Unreasonable CPU temp for unknown reason

Hi, I just registered as my friend reccomended this would be a good forum to field my questions.

Just a bit of background: Recently I built my first pc. After puttingit all together with no major problems, everything ran great. I'm running Windows XP professional 64bit, Pentium 4 prescott 3.0ghz cpu, 2gb ram, 300 gb seagate hd, ASUS p5wd2 mb, nvidia geforce 7800gtx.

My case is a Kingwin Mutant X w/ 3 fans (side, front, rear).

Like I said, everything was running smoothly. The ASUS system monitor usually had the cpu temp at about 125 F average. I didn't know until recently that this was a bad thing. Its warning threshold is set at 140 F/ 60 C so it never popped up any warnings -- unless I would play graphics-intensive games (in this case, it was Far Cry). So when I would play this game, the alerts would go off. The cpu temp would shoot up to 140+. Talking to one of my friends, he suggested that I buy a new high preformance heatsink b/c stock heatsinks are not up to the task of high preformance games.

So anyways, after a while I settled on buying the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 hs. All the reviews of it were glowing.
Well I ran into a lot of difficulty when installing it (mainly related to the application of thermal paste I think). The first time after I installed it, when I started the computer all these boxes, lines, and characters were all over the screen and windows wouldn't start. Figured something was wrong so I cleaned it off, and reinstalled the old HS. Computer turned on -- no problems. I decided to give it another go after a day and buying Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.

So I reinstalled the new HS using the AS5, and computer starts up, no problems, and runs very smooth.
I turn back on the asus hardware monitor, and my cpu temp is pretty much the same as it was before with the stock HS: about 123 F/ 52 C.

This perturbed me. What disturbed me even more was when I re-read people's reviews of the HS and they said it ran at about 50 C under full load. Mine was running that when idle!

If I run a pseudo cpu-consuming app like a spyware/virus scan, the temp shoots up to 140+ F. Today I checked the temp and it was running at 72 C! I freaked out and shut it down and now Im using my old computer temporarily.

If you didn't fall asleep reading through all that: can you help me?? I have no idea what's causing these extremely high temps!

Thanks!

 

Hi beema.
Firstly, have you made sure that you've plugged your CPU fan into the motherboard's CPU fan power socket? Years ago I dished a CPU and mobo, by forgetting this simple step.
Secondly, when you say you get lines all over the screen after turning on with the new heatsink, have you made sure it's not touching any other components on the board? Is it aligned properly?
Can you get into BIOS with the new heatsink, as I found this in the installation instructions, which might affect you...
FAQ: The Computer displays a fan warning or switches off after a few seconds
The BIOS of some mainboard manufacturers compares the speed of the fan with a
specified value. If the fan speed does not match the specified value, either the PC emits
a warning or switches off. Contrary to the temperature control, the RPM control is of no
importance, since fan speeds will be between 500 and 7000 RPM depending on the
type of fan. This RPM control can be deactivated in the BIOS settings. Please consult
your mainboard manufacturer for more information regarding these settings.
Instead activate the temperature warning. This protects your CPU also from other
cooling problems than a failing fan.
In the case of the PC is not booting or immediately switching off, attach the plug of the
cooler to the auxiliary power of the mainboa rd and attach a second fan with higher
RPM to the primary power socket. Now the PC can boot allowing the RPM control to be
deactivated in the BIOS settings. We recommend using a temperature control instead of
a RPM control. The cooler does not need to be removed from the processor for this
procedure.

It's also important to follow the instructions that came with the heatsink with regards to adding thermal paste.. Generally speaking, glooping it on is definitely NOT the way to go.

 

Yeah, the HS fan is plugged into the cpu fan socket.
Those things only appeared on the screen the first time I tried installing the AC Freezer 7, now they don't (the ACF7 is installed now and the computer works). But like I said, it's still overheating like crazy.
I followed those instructions you posted (they came w/ the hs) and disabled the cpu fan monitor in bios, didn't seem to make a difference tempurature wise.
As far as the thermal paste, I think missused it the first time around, the instructions that came with it were pretty bad. But the second go, I followed the instructions on the AS5 website to a T.

