e6400 extreme temperature spike

I recently built this system (my first) and I while using it very lightly, the computer shut down. I checked the core temp log and the temperature had steadily climbed to 83 and then suddenly jumped to 127 celsius! Over the next 7 minutes the temperature declined steadily to 100 degrees celsius before the shutting down. The system is not overclocked at all. I have since disabled smart fan so it's always running full speed and turned the temp alarm to sound at 60. Last night, the second core reached 60.

Two questions:

1) Is it likely my CPU was damaged on the first spike? Is there any way to determine for sure if it was so I can decide to RMA or not?

2) Any guesses on why the temps have spiked and what I can do to stop this? My temps are great at all other times (hovers from 35-40).

I have Core Temp and SpeedFan running. Both show the temperature of each core. Speedfan temps usually show a little lower, but not as low as 29. I'm using stock fan and I did put Arctic Silver on w/o removing the stock thermal pad, but I wouldn't think that would cause that much of a problem. My CPU voltage is 1.31 and memory at 1.8, FSB 266 with 8x multiplier (from EasyTune).

127C... holy sh*t. I usually advise 65 to 70C with 80 being the absolute max, but 127C?... RMA it if possible, because it might start showing problems soon.

I loaded "optimal" settings in the bios, which I guess include turning off the temp alarm...don't know why. Thanks for the advice, I will try to RMA.

I doubt that the paste is making a difference considering how it was running at normal and then just spiked up. Though I dont see the logic of applying that paste in the first place, as the paste that is already on the fan is probably better then what you put on there.

Could be many reasons. Maybe you damaged it with static electricity. Maybe the mother board is defective. Maybe your power supply is messed up. Maybe the the sensor is not reporting the correct temperatures.


---edit-

post above me says that after he cleaned it up it worked fine.. You probably got paste on the sensor so its going nuts as soon as the cpu temp heats up.

Thermal paste is used as a medium of transfer between the processors IHS and the Heat Sink, but too much of it will actually act as an insulator, keeping the heat in. That is why you should never have too much paste, or too little paste.

Added about a grain of rice size, not much. I tried cleaning it off and reapplying, but so far temps are up to 46 idle, ugh. Maybe I hooked the fan up wrong.

I have no idea where the heat sensor is...

EDITED: I meant 46 idle, not 42.

When I first cleaned off the processor, there was some spillage; perhaps that was what happened. After graphing the temps from the Core Temp log, I doubt the temps were accurate. It literally jumped from 83 C to 127 C in 1 second flat. That's an instant jump of 80 F and I would think that would only be possible with some sort of bomb.

I reapplied again and reset the fan and I now get about 40 C idle with core temp and 65 after 20 minutes 100% load using TAT, which I believe to be about normal.

Yea and even if I did go with no HS or fan, the increase would have been gradual, not an instantaneous jump. I'm pretty convinced it was a a temp read error, or at least partly. I still don't see how thermal compound could have messed with the sensor though since supposedly core temp reads the thermometer that is within the die (or so I hear).

As far as temps, they're already dropping down to around 35 idle / light load, which sounds pretty good to me.