Help choosing CPU cooler

[Mirfster]

Has anyone mentioned to just check to see if there is proper Thermal Paste on CPU and Cooler? Normally Intel Coolers are not that bad...

/Edit: Joe beat me to it... :P

 

[CraigD]

Has anyone mentioned to just check to see if there is proper Thermal Paste on CPU and Cooler? Normally Intel Coolers are not that bad...

/Edit: Joe beat me to it... :p

This times 3

If you do buy a new cooler be sure it will fit in your case, the 212 is great but very tall

Have Fun

 

[Stux]

Also, try putting it on Full and running your test.

That should then show the max capacity of your system.

With a Xeon the intel cooler really should be sufficient.

 

[Ejay8400]

Could you toss us a few photos, I'd like to see what the air flow is like. Your CPU temps should not be doing that at all and the stock cooler is very good for that CPU. All I can think of is maybe you didn't remove the protective plastic covering on the thermal paste on the CPU heatsink before you first installed it, or it's not installed correctly, or it's not spinning at all.

Yes, lets see if I have made any mistakes here.

Show : photos

 

[Ejay8400]

Also, try putting it on Full and running your test.

That should then show the max capacity of your system.

With a Xeon the intel cooler really should be sufficient.

Will do that later tonight when i get off work

 

[Mirfster]

Thermal paste looks okay to me (maybe a tad on the heavy side)... Is it just the CPU that is over-heating or are your drives getting pretty hot as well? Also, does this system have a fan in the front? Just curios if there is proper air flow from front through the system then out the back?

 

[Ejay8400]

Thermal paste looks okay to me (maybe a tad on the heavy side)... Is it just the CPU that is over-heating or are your drives getting pretty hot as well? Also, does this system have a fan in the front? Just curios if there is proper air flow from front through the system then out the back?

The termal paste was already pre applied on i when i mounted it.

I have 2 140mm fans going in the front, added an extra to the stock one that came with the case. It is only the CPU temperature that gets high, the other temperatures seems to be steady.

What I noticed when I got an alarm from the mobo that it had reached 100 degrees, when i stopped the processes that it was running, it really quickly dropped down to 50c. It made me think that there had to be a problem with the sensor. But cant say anything for sure.

 

[Mirfster]

So from what I gather this only happens when running Plex? If so, at the very least you have a repeatable test... ;)

Since you stated that the IPMI/BMC is up to date, would I be correct in assuming that so is the BIOS?

Quick search on the forums for "X11SSL-F Plex" came up with a thread that shows other users with similar hardware specs and usage. Maybe if we can get one of them to chime in it may help to see if they are having similar issues... For starters let see what @VladTepes has to say since they have a very similar setup.

 

[Ejay8400]

Yes, well, it is what I use the server for, Plex is the reason it exist ;)
So it happens when multiple videos has to transcode at the same time, shoul be easy enough to replicate.

I just checked, there is no new BIOS version, the one available online is the same as it shipped with. https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SSL-F.cfm

I will also check out and see if I should send them a message to hear how things went with the other guys, thanks.

 

[Mirfster]

I will also check out and see if I should send them a message to hear how things went with the other guys, thanks.

Should not need to send them a message, I tagged him (when I used the @ sign in front of their name). They will get a notification that they were "tagged" along with a link to this thread. As to if they choose to respond that is another story...

 

[joeschmuck]

So I agree, the thermal paste looks slightly thick so I guess I would have to question if the pins were fully engaged, and I think the incriminating evidence is the first photo, the upper right pin is rotated to the unlock position which is never good. It's easy to be afraid to push too hard so you should support the rear of your motherboard if you feel it's needed.

So if you are not 100% clear on how to mount an Intel CPU Heatsink, check out this link...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcQgZX-4W0o

 

[wblock]

That video stops before the final steps:

Lift motherboard and note that heatsink falls off because clips have failed to engage.
Rotate clips 270 degrees ultra-clockwise, note that tiny locking tabs have broken off.
Half-hour cursing break.
Replace poorly-engineered Intel heatsink with overpriced, 9000 dBA turbine heat-pipe cooler using bolts to secure to motherboard.
Cut hole in case to clear top of new heatsink. Depending on new heatsink and case orientation, cut hole in ceiling or wall to clear top of heatsink.
Power up system, wonder why it is running so slow, power down, plug in new heatsink fan.
Put on safety helmet, power up, notice the lights dim as turbine fan spins up. Do not stand in doorway, as fan noise causes household pets to leave the area at high speed.
Success!

 

[Mirfster]

Ahh that was a nice walk down memory lane. :)

 

[joeschmuck]

That video stops before the final steps:

I thought to myself, WTF. You almost had me. For that I'm gonna "Thank" you.

 

[Ejay8400]

So I started now doing 2 movies at the same time, the temperature went right up to 66c

on a second test it went up a bit higher

This is about 5 minutes of stressing the CPU.

So I agree, the thermal paste looks slightly thick so I guess I would have to question if the pins were fully engaged, and I think the incriminating evidence is the first photo, the upper right pin is rotated to the unlock position which is never good. It's easy to be afraid to push too hard so you should support the rear of your motherboard if you feel it's needed.

So if you are not 100% clear on how to mount an Intel CPU Heatsink, check out this link...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcQgZX-4W0o

The termal paste is what was pre applied when i put on the stock cooler. Fixed the mount on the CUP fan so it's correct.

Edit: forgot to mention, fans were set to full speed.

