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Typical temps for AMD A6 6400k?

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PaneInTheGlass

Member
I just finished assembling an HTPC built around the AMD A6 6400k (black edition, if that matters). While poking around in the BIOS, I noticed the CPU temp was hanging around 57 C. That seemed a bit high to me, but this is my first AMD build, and this is the first time in a long time I've stuck with the stock cooler. I'm wondering if this is a bad thermal connection, or if this really is what I should expect at idle. If this is normal, then when should I start to be concerned? Is 70 still the red-line? I don't mind investing in an after-market cooler, but I'd like to be able to tell whether or not one is needed first. Thanks!
 
Some AMD boards run a load on the CPU while in BIOS, so potentially it is NOT the true idle speed. Also, even if not running a load, many motherboards run CPU at full speed while in BIOS.

You should monitor idle temperatures while in Windows with all power management in BIOS/Windows on defaults. This will allow the CPU to step down to a lower clock speed and voltage, for "true" idle.

Let us know what you get under those conditions.
 
70C should be max. before CPU starts to throttle (70C reported in CoreTemp!).
57C is OK temperature I guess. BIOS temp readings are always high, I have my 750K OCed to 4.3Ghz hitting 65C while sitting in BIOS. For comparison I get similar temp when running FritzChess or C11.5 MTed benchmarks.
 
I recently set up a system with the same chip... mine idles around 30c/load around 40c. So your temps are very high. Especially with Cool 'N Quiet enabled. The stock cooler is merely OK for average use/non-overclock.
If you're worried about temps, invest in a Arctic Freezer 64 Pro (about $25) and be done with it.
I did notice on the stock cooler for that CPU that the thermal grease is way too much - it's pre-applied on the entire surface where the cooler comes in contact with the CPU - this is wrong. You only need a pea sized drop at the center of the CPU. Order some Arctic Silver and re-apply the paste.

PaneInTheGlass said:
I just finished assembling an HTPC built around the AMD A6 6400k (black edition, if that matters). While poking around in the BIOS, I noticed the CPU temp was hanging around 57 C. That seemed a bit high to me, but this is my first AMD build, and this is the first time in a long time I've stuck with the stock cooler. I'm wondering if this is a bad thermal connection, or if this really is what I should expect at idle. If this is normal, then when should I start to be concerned? Is 70 still the red-line? I don't mind investing in an after-market cooler, but I'd like to be able to tell whether or not one is needed first. Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
The stock cooler is fine. The problem is likely to be the motherboard getting the wrong temp (this is especially prevalent on ASRock mobos). Check the mobo disc for a tuning program and it'll give you the correct temps.
 
Thanks, everyone! Here's a bit more information about my setup. The motherboard is an MSI FM2-A75MA-E35, and I'm running Ubuntu 13.04 (for now, at least). I spent about an hour trying get the core temp in the OS, but as far as I can tell, my HW is not currently supported (hooray for open source!). I'll try a few other distros later and see if I have better luck. I'm planning on switching to Windows, but haven't decided between OEM and retail. Right now I'm taking solace in the fact that I could use the system for about an hour without any glitches, shutdowns, or magic smoke!

I was actually rather impressed with the stock cooler. The thermal material was laid out in a fine grid with each section neatly spaced by bare metal. This gave it just enough room to spread with the pressure from installing the heatsink, leaving a nice, thin, even coat. There's a really good comparison between different ways to apply thermal paste here (page 3 shows a pea on a heatsink). Unfortunately, if I do go after-market, I'll need something low-profile. My case has doesn't have the most clearance.
 
I realized I could expedite my investigation by making judicious use of Microsoft's 30-day "trial period". According to MSI's Control Center utility, my CPU is running about 42 C at idle and 56 C at load. This is much closer to what I would expect. Looks (to me) like I don't have much to worry about. Thanks for the help!
 
I recently built two systems with the same board. One has an A6-5400K in it and the other has an A8-5600K in it. The BIOS doesn't report the correct temps on either of them, so they sound like jet engines on start up but quiet back down when I get to the desktop (when SpeedFan takes over). That the board doesn't detect the temperature properly is annoying - otherwise it's feature-rich, stable, and cheap.
 
buddy that is a very stable temp for the processor i have my cpu over clocked 4.20 ghz with 2gb ddr3 1333mhz ram under clocked at 1066mhz and i rune at 65 Celsius witch is 5 celsius from being the cpu's stable temp
 
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