I5 760 CPU Damage?

[Ovazealous]

Hey guys, today, I considered overclocking my i5 760, so I got real-temp and prime95 to do some stress-testing. Somehow, when I started the sensor test, the temperature went up, and kept going up - all of the four cores were nearly at 100c after a few minutes! The test only went 50% when I decided to stop. Should my processor be reaching near 100c on load? It doesn't seem right? or is prime95/realtemp supposed to push your processor to maximum temperature also (near TJMax)? (Distance to TJ Max was near 1-4 and the Thermal status sometimes flashes "HOT" and "LOG")

I'm still using the stock cooler.
The normal temperature though seems to be at a nice 35c.

Then I wonder, if I'm rendering out a lot of footage out of video editing software - my CPU is at near 100% load a lot! meaning my temperature is really high a lot of the time? Does that mean my processor could be damaged? or is this normal? and is there anything I could do?

Thanks guys!

 

[Supernova1138]

No you should not be hitting temperatures that high at full load. Your idle temps aren't too bad though at 35 degress celsius, you may want to check to make sure your fan speed is actually increasing as your temperature is increasing. Other than that, check to make sure that your cooler is making full contact with the CPU and is not loose, maybe apply new thermal paste, and/or get a better CPU cooler. The stock ones aren't great.

 

[nitrium]

Here are my results running the Realtemp/Prime 95 test on my i5 760 (stock speed, 2.8GHz) with the stock cooler. This is the Realtemp output for Core 1 only (the other cores were all the same temp +/- 0.2°C):

CPU Load ......... Temp °C
100 ................. 80.0
88 ................... 78.1
76 ................... 75.0
63 ................... 71.3
51 ................... 66.9
38 ................... 62.7
26 ................... 58.8
14 ................... 54.9
Idle ................. 35.4

If you were getting it to 100°C it is definitely running far too hot even on stock cooling. I'd say almost certainly your cooler is not seated properly. I seriously doubt your i5 760 is defective assuming you otherwise have no issues other than high temps.
Even the 80°C I get made me a bit nervous, so I can certainly see why you might concerned. After installing a Hyper 212+ aftermarket cooler I get this:

CPU Load ......... Temp °C
100 ................. 51.0
88 ................... 48.9
76 ................... 47.4
63 ................... 45.7
51 ................... 43.6
38 ................... 41.1
26 ................... 38.9
14 ................... 37.0
idle ................. 23.5 (= ambient case temp exactly).

Well worth the extra peace of mind IMO, especially since they aren't even very expensive.
Hope that is of some help.

 

[Ovazealous]

Will be opening computer up to check out the cooler placement - am considering the Hyper 212+, recommended by quite a few people- don't think i'll be OCing until I get that. ($33 here in AUS)
Could there be any permanent damage to the CPU?

 

[robin banks uk]

we can not say only time will tell if i was you i would get a aftermarket cooler before you overclock

 

[Ovazealous]

The cooler placement seems fine, all four tabs are pushed in and the cooler is firmly in place.
Would the Hyper 212+ be recommended even if I don't plan on OCing?
any other possible reasons why the load temp is abnormally high?

 

[nitrium]

Could there be any permanent damage to the CPU?

Intel CPUs since Pentium IV at least have thermal throttling built right into the chip, specifically designed to stop you "frying" your CPU due to too much heat (i.e. the clock speed is automatically lowered at a certain temperature threshold). I don't think it kicks in till about 100 - these chips can handle a lot of heat. If it still worked after your test, then you can be fairly certain you won't have done any permanent damage.

 

[Ovazealous]

Intel CPUs since Pentium IV at least have thermal throttling built right into the chip, specifically designed to stop you "frying" your CPU due to too much heat (i.e. the clock speed is automatically lowered at a certain temperature threshold). I don't think it kicks in till about 100 - these chips can handle a lot of heat. If it still worked after your test, then you can be fairly certain you won't have done any permanent damage.

Okay, good then, got worried by "As your CPU heats up, your Distance to TJMax will decrease. If it reaches zero, your processor will start to thermal throttle or slow down so maximizing your distance away from TJMax will help your computer run at full speed and more reliably too." (Realtemp website...)

Seems that the only way to fix it is to get an aftermarket cooler?

 

[nitrium]

Seems that the only way to fix it is to get an aftermarket cooler?

