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PC still too hot after heat sink change.

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  • Heatsinks
  • CPUs
Last response: in CPUs
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July 27, 2014 12:14:05 PM

I recently switched out the stock heatsink in my pc for a better one due to skyrocketing temperatures, even on idle. Under load, the games i ran would crash due to it being to so hot. The new heatsink was a giant, and the cable management in my pc isn't the worlds best. After the switchout, i applied new thermal paste, and tried to put my cables in some working order. On idle, I usually run anywhere from 42C-45C. It might get up to 48C with a few tabs of chrome, steam, and my antivirus open. What really troubles me is when i run games. Skyrim on high settings runs great, but after a few hours or so, it'll reach a mindmelting 65C-71C and the side of my case where my psu, hard drive, and heatsink are will feel quite hot to the touch. I have tested it and tested it under load and my games havent crashed, but the fan does run 100% at 1600 RPM.

I have thought of buying a new case to try to attempt a better cable management system, since my graphics card has basically no ventilation and everything is mashed together by the processor, but im not sure that would help too much. I also have the stock fan from my heatsink I could install to try to ventilate out some of the heat. What would be the best option? Thanks!

Specs:
AMD A-10 6700 3.7 Gigahertz Quad-Core Processor
8 Gigs DDR3 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Graphics Card
Cooler Master GeminII M4 heatsink
Antec Formula 7 Nano Diamond Thermal Compound

-HahnSolo

More about : hot heat sink change

a c 418 à CPUs
July 27, 2014 1:53:07 PM

The idle temp is higher than it should be, but the APU s have been known to produce false temps with conventional pgms. I had an A10-500K and an Athlon X4 760K that never showed correct temps. Finally AMD came out with a new version of their Overdrive that displays Thermal Margin instead of direct core temp.
http://www.techspot.com/downloads/4645-amd-overdrive.ht...
It will show the distance you have to where the CPU throttles back to save itself. Try that and see what it reports.

What case is this system in? A small case with poor cable management and limited airflow will increase temps too. While your idle temps are too high, your load temps aren't very far out of range. So it may indeed be the old APU temp bug you see.
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July 27, 2014 4:30:22 PM

clutchc said:
The idle temp is higher than it should be, but the APU s have been known to produce false temps with conventional pgms. I had an A10-500K and an Athlon X4 760K that never showed correct temps. Finally AMD came out with a new version of their Overdrive that displays Thermal Margin instead of direct core temp.
http://www.techspot.com/downloads/4645-amd-overdrive.ht...
It will show the distance you have to where the CPU throttles back to save itself. Try that and see what it reports.

What case is this system in? A small case with poor cable management and limited airflow will increase temps too. While your idle temps are too high, your load temps aren't very far out of range. So it may indeed be the old APU temp bug you see.


Thanks for the feedback!

I have tried AMD Overdrive before. The thermal margin was accurate, but it said my actual temperatures were -271F which obviously wasn't very realistic. I didnt some testing with AMD overdrive back when i had it, and i only got around 10C thermal margin under very heavy load.

I'm more worried about the decreased life of my processor and other components due to the high temperatures. If I could get another case and fix the cables a little bit, it should help right? Here is about what my current set-up looks like. I apologize for picture quality.
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July 27, 2014 4:41:55 PM

Hi -
Try running for a while with the case open (and maybe a fan blowing on the open components.) Why? Well, this would tell you if the problem is airflow or not. If your temps drop into normal ranges, then you have an airflow problem in your closed case. If the temps stay high, then there's something else you need to fix.
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a c 230 à CPUs
July 27, 2014 4:42:48 PM

You traded the stock heatsink which is loud and kinda marginal for a low profile heatsink that is quiet and very marginal. The GeminiII M4 simply lacks the surface area to be able to handle your system, which is why the idle temps are so high. Frostytech has it in their list, it sits at 26.5C compared to the stock AM2 heatsink which is only 17C above ambient on the same thermal load(we'll ignore the 20dBA sound difference...) Move up to a real heatsink, it looks like your case is wide enough for one.
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=276...

It also appears you have no intake/exhaust fans in that case from that picture, you should at least get a rear fan, the heatsink does nothing if it keeps sitting in its own hot air.
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July 27, 2014 5:49:23 PM

hunter315 said:
You traded the stock heatsink which is loud and kinda marginal for a low profile heatsink that is quiet and very marginal. The GeminiII M4 simply lacks the surface area to be able to handle your system, which is why the idle temps are so high. Frostytech has it in their list, it sits at 26.5C compared to the stock AM2 heatsink which is only 17C above ambient on the same thermal load(we'll ignore the 20dBA sound difference...) Move up to a real heatsink, it looks like your case is wide enough for one.
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=276...

It also appears you have no intake/exhaust fans in that case from that picture, you should at least get a rear fan, the heatsink does nothing if it keeps sitting in its own hot air.


Thanks for the feedback! I'm really trying to not continuously purchase more components for this pc. The current heat sink is specifically for quiet operation, but it was very highly rated, and there wasn't a wide variety of heatsinks that would fit in my system and still ventilate properly. There is an opening on the opposite side of the case to blow the air out, so a horizontal fan is out of the question, i'd just be blowing hot air onto my graphics card. Also the quiet operation on my current heatsink is beautiful, I can't hear the thing unless its running at 100%. I'd prefer to not have to replace the heatsink again.

Update: I went and took your advice to get an exhaust fan online, Its about a 15 dollar Cooler Master JetFlo 120mm fan. Should help some, since I think some of the problem is the case heating up. Thanks for the help!
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a c 418 à CPUs
July 27, 2014 8:12:57 PM

As per Gorfthefrog, try running with the case open for awhile. If temps drop, that would indicate that the closed up tiny case is the issue. Another is the fact that top mount PSU intake fan is pulling air away from the CPU cooler's fan which is trying to force air over its heat sink. The proximity is too close. Basically, I think the tiny case is the main problem. But don't go by idle temps with an APU. They are notoriously inaccurate. And your load temps of 65C-71C are safe but higher than they should be.
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