Athlon 64 3500+ high temps???

1234509

Junior Member
Aug 2, 2013
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Yes, I still use this old system with Windows 7, socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+.

So, my question is, are my Athlon's temps too high? According to motherboard while writing this and downloading updates from Windows Update, my CPU is about 55-57 celsius. Are those too high? Note that I have enabled ASUS Q-Fan controller which controls the fan although it's 3-pin. Target temp is 51 celsius, which is the minimum and when it goes over that 51 celsius fan goes to full speed and it is running on full speed while writing now.

When on load, the temps go like to 62-65 celsius..

When googling, people have their Athlon 64 3500+ running like 30-32 celsius when idle with the AMD stock cooler.

So where is my problem, I use that old stock cooler too, and I have tried replacing thermal compound to new using the dot way that you put a small dot to center of CPU and then attach the heatsink.

The temps are reported by motherboard sensor for CPU temp, since I dont think the CPU's own temp readings are right, since it reports something like over 100 celsius and temps jump like 10-20 celsius down or up in one second.. The motherboard own sensor makes more sense for me.

Help please, should I be worried or not?
 
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Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
2
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A few thoughts...

1) No, temperatures do not look "TOO HIGH." You will never get the exact same temperature reading as someone else, even with similar hardware. Also, sometimes people post their results as more of a brag than a "everyone should see these results."

2) The tiny dot was for exposed CPU cores, such as Pentium III, original Athon Thunderbird/Palomino/Barton. You may need more thermal compound. Take off your cooler again and see if the compound has spread to cover most of the CPU. Chances are you will see only a little circle in the middle. For CPUs with heatspreaders, you can either manually apply a thin layer, or use a diagonal line. You don't need 100% coverage, but you may need a bit more than a little dot in the middle. See this cool video that I just Google-Fu'd.

3) Make sure the heatsink is clean of dust and the fan still spins smoothly. Fan bearings (especially smaller stock AMD fans) eventually get contaminated with dust. The result is more noise with less airflow, so it may sound as if the fan is working really hard when in fact it isn't doing as much as before.

4) What prompted you to look into this in the first place?
 

1234509

Junior Member
Aug 2, 2013
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1. So I should not be worried about my Athlon's temps? That's good

2. I don't know is this too much or too tiny or enough, but this is the amount I used of thermal compound.

wltz0y4.jpg


3. When I last time applied that thermal paste (about 2-4 weeks ago) I did take the fan away from the heatsink and took all dust out there with compressed air, so heatsink is clean.

4. The temps looked quite high to me, and I wanted to know should I be worried or not.

So, should everything be okay then?
 
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RaistlinZ

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
7,470
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The problem with the dot method is you don't know if it'll be cleanly and evenly spread over the CPU. I prefer a thin layer covering almost all of the CPU.

I'm surprised you've gotten so much life out of that system. I had a rig similar to that in 2010 that I HAD to get rid of because it was too damn slow at everything.
 

1234509

Junior Member
Aug 2, 2013
4
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The problem with the dot method is you don't know if it'll be cleanly and evenly spread over the CPU. I prefer a thin layer covering almost all of the CPU.

I'm surprised you've gotten so much life out of that system. I had a rig similar to that in 2010 that I HAD to get rid of because it was too damn slow at everything.

Works fine here and it is actually quite fast even with Windows 7, yep it is old, but it isn't my primary computer, got a lot better build with 2012 parts.

I never have used the spread method because of possible air bubbles. Should I still try that, or is getting new cooler probably the only way get temps lower?

Here is a picture which can found of that video's description which Zap posted before.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/NYC84/Forum/cbf792db.jpg

So should I still try that method?

Or do I even have anything to worry and should just keep using it without worrying about temps, now it idles only 44 celsius and fan is not on full speed
 
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chubbyfatazn

Golden Member
Oct 14, 2006
1,617
35
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Or do I even have anything to worry and should just keep using it without worrying about temps, now it idles only 44 celsius and fan is not on full speed

I'd be fine with that.

There are plenty of variables that could be (negatively) affecting your temps. Air flow in the case, a large GPU inside, ambient temperature, physical and thermal characteristics of the grease you're using... looking up the temps other people have gotten won't do you any good.

I'm surprised you've gotten so much life out of that system. I had a rig similar to that in 2010 that I HAD to get rid of because it was too damn slow at everything.

You'd be surprised at how much life an SSD can breathe into an old system. I have an old Opty 165 rig I keep as a tertiary PC, I threw one of my older SSDs in there with W7 and it gets along well with the general office work it infrequently has to do.

I put SSDs in all the laptops in the house. It's nice to not hear "I need a new laptop, mine is too slow" as often as before
 

1234509

Junior Member
Aug 2, 2013
4
0
0
I'd be fine with that.

There are plenty of variables that could be (negatively) affecting your temps. Air flow in the case, a large GPU inside, ambient temperature, physical and thermal characteristics of the grease you're using... looking up the temps other people have gotten won't do you any good.



You'd be surprised at how much life an SSD can breathe into an old system. I have an old Opty 165 rig I keep as a tertiary PC, I threw one of my older SSDs in there with W7 and it gets along well with the general office work it infrequently has to do.

I put SSDs in all the laptops in the house. It's nice to not hear "I need a new laptop, mine is too slow" as often as before

So I should be fine, thanks, you guys made me stop worrying about those temps.

By the way, is the amount I used thermal compound enough, too much or not enough?

And yes, I got to say ambient temp in this room is quite high. I think the temps will get better at winter since then it's cold.
 
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IGemini

Platinum Member
Nov 5, 2010
2,472
2
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That picture isn't very telling of depth to tell if you should've used more or less, but I wouldn't worry about it. TIM application depends on the manufacturer's instructions, but center dot is the recommended approach with AS5 as it'll spread enough on its own to cover the physical core, and that's the important part (not the entire heatspreader). Everyone will have a different opinion about how much should've been used or if it should've been spread (some people just plain refuse to give up that one). Socket 939 CPUs have a pretty consistent thermal profile, they're made to operate at 65-70C depending on the revision you have.