CPU idling at 116° Celsius?!

[nikko]

The PC health indicator in my mobo's BIOS says that my cpu, a brand new E8400 Wolfdale 3.0 Ghz, is idling at 116° Celsius.

Can that possibly be true? I was able to load into Windows without a problem. Would it even be able to function at that temperature? Is it possible it's reporting an inaccurate temp and/or that there's something in the BIOS that I need to tweak? My system specs are in my signature line, should that help.

I used a free program to test the temp in Windows and it said the same thing: 116°. It also said my CPU was only running at around 2.0 Ghz. Is that because it's running so hot or is it another indication that I need to tweak the BIOS settings?

I did find the heatsink/fan kind of a pain to install, and I'm not sure how secure it is. No matter what I do, one of the four pins seems a little loose.

On another note, does thermal compound like Arctic Silver "expire"? I have a tube that's probably 4 years old and thought about adding some to the rather thin layer that came on the CPU.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: nikko
I did find the heatsink/fan kind of a pain to install, and I'm not sure how secure it is. No matter what I do, one of the four pins seems a little loose.

Then most definitely your temps are real and that poor little cpu is thermal throttling.

Originally posted by: nikko
On another note, does thermal compound like Arctic Silver "expire"? I have a tube that's probably 4 years old and thought about adding some to the rather thin layer that came on the CPU.

Artic silver doesn't expire per say, but the solvent in it does evaporate over time so the viscosity increases which results in a thicker less spreadable TIM layer...which can result in higher temps than you'd otherwise experience with a newer bottle of AS5. (this is generic advice for any TIM)

You should not "add" more TIM than what is already there. You want as little TIM as you can get away with while still covering the entire surface of the IHS once the HSF is attached.

Step one is to figure out how to get those clips fully and properly attached. I don't mess with them because they are such a PITA. But someone here had a handy youtube video of how to do it correctly. Hopefully they will chime in.

 

[nikko]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Originally posted by: nikko
I did find the heatsink/fan kind of a pain to install, and I'm not sure how secure it is. No matter what I do, one of the four pins seems a little loose.

Then most definitely your temps are real and that poor little cpu is thermal throttling.

Yikes. Am I likely to have done any permanent damage?

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: nikko
Yikes. Am I likely to have done any permanent damage?

No, zero liklihood of damage. The CPU throttles by design at a temp that is below the point where damage starts to accumulate at an undesirable rate.

It does mean though that the CPU has been giving you really bad performance though as the throttling is designed to slow everything down.

 

[Arkaign]

I love Intel chips of the post-P4 era, but the stock pushpin coolers suck donkey nuts.

Get this, cheap! And watch your temps decline severely!

Very very quiet as well. I have one of these on a box with a Q6600 @ 3.3Ghz at work, flawless.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835200026

 

[OCGuy]

I thought my room got hot with the rig in my sig. You must be cookin in there!

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I love Intel chips of the post-P4 era, but the stock pushpin coolers suck donkey nuts.

Get this, cheap! And watch your temps decline severely!

Very very quiet as well. I have one of these on a box with a Q6600 @ 3.3Ghz at work, flawless.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835200026

How does that compare to the tuniq? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835154001

I understand it costs more, so one would hope it performs better, but I am curious about the rosewill as I am not well-versed in their products. Is this a new product segment for them? (I own a rosewill USB hub and esata enclosure, love them)

 

[Arkaign]

Hi IDC, well, my experience with Rosewill lately has been very very good. I've used a number of their cases for entry-level PCs, and they've been solid, though noticeably less solid than more expensive offerings.

As for that cooler, it's outstanding. I'd recommend it any day of the week. It's light, comes with a nice quiet 92MM fan, is unobtrusive, and the assembly/design/finish are very nice.

The Tuniq is also excellent, I recommend them for the more extreme overclockers, although honestly I haven't seen any difference in overclocking C2Ds and Quads to the ~3.4Ghz range, beyond which I haven't messed with yet.

 

[Ika]

Just a note, Rosewill is NewEgg's in-house brand (much like Insignia/Dynex is to Best Buy); this means that their products can be hit or miss.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Aflac
Just a note, Rosewill is NewEgg's in-house brand (much like Insignia/Dynex is to Best Buy); this means that their products can be hit or miss.

I could see that easily. Their cases aren't exceptional, but I like to use them as a cheapie solution because they're dependably decent (no scratches, dents, manufacturing errors, or broken usb panels). The Rosewill coolers have been excellent every time I've used them. No comment on any other Rosewill equipment, as coolers and cases have been the extent of my experience with them.

Thanks for the info though, makes more sense now.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
I thought my room got hot with the rig in my sig. You must be cookin in there!

The temperature of a chip has nothing to do with heat output. A chip running at 60c can produce more heat than a chip running at 100c. The only thing the chip temperate tells you is just that, how hot the silicon is. 130 Watts of heat is still 130 Watts of heat no matter what type of cooling you have.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
I thought my room got hot with the rig in my sig. You must be cookin in there!

The temperature of a chip has nothing to do with heat output. A chip running at 60c can produce more heat than a chip running at 100c. The only thing the chip temperate tells you is just that, how hot the silicon is. 130 Watts of heat is still 130 Watts of heat no matter what type of cooling you have.

Way to pick apart my 1 liner.

 

[ther00kie16]

Zerotherm Zen 120mm for $14 after rebate

 

[BlueAcolyte]

I dunno about that rosewill... It's 92mm fan, which means it's just plain smaller than a 120mm cooler such as S1283 or the Zen listed above (that one has a bracket too, no more donkey-ball-sucking pushpins!)

 

[cmdrdredd]

You need Thishttp://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233023

With this http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233020

It's more money but is multitudes better than the Tuniq. Just make sure you apply the TIM as shown here http://benchmarkreviews.com/im...lication_Two_Lines.jpg

You can spend even more for better cooling, but it's not necessary IMO. The Xigmatek will take any overclock you can do on air.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
With this http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233020

Jesus christ $15 for a backplate that should be shipping with the HSF in the first place? Well that's one way to differentiate your product in the overcrowded HSF market.

 

[ericlp]

Originally posted by: ther00kie16
Zerotherm Zen 120mm for $14 after rebate

Cool!

Just what the DR ordered...Copper core...

120MM fan pushes more air and spins slower doing it (quiet)

Nice find! Free Shipping too!

Gotta make sure that rebate isn't coming from the rebate center that just went out of business tho.

 

[Martimus]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
With this http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233020

Jesus christ $15 for a backplate that should be shipping with the HSF in the first place? Well that's one way to differentiate your product in the overcrowded HSF market.

Wow! I just bought that for $7.99 less than 3 weeks ago. I can't believe that it is twice the cost now. You can actually get one from Xigmatek for the price of shipping after you purchase the cooler, or so I have heard. I can't remember the process, but I didn't have time to do it when I put the system together, so I just bought the bracket from Newegg.