Extremely hot CPU

Jazzo_

Reputable
Dec 3, 2016
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4,510
Hi,
My CPU (A8-7650K AMD,) is running 70°C at idle, and when i played Titanfall 2, almost 110°C. Could it be the CPU really running that hot, or broken temperature sensor? (Since most CPU turn off at 100°C.)

Also, the seller of this PC (prebuilt,) said that the A8-7650Ks Stock speed (my CPU speed now) is 3.8Ghz, but whenever i search it up, it's 3.3Ghz? Which one is it?

Edit: The CPU stock fan is running 100% fine, so it is not the cooling, although it may be the thermal paste
Edit2: Just checked the CPU temp with no load at all, it's 92 Celcius, extremely high (70C was in BIOS)
 
No, most CPU do NOT turn off at 100°C. AMD processors tend to start throttling at 80-90°C and will probably not shut off until damage has already begun to occur, somewhere around 105-115°C depending on CPU model, motherboard and bios settings.

3.8Ghz is is the max turbo frequency. 3.3Ghz is the stock base frequency. Both are correct.

Your CPU is not designed to be run at anything higher than 72.4°C, MAXIMUM safe temperature. Anything over that at FULL load is unacceptable.

You either are lacking in case airflow, with not enough cool air getting to the CPU cooler from outside the case (Take the side panel off and see if temps drop at all. This will tell you if airflow through the case is part of the problem or not.)

Or, the CPU needs to be re-pasted. Old thermal paste can and does dry out, and when that happens it loses much of it's ability to help with the transfer of heat from the CPU lid to the cooler heatsink base. Given the age of your unit, this is likely.

It may also be that your CPU cooler is NOT even running, or is running much more slowly than it was intended to run due to the motor on the cooler wearing out/growing old. Verify that the cooler is running correctly by checking the CPU cooler fan RPM in the bios and then in Windows as well by downloading HWinfo, installing it, running "sensors only" and scrolling down to where the thermal readings for the core loads and temps are at and checking what RPM the fan is operating at versus what your temps are.

Also, it's probably wise to go into the bios and make sure that the CPU fan profile is set to performance, so that you can be sure it is running at full speed fan curve configuration.

If the CPU cooler fan is not racing like a mad bastard with those temps, then there is either a problem with the fan or a problem with the thermal controller on the motherboard. This is not uncommon on A series AMD processors and motherboards. They have a high probability for thermal failure and are often sold to unwary buyers already damaged from previous failures to keep up maintenance on the cooling system or aggressive, unmitigated overclocking that has resulted in internal damage to the CPU.

Saying the CPU fan is running 100% fine means nothing. If you do not know what RPM the fan is running at, both at idle and load speeds, then you cannot possibly know if it is running fine or not.

The stock coolers those CPUs came with were NEVER really capable enough to keep them within the desired thermal envelope from the start. If the CPU is not already damaged, replacing the stock cooler with an aftermarket model of good quality would be a wise decision. However, it's possible that it's already gone beyond that if you've been running it at temperatures over 75°C.

If you want a very accurate thermal reading, download CoreTemp, install it, open it, click on the Options tab, select settings and check the box next to the "Display the distance to TJmax setting on thermal fields" setting. Distance to TJmax is how AMD processors are SUPPOSED to be checked for thermal compliance as numbers such as 75°C often don't have an accurate reflection on AMD configurations. Especially at the lower end of the scale where they've been known to report LOWER than ambient temperatures, which is patently impossible without refrigeration.

If after changing the settings you see anything closer than 10-15° distance to TJmax, then you are beyond the permissible thermal range. At idle you should easily have AT LEAST 30-40°C distance to TJmax. Anything less than 15°C under normal operating or gaming conditions indicates a serious problem from one of the causes I listed above. It is very unlikely that something is misreporting the thermal values, and very LIKELY that it is actually overheating.

In order to help you, it's often necessary to SEE what's going on, in the event one of us can pick something out that seems out of place, or other indicators that just can't be communicated via a text only post. In these cases, posting an image of the HWinfo sensors or something else can be extremely helpful. Here's how:

*How to post images in Tom's hardware forums



Run HWinfo and look at system voltages and other sensor readings.

Monitoring temperatures, core speeds, voltages, clock ratios and other reported sensor data can often help to pick out an issue right off the bat. HWinfo is a good way to get that data and in my experience tends to be more accurate than some of the other utilities available. CPU-Z, GPU-Z and Core Temp all have their uses but HWinfo tends to have it all laid out in a more convenient fashion so you can usually see what one sensor is reporting while looking at another instead of having to flip through various tabs that have specific groupings.

After installation, run the utility and when asked, choose "sensors only". The other window options have some use but in most cases everything you need will be located in the sensors window. If you're taking screenshots to post for troubleshooting, it will most likely require taking three screenshots and scrolling down the sensors window between screenshots in order to capture them all.

*Download HWinfo


For temperature monitoring only, I feel Core Temp is the most accurate and also offers a quick visual reference for core speed, load and CPU voltage:

*Download Core Temp

When it comes to temperature issues, taking care of the basics first might save everybody involved a lot of time and frustration. Check the CPU fan heatsink for dust accumulation and blow or vacuum out as necessary. Other areas that may benefit from a cleaning include fans, power supply internals, storage and optical drives, the motherboard surfaces and RAM. Keeping the inside of your rig clean is a high priority and should be done on a regular basis.

Also, you might want to go into the control panel power options and make sure it is not set to "Performance".

If it is, click on the "balanced" profile, OR click on "Change plan settings" next to the Performance profile, click on "Change advanced power settings" and open the "Processor power management" field. Change the minimum value to 5%. Leave the maximum value at 100%. With both min and max values at 100% the CPU never gets the chance to automatically reduce it's power in order to allow a cooling of cores when full core speed is not needed. This OFTEN results in a CPU that prematurely becomes damaged due to thermal fatigue.
 

JacobTheFox

Commendable
Jan 20, 2017
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1,660
I'd certainly check the thermal paste first off, and the CPU can come with a speed of anywhere from 3.8-3.3 GHZ, so you could try underclocking it and see if that helps. Also what cooler are you using?
 

Jazzo_

Reputable
Dec 3, 2016
21
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4,510



I think faulty app? HWmonitor showed those crazy temps but when i was using Core Temp it showed max temp of 63C during playing games and 20-30 idle.
 
If CoreTemp showed that under the same conditions, then yes, as I said, HWmonitor is fully known to be inaccurate.

Probably worth getting a third opinion using HWinfo though, just to be sure. Run Prime95 using the Small FFT option for fifteen minutes. If temps don't exceed 80°C, then it's compliant, although if the system is not overclocked you really don't expect to see anything past 65-70 at the very, very most.