Core I5 2500k Temperatures

[jayt101]

Hi Everyone,

I know this question has been asked before and you all must be pretty tired of answering the same question, but here I go anyway. I'm a first time builder and I just recently built my gaming pc. Based on the program CoreTemp and HWMon, my idle temperatures are between 37-41C using the stock cpu fan from intel. Room temperature is around 20C and what worries me is that I've read that others were getting 25-30C idel using stock intel fan. I didn't re-lift the heatsink when installing it first time so I believe it has good contact. Using prime 95, my temps sky rocket to 73-75C, and thats running it for 10 minutes or so.

Also, when i installed my heatsink, I used a lot more force than i thought I would need and I think I heard my motherboard flexing.....Are motherboards designed to have some flex? Thanks for answering my Noob questions in advance!

 

[Morg.]

Motherboards flex we got backplates for a reason

All processors are not equal, that stock fan is really awful .. I'd say 73-75 in 10 minutes prime is "likely" .

If you want it to be better, you can either just reseat it, or remove all the intel-disgusting-thermal-goo and put real thermal paste instead before reseating it.

But all in all 73 75 in prime is not a problem, nothing heats like prime anyway.

 

[Crap Daddy]

I had over 80 with prime so your's are great with stock. But I did had 30-32 idle. If you don't plan to change the Intel stock cooler you'll be fine with normal usage since prime is a syntethic torture test really.

An yes, the mobo is flexing but as long as your system is running you didn't damage anything.

 

[john3850]

Never did I or would I run any good cpu at or over 80c.
Most of viedo cards that died on me were hitting 80c.
Whats next to your 80c cpu all of your vrm power circuits.
Next your new week old mb gives you trouble so you rma it only get back a worse mb.

 

[jayt101]

Thanks for clearing that up. When I'm playing crysis 2, my cpu hits roughly 55-65. It still worries me to see the temperatures this high. I'm also curious as to how people are able to get their idle temperatures 25-33C using stock HSF.....Could my processor be defective?!?!?!

 

[Soundmanred]

Thanks for clearing that up. When I'm playing crysis 2, my cpu hits roughly 55-65. It still worries me to see the temperatures this high. I'm also curious as to how people are able to get their idle temperatures 25-33C using stock HSF.....Could my processor be defective?!?!?!

1. Don't worry about your temperatures they are fine.
2. Don't believe everything you read.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

1. Don't worry about your temperatures they are fine.
2. Don't believe everything you read.

:thumbsup:

Good advice, if you beleive everything that you read these chips all overclock to like 4.8ghz on "stock voltage". Thats another one of my favorites.

 

[jayt101]

Sorry guys, I guess i'm just a bit paranoid. Thanks for clarifying!

 

[scooterlibby]

Mine gets in the 70's with a nice cooler that is seated properly while gaming with BC2. It's just hot where I live I guess, but I do not play very long marathon sessions. If I were F@H 24/7 it would be more of a concern.

I think it will survive for a few years then even longer perhaps when I upgrade and put the 2500k in an HTPC or something.

 

[jayt101]

Yea i'd be concerned too. What do you idle at? I haven't OC'd mine yet and get between 38-45 C idle. Anyway, I dont plan on overclocking until I have a better power supply and heat sink hehe

 

[Blastman]

There are 2 different temperature readings one can get from a CPU. One from each of the CPU core sensors that is on the die, or, from another temperature sensor that is under the heat spreader in the middle of the CPU.

The program you are using, Coretemp, reads the on-die temperature which is typically 10-12C higher than the heat spreader sensor in the middle of the CPU. When you see people reporting their idle temperatures as 25-30C, they are reporting the CPU heat spreader temperature (not the die temp). This CPU temperature is probably the most commonly referred to temperature.

Try running CPUID Hardware Monitor as it will show both temperatures. For example, my i3-530 is currently idling at 24C (CPU heat spreader sensor) while the die temp sensor on core #2 is reading 36C -- 12C higher.

Since your reading of 37-41C is the die temperature at idle, then you are definitely OK as the CPU is going to be 10-12C lower which would put it in the mid-high 20's. A core temp of 37C would be about 25C on the heat spreader reading.

Also, the max CPU temperature that people cite for things getting a little hot for comfort of ~ 70C is the heat spreader temp. The die temperature will be hotter. Your CPU temps are actually 10-12C lower than the 73-75C die temps you reported with Coretemp while running Prime95.

 

[dx11101]

when I torture test my 2500k stock cooled using prime 95 i hit 73c on atleast 1 of the cores monitored by coretemp. The other 3 were 68, 69ish. Playing bad company 2 or other games dont get it nearly that hot. I can get it almost as hot only if i run folding at home on all 4 threads.

I got my hands on a second 2500k with stock cooling and it also ran at the low 70's in prime 95 so i bet that the stock cooler is doing its job within design specs. In my case i was worried my heatsink wasnt making good contact. I was able to get a good point of reference first hand.

i dont think i will go aftermarket yet but I might try taking it off and putting arctic silver instead of the stock goop.

I almost forgot to mention, I idle at 39-42c with the air inside the case at 33c.

 

[betasub]

What's more, temperatures are calculated by a reported value for delta from Tmax. The means load temps (closer to Tmax) are more likely to be accurate than idle temps (far below Tmax, where calibration errors are largest). This means idle temps are pretty unreliable (even more so between different rigs), and are best used only to judge changes on the same system.

 

[eelw]

The program you are using, Coretemp, reads the on-die temperature which is typically 10-12C higher than the heat spreader sensor in the middle of the CPU. When you see people reporting their idle temperatures as 25-30C, they are reporting the CPU heat spreader temperature (not the die temp). This CPU temperature is probably the most commonly referred to temperature.

