CPu temp showing 73 celsius... is this a big problem?

Hammyton

Senior member
Jul 9, 2002
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I just realized that my CPU temp is leveling around 70-80 degrees celsius most of the time... and it has been like this for a while..
the only problem is that now during certain games it will freeze and such once i goes aboe 85 degrees, I tried to apply some thermal paste between the stock heatsink/fan and the AMD XP 2000+, but I'm still getting temps this high...

Any ideas?
 

o1die

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2001
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What hardware monitoring program are you using? Motherboard monitor 5 has alot of possible settings, and has to be adjusted from the readings in the bios. Some boards from asus or abit have high readings due to inaccurate programs. It's also possible you applied too much arctic silver. I use a tiny dab and spread it evenly with a single edge razor blade. Are you overclocking?
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
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91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Do you have one of thos ePower Supplies with a second Fan on the bottom and your CPU is near the Power Supply?

If so the Power Supply Fan is taking so much fresh air away from your CPU Fan that it is esentially creating a vaccuum.

I had to shut down the second power supply fan.
 

maluckey

Platinum Member
Jan 31, 2003
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Good point. On my FSP400 there is a 120 mm fam on the bottom. My CPU temps rise as the fan speed rises. It took me the longest time to see the connection between the P/S and CPU temps. Once the fan was turned down, the temps returned to normal.
 

joe2004

Senior member
Oct 14, 2003
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70-80C. Of course it is a problem, you gotta be kidding. Get some better cooling else your processor won't last very long.
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
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Get a vacuum cleaner/compressed air, and some better case cooling. I cleaned out my case and dropped the temps from the high 60's to the mid 50's.
 

selfbuilt

Senior member
Feb 6, 2003
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I presume you are running a palomino core ... they run pretty hot. But my old pally XP2000+ never went above 65 with stock cooler on either my asus a7V8X or ECS K7S5A. With a decent coolermaster (copper base), it never did above 55 even under full load.

Something is definitely not right with your setup. What are your case temps? Do you have an air intake fan? Changing the thermal paste is a good idea (I recommend Arctic Silver), as is taking a can of compressed air and vacuum cleaner to it while you have it off (I've seen this drop temps up to 10 degrees on a really dusty heatsink!). And if the case temps are too high above room temp, add an intake fan.

Good luck!
 

Hammyton

Senior member
Jul 9, 2002
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Case temps are all around 30 degrees... I assume this is a pretty safe temperature.... its just the CPU temp that is 70+ almost all of the time.... So is the stock cooler/fan setup not good enough for a palamino 2000xp? Could it be some BIOS setting that is wrong? The setup is non-overclocked other than the video card... but still I don't think it should be that much of a problem..

update : just checked the CPU and theres a hard disk almost right above the left side of it... would that explain my temperatures being 20 degrees too high?
 

Hammyton

Senior member
Jul 9, 2002
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update :
im just curious how much would it help if i just took a desk fan and had it blowing into the open side of the case?
 

selfbuilt

Senior member
Feb 6, 2003
481
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30 degrees case temp sounds too hot to me. And although I agree with myocardia that an exhaust fan is more important than an intake fan in general, high case temps demand a good intake fan as well (as long as there is unobstructive air flow to the whatever exhaust system is set up). I like the vantec stealth models, as they are little quieter than the typical fan.
 

Antos

Member
Apr 12, 2000
70
0
0
Well,
My case temp is 30 C at idle and theres no way to make it lower.
The side of my case is off, and it's a very nice Lian-Li case.

Only way to get my case temp lower is to turn my room into an icicle with the air conditioner and even then it won't go under 25 C.
And there are 2 fans in the front sucking in and 2 in the back (and one at top) going out....
 

Wibla

Junior Member
Apr 16, 2004
3
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0
Actually, having a psu fan blowing air out of the case just next to the cpu fan can be good.. When I got my Fortron/Source 300W psu with 120mm fan, the cpu temps on my p3 933 sunk from 30-something idle and high 40/50's load to 27C idle and 38C max load...

Depends on your fan configuration tho (if the fan on the cpu cooler is blowing or sucking etc.)
 

SilverTrine

Senior member
May 27, 2003
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Especially given your temperatures the likeliest problem is that your Heatsink/Fan isnt seated properly, isnt good enough to handle the chip, or you inappropriately applied the thermal paste.

My advice get some Arctic Silver 5, apply it EXACTLY as the website tells you, then check your temps. If you're still getting bum temps buy a new Heatsink/fan setup and after that if you're still getting bum temps I'd start to assume the temps the motherboard is sending are incorrect.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
19
81
Originally posted by: SilverTrine
Especially given your temperatures the likeliest problem is that your Heatsink/Fan isnt seated properly, isnt good enough to handle the chip, or you inappropriately applied the thermal paste.

My advice get some Arctic Silver 5, apply it EXACTLY as the website tells you, then check your temps. If you're still getting bum temps buy a new Heatsink/fan setup and after that if you're still getting bum temps I'd start to assume the temps the motherboard is sending are incorrect.

That, and also, someone mentioned that 30C case is high. That's 86F. Not too bad in my opinion for a small case filled with heat-generating objects. My case is currently 33C case, 48C CPU, with average CPU usage. It ranges up to 36/53 for extended full load. Not a whole lot of deviation there. CPU is an XP2100@2.2GHz.
My secondary system, which has even more components (including 4 7200rpm hard drives) and similar CPU and motherboard, ranges from 28/44C (case/CPU) idle to 38/58C. All's stable. Yeah, a bit toasty, but then, the PC's already have decent airflow. And they make enough noise as is.


When you remove the heatsink to apply new thermal compound, be sure to remove any of the old thermal paste/pad first, using isopropyl rubbing alcohol. Try for at least 91% alcohol; I usually use cotton swabs (Q-tips) for this. Clean both the CPU core and the heatsink.
 

hokahknow

Senior member
Apr 23, 2001
308
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0
You probably have too much thermal paste on the heatsink. When it comes to thermal paste less is better.

Take off your heatsink then clean off all the thermal paste from the heatsink and CPU core. Use rubbing alcohal. Then apply a very thin (paper thin) layer of Arctic Silver on the Heatsink.

I wouldn't recommend running very long if your temps go above 65c

The stock heatsink is adequate, but a copper one would be better.
 

Hammyton

Senior member
Jul 9, 2002
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