AMD Athlon 4400+ 89w X2 running a little warm.

[Nocturnal]

I just got this new CPU and it's running at around 48 idle. I am using the stock heatsink/fan. Any ideas what might be causing this? My last 3200+ in this case ran around 38-40 idle.

 

[dennilfloss]

Two cores.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Probably because when turned on it dissipates 89W.

Seriously, which heatsink did it come with - the newer slim 4-heatpipe cooler, or the older boxy one with 2 heatpipes on opposite sides and a smaller ~60mm fan?

Regardless the heatsink may be not perfectly flat or not mounted perfectly. Perhaps try taking off the heatsink and checking the "smudge mark" of the thermal compount to ensure flat contact.

AMD Dual cores, especially the ones with 2X 1MB of cache run warmer than single core chips. Also, which motherboard are you using. Different boards read out different temperatures. DFI's seem to be a little lower than, say, ASUS.

 

[OcHungry]

It sound like you have a bad case ventilation, looking at A64 3000 idle temp you indicated.
The 3000 should have run at around 30-35c idle and this one not more than 35-37c.
What kind of case do you have? Maybe change the 120mm fan to increase exhaust air volume.
What about you?re PSU? Does it have a fan on the bottom? AMD recommend Psu's w/ fan @ bottom. This will increase air movement from bottom entering to top exhausting.
Also make sure you have applied Artic silver correctly (a very thin layer) and the HS is making total contact. Is the HS bracket tightly snapped in place?
The AMD's HS snapped tight and some are very hard to push in and snap in place. Was yours loose or hard to do?
Above questions and answers should give you the general idea how your cooling should work. I recommend at least get an Artic 64 cooler or the vapochill for $39. Vapochill are very good coolers and newegg is selling them now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835703003

 

[homestarmy]

It sounds more to me like he is not utilizing CnQ.

Do it, it's the best thing since sliced bread IMO.

 

[tersome]

Maybe your motherboard reads high? It's not like software readings are accurate or anything.

Feel the base of the heatsink and see if it's cool, warm or hot after 30 mins of prime95.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

89w processors come with the no heatpipe heatsink assemblies.

89w are currently AMD's coolest chips for the 939 platform. Regular dual cores including the other X2s and Opterons run at a rated 110w. Feel the heatsink- if it's not hot, you're fine. My mobo was reading temps too high by about 20-30 celcius.. had me freaking out till I opened up the box and touched the HSF.

Maybe reseat it? Check for the IHS being concave? DId you forget to push down that weird little lever thing to more securely lock it in place?

More details.

 

[pkme2]

My 4400+ has the generic AMD HSF on it and my readings are 32C/38 idle, 38C/45C load, ambient 21C/28C.

Recommend that you clean off heatsink, add a drop of AS5 and spread with plastic creditcard, reseat again and then lock in place.

Try this Core Temp. You can get another temp utility.

 

[Gikaseixas]

My cpu is the same as yours and it runs 32c idle, 40c stressed

Just like someone before me mentioned, check your case ventilation system, make sure the heatsink is sitting propely and don't over use thermal paste. Also never trust most mobos temps because usually they tend to show higher temps

 

[Paperdoc]

Just because it's dual core does not mean it must run much hotter. I am just starting out with an 89W 4400+ Ath64 x2 using a Zalman cooler and Arctic Silver in an Antec Sonata II case (has a duct to bring outside air to the Zalman Cooler for CPU). This is on an ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe mobo.

So far my idle CPU temp is about 36 to 38C, and running Memtest 86+ for an hour will bring it up to 40C max. It sounds to me like your CPU cooling is insufficient. For the temps you are seeing, the problem does not seem to be a minor tweak. Try these:

1. Check overall case cooling. Is mobo temp running high, too? That MIGHT indicate a case cooling problem. My case came with a 120mm fan in rear plus the PSU fans. I added an extra 120mm intake fan in front (behind the HDD's in this case design). My mobo temps run about 28 to 30C, (not heavily stressed yet - only Memtest so far) if I can believe the Hardware Monitor in my BIOS.

2. In upgrading, did you move any components / cables so that air flow in the case is severely impeded? Have you checked and cleaned the air intake filters?

3. Is CPU fan running at full speed? Or is it under some sort of controller that has it slowed down?

4. Maybe your CPU cooler mounting is not right and / or the thermal paste is not right. You can remove the CPU cooler (carefully - don't want to damage CPU!) then clean off the old paste and re-apply. Go to the Arctic Silver website for precise instructions on how to clean and apply.

5 In the forums, the best way to remove the CPU cooler seems to be: slack off the fan mounting mechanism (for the stock AMD system you just swing back the locking lever and unhook the arm ends), then GENTLY twist the fan maybe 10 to 20 degrees each way to break any sealing force between fan and CPU. If it won't twist DO NOT APPLY HIGH FORCE - you cannot risk damaging CPU pins - you would have to try another loosening method. Then lift the fan GENTLY. You should NOT have to pull hard. You want the CPU to stay locked into its socket. If necessary, try rolling the fan to one side slightly, rather than a straight-up pull. Once it's off, observe the amount and pattern of the old paste. For cleaning off, you probably can leave the CPU in its socket and use Q-Tips and iso-Propanol to clean it off gently. Just do NOT flood the area with cleaner that can run down into the socket! Alternative, of course, would be to release the ZIF locking lever and remove the CPU, but that means more handling of the expensive chip. Again, the Artic Silver website has good instructions for all this, even if you're not using their product.

 

[Entropism]

I'm having the same problem, didn't want to start a whole new thread. I installed an Opty 165 last night on my A8NSLI Deluxe, using an XP-90 on it. I didn't have any arctic silver, so I used some old, generic paste. It OCed nicely to 310 HTT, but the cores were reporting about 75 degrees under load! I backed the FSB down to 250 temporarily and I' got some arctic silver today to toss on it when i get home, but this is just rediculous, 45-50 degree idle temps on each core. OH, and the XP-90 used to be on my old 3500+, cooled it down VERY nicely, so it's not the HSF.

That being said, it ran Prime95 like a champ, even at 310 FSB, and was running WoW for 4 hours straight last night, no lockups, no reboots. Something is definitely wrong here.

 

[Capt Caveman]

My X2 4400+ oc'd at 2.55ghz runs 35c at idle, 45c at load.

 

[OcHungry]

Originally posted by: Entropism
I'm having the same problem, didn't want to start a whole new thread. I installed an Opty 165 last night on my A8NSLI Deluxe, using an XP-90 on it. I didn't have any arctic silver, so I used some old, generic paste. It OCed nicely to 310 HTT, but the cores were reporting about 75 degrees under load! I backed the FSB down to 250 temporarily and I' got some arctic silver today to toss on it when i get home, but this is just rediculous, 45-50 degree idle temps on each core. OH, and the XP-90 used to be on my old 3500+, cooled it down VERY nicely, so it's not the HSF.

That being said, it ran Prime95 like a champ, even at 310 FSB, and was running WoW for 4 hours straight last night, no lockups, no reboots. Something is definitely wrong here.

So you ran 4 hrs of prime @ 75c?
I hope your chip is not damaged by now. Dont you understand the TCaseMax of your chip? the highest TcaseMax on the x2's is 72c and you let it go byond that
what a shame

 

[Entropism]

I didn't realise it was running so hot at the time. And no, it was WoW for 4 hours, not Prime95. Prime ran for an hour.