AMD phenom II X4 940 Runs Hot

I just recently purchased an AMD phenom II X4 940 (running at stock speed, no overclocking). Checking the temperatures with the stock hsf and Arctic Silver 5 it idles anywhere from 45-50c. Using Core Damage to Stress Test it after 3 minutes it is already up to 60c. Around the 5 minute mark the temperatures are in the low 70's. I've reseated the heatsink twice and I am still getting the same results. Room temperatures are around 24C and it is in an Antec p180 case. I've disabled in the bios the Cool N' Quiet feature and in AMD overdrive the fan speed is Automatic and it is spinning ~2000rpm.

Checking temperatures I've used AMD Overdrive, HWMonitor, and Core Temps.


I've read that the stock cooler should be more than adequate for running stock speeds. I've also read where people are idling at around 45c or lower but also their full load temperatures are not near as high as mine. Did I happen to get a bad processor? Are the sensors possibly messed up? Does anyone have any suggestions? I've only had it for a few days and I should be able to RMA it.

i too had the same temps !!

check in your bios whether you adjusted the voltage settings or not and try running it on a lower volt.

and get an aftermarket cooler. my temps now are 40c idle and with prime 95torture test its around 53c @3.4 ghz .

i am using ocz vendetta 2 and it does a solid job!

Thanks for the responses! Before you guys posted I went ahead and got the xigmatek S1283. I was debating between it and the zalman 9700. I decided on the xigmatek because it had good reviews and it also came with a really long usb cable for free (needed for printer) and it was cheaper. Voltages are at normal and i'm going to try to keep it that way. I turned up the stock heatsink to full speed and I am idling at 44C with my case fans on low. If I turn them to high it drops a bit as well and my room is 23-24C. I'm sure once I get the xigmatek the temps will be much lower. I'm not sure how people are idling at 35C on the stock unless they have a lot of air flow going through their case and its like a refrigerator in their place.

You'll be happy with the Xigmatek and the egg is great, I've now gotten 3 free 15ft USB cables and they come in handy.

Sid_nag was right when he mentioned the voltages. In my Bios if I leave the voltage on "auto" the processor would pull about 1.4v volts, when I manually set it to 1.35v everything still worked fine and my temps dropped a degree or two...

whats your room temp??? and if u wanna reduce temps furthur try running at lower volts manually im currently running at 3.34 ghz (215*15.5) 100% stable at 1.264 volts and its idling at 38c now!!! try it there maybe some bsod's but eventually you'll find a sweet spot

Just thought i would add my findings on here. Mine idles at around 31c and playing games gets up to around 41c-43c and im using a Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler . Volts are at 1.35 and the cpu is running at 3.4mhz, could overclock more but to be honest i dnt really see the point as it does everythign with ease at the moment. Other things to note maybe are that im using an Antec 900 gamingcase but with all fans set on low......Room temps at the moment are probably between 16-19c at an evening when im on the computer.