CPU idle at 50C ????

[Redd_slayer]

So I have an AMD Phenom x4 965 Black Edition with a Cooler Master Vortex aftermarket CPU cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103084

Help????

[Master Butters]

Is it OC'd?

Did you put the thermal paste on right? You may have to reapply the thermal paste.

[Redd_slayer]

Not OC'd
Pretty sure I put the paste on correctly. Thin spread. Not too much. Full coverage.

[Master Butters]

Maybe the CPU cooler isn't working right then.

[Redd_slayer]

I don't see why that would be the problem though. I just dusted it. It runs at the correct RPM's. Speeds up when it gets too hot. Seems fine to me.

[Master Butters]

Honestly, the only other thing I can think of is that you spread the thermal paste too thin or something. Otherwise, it shouldn't be having any cooling issues I know of.

[Redd_slayer]

Honestly, the only other thing I can think of is that you spread the thermal paste too thin or something. Otherwise, it shouldn't be having any cooling issues I know of.

Alrighty then. I'll take a look at it soon. Don't have the time at the moment. Thanks for the help Rainbow! Good luck with ESO. It's looking good!

[Master Butters]

Alrighty then. I'll take a look at it soon. Don't have the time at the moment. Thanks for the help Rainbow! Good luck with ESO. It's looking good!

I'm not a computer genius, so you may want to wait for another opinion. I'm just saying that that's the only thing I can think of.

And thank you!

[Dibola]

Usually it's just a bad seal with the thermal paste between the cooler and the CPU. Try reseating it. All signs lead to that.

FYI, put just a tad little more than pea size amount of thermal paste.

[Redd_slayer]

Usually it's just a bad seal with the thermal paste between the cooler and the CPU. Try reseating it. All signs lead to that.

FYI, put just a tad little more than pea size amount of thermal paste.

Okie dokie. Will do. Thanks bud.

[Redd_slayer]

Usually it's just a bad seal with the thermal paste between the cooler and the CPU. Try reseating it. All signs lead to that.

FYI, put just a tad little more than pea size amount of thermal paste.

My graphics card (AMD RADEON HD 5870) is running at a steady 56C idle non OC'd

[Redd_slayer]

Looked under the hood, not enough thermal paste. Put a good hefty amount on. Idling at 43-45C

[BloodElfRetPally]

I've got the same processor (3.4ghz qc version) with the heatsink it came with and mine doesn't idle at any temp its gotten up to so far, also the thermal paste was pre-applied when I got it. Are you sure its idling because of the temperature and not for some coincidental reason that happens around the same time your temp hits those numbers?

[Mokona512]

That cooler is not much better than the stock cooler if it is using this design, it will mainly just be quieter.


If you have good airflow along the surface of the motherboard, or a decent side panel fan, then it is best to avoid low profile CPU heatsinks

When applying thermal compound, it is best to examine the surface of the heatsink and CPU heat spreader closely to see if the surfaces are flat or not. Some heatsinks may have a very slight bulge on the heat plate (and some heat spreaders on the CPU may also not be flat. if they are not, then then more thermal compound may be needed.

If you have some 91% or better rubbing alcohol and some paper towels, and you want to experiment in getting the optimal thermal compound coverage, then go to ebay and buy the cheapest thermal compound you can find

After that, experiment with different thermal compound amounts until you find an amount that perfectly covers the surface with at little excess as possible, then clean it off and apply that amount of your quality thermal compound.

I went through this process when trying to get everything perfect when installing my kraken x40 on my Phenom II x6 1075t overclocked to 3.92 GHz, and at 1.55V (idles at about 25C and at 100% load, can stay under 50C) (cool n quiet is disabled so my CPU is always at full clock speed and voltage)

[ghost_03]

Personally I don't spread thermal paste manually. I just put a pea size amount and then the heatsink spreads it out when pressed into place. When the heatsink is removed, I usually see a circle coverage with a radius of about an inch.

This doesn't cover the corners of the surface of the CPU, but that's generally OK as what you're looking at is a heat spreader and not a piece of silicon. The actual CPU die is underneath the spreader and is considerably smaller.

Spreading is something that I only ever did when heat speaders were not common, i.e., early 2000s and before.

[Shattered831]

I don't spread it out either, never had an issue with heat from CPU but I also have the heatsink and 2 120mm fans blowing right on it. I also won't use the OEM thermal compound, I've always had good luck with artic silver so I've always used one of their's. I do wish I could cool down my gpu, as I think it runs a lil warm despite it staying at its normal operating temps. Guess I'll solve that when I replace it though lol.

sent from my ip to the nsa

[Mokona512]

For videocards, if you are using a reference cooler, then replacing the thermal compound can improve cooling by making things up to 5C cooler under load, but for many non reference coolers, e.g., the ones used by MSI and asus, will have better thermal compound application.

The main issues that you will run into the stock compound on virtually all GPU heatsinks, is the breaking down/ drying of the thermal compound.

To speed the production process, they use thermal compounds that have no conductive properties or capacitance properties. This allow the production process to be very forgiving when a worker applies the thermal compound like this...


They can be sure that the compound will not short out any capacitors or resistors located on the top of the GPU. The down side is that the compound breaks down and becomes brittle over time and does not make as good of a contact with the GPU.

If you have an older card that does not run as cool as it used to even with cleaning out all of the dust, then that is likely the problem. If the GPU lacks a a heat spreader, then just apply the arctic silver 5 very carefully so that none of it spills onto surrounding components on the package.


Removing a heat spreader, improves cooling performance if you have a good copper base on your heatsink, if you have a crappy heatsink with a surface that is not very smooth, then the heat spreader on the CPU helps lower temperatures, as the heat spreader is quality and does a good job of spreading the heat, thus allowing the CPU to work with lower quality heatsinks which cannot handle a high thermal density, it also protects the caps and other passives surrounding the CPU die, thus less risk of killing the CPU if you make a mistake and apply too much arctic silver 5.

[AOD_Timmee45]

First off, the AMD CPU's from that generation have a fairly high TDP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power) of 140W, compared to my i5 2500K's 95W. This alone means that your CPU, using the stop cooler is going to idle a fairly decent temperature of about 40 or so C. Also, you have to remember that temperatures (especially if all of your core components seem to be warm) are very effected by internal case air pressure and airflow quality. Make sure cables and what not aren't in the way of airflow. I know personally my HAF X case has fairly decent negative pressure (more exhaust than intake) and it keeps my temps pretty low all around. Mine are also fairly low in the fact that I have a small closed loop water cooler on my cpu.

[Shattered831]

@Mokona512 the card stays at temps the manufacturer claims is within is in its normal operating range just seems high to me @ about 68C under load. It's an older card xfx 6870hd, I know someone was building water blocks for um but the cards already dated so I don't see why to waste the money. I could pop it open, but as is with it being dated I already don't get the greatest performance from it. Good info though so thank you, think I might break it open and see what the paste looks like before I stick it in kiddos rig when I get ready to build that one.

sent from my ip to the nsa

[Mokona512]

Those temps are fine, videocards are designed to run hot, as heatsinks become more effective when there is a larger temperature delta. The larger the delta, the more wattage the heatsink can dissipate, which is why many videocards can pull 150-200+ watts and get away with a 2 slot design.


The videocard will not throttle or run into issues until you get to around 90-95C

for example, the stock cooler for a radeon 7870 (a 175 watt videocard)



overall, no need to worry unless you are getting close to 90C at full load.