I'd say no to that question. The stock cooler should provide sufficient cooling. The fact that it doesn't means there is something wrong. Assuming the basics, like having the fan plugged into the right fan header on the mobo (the fan speed should fluctuate with CPU temperature) then it really must be due to poor seating of the heatsink on the CPU. I'd try removing it, carefully cleaning the thermal paste from both the CPU and heatsink (lint free tissue and rubbing alcohol works well for that) until both are nice and shiny, and reseating it with a small bead of quality thermal paste placed in the centre of the CPU. That should do the trick.

 

[Ovazealous]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm just wondering, for those guys that seem to have pretty good cooling, nitrium - you said you got 80c at 100% load, as soon as you're at 100c load, the temperature never goes higher than 80c? and thats the maximum the heat gets?

[EDIT] Just noticed, it seems impossible to get your CPU to 100% load unless you are using Prime95. Just tested the temperature using my day to day stuff - When playing Crysis on maximum settings (no AA), I got an average temperature of about 60. When rendering out a 720p video out of After Effects, I got a temperature of about 50-55. Not as high as the 95 I was getting at 100%.
Could I overclock based on what I do in my day to day use? Could I theoretically overclock by playing Crysis to test temperatures instead of using Prime95, because I don't really do anything with 100% Load for ages?

 

[nitrium]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm just wondering, for those guys that seem to have pretty good cooling, nitrium - you said you got 80c at 100% load, as soon as you're at 100c load, the temperature never goes higher than 80c? and thats the maximum the heat gets?

In the time it took to run that Realtemp test it never went over 80°C on stock cooling at stock speed. Not sure if it might have gotten hotter over longer periods, although it seemed pretty static at bang on 80°C. Obviously I don't have the stock cooler installed any more so I can't verify. With the Hyper 212+ cooler I have never managed to get it over 55°C at stock speed (and slightly hotter than that OCed ).

Could I overclock based on what I do in my day to day use? Could I theoretically overclock by playing Crysis to test temperatures instead of using Prime95, because I don't really do anything with 100% Load for ages?

For sure you can overclock with the stock cooler. Just keep an eye out on the temps (Realtemp has a nice feature that shows current CPU temp in the system tray). Personally I wouldn't go higher than 3.4GHz on the stock cooler assuming that it is functioning correctly (and I'm not convinced yours is: 100°C seems too high IMO at 2.8GHz - or were those results from an OCed CPU??? You didn't really say in the original post). Also definitely don't try overvolting on stock cooling either would be my advice (you will need to overvolt to get ~4 GHz).

 

[Ovazealous]

In the time it took to run that Realtemp test it never went over 80°C on stock cooling at stock speed. Not sure if it might have gotten hotter over longer periods, although it seemed pretty static at bang on 80°C. Obviously I don't have the stock cooler installed any more so I can't verify. With the Hyper 212+ cooler I have never managed to get it over 55°C at stock speed (and slightly hotter than that OCed ).

For sure you can overclock with the stock cooler. Just keep an eye out on the temps (Realtemp has a nice feature that shows current CPU temp in the system tray). Personally I wouldn't go higher than 3.4GHz on the stock cooler assuming that it is functioning correctly (and I'm not convinced yours is: 100°C seems too high IMO at 2.8GHz - or were those results from an OCed CPU??? You didn't really say in the original post). Also definitely don't try overvolting on stock cooling either would be my advice (you will need to overvolt to get ~4 GHz).

At the moment, it is not overclocked, the reason why I tested the temperatures were because I was considering overclocking so I decided to check the temperatures at stock settings. I haven't played with any settings yet. So it's 2.80Ghz,
With the stock cooler, the temperature just goes up and up past 80c to 100c. If i didn't stop it, my computer would've probably blown up?
I will probably switch over to a Hyper 212+ because my cooler is not working right. Could this be simply because of an airflow problem or the positioning of my computer? I'm using a Thermaltake Lanparty V5 if that makes any difference.

 

[nitrium]

that's too hot.
what thermal paste are you currently using.?

I bet it's that awful stock glop that Intel puts on their stock coolers. You just peel back a bit of protective plastic on the bottom of the cooler, bung it down, and voila, done and done. Still shouldn't run anywhere near 100°C tho.

 

[nitrium]

With the stock cooler, the temperature just goes up and up past 80c to 100c. If i didn't stop it, my computer would've probably blown up?

