I'm worried that my new gaming rig is running too hot...plz HELP!!!

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dsgill_tigris

New Member
Hi,
I'm new here and I just got a new computer
about 4 months ago and I started reading forums about cooling, so now i am worried/paranoid that it is running too hot. Well here are my PC's specs:
Mainboard: M3N72-D
Processor: AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition at 2.5 Ghz
Memory: 4gb DDR2 Ram and Hard Drive: 500gb
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD4850
I have a program/software called PC Wizard and this is what it reads:
Processor Temperature: 51 C
Mainboard Temperature: 38 C
Power/Aux Temperature: 100 C
Thermal Zone: 40 C
Core 1: 51 C
Core 2: 51 C
Core 3: 51 C
Core 4: 51 C
Temperature (diode): 44 C
Hard Drive Temperature: 37 C
In the GPU-Z software it says:
GPU Temperature: 44 C
Fan Speed: 37%
GPU Temperature (DISPIO): 43.5 C
GPU Temperature (MEMIO): 52 C
GPU Temperature (SHADERCORE): 46 C
Can you please help me know if my temperatures are doing great or are they getting dangerous, what are the safe temperatures for the CPU, Video Card, HDD, etc? Also I have a NZXT LCD fan controller, so any recommendations on where and what speeds should the fans be and the Temperatures sensors be? I am really worried that my CPU is too hot because i read that 50 C is not good. So please any help would be great... THANKS!
 
Did you use any thermal paste? it's necessary, not an option. I would also reseat the heatsink and fasten it in an X fashion. that means, if you screw the top left screw in first, do the bottom right one after.

Check the backplate, sometimes they move loose and you can't screw the HSF in properly.
 
I keep re-reading your post and not finding what case you have or how many/size case fans you're running.
 
reply:

@Linkin: i am not sure if thermal paste was used or not, i got this computer from another guy who bought it from ibuypower.com. So now i probably would need to rearrange the cpu cooler and make sure everything is done right. Can you plz tell me how to do this all and what to be aware of and any warning, i only did this twice years ago.
@jevery: the case is a HAF full tower gaming case...and i have like all the biggest fans...top - exhaust, rear-exhaust, front- intake, side intake.
 
Doesn't sound like it's due to not enough air moving through the case, but really the idle temps should be 10C cooler. Something else to look for is if a person isn't meticulous about dusting, after a year or two a bunch of lint will build up on the surface of the heat sink underneath the fan blocking airflow. Best thing to do is like Linkin said. Take the cooler off then dismount the fan off the cooler, clean everything up, reapply paste, and reassemble. Should help a lot. Unscrew the screws a little at a time until they come out. Try to work the cooler off the processor gently. They sometimes get a vacuum underneath leading one to think they're stuck and pulling too hard. Clean the old paste off with a little alcohol on a rag.
Reassemble by putting a small amount, (size of a grain of rice), of good thermal paste on the processor, then just press the heat sink on and tighten the screws a little at a time until all are tight.

All the other temps look about right, just the processor looks a little higher than normal.
 
Last edited:
jevery said:
Doesn't sound like it's due to not enough air moving through the case, but really the idle temps should be 10C cooler. Something else to look for is if a person isn't meticulous about dusting, after a year or two a bunch of lint will build up on the surface of the heat sink underneath the fan blocking airflow. Best thing to do is like Linkin said. Take the cooler off then dismount the fan off the cooler, clean everything up, reapply paste, and reassemble. Should help a lot. Unscrew the screws a little at a time until they come out. Try to work the cooler off the processor gently. They sometimes get a vacuum underneath leading one to think they're stuck and pulling too hard. Clean the old paste off with a little alcohol on a rag.
Reassemble by putting a small amount, (size of a grain of rice), of good thermal paste on the processor, then just press the heat sink on and tighten the screws a little at a time until all are tight.

All the other temps look about right, just the processor looks a little higher than normal.
Click to expand...

