CPU cooling - help!

[Vatsel]

My processor tends to overheat considerably, it shows 97 C in BIOS!! And this of course triggers the automatic shutdown of my system.

The motherboard is new, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I reapplied the thermal compound a few times now (after cleaning up both surfaces of course), but then again I'm not so sure if I'm cleaning it right: does perfume (with a high alcoholic percentage), applied with a lint free tissue work?

Also, how much of the "thermal compound" should I put there? (I use Arctic Silver 5 btw) Should I cover the whole area or make a straight line? A thick or a thin layer?

I tried to clear off the dust stuck in the heat sink, But I'm not sure I can reach all the surfaces and that the vacuum cleaner cleaned it well. But then again it's far from clogged with dust anyway.

The fan is working of course.

Any insight into this will help, I'm really lost and I need my Photoshop :(

Edit: It seems that I didn't put the compound on a big enough surface area, so I reapplied it and the temperature seems to rise slowly and stop at around 45 C, which is a great improvement. though the windows is BSODing so I may have to reinstall the OS, which might mean a format.

[The Crazy Dude SRD]

I'm not quite sure without seeing for myself what the problem is... but we can always troubleshoot! Is the pc near anything warm? Is any of your other fans clogged? Are they blowing in the right direction to get constant air movement? Are you overclocking your processor? Is the processor fan blowing on the heatsink? These things can factor into your processor problem. Theres also the possibility of your processor is flawed or is about dead...

Now with the compound I'd say you should only need about a dime sized dab of the stuff and it should be good... but if you are still experiencing problems you might need to talk with someone who is more skilled than this little dabbler.

I hope you get your problem solved!

[Vatsel]

Is the pc near anything warm? Is any of your other fans clogged? Are they blowing in the right direction to get constant air movement? Are you overclocking your processor? Is the processor fan blowing on the heatsink? These things can factor into your processor problem.

It isn't near anything warm
the Power supply fan is new, and the CPU fan seems to work
I'm not overclocking it.
I don't think it's because of the airflow, when I run it without closing the case it still overheats.

I think I also left out the fact that it tends to heat up pretty fast, it takes just a few minutes for it to overheat and shut down.

:(

[VulgarDragon]

You don't need to apply much thermal compound...generally a pea-sized amount should do it, thinly spread over the cpu (the small square in middle).

Are you sure you are using the right CPU fan? Most new CPUs run really hot and need specific fan made for them. They need HUGE fans with heavy cooling block. If you are using a older fan, most likely it's not made for that CPU and you need a bigger one. The fan also need to be seated and installed right so it's nice and tight.

Also, check to make sure there is adequate air going in and out of the case...need to have fans that pull air and fans that exhaust air out of the box. If the air isn't circulating good enough, it could cause some overheating problem too.

You need to do an internet search...there are plenty of how-tos on building computers.

[Vatsel]

Are you sure you are using the right CPU fan? Most new CPUs run really hot and need specific fan made for them. They need HUGE fans with heavy cooling block. If you are using a older fan, most likely it's not made for that CPU and you need a bigger one. The fan also need to be seated and installed right so it's nice and tight.


The big problem is that the fan, heat sink and the CPU are already a few years old, running well for a few years now without a problem.
All I did was swap the motherboard a few months back. And it ran well until now...

I'll look into the inernet how-to's.

[Snarfevs]

I haven't been keeping up with recent CPU developments, but 97°C seems like it should be way above the junction breakdown temperature for most CPUs. As such you should be experiencing frequent hard locks and possibly video/data corruption. Do you? What CPU is it? If your system is reaching this temperature without locking or screwing up the temperature diode may be suspect.

If you're using an AMD CPU, bear in mind that most or all AMD-in-a-box CPUs have thermal interface material (TIM) on their cooler contact plates, and as such should not be used with thermal paste. This said, TIM is supposed to be strictly single use as it inelastically deforms at high temperature. If you've popped off the cooler you should remove the TIM, clean the contact plate and use a thin smear of thermal paste. Using both a TIM and thermal paste is a recipe for heartbreak, as I experienced once when I let a local 'computer expert' replace my mobo*.

Unfortunately I can't speak for Intel, VIA, Transmeta or more exotic CPUs.

EDIT: Oh yeah, arctic silver may or may not void your warranty, depending on the CPU and the conductive/capacitative properties of the goop.

* Close inspection of the overheating CPU revealed approximately half a pint of thermal grease both above and below the CPU. All over the die, the OPGA and inside the socket. With a TIM pad. Sometimes, less is more.

[Vatsel]

I haven't been keeping up with recent CPU developments, but 97°C seems like it should be way above the junction breakdown temperature for most CPUs. As such you should be experiencing frequent hard locks and possibly video/data corruption. Do you? What CPU is it? If your system is reaching this temperature without locking or screwing up the temperature diode may be suspect.

My system just started to screw up.. it doesn't even get to the windows screen anymore (BSOD), before that it managed to keep windows for a short amount of time.

The CPU is an Intel core 2 duo

I'll look into the temperature diode.

[Snarfevs]

If the system is crapping up, then the temperature diode is probably accurate. I see that you have been able to lower the temperature via more thermal compound. I would recommend against sticking a vacuum cleaner nozzle into a computer as it can cause electrostatic damage. Absolutely don't stick a vacuum cleaner nozzle up against a fan as it can spin up the fan, causing it to behave as an emf generator and potentially damaging stuff.

[nodaedalus]

My processor tends to overheat considerably, it shows 97 C in BIOS!! And this of course triggers the automatic shutdown of my system.

The motherboard is new, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I reapplied the thermal compound a few times now (after cleaning up both surfaces of course), but then again I'm not so sure if I'm cleaning it right: does perfume (with a high alcoholic percentage), applied with a lint free tissue work?

Also, how much of the "thermal compound" should I put there? (I use Arctic Silver 5 btw) Should I cover the whole area or make a straight line? A thick or a thin layer?

I tried to clear off the dust stuck in the heat sink, But I'm not sure I can reach all the surfaces and that the vacuum cleaner cleaned it well. But then again it's far from clogged with dust anyway.

The fan is working of course.

Any insight into this will help, I'm really lost and I need my Photoshop :(

Edit: It seems that I didn't put the compound on a big enough surface area, so I reapplied it and the temperature seems to rise slowly and stop at around 45 C, which is a great improvement. though the windows is BSODing so I may have to reinstall the OS, which might mean a format.


C2D's are LGA 775, get a new heatsink that matches the socket size.

Suggestions:

If you have the room, get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118003

If you're tight on space, get any heatsink size that fits your accommodations and has good reviews.

As far as thermal paste, a pea size can sometimes even be a bit much, the heatsink and cpu are pressed tightly together, the paste distributes quite well. If you feel like you've applied too much or too little, you can go here to read how to clean it properly: http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/faqs/kb/2,31.html

CPU temp has little to do with case temps..but make sure you have good airflow in your box as well.

Which chip is it? C2D, I imagine it's an "eXXXX" for example: "e8400"

Hope something helps, I'm running an i7 overclocked to 4GHz and its hotter than anything.