CPU Burn-Out? (Running Too Hot?)

Xathagorra

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Messages
65
Hey all,

I'm running a P4 3.6GHz CPU which I just put in a new mobo (Intel D975XBX) which is running beatifully... but, is idling between 60-65C.

Is this a bit too hot? Would I be looking at a burn-out at any point, especially under load (heavy gamer, haven't test in new set-up yet though)?

I know these CPUs run hot, and I've got a lot of cooling going on, including a Zalman 9500 mounted solid with Arctic Silver 5 on the CPU itself.

What I don't get is that my old mobo with same set-up (less cooling, in fact) the temp idling at 30C, which I'm realizing now cant be right, since everyone I've seen with a 3.6 CPU says that under the best conditions they idle around 50-55C with just air cooling. So the old mobo must have been off, no?

Anyway, thoughts on the temps of this/these CPUs, the "safety" of this situation or suggestions for better cooling if needed, would be great.

Cheers!
 
that heatsink should keep it a LOT cooler.

describe how you installed it :D
 
Hey, you again! ;)

I installed it the same way I always have: cleaned everything thoroughly, applied the AC5 to the center of CPU (just the right amount) mounted the Zalman, turned it just every so slightly from left to right to get it even, then mounted it down nice and solid.

No problems any time before now... but this board is really high-end (from what I've read and researched on it) , so maybe that's creating more heat?

For some reason, I'm almost thinking the BIOS is misreading the temp, but then again, maybe something is up that I'm not aware of.

Or the old board was misreading (30C for this CPU seems "off" to me so closer to 60C seems right)...

...so, not sure what the deal is/what to do except re-mount it if necessary, though I'm not sure if that's the problem or not :confused:
 
So the CPU might not actually be as hot as the BIOS is reading?

I'm running the BIOS version the board came with, so how far off can it read?

That's another thing I had heard about this board, I believe, at one point... and that problems with reading temps was fixed with updating the BIOS, which I'd prefer not to do unless absolutely necessary.

I let the system cool down, and when I rebooted, it instantly read 61C, which cant be right...

Not sure if remounting the heatsink would make a difference, but I can try it... though I think something else might be up; the Zalman is mounted as well as I've ever mounted it in the past, so I'm not really sure what to do any differently.

Either heat from the board itself and/or it just not reading the temps right.

Anyone have any experience with this board reading temps wrong? Or something actually causing this heat from this board with the CPU?

Any further suggestions/info appreciated.

Cheers.
 
I'm not finding any other additional info on this board reading wrong or causing more heat, other than the little I've heard word-of-mouth.

So, just to double-check, any more info/ideas would be helpful.

Cheers.
 
it might be worth pulling the heatsink to see how the thermal paste spread. i've seen some intel cpus with quite concave heatspreaders :(
 
Hmmm... well, it's the same exact CPU I just had in my other system/mobo, plus... it looks pretty flat to me ;)

Every time I've put AS5 on it, it's always been perfectly flat across the surface... unless the Zalman base warped a little, which I've heard can happen from heat.

But, you never know, I suppose... so I'll pull it and have a look.

Will I have to clean/re-apply the AS5 it if I do that just to have a look?

Strange though... just ran BF2 maxed on high res, exit out quick, reboot into BIOS and my CPU didn't even hit 70C after being under that kind of load.

Odd, no?
 
Ok, no deal... still need some help.

I re-mounted the Zalman with AS5, neat and tight, and as soon as I booted-up (system having been off long enough to cool down for me to do the work, which is plenty) I checked my temps immediately and the CPU is reading as 60C instantly.

Something has got to be off here. I checked everything... flat surfaces, clean surfaces, very tight mounting (just w/o being too tight)... and my CPU is still reading 60C at idle?

If it's the board, I could try to update the BIOS and see if that fixes it... though I'd hate to do that, because everything is running fine now.

Is it indeed the board not reading the temp right? Or is something else up?

Thx :confused:
 
Are you reading temps in BIOS? The system would actually be under load in that case. BIOS temp readings for the CPU are only a few degrees off from full CPU load (in Windows) in many instances.

Load into Windows,let the system sit idle for 5-10 minutes and use a software temp monitoring program (i.e. Speedfan, Everest Home) to check your temps. Check your load temps with a program such as Prime 95 or SNM.

The P4s do run hot- my 3.0 idles at 45C and loads at 62C with a room temp of 24C, case ambient of 35C. They can take the heat, though- would not worry unless temps got above 70C under full loading. Still, with that heatsink, they should not be getting quite that high.

How is your case airflow set up?

Does the base of the heatsink actually feel hot?
 
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