Correct CPU Tempature?

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TurboPotato

Junior Member
Oct 13, 2009
3
0
0
Howdy folks,

Quick question for anyone who might be able to give me a bit of advice.

Just put togeather a computer yesterday. I have the following hardware:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P 790X RT
4GB|Kingston HyperX memory (not sure of the timeings, but I just put them in so they are still stock
ASUS EAH4890/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4890 1GB
CORSAIR 850W PS
Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB @ 10,000 RPM
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz
"Aftermarket" CPU cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835185125

Everything starts up fine, no other problems except that I'm looking at the CPU temp and noticed that it hovers around the 50C range. This isn't good. I thought that with the "after market" fan I purchased that I'd at least get a little bit better temp that what I'm looking at. Am I correct to assume that I applied the Thermal Paste incorrectly? I put a little rice sized drop in the middle of the CPU and then gently pressed the cooler on and tied it down to the MOBO and turned it on. Before I was able to strap the CPU cooler down though, I had to take it off to get it directly on the CPU and I noted that the grain sized paste I put on it spread out in a circle with a small ring of paste around the main circuit of paste in the middle. Did I do something wrong? Do I need to take off the CPU fan and re-apply the thermal paste?

Thanks,
TurboPotato
 
Plimogz

Plimogz

Senior member
Oct 3, 2009
678
0
71
Hey.
Is that 50C under load or at idle? Cuz low fifties under load is pretty normal. On the other hand, if it's idling in the 50s, you should try re-seating it. For reference AMD's X4 940 specs 62C max.

Anyway, what thermal paste are you using? if its consistency is pretty runny, like Arctic Silver 5 for instance, you're using the preferred "rice-grain" method. Whereas some "dryer" TIMs can benefit from being spread into a thin layer beforehand. The idea is to get the smallest amount of paste to cover the most area, (I.E it should be spread as thinly as possible over the most heat spreader real-estate) while avoiding air pockets as much as possible.

I always try to avoid lifting the heatsink off the chip once it's been put down -- to avoid extra air getting in there -- and once it's attached I turn it a little this way and that while pressing down to get the paste spread as thinly as I can.

 
M

MadScientist

Platinum Member
Jul 15, 2001
2,190
64
91
You could have saved $8.39 + shipping and used the pre-applied thermal paste that came with your heat sink. It's most likely AC's MX2 which is as good or better than Arctic Silver CMQ-22G.
 
Plimogz

Plimogz

Senior member
Oct 3, 2009
678
0
71
Err.. I've never used Céramique, so I can't tell you from first hand experience. I have however used Arctic Silver 5 more times than I can count and I would NOT spread the TIM like jelly on toast in this case. The "small amount in the middle" method looks like the winner in this case. But maybe someone who has will chime in.

here's a link for ya, just in case this isn't where you got your info last time AS instructions

I've since abandonned the whole "finger in bag, rub it in, wipe it off" bit.
Mind you, I'm only ever using this stuff in setups which don't get overclocked (so no need to be extra anal about it) or on my own chips and sinks which will get seated and re-seated a few times before I'm done overclocking them. In which cases, I figure, the microscopic regions will be filled eventually without my having to feel like I'm giving my chip a prostate exam.

But back on topic: 50-ish at idle is really quite high. What's the ambient temperature where you are? Was there thermal compound pre-applied on that heat-sink? (I'm guessing yes) did you do a thorough job cleaning that before installation? is your CPU fan set for maximum speed, or is set to spin-up once the cpu hits a certain temperature? In any case, I think you're right to investigate this issue, cuz I can't imagine your X4 940 running below 62C if it idles in the 50s.
 
BD231

BD231

Lifer
Feb 26, 2001
10,568
138
106
Check to ensure cool n quiet is on in your BIOS and also check voltages. At 50c idle, you either botched the HSF install, the HSF retention clip is not putting enough pressure on the CPU or something is not right in the bios.
 
M

MadScientist

Platinum Member
Jul 15, 2001
2,190
64
91
I had this same heatsink with a single core AMD Athlon64 and an AMD dual core Opteron. I placed a bb sized dolup of AC's MX2 in the middle of the CPUs with good results.
But you have a quad, so I would try the double line method as shown in KingstonU's first link.
The AC Freezer 64 Pro is sometimes a PITA to install. Make sure all the tabs on the RM are in the holes on the heat sink bracket and the locking lever is pushed all the way down.

Is that the CPU bios temp? Download and install Core Temp and report back with your temps.


 
T

TurboPotato

Junior Member
Oct 13, 2009
3
0
0
Sorry for the long turn around guys. But I finally just got around to getting that fan removed and that TIM reapplied.

This time I went over those guys pretty much back and forth and reapplied the thermal paste as a thin layer over 95% of the available surface area on the proc. I checked and cool n' quiet IS enabled on the mobo and the retention clip SEEMS firmly attached to the mobo.

right now the temp runs around 50c at idle and as high as 62c under moderate load. I haven't done anything to overclock the processor yet and I can't even get the temp to come down if I keep the case door open.

what the heck am I doing wrong?!

Thanks,
TurboPotato
 
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