Q9550 Stock CPU Fan Malfunctioning - Could CPU be Damaged?

[Centimetro]

Hello, I just built my first system a few days ago, and felt pretty good about it. I have a Q9550 with the stock cooler, and have been using it for about 2 days now. I was testing my system out with a game that came with my video card, Call of Duty 4. About 10 minutes or so into the game, the system shut off.

When I tried to turn it back on, it shut off again after a few seconds. I waited a few minutes, tried again. This time I went to the BIOS, and found that the CPU Temperature was listed as 90C! (all temperatures from here on will be listed in Celsius)

I loaded to Windows Vista, and downloaded a free program (SpeedFan) to clock the temperature while in windows. It showed all 4 of my cores at 80+ degrees. I did some research, and saw that that was way too hot.

At this point I opened the case and saw that the fan was not running. I turned off computer, tightened connections, turned it back on, and it still was not running. So my girlfriend bumped it with her finger, and it started to run on its own after that. Turned it off, turned it back on, this time it came on all by itself.

The CPU fan has been running on its own so far (about an hour). Speedfan lists the cores as running between 45-50 degrees each still. From the research I did, it seems that this is still too hot for a Q9550 that is not under load? Or is that closer to normal? It's not overclocked or anything.

I plan on ordering a new heatsink and fan because I'm not sure at all why it stopped working (any recommendations here?), but what scares me is that I have no idea how long or how often my CPU fan was not running all this time. It's even possible that I've been running my CPU fanless for up to 2 days! I was so new and ignorant that I never bothered to confirm that it was working all this time. So my question is...

Should I be worried about damage to the CPU? I mean everything seems to be "ok", but I'm worried that I've harmed it and the performance will never be as good as it could have been for the entire time I have this computer... is that how it works or no?

Thanks for any help and advice...

 

[Zorg]

I would keep the case open and make sure the fan stays running until you replace it. You didn't post your mobo but many have temps alarm thresholds that can be set.

The CPU was shut down by self protection called thermtrip#. It's certainly not good for it, but your probably ok. If it isn't flaky I wouldn't worry.

If you have the clearance in your case,the XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler with the XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket works very well.

When applying thermal paste with the Xigmatek cooler, apply a thin layer across the CPU IHS (top) or across the whole base of the heatsink. The paste won't spread properly through contact because of the gaps between the heatpipes and the base.

 

[Centimetro]

I would keep the case open and make sure the fan stays running until you replace it. You didn't post your mobo but many have temps alarm thresholds that can be set.

The CPU was shut down by self protection called thermtrip#. It's certainly not good for it, but your probably ok. If it isn't flaky I wouldn't worry.

If you have the clearance in your case,the XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler with the XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket works very well.

When applying thermal paste with the Xigmatek cooler, apply a thin layer across the CPU IHS (top) or across the whole base of the heatsink. The paste won't spread properly through contact because of the gaps between the heatpipes and the base.

Thanks for the info and advice Zorg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 <--- that's the motherboard I got, "GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard"

 

[roadrunner197069]

Keep a eye on it.

 

[Zorg]

That mobo does have a CPU temp alarm and also fan alarms on the health page. I recommend that you set it up, it only takes a minute.

 

[Centimetro]

roadrunner: yeah, I'm watching it like a hawk. I think I'll even turn off my computer when I go to sleep at night, something I haven't done like... ever. lol.

Zorg: Thanks. I ordered the stuff you linked me to plus some arctic silver thermal paste. I also did set up that stuff in the BIOS now -- but I'm not sure that it will work as of right now because I think I missed something on my mobo and forgot to hook up a speaker or something. I've heard absolutely no sound from it (not even a POST beep), so not sure if it will be able to give me the warning unless I fix that.

So will I be good to overclock with that cooler you sent me? I've never done it in the past, but now that I'm investing in better cooling, maybe I'd like to in the future.

 

[Zorg]

Yes, the S1283 is a good cooler for OCing. I hope you bought the backplate (retention bracket). It's important to have it.

 

[Centimetro]

Yep, I did get the bracket. Thanks again.

I was watching a video on youtube to show me how to change the heatsink once I get it. It mentions using rubbing alcohol to remove old thermalpaste from the CPU.

Will I have to do that? I didn't apply any thermal paste with the stock heatsink, but I think my friend told me that the stock heatsinks come with thermalpaste already on the heatsink.

 

[Zorg]

Yeah, they come with thermal paste stuck to the bottom that melts as it heats up. You will need to clean the paste off the CPU. Get some coffee filters or other non shedding cloth, dampen the filter and wipe the CPU's integrated heat spreader. Make it wet but don't over saturate it. Get as many fresh filters as you need. Alcohol, even the standard ~70% stuff dries pretty quickly. You will know when you are good.

I don't expect that you will have a problem with it sticking, but I would run it and then shut it down and immetiately remove the HS while it is still somewhat warm.

Also, once you unclip it, then give it a slight twisting motion to break it free.

I assume you checked for clearance in your case.

Good luck.

 

[Centimetro]

The installation of the Xigmatek was a success! Sort of. It BARELY fits into my case, I did feel confident before ordering that it would fit based on the height of the heatsink, but the problem ended up being that it comes real close to the power supply, so I basically had to install it in a way that stops my case from opening on one side. Also had to move a fan. But it got in there.

Based on my temperatures, I think I did something wrong though. Probably with the thermal paste. I'm thinking I either didn't get enough of the old stuff off (I could still see some residue, but it didn't seem to be coming off anymore with the rubbing alcohol), or I just put too much of the arctic silver on. What I did was put a blob in the middle and spread it around with a ziploc bag, as shown in a video I watched. After reading around a bit now, I think that may have been a bit much for my particular processor.

When I first loaded into BIOS, i saw that my temperatures were in the 20s at 900 RPM, meaning it had dropped almost 30 degrees, so I was thinking "mission accomplished." But after loading into windows, my temperatures on all four quads rose back to around 50, only slightly better than I got with my stock cooler. With prime95 running, it easily reaches 70, so yeah I think I messed something up again =(. Every one seems to have a cooler cpu than me, and I'm not even overclocked.

When I have the energy perhaps I'll try reapplying the thermal paste, but it's a bit daunting because those rubber things on the fan are so hard to get in and out! Especially now that I can barely get into my case

P.S: oddly enough, the temperature of my GPU did decrease by about 10-15 degrees after installing this. Heh.