Is this too hot?

[General Lee]

Hi,

I just turned on my rig for the 1st time a few minutes ago & it works !

However, my CPU temperature is staying constant at 75C ! Is this acceptable? I have 4 case fans in addition to the CPU fan & 75C seems a bit hot. Could it be thermal compound? My processor came with some already applied to the heatsink so I assumed I did not need to add more. I have the thing off now & don't want to start the installation of WinXP if I'm running too hot.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Xiun]

If its the computer thats in your sig, thats not too bad. If your useing the stock cooler, thats probably just about right. If you are afraid of the temp, its pretty easy to upgrade to a better cooler. Im sure some guys here could point you in the right direction with AMD 64bit coolers.

[Cricket]

Wow, 75C is way too hot .

Check to see that the heatsink is installed properly. Recessed part of the heatsink should be over the raised part of the socket. The metal clip should make contact with the heatsink directly over the CPU heatspreader. The heatsink should only make contact with the CPU heatspreader and the metal clip...if it's touching something else (like the socket), you have to fix it so it doesn't touch anything else.

Cricket

[Alaron]

75C is safe, but very warm for an idle temperature. I have a feeling the heatsink is not making proper contact with the CPU die. You should try refitting it. Making sure everything is oriented properly and locked down flat on the cpu.

[General Lee]

I just re-fitted the heatsink to the CPU. I applied thermal compound to the CPU liberaly before I put the heatsink down on it. Temperature is still a constant 75C. Are these AMD64s supposed to run this hot? Sorry to be a pest but I am getting mixed messages .

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by General Lee I just re-fitted the heatsink to the CPU. I applied thermal compound to the CPU liberaly before I put the heatsink down on it.

You're only supposed to use very little thermal compound. Using too much (a liberal amount) will actually inhibit thermal transfer and your CPU will overheat. All you need is a light smear on the metal heat spreader and on the bottom of the heatsink. It would be almost transparent...the two surfaces must make actual contact for thermal transfer to occur. The role of the thermal compound is to fill in the microscopic gaps in the two surfaces.

The only think I can find on the AMD web site regarding operating temps is a max temp of 70C for the case temps.

Cricket

[Mesaeus]

Now if you mentioned "Prescott" then yes I'd say it was very possible. But an Athlon64 ? That's about 40 degrees C hotter than it should be. Something's definitely wrong here. First of all, does it crash at some point or does it work with 75 degrees ? Next, if it doesn't crash and you start doing stuff like dragging a window around to give the cpu some work, does it change from 75 (to something even higher) or does it remain at 75 ? How are you checking those temps btw, with which program ? Oh and you want to keep the volume of thermal compound down, you need only a very thin layer on the heat spreader, anything more might make the temps rise instead of lower. Touch the heat sink while it's running, how hot does it get ? (watch for your fingers ) Mildly warm ? Too hot to touch ? Or maybe room temperature ? If the latter, somewhere between the heatsink and the processor core there's insufficient contact.

One last thing, I've read about someone who had managed to pull his heatsink of too hard, resulting in the heat spreader disconnecting from the core and he always had very high temps afterwards. I think your heatspreader may not be touching the core perfectly anymore (in other words it's a problem with the cpu)

[General Lee]

I have not even installed WinXP yet! I am getting these temp readings from the 'PC Health Status' section in my BIOS setup screen. This sucks, I am going to remove the heatsink again & clean off some of the thermal compund. I don't see how the heatsink couldn't be making solid contact with the CPU because I pressed down pretty hard when putting it on.

More as it develops...

[timbit]

are you sure it is celsius? although 75 f is prob too low, so...

[General Lee]

Yes it is in celsius .

I have the heatsink off of the CPU now & they are both clean of thermal compound. Now that I am ready to re-apply should I put the thermal compound on the CPU or on the heatsink? Or both?

There is so little wiggle room inside of the retention frame with the heatsink in there it is hard not to put it down squarely on the CPU. Is there a trick to this that I don't know?

[Alaron]

Follow these instructions very carefully. http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

[General Lee]

Thanks for that link Alaron56. I followed the instructions to the letter ( I was using WAY too much thermal compund) & still have an idle temp of 75-77C. I found this on AMD's website though:

Typically, the maximum operating temperatures for Socket A AMD Athlon™ and AMD Duron™ desktop processors are 90 degrees Celsius for processors operating up to 1GHz, and 95 degrees Celsius for processors operating above 1GHz.

I guess the newer processors run pretty hot compared to 'old' ones. Any comments about this? It still doesn't feel right to me to have 75C at idle. I read about other peoples rigs that are similar to mine with CPU temps in the 50s !

[Yuanji]

i dont know much about cooling but would having better case fans help the temp a bit?

[FLG]

There max temps are in the 90's but they really shouldent get hotter then 60c.

