower it, then screw each screw in a little bit in, opposite corners first (do not screw adjacent screws) to keep the pressure nice and even. Don't screw one screw all the way in and then move to the next one, one by one, either. Spread it out over time so that the pressure is even all the way around, even if you have to re-visit the same screw 10 times, turning it just a few times each time you visit.

Also, idle temps mean nothing because many fans are very low rpm so nobody cares. The only number that matter is load temps and I don't know if 58C is normal or not for that CPU.. you may want to google for that. Try running everything at stock clocks first just so you have a benchmark to compare to.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Just chiming in for a point of comparison. I have a C2 955BE (3.7ghz on stock volts) on a Asus M4A79T Deluxe in a Cooler Master Centurion 5 with a Hyper 212+ (push/pull fans). My thermometer is reading 23C on my desk and prime 95 peaks at 51~52C. By all accounts you should be cooler than me at load and comparable at idle (I pull right around 30~33).

 

[birthdaymonkey]

OP, are you overclocked at all?

 

[Yurkinator]

Although I have dabbled at overclocking these temperatures on stock speeds.

 

[dma0991]

It is common for the Hyper212 models to have a little bit of free play, its mounting bracket is only a X style brace with a middle pin to hold everything together. Not the best mounting bracket that I've used but it does the job. For the Hyper212+, fill the gaps with TIM and do a double line method and let the AS5 have its break in period which is a few hundred hours I believe. Temps should drop slightly after a few days of running.

 

[KingFatty]

Oh, forgot to mention, use a thermometer or your hand to feel the temperature of the 212. Is it the same temperature as indicated for your CPU?

If the heatsink feels cold but the CPU is warm, that means something funny is going on.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Oh, forgot to mention, use a thermometer or your hand to feel the temperature of the 212. Is it the same temperature as indicated for your CPU?

If the heatsink feels cold but the CPU is warm, that means something funny is going on.

Excellent advice here, I almost feel dumb for not mentioning it myself

 

[Yurkinator]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I re installed the heatsink and am getting slightly better temperatures. Only getting up to 50c under load but still not as low as I would like. Is there any possibility that there is some defect in the heat sink? I have been thinking of exchanging it.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Is that 50c with something like prime95 or what are you using to stress? If that's with prime then you have no reason to RMA. If your undervolt isn't taking (as you mentioned CPU-Z showing it isn't) then that's a perfectly reasonable temp.

 

[2is]

Oh, forgot to mention, use a thermometer or your hand to feel the temperature of the 212. Is it the same temperature as indicated for your CPU?

If the heatsink feels cold but the CPU is warm, that means something funny is going on.

Well your hand isn't a very accurate thermometer, so I'm not sure how you would determine if it's the same temp as whats reported for the CPU.

A temp gun (thermometer) isn't going to ever read as hot as the CPU either, the heat transfer is never 100% efficient.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Well your hand isn't a very accurate thermometer, so I'm not sure how you would determine if it's the same temp as whats reported for the CPU.

A temp gun (thermometer) isn't going to ever read as hot as the CPU either, the heat transfer is never 100% efficient.

Yes, but if the Cpu is reporting at something like 55C and the heatsink is close to ambient (say perhaps 32C) then you know something is up.

 

[videogames101]

Why is 58C a concern?

 

[2is]

Yes, but if the Cpu is reporting at something like 55C and the heatsink is close to ambient (say perhaps 32C) then you know something is up.

Only true if you remove the fan. The fan is blowing ambient air through the heatsink, constantly removing the heat.

 

[KingFatty]

You can also touch the heatpipes below the fan portion, see if they are hot to the touch.

 

[2is]

Why is 58C a concern?

Wondering the same thing tbh

 

[Ferzerp]

AMD reports lower temps than Intel and has lower max acceptible temps based on those reported temps.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Why is 58C a concern?

I believe Stars cores start throttling in the mid to high 50's as their max temp is 62 right(someone check this, this is just coming off the top of my head)?

 

[Yurkinator]

Ok after some troubleshooting it may be that there something wrong with the software I am using to monitor my CPU temperatures. I have an Asrock Extreme 3 970 motherboard and the included ASrock Xtreme Tuner program reports my CPU Temperature at 54c. Speed fan also shows this temperature.

I downloaded speccy and it is saying my CPU is 28c. Another program, Open Hardware monitor, is giving my multiple temperatures for my various components in my system. It showing my 960t core temp at 28c but under Nuvotron NCT6776f it is showing the 54c temperature.

I have been running prime95 for about 10 minutes now.

See the screenshots at this album http://imgur.com/a/ZrtH2

 

[Fallengod]

What I was going to say was, software and sensors software uses can be off sometimes. Sometimes speedfan isnt the most accurate thing in the world.

Also, your temps seemed pretty normal for AMD. Intel always has lower temps than AMD and I idle at around 33-35C here in the summer on my i5-2500k with the same heatsink so...... If its off, it doesnt seem off that much. 40-42C seems normal for AMD idle.

I think everyone else was overthinking this.

The hyper 212+ is an amazing heatsink for the price but its still a budget cooling solution. We use the hyper 212+ in three different computers in the house but they are by no means the best heatsinks out there. They are just good bang 4 buck.

 

[Yurkinator]

I am thinking that speccy and open hardware monitor are the accurate temperatures. When unlocking the cpu to hexacore it is reported that you lose the ability to see CPU temperatures and both these programs no longer report a cpu temperature. Speed fan and the Asrock program continue to report a temperature.

Really doesnt make sense that ASrock's own program would be wrong....I dunno.