It would probably not blow up - the CPU should throttle back the clock speed to bring the temp down. But it certainly isn't good for it over the long run, and you won't be getting the performance you paid Intel good money for.
Out of curiosity, what CPU voltage reading do you get from CPU-Z? Look at it both idle (no mouse movement) and under load when running Prime95 (the voltage will go up significantly when you stress the CPU). There is a super small chance your CPU is in fact bad: i.e. it is drawing too much power and consequently dissipating more heat than the stock cooler can cope with.

 

[Ovazealous]

It would probably not blow up - the CPU should throttle back the clock speed to bring the temp down. But it certainly isn't good for it over the long run, and you won't be getting the performance you paid Intel good money for.
Out of curiosity, what CPU voltage reading do you get from CPU-Z? Look at it both idle (no mouse movement) and under load when running Prime95 (the voltage will go up significantly when you stress the CPU). There is a super small chance your CPU is in fact bad: i.e. it is drawing too much power and consequently dissipating more heat than the stock cooler can cope with.

0.896 seems to be the voltage when I'm doing like nothing, (and the clock speed drops to like 1200mhz) but as I start doing stuff on the PC, the multiplier jumps from x9.0 to like 21 -22 (turbo boost?) the voltage maxes at 1.168. It seems my clock speed is actually varied depending on what I am doing. It normally sits at around 1200mhz when web browsing etc. Is this a power saving feature?

Just tried the Intel Diagnostics Tool and my processor got pass in everything. I think all I can do is switch over to a CM212+ with AS5.

 

[majin ssj eric]

^^^^Really? What's better than the hyper 212+ for $27?

 

[nitrium]

0.896 seems to be the voltage when I'm doing like nothing, (and the clock speed drops to like 1200mhz) but as I start doing stuff on the PC, the multiplier jumps from x9.0 to like 21 -22 (turbo boost?) the voltage maxes at 1.168. It seems my clock speed is actually varied depending on what I am doing. It normally sits at around 1200mhz when web browsing etc. Is this a power saving feature?

Yeah it is. Your voltages seem fine to me - mine maxed out at 1.152V running Prime95, but your 1.168V is still not at all high. I guess you are right, there is nothing left to try but a 3rd party heatsink... which is never a bad idea anyway.

 

[Ovazealous]

I heard from somewhere that it's the voltage that increases the heat of the chip? or are there other factors, but if it's just the voltage, how far could you OC an i5 760 without raising the voltage?

 

[nitrium]

I heard from somewhere that it's the voltage that increases the heat of the chip? or are there other factors, but if it's just the voltage, how far could you OC an i5 760 without raising the voltage?

It depends a bit on how "good" your particular i5 760 is (they are certainly not all created equal!). But it seems 3.4GHz on stock voltage works for almost everyone, and some manage up to 3.6 GHz without raising voltage (but you will have to disable "turbo"). Beyond that you will need to overvolt - how much extra juice it needs, again, depends on your particular chip.
And yes, increasing voltage has a massive influence on temperature (which is why I wondered what voltage your 760 was using at stock speeds).

 

[Ovazealous]

It depends a bit on how "good" your particular i5 760 is (they are certainly not all created equal!). But it seems 3.4GHz on stock voltage works for almost everyone, and some manage up to 3.6 GHz without raising voltage (but you will have to disable "turbo"). Beyond that you will need to overvolt - how much extra juice it needs, again, depends on your particular chip.
And yes, increasing voltage has a massive influence on temperature (which is why I wondered what voltage your 760 was using at stock speeds).

Is your i5 760 overclocked? you seem to have a lot of experience. If RealTemp only hits 51c at 100% load. How much could you overclock so the 100% load hits around 70? I'm not completely familiar with voltage yet. (oh, I should probably Choose a Best Answer as this is pushing a bit off topic)

 

[nitrium]

Is your i5 760 overclocked? you seem to have a lot of experience. If RealTemp only hits 51c at 100% load. How much could you overclock so the 100% load hits around 70? I'm not completely familiar with voltage yet. (oh, I should probably Choose a Best Answer as this is pushing a bit off topic)

Actually I mostly run it at stock speed (stock speed is simply more than fast enough for most things I use this PC for), although I do overclock it to 3.5GHz occasionally when I'm doing certain tasks (e.g. movie encoding, some games, 3D rendering etc). Never ran Prime95 on it at 3.5GHz, but when doing those other tasks at 3.5GHz I've never seen it go over 60°C or so. Have never overvolted this particular CPU but I overvolted and overclocked my last CPU (an Athlon X2 4200+) like crazy . Still works too!

 

[Ovazealous]

Best answer selected by Ovazealous.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey