Do these CPU temps seem awfully high to you?

[dud]

I recently built an HTPC for use on our TV for watching movies, surfing, light gaming, etc. The System configuration is as follows:

CPU: Haswell i5-4590s (65w) using stock cooler
MB: ASRock B85M-ITX
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws (2x4GB) DDR 3 1600
Vid card: EVGA GTX-950
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130


Using CPUID HW Monitor I noticed that this lower-power CPU was running at about 60C at idle ... but at idle the CPU is at 25%. Here is a screenshot:

I would appreciate any help the forum could assist here. If it were as simple as removing the cooler and reapplying fresh paste I would do it ...


Thank you ...

 

[escrow4]

That tiny case. How is the airflow? For a box with that card I'd have gone for an i3 6100 + H110 combo which would sip power and dump way less heat.

 

[nerp]

Doesn't seem too too bad. A bit on the higher side but not extreme. What happens if it sits at 100 percent load on all four cores for a while? If it reaches 70 and keeps climbing, then you have something to work on improving. Otherwise, if it runs a little warm but doesn't get any hotter than what you're seeing, it can be fine. I'd definitely check airflow, make sure you don't have a fan blowing in instead of out or vice versa, etc.

 

[dud]

That tiny case. How is the airflow? For a box with that card I'd have gone for an i3 6100 + H110 combo which would sip power and dump way less heat.

The case only has the front fan and a side 80 mm besides the PS fan. I went with the 4590s for it's low power draw just for that reason. What I find interesting is that the temps do not appear to change whether I have the case open or not. I even removed the PS and laid it on the floor to improve cooling and the temps did not really change that much.

 

[dud]

Doesn't seem too too bad. A bit on the higher side but not extreme. What happens if it sits at 100 percent load on all four cores for a while? If it reaches 70 and keeps climbing, then you have something to work on improving. Otherwise, if it runs a little warm but doesn't get any hotter than what you're seeing, it can be fine. I'd definitely check airflow, make sure you don't have a fan blowing in instead of out or vice versa, etc.

I've never had it even close to 100% because I only use it as an HTPC. I might play a game of World of Whatever but that is the extent of it. I've never actually seen the fan on the GTX 950 even turn on.

 

[Burpo]

I'd check the HSF mount. You may need to remount the HSF with new thermal grease.

 

[alcoholbob]

You are using a tiny cube case, probably with no airspace for the cooler. I'm using an SG13 and there's less than 10mm of clearance between my cooler Noctua L9i cooler and the PSU, in addition to it being a cramped case. My CPU idle's at 30C for the first 4-5 minutes, afterwards once the CPU warms up it idles at around 50-55C. Thing is as long as it's properly seated your load temps should be perfectly fine. I can game for an hour on the system and CPU only averages around 65-70C during gaming.

 

[nerp]

Hmm. Is speedstep enabled? is the CPU clocking down when idle?

 

[dud]

Hmm. Is speedstep enabled? is the CPU clocking down when idle?

I will check on speedstep ... and the screenshot WAS at idle. At idle I am getting 25% CPU usage ... and am having a hard time determining why.

 

[dud]

OK, I finally got a chance to check use some of the advice that I've gotten here. I booted the system up and the CPU is running at about 25% with a temp of about 55-60C. I opened Task Manager and determined that svchost.eve (netsvcs) is causing 25% CPU utilization. I then did the following:

1) I determined that Windows update IS turned on ... so I disabled it. CPU utilization remained at 25% so WU apparently is not causing this.

2) I returned to TM and disable/turned off svchost.exe and CPU util dropped to 0-2%. After one minute CPU temp dropped to about 44C.

3) Within another 1-2 minutes svchost reactivated somehow, pushing CPU util to 25% and temps back up to about 58C.

4) I then totally disabled it and the CPU returned to 0-2% and temps in the low/mid 40C.


Questions: Is 44C about as good as I may expect from the stock cooler setup in this box? How do I determine what process(es) are causing cpu util to 25%?

Thank you ...

 

[dud]

While searching for a solution I found this:

svchost.exe (netsvcs) using 25% of my cpu

I upgraded to Win 10 then downgraded as I preferred Win 7. I am going to try this and report back ...

 

[Yuriman]

Those temps are harmless. Your fan speed profile is probably more responsible for high idle temps than anything else; you could trade increased noise for lower temperatures, but to what end? It's not going to affect the real lifespan of the CPU.

 

[dud]

Just to close this thread out ...

I had installed Win 10 on this machine and then went back to Win 7. The migration (for some reason) screwed up auto updates. I used the link above to get the system to update, finally. The system is new and required almost 250 updates which took about 90 minutes to d/l and install. After rebooting a number of times, as required, the system is now stable and idles at 43-45C. I wish it were lower but what can you expect in such a small case crammed with all the components I have in there?

Over and out ...