Core 2 Duo E8400 running extremely hot

[weemadarthur]

Hi guys,

Just assembled a system as a home file server -
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 with stock Intel cooler.
 Asus P5K-WS Motherboard

When I booted up, the CPU temperature in BIOS was 97C, while motherboard was 32C. After
a few minutes, the temperature climbed to 105C, and the system shut down automatically.
This was just a few minutes after booting up, without putting any load on the CPU.

I removed the CPU cooler, cleaned out the thermal compund, and applied a fresh layer of
thermal paste (Cooler Master Thermal Compund HTK-002). When I rebooted, this time the
temperature immediately after powering up was 90C, and stayed solid at 90C-92C for the
next few minutes. Motherboard temp and ambient temp was again in the low 30s. I didn't
want to take a chance, and shut down without trying anything else.

Is it normal for the CPU to be that hot immediately after powerup? Is it possible that
the motherboard is simply reporting the wrong values? I don't think I have done anything
wrong while setting up the system.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[badge]

If using the stock Intel HSF, be sure it is fully seated correctly. You can google how to install the fan properly. If the CPU is new and untested the unit's thermal sensors may be defective and give an inaccurate reading. You could try it in another board to verify that possibility.

 

[dfusco]

Quite a high power system for a home server. Couldn't you have used a lower power, more effecient CPU?

 

[weemadarthur]

Quite a high power system for a home server. Couldn't you have used a lower power, more effecient CPU?

This system was originally planned as an app server for work, where it would be shared by multiple developers. The company decided to go with an IBM server instead, and let me use the CPU, motherboard, case and RAM for building a server for myself

badge, thanks for the advice. The cooler is properly mounted, so I guess I will check the CPU on another motherboard and see what happens.

 

[dfusco]

This system was originally planned as an app server for work, where it would be shared by multiple developers. The company decided to go with an IBM server instead, and let me use the CPU, motherboard, case and RAM for building a server for myself

badge, thanks for the advice. The cooler is properly mounted, so I guess I will check the CPU on another motherboard and see what happens.

Nice

 

[weemadarthur]

Best answer selected by weemadarthur.