I'm wondering if running a 64-bit OS on a non-64-bit processor would put some kind of undue stress on the cpu and make it run extra hot, but that's just somethign that popped in my head -- I haven't read anything like that.

Like I said, the cpu was running at an equally high temp when the stock HS was installed, which leads me to believe that it's not a problem with the new HS, but with something else?

Thanks for your response, does anyone else have any suggestions?

 

you only need a drop of arctic silver 5 about the size of a BB (as in BB gun) spread very thin across the die of CPU, I know older pastes recommend more (size of a dime?), so maybe that is something to consider. Also make sure HSF is installed very securely.

You probably already know this, just throwing it out there in case it helps in some way.

 

I'd be surprised if ou can run a true 64 bit OS on a 32 bit CPU...
What OS is it?

 

I wonder how accurate some of these temperature monitors are? I suggest you leave the side off your case and boot up from cold. Place your hand CAREFULLY on the processor heatsink ( dont stick your digit in the fan ), and feel the temperature as it warms up. If it only gets up to body heat, no problem. If you can FEEL it get hot then keep on worrying.

First PC build? How tidy are your cables? 3 case fans? The front and side fans should suck cold air into the case. The rear and PSU fans should blow warm air out.

 

windows xp professional x64

The wires in the case are sorta all over the place, but would that really make THAT much of a difference? The case fans came preinstalled, but I'm pretty sure that's how they're set up. I downloaded the reccomended hardware monitor from mg files, and it displays the same thing. Also, when I go into BIOS hardware monitor says the same temp.

 

Its your hardware that says what the temp is. The monitor software just reports what the hardware says. It is worth checking which way your fans are working. They dont employ rocket scientists to install them. 40 way EIDE cables may make adifference. I take great pride in how I fit mine, shortening to the minimum necessary length, and routing them against case panels etc, so they are tidy, dont get in the way of airflow.

My old PC was an Athlon XP 2000 in an Asus A7M266 with a Zalman Flower cooler. The temp monitor told me temperature was 10 degrees higher than other people got. Just try your finger on the heatsink, as close to the base as possible, and you'll know if its hot. You will not burn yourself or get an electric shock.

 

I put my hand on it and it's pretty warm, but not hot.
So I'm not sure what that proves...everything still says it's running about 20 degrees higher than it should be. Should I try and return the HS for a new one?

Could it possibly be related to a psu issue? I'm just trying to think of all the possibilities.

 

I'd say if you can keep your finger on the bottom of the heatsink, close to the CPU without any discomfort, the temperature sensor is probably out and the CPU is operating at a safe temperature.

 

Alright, well I returned the HS and installed a NEW Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro.
The good news is it is now running about 10 degrees cooler than it was before.
It idles around 45/46 C. It still seems to shoot up a LOT and "overheat" whenever I open a minor app though.

Do you think I should stop worrying about it, or should I still be concerned?

 

as5 has a burn in period of approx 200 hours i believe. also are you overclocked? a p4 prescot runs at 1.4 volts mine is at 1.36 i believe (prescot 550) that may also be part of your heat issue

 

nope, not oc'ed
i'm not even sure how to do that
lol

So it could be a voltage issue? I don't have the greatest psu. I mainly got it b/c it was 580 watts and pretty cheap, but it's gotten a lot of terrible reviews. I haven't had any issues with it so far though.

Here's what I've got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817163018

that's what affects the voltage right? or is there something else I could change

 

Today it is idling at 47/48 C.
seems to be on some kind of steady incline

Does anybody have a phone# for intel customer support or any other resources? I'm thinkin about trying to get the cpu replaced.

 

So long sotry short your running a prescott and getting load temps of ~ 140 F ? For a "presshot" id conseder that as a good load temp.. prescotts naturaly run hot.... even the 71C( 159F ) you hit still in the "ok" range fore a prescott...Just a note @ 80C it will automaticly start to thorttle down to cool its self down..

 

load temps are more around 150 I think
my friend seems to think those and the idle temps are insane and I should contact intel about a new one
Im having a hard time finding any customer support info on their website

 

Normaly your friend whould be right... But prescotts just run hot....just keep in mind at ~ 80C ( ~176F ) the CPU will start to throttle to cool itself down.....