CPU Overheating

Itronix

Itronix

New Member
Hello. I just finished my first build (see signature). Only problem- the CPU heats up. I went out and bought a Thermaltake TR2-M17 SE, which looked much better, but I'm not impressed. While playing the COD4 demo, it still reached almost 70c, which is where the system shuts down and says "screw you, I ain't dying today." According to speedfan, it's at 40-43c at the moment. It's not overclocked. Any ideas? The old cooler ran at 52c idle. Maybe the arctic silver 5 is still "burning in" (I used the correct amount this time:P)? Is this cooler junk also, or am I overreacting or doing something wrong? Thanks everyone!
 
Your problem there is not allowing the initial warmup and shutdown to take place for the bonding of the paste or compound to start. For a thermal paste like Artic Silver you run the system for about 3-4hrs. and then shutdown for several like overnight to allow the cooling to see the initial bonding to take place between cpu and heat sink.

Over the first days until the heat conduction starts to be seen the cpu temps are expected to be warmer due to the fresh application. During that time you run the basics only to allow some of the breakin time to pass. Gradually over a few weeks of normal use the breakin period will have completed.

Besides the cpu cooler used the quality of air flow throughout the case itself will play a large role in keeping temps for the board and other hardwares lower. When the board temps are low that will also see cpu temps lowered too.
 
Ahhhh! Ok. I now found that the heatsink did make a difference. It stayed under 70, mostly around 62 or 62, but up to 67. I used a pea sized amount of the compound (this time). Do I now need to reapply, or can I just let it run for a couple more hours and shut it down, even though I just ran it hard playing COD4? Thanks for your help!
 
Itronix said:
Hello. I just finished my first build (see signature). Only problem- the CPU heats up. I went out and bought a Thermaltake TR2-M17 SE, which looked much better, but I'm not impressed. While playing the COD4 demo, it still reached almost 70c, which is where the system shuts down and says "screw you, I ain't dying today." According to speedfan, it's at 40-43c at the moment. It's not overclocked. Any ideas? The old cooler ran at 52c idle. Maybe the arctic silver 5 is still "burning in" (I used the correct amount this time:P)? Is this cooler junk also, or am I overreacting or doing something wrong? Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

With my AMD i found i left the piece of plastic on the bottom the of the fan and now it seems to be better.
 
Once it has been warmed up for so many hours you simply shut everything down to allow the bonding part of the paste start as it cools on the first day. The next few days you can run the system longer but keep a close eye on the temps to see if they start to come down.

For that model cpu the temps are still a little too high even for the initial breakin while warmer temps at first is expected. If they remain high after a few days then you have a problem with too much paste? left the plastic strip on, or another problem like a fan that isn't running or a lack of general air flow in the case itself.
 
Thanks. The plastic piece was removed. Picture a pea. I put about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of a pea on. Here is my case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147078

I think one problem is the fact that the psu wires are kind of free roaming and they kind of obstruct the airflow from the front 90mm to the rear 120mm. I liked this case because it reminds me of a bullet train. Another problem could be that I have this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999175

It only controls the two case fans, nothing else. It does seem to work. Looking at the bios, when it says that the "system" or "core" temp is 30, it says 27 or 28, so not too bad. It doesn't control the cpu fan because it's way off on that. The motherboard won't control the fans, so without this, they run on full, which is noisy! It adjusts the fans when needed. I'll move and tie the wires up, check fans, and unplug the controller and let the system run them full-bore, if needed. I think I'll turn her off for the night and try again in the morning before work. Thanks for your help!
 
If that 1/3 to 1/2 pea size looks something like this you are probably all set.



Since the hardware monitor is showing temps down where they belong I suspect SpeedFan is giving way off temp readings since that is too large of a difference.
 
Ok. I have a bit more than that on the processor, probably twice that:mad:-smashes head on desk-........ I guess I'll fix that tomorrow. You think the monitor is correct? It wouldn't go past 51c when speedfan goes at 69c to 70c. Speedfan is right on with the bios. Could the motherboard have poor readings? I know that newegg reviewers are wrong at times, but one person did say (at one time) that this controller was only around two degrees off on everything, so even the processor. Should I be trusting this controller over the bios? Thanks.
 
