My CPU is Hot

DayTrader

DayTrader

New Member
Lately, I've browsing around through my Bios trying to become familiar with it. While there, I noticed that my CPU temperature was reading about 73 C while idle. According to some places that I've read, for my CPU (Core 2 Quad), the max temperature should be 62.2 C. Why is it running so hot? What can I do to lower my temp? Should I maybe get a new heat sink?

Thanks!
 
It's possible that you have dust buildup around the cpu fan and its not allowing air to cool off the cpu. Also the bios isn't the best place to read cpu temps. You should use a program called coretemp inside of windows to show you the temp. Open the case and see if the heatsink/fan is all dusty and blow it out with a can of compressed air if it is.
 
Thanks johnb. I'll give it a try and see if it helps.

Is it necessary to remove the heat sink before blowing it with compressed air?
 
nope, leave it on for now.

if clearing dust out and checking your case for airflow don't help then you might want to consider re-applying thermal paste.
 
Okay, I've done all that was advised here - dusted my computer and applied thermal grease - and the temp, according to coretemp, has improved quite a bit: it's now at about 55 to 60 C when idle. I researched some more and found that with my quadcore, the G0 (whatever that means!), the max temp should be about 72C rather than 62, but I also read that my temp should be well under that max level. Well, I put my computer on full load and within about 10 minutes it was right at about 72 then I stopped it. I think my temp still isn't good, don't you agree? What should I do now and what temps should I be aiming for? I've done no overclocking or anything, I'm going for stability. Any advice?
 
Well I have the same processor as you with an aftermarket heatsink attached and my cpu is 30C idle and under load its around 50C.

For a while, my q6600 ran fine for several months with 80C+ temperatures so dont get so crazy about it. I think as long as max load stays under 72C you should be fine, but i would personally aim for my max temperatures to be under 60C.

To lower your temperatures, you can try increasing the rpm of your cpu fan. You can also try improving airflow in your case by attaching more fans or increasing the speed of your case fans. You can also try lowering the voltage of your CPU in your bios because less energy = less heat. Probably the best solution would be to purchase an aftermarket heatsink.
Note that some thermal grease take few days to further lower the temperatures.

(Btw G0 stepping is an improved model of the q6600 that uses less energy consumption, thus lower temperatures)

considering trying programs like hwmonitor or realtemp to check your temperatures.
 
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If you are using the stock HSF, an aftermarket one would help some what, as well as better airflow in your case if you don't have many fans, or in a bad configuration.

Generally, the best to have it is 1 or 2 fans at the bottom, front of your case as intake fans, and 1 large one on the back as an exhaust, to draw air up and through the case
 
Those aftermarket heatsinks/ fans really help if you think you need it. I got a cheap one and it it keeps my freaking pentium 4 at 25C Idle. Doesn't go much past 30 under load.
 
Thanks for everyone's helpful replies. I think I'll give my thermal grease a week or so to set in and see if my temps improve. If not, than I'll begin shopping for an aftermarket HSF. Can anyone recommend a good one? Do I need to find one specific to my particular CPU or is it one size fits all?

I think my airflow in my case is good. I have an intake fan in the front as well as a very large intake on the side of the case (although it doesn't spin very fast). I have an exhaust coming out the top, another on the top back and one at the bottom back...5 fans in total. I think it's good right?

Oh and if I were to lower to voltage to my CPU, how would it effect its performance?
 
Did you use compressed air to clean all your heatsinks?
If not, you should.

Also, what method did you use when you reapplied your thermal interface compound?

Did you remove and purify the surface of the CPU and Heatsink before reapplying?