 

[joeschmuck]

I am requesting a little more information so I am clear on a few things...

1) What is the CPU temperature reported when idle and explain what jails are running?
2) What is the ambient temperature in the room where the computer is located and ensure you leave the side panel off while testing, this give everyone a good idea that the CPU isn't being starved for cool air.
3) Lets discuss Plex a little. Please describe how you have it installed and the settings and movie formats, etc... Are we sure that your implementation of Plex isn't messed up?
4) Now back to the CPU issue, I would recommend running The UBCD or some other CPU stress test, not running on your FreeNAS installation and to see how it holds up. No matter what Plex is doing there must be an issue with either your mounting of the CPU, CPU Heatsink, thermal paste (remember, you cannot reuse it, you will have voids which will not allow heat to transfer and even though some folks think it's not a big deal, well actually it is a big deal), maybe the CPU is faulty internally and isn't transferring the heat properly. But use a CPU stress test which will max out the CPU and you should be able to keep it from hitting thermal shutdown. 65 to 70C should be attainable but if you are in a hot room already, well you get my point.

 

[Ejay8400]

I am requesting a little more information so I am clear on a few things...

1) What is the CPU temperature reported when idle and explain what jails are running?
2) What is the ambient temperature in the room where the computer is located and ensure you leave the side panel off while testing, this give everyone a good idea that the CPU isn't being starved for cool air.
3) Lets discuss Plex a little. Please describe how you have it installed and the settings and movie formats, etc... Are we sure that your implementation of Plex isn't messed up?
4) Now back to the CPU issue, I would recommend running The UBCD or some other CPU stress test, not running on your FreeNAS installation and to see how it holds up. No matter what Plex is doing there must be an issue with either your mounting of the CPU, CPU Heatsink, thermal paste (remember, you cannot reuse it, you will have voids which will not allow heat to transfer and even though some folks think it's not a big deal, well actually it is a big deal), maybe the CPU is faulty internally and isn't transferring the heat properly. But use a CPU stress test which will max out the CPU and you should be able to keep it from hitting thermal shutdown. 65 to 70C should be attainable but if you are in a hot room already, well you get my point.

1)
When idle, the temperatures are as follows:

The only jail I have made is for Plex.


2)
Temperature reading with side panel open (for about 30 minutes)

The temperatures are staying the same after I open the cabinet.

3)
Installed Plex through the plugin page on my Freenas page, made jail for it (giving it storage too), then activating.
FOrmat of the movies are mostly .mkv, including subtitles and so on. Could convert all videos to .mp4 to get direct play, but that would leave my laptop sounding like an airplane for weeks.

Naming of folders and so on are based on guides on the plex forum.

4)
Will try and get this test running.

 

[joeschmuck]

When troubleshooting a problem like this, it's best to make small changes in your system when testing. For example, test with the side panel off. The 24C is a great temperature and give us a starting point. I really hope it's not a bad CPU.

Also, in the BIOS, did you go and make any changes in there at all? You may want to set it for default settings eventually if you made some changes or as a last ditch effort.

 

[LIGISTX]

I did read most of this, and this is very strange. But since I am also a noob to freenas, I'll let them help get the software sorted.

As far as hardware, and temps, yea that is totally crazy. I have had many desktop class CPU's and overclock all of them, even pushed to hell and back I have never seen 100C, not even in my old school i7 920 @a WHACKLOAD of volts and 4.4 ghz.... If all the pins on the CPU cooler are pushed in and mounted correctly as I believe you stated it is, something has to be wrong. That just can't be right. Literally, I don't think at stock speed and volts that CPU could even produce that much heat even if it was the worst piece of silicon Intel has ever shipped.

I would look at idle temps, and then compare them to BIOS idle temps. I have seen OS based reporting software report false data, but that was also under Windows and Mac environments.

If you do end up going to new CPU cooler route, which for the money isn't a bad idea even if you do get temps under control on stock cooling, +1 to hyper 212 Evo. I must have 10+ of them between my rigs, parents PC's friends etc. They are great, especially for the price. Put the stock cooler to absolute shame, and will be much quieter.


Sent from my jailbroke iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stux]

I did read most of this, and this is very strange. But since I am also a noob to freenas, I'll let them help get the software sorted.

As far as hardware, and temps, yea that is totally crazy. I have had many desktop class CPU's and overclock all of them, even pushed to hell and back I have never seen 100C, not even in my old school i7 920 @a WHACKLOAD of volts and 4.4 ghz.... If all the pins on the CPU cooler are pushed in and mounted correctly as I believe you stated it is, something has to be wrong. That just can't be right. Literally, I don't think at stock speed and volts that CPU could even produce that much heat even if it was the worst piece of silicon Intel has ever shipped.

I would look at idle temps, and then compare them to BIOS idle temps. I have seen OS based reporting software report false data, but that was also under Windows and Mac environments.

If you do end up going to new CPU cooler route, which for the money isn't a bad idea even if you do get temps under control on stock cooling, +1 to hyper 212 Evo. I must have 10+ of them between my rigs, parents PC's friends etc. They are great, especially for the price. Put the stock cooler to absolute shame, and will be much quieter.


Sent from my jailbroke iPhone using Tapatalk

Good point about the seating. I've had spurious temp readings from some cores when the CPU wasn't seated right.

But that's the point, something is not right. I've seen crazy temps on SuperMicro boards set to optimal when I've been specifically messing with fans and fan controls. But on Full with all fans installed and working properly you should not see that.