CPU Overheating... Possibly

[arby358]

So I just got my new computer built and loading Windows, but then after it finished it came up with an error saying the CPU temp was high, and the temp gauge said it was running at about 84 C, which I know is very hot for a CPU.

It tapered down to 78C, but that's still high, and I was just wondering if it was the temperature gauge being faulty or my thermal paste. I used the stock Intel fan with pre-applied thermal paste. Also, my fans are all seem very quiet, is there a way to increase their speed in the bios?

I'm running an ASUS P8Z68-V LGA motherboard with an Intel i7 2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz processor.

Lastly, it didn't feel warm at all near the CPU. I pulled off the side of the case and held my hand near it, but the air felt normal, and the fans weren't blasting warm air out either. I'm not sure this is something you can tell with air temperature, but I figured I'd notice 170-180 degree warmth.

Any help would be appreciated, thank you in advance.

EDIT:

I reseated my CPU fan as suggested and problem solved. I had to buy some thermal compound and a removing solution, but it allowed me to give a wider area for the compound and now the CPU runs at 28-30 C while sitting. Thank you for the help!

 

[rolli59]

Most likely the CPU cooler is not correctly seated! The stock cooler is sufficient for running the CPU at std clocks.

 

[arby358]

Most likely the CPU cooler is not correctly seated! The stock cooler is sufficient for running the CPU at std clocks.

Is it a simple thing to reseat? I only ask because I do not have any thermal paste on hand, and I didn't want to remove the fan and have the paste unusable.

Also the fan appears to be running from 1600-2000 rpm according to the bios. I don't know if that's average or not.

 

[rolli59]

If it is a new build then my suspicion is that the pins are not properly inserted into the motherboard and the paste should still be soft enough to get it in. Getting new paste and redo the whole installation is though a good idea.

 

[arby358]

If it is a new build then my suspicion is that the pins are not properly inserted into the motherboard and the paste should still be soft enough to get it in. Getting new paste and redo the whole installation is though a good idea.

That's what I'm about to do. I got the fan off easily enough, but I did notice prior to installing it that the thermal paste was less than I've seen in tutorials, and I do recall not being 100% about the pins. I'll be going out to pick up some thermal paste soon, I'll let you know how it all works out. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[arby358]

Best answer selected by arby358.