AMD FX 8120 Running too Cold

[justinbyrne001]

Hello everyone, first post and all that. Anyways, I have a question that I would not normally ask, because I simply do not believe in running my CPU hot, by overclocking it. However, right now I have an AMD FX 8120, operating at 12c - 17c (53.6f - 62.6f), and I am wondering if this is too cold. I have tried scouring the internet for suggestions, but everything I find is in relation to how 'Hot' you can run a CPU, etc... Anyways, I know that these processors run hot naturally (at least a lot hotter than their Intel counterparts do), therefore, when I first adopted this machine into my office I purchased a liquid cooling system, and apparently, it is working just fine. Additionally, I like to keep my overall system temperature down as well, so I have;

2 fans leading out from the top of my case, through a radiator to cool the liquid

2 fans in the back blowing out

1 fan on the side blowing out

1 exhaust fan flowing out (takes up a single PCIe slot)

2 miniature fans mounted directly on top of my memory

In addition, my motherboard operates around 34c (93.2f), GPU at 47c (116.6f), and HD at 27c (80.6f), and personally, I do not like these numbers. First, my GPU ‘seems’ to be running hot, and I do not like to think that I have any components that are too hot to touch. In addition, my motherboard seems a bit high as well, although I do not know what to do about that. In either case, my CPU always idles at around 12c – 17c, in which case I am wondering whether this is too cold for my CPU. Therefore, I guess my questions are:

1. What temperature is too cold for this CPU?

2. What is a ‘normal’ temperature for a CPU?

I do not like to overclock my CPUs, because burning your CPU simply dwindles its life-expectancy, however, if this is not something that I need to worry about in my scenario, then would it be prudent to overclock my CPU a bit, or should I just leave it alone?

Other than that, I will try to troubleshoot the rest of my components to see why they are running hotter than expected. They mostly stay in a 21.1c – 26.6c (70f – 80f) environment, and I am worried about my GPU. I will post my core system specs below, for further detail.

AMD FX – 8120 Eight-Core
ASUS – M5A88-V EVO
16GB DDR3 Kingston Memory
GeForce GTX 560
Seagate 1TB Barracuda (SATA)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[ikes9711]

With a cpu, as long as it performs normally, you can never be too cold. The best overclockers use liquid nitrogen or helium to cool their cpu to go faster. In your situation i would overclock your cpu because it is not performing as it could it will not burn it out as you said. A normal cpu running temp is about 70C with a load

 

[bemused_fred]

1. Really, there isn't "too cold" a temperature for a CPU. It would run very happily in liquid nitrogen, if hooked it up with a good, regular suppy of the stuff. The kind of temperature that you're going to get on airar going to be ustfine.

2.Your CPU is absolutel fine. That CPU will run absolutely fine up to about 70 celcius, at which point performance will take a hit. You'd have to break 100 c with that sucker to really kill it, although running it close to 70 for long periods of time might reduce its overal lifespan eventually.

Likewise, your GPU and hard drive are just fine. Your hard drive is unlkiely to ever heat up above 30 celcius, even at full load. Your GPU should also be safe, so long as you don't overclock. GPUs are even tougher than CPUs, generally surviving temperatures in the 90's and even low 100's. Again though, you would't want to constantly push it to those levels, because it would shorten the lifespan.

 

[dish_moose]

What is your room temp? Your cpu cannot run cooler than that - unless the sensor is bad.
-Bruce

 

[maestro0428]

My guess is the software you are measuring the temps with is reading low. Try CoreTemp. It has the most accurate temps in my experience. As others have already said, it cannot run too cold.

 

[FinneousPJ]

It can run too cold but that would be way cold, -100 C maybe. It will stop working at some point :lol: You are fine however.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

My guess is the software you are measuring the temps with is reading low < I agree i have a rig with that same cpu and it never runs that cold even with aftermarket cooler.

 

[justinbyrne001]

Actually, the temperature readings that I posted are averages from three different programs. The first being an ASUS suite that came along with my Motherboard, Core Temp 1.0RC4, and Speccy from Piriform. To be honest, I have a laser temperature gun that I could use on the exterior of various components, to get a more accurate reading. However, with most of my 'core' components covered by heat-sinks, and fans, it might be a little difficult to get a truly accurate reading. Therefore, I am simply taking an average from various software programs.

The room that my machine is kept in hardly ever exceeds 26.6c (or 80f), and it sits literally right next to an air conditioner, so if it is summer time, cool air pores directly over it. Other than that, I am glad to hear that I am able to overclock my CPU a bit, without plausibly diminishing its life-expectancy. I try to keep my systems as long as possible, including my individual components inside. I have had my fair share of memory, hard-drives, sound-cards, video cards, etc... go out over the last 20 years, and I try to ensure that my systems stay stable.

I appreciate everybodies feedback, and I want to thank each of you for your quick responses. Thanks again! ;-)

 

[kiezz]

if you want to take your gpu temperature down make the side fan you have listed as exhaust an intake fan blowing cool air into the gpu, you have alot of exhaust fans causing negative pressure in the case i bet your gpu fan or fans is struggling to overcome this especially if it is just 1 single fan,
in my opinion 47c at idle would be a bit on the high side i could see that as a very high temperature at full load

 

[justinbyrne001]

Best answer selected by justinbyrne001.