Personally I found that PC Wizard 2008 provides far closer to accurate readings over SpeedFan in both XP and Vista alike when rebooting fast to look at the hardware monitor on occasion. If you notice a good drop seen the adhesion has already begun and SpeedFan being a software was providing exaggerated temps. That can happen with any of these programs at times.
 
when you apply thermal grease dont you spread the bead across the topside? or do you just leave it as a bead in the middle like the picture 2 posts back?
 
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Ok, I downloaded pc wizard and it says the same as speedfan. I have checked the bios by hitting the reset and going straight into it. I know that it's not the best idea, but I only did it a couple times and don't plan to keep doing it. That's how I know that it's right.

Could the motherboard sensors be off? I unplugged the front fan and plugged it straight into the psu, so it's on full bore. The rear will come up to 1800 rpm with the controller. I also moved some cables. Why is it still running hot? Is the AeroCool controller more accurate? The case temp is pretty cool also. Thank you for all of your help.

Hey jx214. Yes, you should just but it on like that; after some burn-ins, it should disperse evenly over the processor. Of course I have messed this process up too many times, so hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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As soon as you mentioned having squeezed out twice as much as seen in the photo on the AMD model cpu shown there and earlier mentioned pea sized... ut oh....!

With AS-5 one good article pointed out stirring while applying until you see an area the circumference of a rasin. That is to see the thin line of silver particles mixed in better with the grey bonding paste. The small amount looks like someone spilled a drop of water on the cpu where you then spread that evenly to form the thin layer needed.

Apparently you applied way too much and this is why the temps are remaining hot. You only want a super thin layer to fill in the gap between cpu and hsf. Now you will have to use some rubbing or denatured alcohol to first clean everything up and try again.
 
Oh, ok. I'll redo that in just a bit and let you know how it works out. If you haven't noticed, I'm a noob:D. This is my first build, so it's the one that I'll mess up on and learn. As long as I don't screw up my graphics card, I'm happy [knocks on simulated wood desk]! Thanks for everything.
 
Well, I put that much on and it now idles at 65c, so I had to quickly shut it down. WTF??? Another thing, earlier today I played the Hitman: Contracts demo that I downloaded. It never use to over heat on hitman, but it does now. This all started after the COD4 demo. San Andreas, Hitman 2 and Contracts, Postal 2, all were good. Now when I play contracts, the stupid thing overheats. I don't know. This is the 89w model, but still; come on!
 
The first thing to remember even when reapplying a thermal paste like AS-5 is the initial warmup and shutdown steps to take. Once you clean off the old paste and see a fresh appllication you still only run the system for a few hours for the initial warmup and shut it down for several. Go watch a movie, out for a walk, or if late at night retire.

The few first days are the most critical for seeing the bonding and heat conduction take place once you have a good application on. The first thing is not loading the cpu up with tasks since the temps are expected to be higher then normal. You're trying to game and load things onto the cpu too fast.
 
Well, so far, so good. It's staying cool at idle now. I'll shut it down in two or three hours, then let it rest for the night. After that, I'll just take it easy for a couple days, unless I should wait longer. I really appreciate your help, as you have been very patient with me! Thanks.
 
Hopefully you will see better results. When going to run a game or large app here I see the opposite after so long where the cpu temp actually drops about 3C.
 
Hello. I just wanted to update on this. I'm on the second day and I'm just taking it easy. I'm just monitoring temps and surfing the web a bit (that's not too much, right?). At idle, it moves from 41 to 43 at the coolest. I'd like to see it at 40 or under, preferably in the 30s, but I doubt that'll happen. This is a big improvement, considering that when this started it was idling at 51-53. That's about a 10 degree drop! Not too bad! We'll see how she does under stress. I bought Scarface for pc, which it could come tomorrow, but probably Saturday. Would that be too soon, or would I be safe to try it? I just don't want to have to do this again :rolleyes:. Thanks.
 
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