I agree, but I don't agree with the rag and alcohol. Because you aren't certain what paste is on there, you should be using alcohol yes, you will need 90%+ isopropyl rubbing alcohol, it helps to remove the old thermal grease better. It the rag I don't agree with you, should be using a lint free cloth, so either a lint free washing cloth, or a coffee filter will do. It won't scratch the surface of the heatsink as much as tissue paper or normal textiles do, and the flatter you keep the surface of your chip and heatsink, the better, as it will work better at removing heat
 
thanks Jevery and Aastii, i will keep your advice in mind, but can you still help me in that i want to know what risks are there doing myself. Like what do i have to do carefully and how can something go wrong. Or like how can i prevent from anything like motherboard or cooler or cpu from going dead? I am just scared that if i do something wrong something bad may happen and i will have to pay alot of money to get something new. Can you please help me so that i dont mess anything up? Also i do know of the static thing so i bought an antistatic band, but what else? Thanks alot.

Also another thing in about cleaning the cooler/cpu...do i use both 90% isopropyl to clean the paste off and the dust (like on the fan and cooler). and secondly do i clean the paste off the cooler AND the cpu with the same things?

Also here's just another thing i just want to tell you all, when i first got this computer from another guy who got this from ibuypower.com (probably about 3-4 months before i got it from him) the computer was really dirty. I mean so dirty that i was so mad i wanted return it to him. he also smoked and never cleaned the pc, so their was dust everywhere. However i still managed to clean it all up about 95% better. The only place where i did not clean it totally was the video card becuase i think their is some dried up dust on it that i can take off, and the cpu and cooler because i did not open or took it off and was afraid i may break the vieo card or cooler and cpu.
 
This definantly sounds like a dust build up issue. Your best bet is to remove all your computer parts motherboard, heatsink, CPU, Video Card, Ram, and anything else i failed to mention. and put them on a towel seperately and blow all the dust out with either a can of compressed air or a compressor with an air gun. Don't worry about harming anything just be careful when picking up your hardware or placing it down.
 
What you need to be careful to prevent is gouging or otherwise damaging the motherboard with a screwdriver slip, getting any liquid, (alcohol), or debris down the sides of the processor chip and into the socket where the processor pins make contact with the socket, or using too much force to pull the cooler free from the processor. The most important thing when working around the CPU and circuitry is gentleness. Keep the screwdriver blade and other tools on the fasteners and off the circuitboard. That said, computer parts in general, with a few exceptions, are surprisingly robust. It's not hard at all to pull the cooler and clean it up. Take your time - Don't force anything and you'll be fine. Don't worry too much about static electricity. Do your work on a bare floor, (no carpet), and touch the chassis before touching anything else in the case. And yes, clean both surfaces, the top of the processor and the bottom of the cooler with the soft lint-free cloth lightly dampened with the alcohol as Aastii suggested. Clean any lint or other debris off the cooler fins and the fan blades by blowing it off, or use a can of compressed air and wipe off any residue with the cloth. Then, after placing a dab of fresh paste on the processor, reassemble in the opposite order.
 
yea also if i am going to remove the cpu cooler and clean it, could you guys please tell me what brand or type of thermal paste should i get. I been trying to research this but so many people tell different things. Some say ocz freeze, arctic silver 5, arctic cooler mx-2, tx-2, some diamond stuff etc ...i am stuck, do you guys recommend a particular one?
 
hey guys never mind...i think the temperature probelm is fixed. First of all i got arctic cooling mx-2 and reapplied the paste and cleaned cooler, and secondly i got a new power supply, the corsair tx 650 watt.
Well here are the new readings in pc wizard: and can you guys tell me if they are good, ok, or no improvement. thanks:
Processor temperature: 45 or 46 C
Mainboard temperature: 35 C
Thermal zone temperature: 40 C
Temperature diode: 43 C
HDD temperature: 34 C
and in gpu-z it says:
Gpu temperature: 41 or 42 C
GPU Temperature (DISPIO): 41.5 C
GPU Temperature (MEMIO): 49.5 C
GPU Temperature (SHADERCORE): 44 C
Thanks ... also one more thing is there any thing else that i can do to decrease the temperature a bit more...please,
thanks alot guys u r the best!

oh yeah forgot.... the Power/Aux Temperature was about 86 or 89 C...is that good or not and is it better? thanks
 
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