AMD phenom x4 955 be core @ 200 degrees ??!

[karthik316_1999]

Hi all,

Making this post in much anticipation. Yesterday I had removed the stock heatsink of my phenom x4 955be (no OC'ing done) to blow some air into it and get the dust lumps removed between the fins. Later, just replaced the heat sink (although it did strike my mind to re apply some arctic silver thermal compound - I did not)

Carefully, saw the cpu/core temparatures in Speedfan and they were safe below 40C. But then today after about 45 mins of working on the PC, I was totally taken aback seeing the temp's. Is this even possible ???? The CPU was @ 36C and the core was @ ... 257C ?? (Two Hundred Fifty Seven degrees)
I have just shut down the computer after seeing this & don't want to even think about switching it on.

Would you please assist me ?
- Please tell me that Speedfan on my system is showing the wrong temp ! Has the core suffered enough damage now ? If the temp was real how was the PC running fine? & how did the PC not get switched off ?
The thermal paste was still visible and did not look it needed to be replaced.. (Read in this forum that this would be optional only when replacing the heat sink)..

Many thanks in helping me switch the PC On again.. 256 degrees. my god I still cant believe..

 

[correon]

Must be some fault in Speedfan - have you tried another program ?

 

[karthik316_1999]

No i haven't as Im way too afraid to even switch on th PC !
Can I switch it on and try measuring it with coretemp ?
I see it being recommended on this forum.

I just dont want to cause any damage to my computer !

 

[rdc85]

If the proc get to hot it will shut down automaticaly (or throtled if u turn on C&C)..

I think the temp reading goes wrong.

edit : when u turn off the pc, did u touch the heatsink is it hot?

 

[karthik316_1999]

Yes, it was not "hot" but rather the usual "Warm"..
btw, what is C & C ?

 

[jay_nar2012]

He means cool'n'quiet....
Basically underclocks the CPU on idle to save power and to reduce heat..

 

[karthik316_1999]

I do use the Asus EPU that controls the fan speed and has various power settings as per the load. does this also do throttling or should I install C&C ?

 

[rdc85]

Every amd proc had it, so don't need to install, it was automatically activated on bios except if u disable it (O.C. -er)

It's quite strange temp reading, but i think it was software/sensor error.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Any idea where to enable/disable on the BIOS ? I tried searching around but could not find..

 

[rdc85]

not familiar with non- gigabyte mobo, so cannot help u there...

but i'm sure cpu nowdays had temp protection. i once had pentium D that hit (thermal limits) temp 100 C, it just turn off (and before that it lags every things)

It still works till i sold it, in fact proc is one of sturdiest component of cpu...

 

[Derkle]

Yeah that reading must be off, unless your bios config is messed up and doesn't have an auto shutdown feature. But just to be safe, you should take your heatsink off and remove all thermal grease on both the processor and heatsink, then reapply. Then make sure your heatsink is properly installed. 257C is enough to melt solder, so that cant be right. If you do all this and it still reads that then a temp gauge in your processor, fan or mobo is broken and there shouldn't be anything to worry about, except that you lose that functionality.

 

[Wisecracker]

Finger that thang.

If you pull back a fried, smoking nub, you have issues.

Otherwise, refresh your BIOS and depend on the Asus utility.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Hello all, thank you so much for helping me out.. I do not sense any burnt smell upon removing the heat sink.. and coretemp reports a decent temperature. Speedfan also reports a decent one. It hasn't reported high temp's like earlier for the past couple of days.

However, the PC tends to get switched off randomly (does not happen when I leave the side cover open)..

 

[nna2]

i've had speedfan report 200C temps as well... i would suggest the program aida64... it's 30$ but it's well worth it in my opinion (of course i have use for most of it... you might not lol)

 

[rdc85]

aida64 is very good program, they list every thing..... (very useful if u need the info)

"However, the PC tends to get switched off randomly (does not happen when I leave the side cover open).. "

U might don't had good airflow in your case...
If opening the Side case helps then I'm suggest to leave it open...

 

[amuffin]

Very unlikely.

The system would have shut down. It's a bad temperature reading, though I do recommend you reapply paste!

 

[karthik316_1999]

okay.. i've just installed the Cooler master hyper 212 evo CPU cooler... and replaced the stock phenom 2 cooler...
hoping to see some +ve results... (although there is not much difference in the cpu core temperature as reported by speedfan..)
have also updated my year old bios ..

if in case this problem does occur again, I'm pretty sure heat is not the problem.. what else should I be looking at next ??

also, got one more question.. My cabinet is an old one with the PSU placed at the top rear end instead of the bottom rear end (as seen in the latest cabinet's)
The problem is.. My corsair GS600 PSU has the blower fan underneath it and blows hot air just on top of the laaarge hyper 212 cooler.. will this be a problem ?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Your Psu is sucking air out, not pushing it onto the 212, feel the vent from the Psu at the rear, you feel the breeze?
and on the subject of paste, if you remove the H/s, for any reason, you replace the paste,
and speedfan is narky, try Coretemp as a free option
Moto

 

[karthik316_1999]

my psu does not push any air from behind ! I do not see any breeze coming out of it..

in fact, when I place hands below the psu fan (that faces the ground) i feel a strong blow of air being emitted out of it..

Update : My PC had an instant shutdown again.. last night.. in spite of this useless 40$ cpu cooler...

 

[Motopsychojdn]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6256814&CatId=1483
According to this picture the fan is orientated normally, not in reverse
And if the cooler hasn't resolved the shutdowns, its obviously something else causing them, any info on the bluescreen to help identify?
Moto

 

[karthik316_1999]

ooooh.. s**t ! this is not how my PSU is mounted.. it has been mounted at the rear top end of my case with the fan facing down..
But i guess this should not be a problem ? assuming the fan's rotational direction decides the blow in/out ?
I believe my vendor had mounted the psu in this manner since I did not have one of those latest type cases where the psu is placed in the rear bottom end ?

Please advice !

And, no, i dont get any BSOD's.. it's just a plain instant switch off..

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Don't panic!
If you Psu is topmount the yes, the grill is facing down, thats fine and no cause for concern
What I was referring to is the angling of the fanblades, the way they are in that main picture shows us the direction it pulls or pushes air, the way up the actual unit is in the picture is just so you can see the fan part of it, normally you can't see the fan as its at the bottom
How old is the Psu btw?
and do you have another Psu you can swap it out with to rule it out as faulty?
Moto

 

[karthik316_1999]

aaw.. that gives me some relief.
Now, my Corsair GS600 is exactly an year old and unfortunately I do not have an alternate PSU (a good stable one) to test this issue out with.

Just to rule out my GPU (MSI R6850 power edition) as the root cause, I did have it unplugged last night and the issue still persists. Instant abrupt shutdown with no BSOD's whatsoever and the PC will not power back on for about 15 mins.

I thought of requesting an RMA from corsair straight away, but just want to be sure that PSU is indeed the problem. How do I do that ?
I guess a faulty RAM would not give this symptom. Can it be the motherboard ?

 

[karthik316_1999]

update - i ran memtest to rule out the RAM & pc switched off during the test itself. this is very frustrating !

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Ok, given that the Psu is a decent brand and only a year old,
I'm disinclined to believe thats the issue, it may be but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now,
repeat the memtest run, is it all sticks that cause the shutdown or just one particular stick?
Moto