High Core i5 Temps

sideswipe

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Sep 4, 2011
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Hi,

I'm hoping someone might be able to give me some advice. I'm currently using a core i5 750 CPU (not overclocked) with an Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro cooler and I've noticed that my CPU temps seemed to be a bit high. When the CPU is idle according to SpeedFan the CPU temp is 32°C and the core temps are 42-46°C, however when I ran a stress test with Prime95 the CPU temp jumped to 84°C and the core temps jumped to 98°C within about 7 seconds.

I'm wanting to do some video editing but I'm having to leave it at the moment as this has the same effect of driving the CPU temps up.

Is it a case of the cooler I'm using is rubbish and I should be looking for something better? should I try re-applying the thermal paste? or something else?

Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks

 

beenthere

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I'd try Core Temp for accurate temps as SpeedFan can be incorrect many times. If your CPU is at 98C under load it is too hot. The AC Alpine 11 Pro isn't the greatest cooler but I'd expect better temps than 98C. Is your ambient room temp high? Does your HSF show full speed under load?

If you decide to re-seat your HSF you only need a very thin film of TIM. Most people use way too much TIM which is actually a thermal insulator compared to metal-to-metal contact of the heatsink and CPU.

http://hardwarebistro.com/?option=com_simple_review&Itemid=84&review=122-Arctic-Cooling-Alpine-11-Pro-Cooler-Review
 

sideswipe

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Sep 4, 2011
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I've run Core Temp and I get pretty much the same results as speedFan, I'm gonna check everything is seated correctly and working as it should, if it is then I'll try reseating the heatsink, I think I have some Arctic Silver somewhere.

As regards getting a better cooler, that may be a road I'll have to go down, but I'll try and see what I can do with my existing cooler first.

The Frio looks a nice cooler, but after checking the dims I might have an issue with it, I only have 166mm space to play with and the Frio is 165mm.
 

vollman1

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If you plan on OCing, I would really agree with malindar as well.

I went with a Xigmatek Gaia sd1283 but, at 4.5GHz, I have reached the thermal limit on that cooler. Looking back, I wish that I had gone with the Corsair H60 or H100 so I could get to 4.7 or maybe 4.8GHz.
 

bucknutty

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I would try some new thermal paste. My Q9650 was hitting 75-80 while folding@home on all cores. I was using a big old Zalman and the Zalman thermal paste. I used the spread method because that is what's in the Zalman instructions. After watching this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyXLu1Ms-q4
I went with new paste and the line method. Temps dropped by 10 degrees. I don't know if it was the air bubbles or if it was just luck but the line method seems to work.
 
Agree... remove the heat sink, clean both surfaces, paste, and reseat.

I'm running a an i7-2600k w/ the Corsair H50 (added a second fan on it) OC'd to 4.2GHz and run on any game and stress @ less than 50C, it's odling right now @ 35C with WoT running on the other monitor...

I built a similar w/ an i5-xxxk and ran even cooler.
 
That is really hot for an i5 750. If everything is installed properly and the case has good airflow, temps should be nowhere near that high. You can see in this review that the cooler is better than the stock cooler ( http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Arctic-Cooling-Alpine-11-Pro-CPU-Cooler-Review/802/5 ) and I am certain the stock cooler doesn't let the chip get that hot. My i5 750 (see sig) is overclocked and slightly undervolted and with my Hyper 212+, temps stay below 60C. The 212+ is a better cooler, but not a 40C better cooler (with mine OC'ed too).

Some thoughts: What motherboard do you have? Update its BIOS to the latest version.

Are all fans operational and clear of dust? You could try removing the side panel and setting a desk fan to blow in if you think your case may have poor airflow.

Remove, clean, repaste, and then reseat the CPU Cooler. Make sure its fan is operating normally.

Use a program such as HWMonitor to check that fanspeeds, temps, and voltages seem OK.

Check what temps and voltages are reported in the BIOS.
 

sideswipe

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Sep 4, 2011
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Well it looks like it was definitely the cooler that needed re-seating, when I removed it I could see that there were patches that the TIM hadn't even touched.

So I reseated the cooler with some new TIM and the temperature went up to 98°C at idle!! so I reopened the case and found now that the mounting bracket has broken on one side, I might possibly have tightened the screws too much.

So now I need a new cooler altogether.

I need to get something quickly and I have found the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev2 which looks suitable or possibly the Akasa Venom Pico which are sold locally, both at the same price, and should fit in my case with no problem. I don't overclock and I don't do anything that often that is going to be CPU intensive, so I don't think I need anything too special.