Cpu heat question

S

StuartH

New Member
Hi, I must have forgotten to put thermal compound junk on my cpu. I'm getting about 57 C idle and around 70 C load. I haven't had any crashing or system instability though.

Is it going to damage my cpu if I continue to run at these temps?

I have an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300.
 
Around 80*C is the max temp for most processors. Anything higher will could cause damage or the system to shut down(motherboard or processor features)

You should be alright at those temps, but I certinally would try to do something about them... Are you sure the heatsync is applied correctly? I may be wrong, but I thought most all "stock" heatsyncs came with at least some thermal pad or pre-applied thermal paste.
 
I can't say anything for the AMD heatsinks, but all the intel ones that ship with the processor have thermal paste preapplied. An E6300 shouldn't be 57 at idle unless its at least 35 degrees ambient, my E6400 idles at 30.

Are all your fans working properly?
 
The_Other_One said:
Around 80*C is the max temp for most processors. Anything higher will could cause damage or the system to shut down(motherboard or processor features)

You should be alright at those temps, but I certinally would try to do something about them... Are you sure the heatsync is applied correctly? I may be wrong, but I thought most all "stock" heatsyncs came with at least some thermal pad or pre-applied thermal paste.
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Oh, I thought the thermal compound was supposed to go directly on the cpu, and i didn't see any on it. All my fans are running. I saw another guy post on here about his 6300 running at high temps, maybe it's just a processor problem.

But running at these temps will *not* shorten the cpu's lifespan, correct?
 
As long as it's below about 80*F, as I mentioned, you should be alright. But again, it's certinally not GOOD on the processor to run it so hot.

As for the thermal paste, I guess typically when aftermarket paste is applied, it's directly to the processor. However, it really doesn't matter as long as it's between the CPU and HSF :P
 
But running at these temps will *not* shorten the cpu's lifespan, correct?
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They will shorten it, how much exactly I'm not sure. I wouldn't want to run a C2D over 55 and even that's on the high end. The maximum case temperature rated by Intel for an E6300 is 61.4°C (internal temperature can be higher). This doesn't mean you'll fry it if you go over 62°C though.
 
I believe most cpu's have a lifespan of about ten years if you run them at ideal temp/speeds. Running it that hot on a normal basis may take 2-3 years off it's life.. not alot if you consider that the chip is going to be sorely outdated by then.
 
Oh it's probably my hsf isn't on right... is there any trick to getting those on? Because I pushed as hard as i could on that thing and could never get two of the things to snap in.
 
Your computer's biggest enemy is heat, so as long as you keep that under control, you can run your CPU at any stable frequency you want.
 
Because I pushed as hard as i could on that thing and could never get two of the things to snap in.
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Yeah, that would be a problem. Make sure the pushpins are turned the right way so they can lock in. It shouldn't take much force to lock it in place.
 
If you decide to put thermal compound on your processor, make sure the stock heatsink didn't already come with a thermal pad attached to it. Remove the pad before applying the compound. when I removed mine, it was a pain, but I used some alcohol and some cotton swabs...
 
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