While the computer is on and your monitoring temps in the bios, carefully push down on the hs a bit.Be carefull not to hit a fan or anything, most people will jump and wind up whacking something else when you pull your hand away or possibly break a blade or another piece of hardware. I dont know what the 64 coolers look like but if you can find a place to put 2 of your fingers (try to put one on each side of the hs) and push down a tad that would be good. If temps start to lower then you know the hs isnt making proper contace with the cpu.

Are you 100% sure you have it mounted correctly?


Edit: Adding case fans wont help, maybe 1 or 2c, but those temps should be about 20-30c cooler then they are now. Some where in the 40's-50's

[General Lee]

^^I don't think they are particularly crappy case fans. They came with my case & there are 4 of them. I'm confident that the airflow in the case is good.
Does AMD usually provide a low quality heatsink/fan with their CPUs? I can run out tommorrow to the TigerDirect store in town & get a 'fancy' heatsink/fan from Thermaltake or something if it will help.

Update: I've had it on for about 30 minutes now & the temp is now a constant 76C.

Hey FLG,
I tried pushing on the heatsink for about a minute but the temp stayed the same. I am 99% sure I have it mounted correctly.

BTW; would it be stupid of me to try to install WinXP in this situation?

[Alfie]

It could be the bios is giving you a false reading,if you're sure the heatsink is properly mounted,if this is the heatsink that came with the cpu,there should have been a thermal pad on the bottom of the heatsink,did you remove it?
If it's still attached and you used thermal compound,it could give you a high reading.
The thermal pad is covered with a piece of tape,had you removed it?

[Cricket]

There is a chance that the Health Monitor is either just plain wrong about the temps (it's been known to happen) or the BIOS is getting the CPU temps from inside the CPU itself instead of on the surface. The interior temps would be much higher.

Go ahead and try to install Windows. The worst that will happen is it'll stop or restart during the process. If Windows loads all the way, maybe you'll be fine.

Cricket

[General Lee]

I went ahead with the installation of WinXP & all was going well until I was asked for the product key. The one that came with my copy seems to be invalid! This is just what I need . I bought an OEM copy from a seemingly reputable merchant on PriceGrabber.com. I have notified them & am waiting for a response...

The phrase 'can't win for losing' keeps popping into my head.

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

How much did you pay for your copy?

[c_brod]

Just for comparisons sake, I just built the machine in my sig, AMD 64 3000+ and my temps are around 35-42C. Haven't seen them go any higher. 75C does seem way to hot while idle.

[General Lee]

Originally Posted by WhatsThisBoxFor How much did you pay for your copy?

I paid $70 to 'DigitalStore' which is a PriceGrabber 'storefronts' merchant. They have 136 reviews & an average rating of 4.6 out of 5.

Did I get ripped off? The only contact info I have for them is an email address.

[nooblark]

well, this is a stupid comment but no1 else made.. make sure the hs fan in blowing into the heatsink, not out..

noob

[General Lee]

Nooblark,
The heatsink & fan were connected as a unit when I recieved it from the retailer. I suppose its possible but highly unlikely that the fan is blowing the wrong way. I'm at work right now so I can't confirm which way is is blowing...

[Cricket]

When you were entering the product key, are you sure you typed it in exactly? I always think I'm typing it in right (I've typed in many, many product keys) and will get the invalid message from time to time. When I double check the product key I just typed in I find a typo or two. I correct the error and can continue with the install.

Cricket

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

Seems like they are legitimate, if it is OEM, there are some sites that sell the Retail Version of Pro for $50. With all those good reviews I'm sure it's legitimate.

[Alfie]

Sometimes the 1 looks like l,etc.
Double check and make sure you're using the key and not some other#.
The key is usually on an orange sticker.
Had you removed the thermal compound that came on the heatsink that shipped with the cpu?

[General Lee]

Cricket,

Yeah, I triple-checked the key & got the error each time. There are no "O"s or "0"s in the number so thats not it. This is frustrating!

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

I've seen people mistake I3 (i and 3) for a B, although I don't think it is that, check things like that, hopefully you can get it working.

[Alfie]

If you have tried different combinations and it still doesn;t work,call Microsoft,they'll fix it.

[General Lee]

^^Thanks Alfie! I called Microsoft & got a new key in less than 5 minutes . Now I'm anxious to see if it works, but I'm still at work .

Originally Posted by Alfie Had you removed the thermal compound that came on the heatsink that shipped with the cpu?

No, the 1st time I put the heatsink on I left the pre-applied thermal compund alone cause I figured the AMD folks knew better than me how much to apply. Before putting the heatsink back in for the 3rd time (yeah, I know) I cleaned all traces of thermal compound off of the CPU & the heatsink then followed the instructions in the link provided by Alaron56. I feel confident the heatsink is in contact with the CPU & all that.
I'm starting to think the reading is wrong or taken from a hot spot or something.

I want to sneak away from work & play with my computer!