Just some small details that might hone in on your issue. :good:
 
Yea, i cleaned my heatsink with compressed air. The method I used to apply my thermal grease was putting a pea-sized dot in the middle of the CPU and then putting on the heatsink. I thoroughly removed the old grease before applying the new. As for purifying, I'm not sure. I used rubbing alcohol to remove the other. Is that sufficient? Thanks for your help :)

I think the grease is setting in as time passes because today my CPU temp is about 40C while idling. However, when I ran prime95, it again climbed up to its max temperature then I shut it off. Albeit, this time it took 30 minutes to reach max temp as opposed to 10 minutes the last time I tried.
 
your airflow sounds fine.

not all HSF are one size fit all. some are made for AMD chips, others for Intel, and some work for both. Just look at the details of the HSF and see if it compatible for LGA 775

this is a newer version of the HSF that i use: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

what thermal grease you using?
if you used artic cooler 5, the website recommends using the horizontal method on a q6600 for optimal heat reduction. Cleaning it off with rubbing alcohol for the most part should be fine, but some enthusiasts recommend purchasing a purify. I have never used a purify so I have no comment on the difference it makes.

If you set your voltage on auto, most likely your bios is supplying your CPU more voltage then it needs. so you can try manually setting it to the lowest voltage necessary to run your processor stable.

also don't forget that ambient temperatures affect your computer. your temperatures will be higher on hot days and colder on cold days (obviously lol)
 
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Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the line method is only recommended because a Q6600 is 2 dual cores bolted together, so it, apparently, gives better coverage over both?

See I think that is just a way to make you use more paste; if you put on the small blob that you are supposed to, it creates a thin layer than covers the bottom of your heatsink anyway, so it won't be any better or worse, you are getting the same area touching the chip...

The method you used to remove the old thermal grease is great, airflow doesn't sound like an issue, you cleaned out your case, so that isn't either, if you drop your voltages to the lowest you can, that will only make a few degrees difference, assuming they are set higher than they need to be, so looking at an aftermarket HSF would be the way to go. You don't have to spend a small fortune on one, a fairly cheap one would be destroying the stock heatsink in terms of performance
 
911aaron, I'm using Arctic Cooling MX-4 thermal grease. What is the optimal voltage for my processor? As for ambient temperatures effecting the heat of the process, this is what I'm worried about because I'm in Texas and summers are hot! My room is much cooler than normal right now and yet the temp is still higher in my CPU than I'd like. I wasn't paying attention then, but I can imagine in August it was much much higher!

What do yall think of this HSF:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...223&cm_re=heatsink_fan-_-35-118-223-_-Product

It's the top rated on NewEgg and has a $10 mail in rebate.
 
i have the same prosesser in my fujitsu siemens and i used core temp to look and mine is running at 38-42 i would take the bottom off with it on and see if you can see anything visual dust buld up or whatever
 
Aastii, I checked and on load my CPU is showing 1.264V, just slightly above the 1.25 mentioned. Is this significant or not?

Thanks for the fan suggestion. Just curious what you think of this fan:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rue&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=3#scrollFullInfo

ciaranjns, right now my temps are showing about the same as yours..they're all right at 40C on idle. I think the thermal compound is setting in. Maybe it will improve more over the next few days. :)
 
DayTrader said:
Aastii, I checked and on load my CPU is showing 1.264V, just slightly above the 1.25 mentioned. Is this significant or not?

Thanks for the fan suggestion. Just curious what you think of this fan:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rue&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=3#scrollFullInfo

ciaranjns, right now my temps are showing about the same as yours..they're all right at 40C on idle. I think the thermal compound is setting in. Maybe it will improve more over the next few days. :)
Click to expand...

It shouldn't make a whole lot of difference, but drop it by the smallest increment possible, and stress test for 20 mins. If it passes, drop another, and test, then another, and keep going until it fails. At that point, bump it up 1 more notch, because then you know you have it at the lowest voltage whilst being stable, which is ideally what you want.

As for the cooler, I would still take the V6 over it, or, for slightly less than the one you just posted:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016

which comes with 2 amazing fans

or, with MIR:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103089
 
i never heard about the q6600 being two dual cores bolted together. interesting.
pea method shouldve been fine though. just saying what the website recommended.

for the HSF, honestly anything will do great compared to your stock fan. just pick one with good reviews are your set to go :P
 
Thanks again, Aastii, for your help. I'll try adjusting my voltage as you've described and research the fans you've recommended.

911aaron said:
i never heard about the q6600 being two dual cores bolted together. interesting.
Click to expand...

I'm not real sure what you mean by this. Can you explain further, please :cool:
 
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