With 32nm CPUs, you can get near ambient idle temps.

 

[Zap]

Hi Everyone,

Hello jayt101, and welcome to AnandTech Forums.

my idle temperatures are between 37-41C using the stock cpu fan from intel. Room temperature is around 20C and what worries me is that I've read that others were getting 25-30C idel using stock intel fan.

Ignore room temperature. What is the temperature inside your case? That has a more direct affect on your CPU temperatures than your room temperature. Your room temperature does affect your case temperature, as does your case ventilation.

Do you know how they are getting these temperatures? Maybe they checked it first thing in the morning right after booting into Windows and before their CPU has had a chance to heat up? Maybe they are running with the case side off for better ventilation? Maybe they are looking at the wrong sensor in their monitoring software?

Do you have all the power management still enabled? That is essential for low idle temperatures and power efficiency. Also, are you overclocked?

If you want it to be better, you can either just reseat it, or remove all the intel-disgusting-thermal-goo and put real thermal paste instead before reseating it.

That "goo" is real thermal paste. It may not come in a syringe and have fanboys saying how great their five year old Arctic something or other is, but it is indeed real thermal paste.

Thanks for clearing that up. When I'm playing crysis 2, my cpu hits roughly 55-65. It still worries me to see the temperatures this high. I'm also curious as to how people are able to get their idle temperatures 25-33C using stock HSF.....Could my processor be defective?!?!?!

Why are you worried? Intel CPUs will throttle if temperatures get too high (unless you disable that stuff in BIOS - bad idea).

The people getting those super low temperatures are BRAGGING about it. You are new here, otherwise you would have seen all the threads (including some recent ones) about people who think their CPUs are running too hot... JUST LIKE THIS THREAD.

The only thing "defective" are people's tendency towards paranoia over temperatures. ^_^ It is a common affliction in internet forums, so you are in good company.

1. Don't worry about your temperatures they are fine.
2. Don't believe everything you read EXCEPT THIS.

Fixed! :awe:

Good advice, if you beleive everything that you read these chips all overclock to like 4.8ghz on "stock voltage". Thats another one of my favorites.

Yeah, typical comment "these things are GUARANTEED to hit a bajillion GHz!" Okay, who's doing the guaranteeing?

 

[T101]

Dont worry about it. I idle at around 40-42C with a cooler that is far better than the standard intel heatsink. Reaches about 65C during Prime95 load, and about 50-55C during cpu intensive games.

 

[VirtualLarry]

My Q9300 temps are around 60C, with only 6% CPU usage, while running F@H on my GPU. The GPU heats up the air, it rises, and that's what is used for incoming air for my CPU heatsink. That's why I've stopped folding on both the CPU and GPU, it just heats up the CPU way too much (85C and higher CPU core temps).

 

[jayt101]

Hello jayt101, and welcome to AnandTech Forums.



Ignore room temperature. What is the temperature inside your case? That has a more direct affect on your CPU temperatures than your room temperature. Your room temperature does affect your case temperature, as does your case ventilation.

Do you know how they are getting these temperatures? Maybe they checked it first thing in the morning right after booting into Windows and before their CPU has had a chance to heat up? Maybe they are running with the case side off for better ventilation? Maybe they are looking at the wrong sensor in their monitoring software?

Do you have all the power management still enabled? That is essential for low idle temperatures and power efficiency. Also, are you overclocked?



That "goo" is real thermal paste. It may not come in a syringe and have fanboys saying how great their five year old Arctic something or other is, but it is indeed real thermal paste.



Why are you worried? Intel CPUs will throttle if temperatures get too high (unless you disable that stuff in BIOS - bad idea).

The people getting those super low temperatures are BRAGGING about it. You are new here, otherwise you would have seen all the threads (including some recent ones) about people who think their CPUs are running too hot... JUST LIKE THIS THREAD.

The only thing "defective" are people's tendency towards paranoia over temperatures. ^_^ It is a common affliction in internet forums, so you are in good company.



Fixed! :awe:



Yeah, typical comment "these things are GUARANTEED to hit a bajillion GHz!" Okay, who's doing the guaranteeing?

Thanks for the reply Zap!

I have taken your words to light and will try to stop worrying about temperatures. I think the reason I am paranoid is because this was my first build. My case is a Thermal Take V3 Black Edition case and I have a pretty powerful gpu in it (XFX HD 6870 Black Edition). I think this makes the air inside the case pretty hot! But nothing to worrysome as i'm just averaging 38-42C on idle Thanks again for your response and i'll try to stop worrying!

Regards,

 

[betasub]

This thread could be re-titled "How I stopped worrying & learned to love my idle temp"!

 

[jayt101]

This thread could be re-titled "How I stopped worrying & learned to love my idle temp"!

haha i think i just needed some reassurance from the pros

 

[jayt101]

Sorry to bring this thread up again, but I noticed that on my core i5 2500k, core 2 is about 9-11C higher than core #3. Are these temperature variations amongst cores normal? Try not to grill me to hard with my question, haha

 

[Zap]

Yes.

 

[tnt3k]

got 38-41C with the corsair h60 with both fans dead right now.... =( corsair has yet to contact me about the dead fan controller =(

but on the bright side with fans working around 29-31C

 

[RU482]

got 38-41C with the corsair h60 with both fans dead right now.... =( corsair has yet to contact me about the dead fan controller =(

but on the bright side with fans working around 29-31C

under what load? damn, 40C under load with no fan could last for years