z620 / E5-2690 = High Temperatures

[BambiBoomZ]

Hello,

I recently purchased a, HP z620 with a Xeon E5-1620 4-core with the intention of replacing it.  I should note that this system had some damage in shipping, but appeared to run reasonbly well.

I updated the BIOS and chipset drivers to the latest . The replacemant is an E5-2690 8-core. I cleaned the heatsink thoroughly and used Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste. I've changed quite a few CPU's over the years.  All the settings in BIOS and control Panel are performance-oriented.

1. After installing I ran Passmark Performance Test with the side access door off. It completed the test.  I then started HWMonitor and saw the CPU temperature had been 82C  peak and while checking was 76C so I shut the system down. 

For comparison, the z420 (E5-1660 v2) has been runing for some ime and is showing all cores from 40 to 44C

2. The system cooled l and restarted.  Checking, I can see that the front case fan, memory fan and heatsink fan all appear to be running. 

3. Restarted side door on.  The core temperatures start at 42 C for a minute of so and then began creeping up. 

4. Restarted Firefox briefly and after about 5 minutes one core went to 64C quite quuickly, so I shut it down.

5. I reinstalled the E5-2690 with a careful application /distribution of thermal paste.  Same results.

What am I doing wrong?  Is there a problem with the E5-2690? incorrect thermal paste?

Unfortunately, as I was changing the E5-1620 anyway I never checked the temperatures.

I have two z420's and if it's critical knowledge I could try the E5-2690 in that system.

This is a worry.

Thanks!

Cheers,

BambiBoom

[TheN00bBuilder]

Hello! Can you see if you can enter the BIOS and adjust the fan speed to a more aggressive setting? The fan curve should be under "Power" and should go up to level 10. I'd suggest 2 or so levels higher than it is right now.

[BambiBoomZ]

TheNOOBuilder,

I had tried setting the fan speed to a higher setting but it didn't have any effect,

The odd feature of the event was that the fan speed never audibly changed.  Occasionally on startup, the Dell Precisions and other HP z's will have a couple of seconds of fan roaring.  The z620 never did that.

Running the "Intel Processor Diagnostic" presented interesting resuts in an interesting way. When running the stress test on the CPU, it updated every 5 seconds: to the effect: "Expected result more than 1 degree below maximum, and then "Actual temperature is XX degrees under the maximum."  Sorry, I don't know the exact wording.  It's an odd way to state it,  but important as it showed that the E5 2690 was never near it's maximum.  It began 40 degrees under the maximum and ended at 23 degrees under the maximum,

The Xeon E5 1620 4-core was installed and the results were about the same, only about 2C lower.

Back went the E5-2690.

HWMOnitor showed the previous very high temperature readings from HWMonitor.  The E5 2690 is rated to 72C and I had seen 82C. This prompted the idea that the sensor were in some way not telling the true story.

The next event was the most interesting = encouraging.  I had loaded Win7 Pro'l from the recovery partition of one of the z420's (2015) and it had a big update that took 90 minutes to download and install  When I started the system, it showed the z620 running at 34C and the peak had been 38C! 

I can only think that the algorithm that converts the sensor input to a number was revised in the Windows 7 update.

Reran Passmark Performance Test which gives the system a sustained workout and at the end, the E5-2690 was 42C- 30C under the maximum of 72C. 

The other notable feature was that the CPU rating changed from 14100 to over 14700.  Average is 14400.  There may have been automatic thermal throtting when the senors falsely signalled overheating.

What a relief.  Now onto the +32GB DDR3 1600 ECC, Quadro K2200, Samsung 850 Evo 250GB, Seagate ES.3 1TB, and replacing all the exterior plastic parts.  z620 owners might note that HP sells the case plastic parts set for only $56. 

Thank you for your reply.

Cheers,

BambiBoomZ

HP z420  (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz)  / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM  / Quadro K4200 (4GB) / Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX  1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H  (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559]  [6.12.16]

HP z420 (2013)(Revision 2) > Xeon E5-1620 four core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz > 24GB DDR3-1600 ECC RAM > Quadro 4000(2GB) > Samsung 840 (250GB) + WD Black 1TB >  M-Audio 192 soundcard > 2X Dell 24"
[Passmark system rating = 3815 / CPU = 8985/ 2D= 767 / 3D= 2044/ Mem= 2523 / Disk= 2986

HP z620 (Rev 1) Xeon E5-2690 (8-core @ 2.9 /3.8GHz) / 8GB (4X 2GB DDR3-1333) / AMD Firepro V5900 (2GB) / Seagate barracuda 750GB + Samsung 500Gb + WD 500GB / 800W > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > HP 2711x  (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark System Rating= 2189 / CPU= 14741 / 2D= 736 / 3D = 1663 / Mem =2365 / Disk = 495 ] 7.17.16

Network switch :  Netgear   GS108-400NAS

[Rferg13]

My HP laptop normally runs at a core temperature of about 50c to 65c.  However, I noticed it running at from 80c to 95c, with the fan on strongly.  I examined the case vents, but they were clean - nevertheless, I cleaned them again.  The temperatures remained high.  I then opened Task Manager and looked for processes using excessive CPU resources.  There was only one such process: HP Support Software Framework.  I used End Task to stop the process.  Almost immediately, the fan stopped and the core temperatures dropped to normal.

I had used HP Support Assistant earlier, and ended it when it appeared to be hung searching for information on my PC.  I then remembered that the fan started strongly soon after the search had begun.  It may be that ending the process did not stop its use of CPU resources.  HP Support Assistant is, I think, a module in HP Support Software Framework.

So, see if HP Support Software Framework or one of its modules is listed in Task Manager as using excessive CPU resources.  If so, end the process and see if your core temperatures drop back to normal.