Cpu Temperature Alarmingly High - 120 C @ Full Load

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blazeops

Limp Gawd
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Aug 17, 2004
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Well, I have searched for solutions to my problem but still have yet to solve it. I have googled it and also checked through these forums. I have tried the solutions that I have found but my cpu is still overheating and has reached 120 deg Celsius.

My pc specs are as follows:
Lian Li PC 65B – 4 Fans 80mm Coolermaster
EPOX 4PDA2+ rev.2
P4 3.0 ghz Northwood (Stock)
Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu w/ AS 5
2 GB Corsair XMS PC 3200
Seagate 120 GB sata / Seagate 120 GB IDE
Plextor 712 CD/Dvd
PNY GeForce 6800 GT 256 MB
Soundblaster Audigy
Thermaltake 480 PSU

Going to give a brief history of what changes I have made so maybe someone can catch where I went wrong.

I built my rig about 1 year ago or so with pretty much the same specs listed above except that I only had 1 GB of Ram. This is my first build and it went pretty smoothly.
Idle: 35-40 C
Load: 50-55 C
Ambient: 33 C

About 8 months later, my temperatures began to change a bit to the following:
Idle: 41-46 C
Load: 60-70 C
Ambient 33 C
I reseat my Zalman and there is no change in the temps. I decide to clean up the inside the case more to increase airflow. So instead of sleeving the PSU myself, I buy a Antec Neopower Modular PSU 480. I also purchase an XP-90c and a Panaflow 92mm fan hoping that these changes will bring my temps back down. However, temps did not change.

About 2 months after, I purchased another GB of Corsair Ram (same sticks). A few days after I noticed my temps were:
Idle: 50-55 C
Load: 65-95 C
Ambient: 32 C
So now I am like what the hell is going on. I try now more to increase airflow and use a dremel to pave a way for the PS wires to go behind the motherboard. I also decide to lap the XP-90c. So not only is my case very neat inside but now I can see my face on my heat sink. However still no luck. My temps stayed high.

Now present day, I switched from the XP-90c back to my Zalman and back to my Thermaltake PSU. And within approximately a 2 month period, my temps are now:
Idle: 95-100 C
Load: 100-120 C
Ambient: 28 C

I have used Speedfan and MBM5. I have reseated heatsinks quite a bit to see if I did anything wrong. I do the ½ bb at the center of the cpu method when applying the AS 5. I have pc dusted the inside ensuring that the inside is dust free. I haven’t felt the heatsink as of late but I have recalled it being warm to the touch. I am running on stock voltages and have never attempted to OC.

Is there something wrong with my Mobo? Cpu? etc? Did I do something wrong? Are my temps accurate? Should I stop using/gaming with my rig while my temps are this high?

If anyone can provide any suggestions, please feel free. Also if I left anything out please feel free to ask any questions. Thanks to anyone in advance that can provide any solutions.

- Blazeops
 
ill elaborate more in a few if noone else has but...
i probably wouldnt even use my PC at all if the temps were that high, not for longer than checking the temps after adjusting something anyway.
 
wouldnt they fry at that temp? Something seems wrong. Maybe the sensor? dust? I have no idea lol
 
When you switch out the CPU coolers do the temps go back down? You were referring to two months later...confused.
 
Ive got a question, Does your system seem really slow when its running at those temps
that could tell you if they are true or not because if those are the real temps then your system should be slow as hell because your processor would be throttling. If that is the case then i would make sure you followed the directions for applying the AS5 and that somenthing isnt wrong with your motherboard and it just keeps getting worse, As in your temp sensor could be frying or somenthing.

-TopGun
 
Given that they have been steadily increasing over time despite the new cooling stuff, I would say you've got a fried heat sensor. If you're feeling gutsy just touch the heatsink when it's at 120C; believe me, you'll know if it's right or not (do this at your own risk, BTW). If not, you can get one of those all-in-one front bay things with temp sensors on it so you can get real numbers and not the motherboard sensor's skewed numbers.
 
Chaintech nforce 3 250 mobo
AMD 3400+ 2.4ghz no overclock YET.
Zalman CNPS 7000b-Cu LED heatsink
2xsticks of 512ddr pc3200 corsair
1xstick of 1gig pc3200 corsair
1x hitachi 160gb 7200rpm
1x hitachi 80gig 7200rpm
Samsung dvd-rom/cd burner
ATI x850pro wit 256mb ram bios flashed to x850xt 16pipes
Fmi case came with psu rates are 420watt psu
+5v 36a
+12v 18a
-5v 0.5a
-12v 0.5a
+3.3v 22.0a
+5vsb 2.0a

im using speedfan
During the day

idle 46-48c =114f-118f
load 55-56c =131f-132f

at night the temps drop to 43-45c maybe tis the room, case near window
i used the credit card method and spread a thin layer almost all the way out to edge of chip slightly close to edge within couple hairs.
not impressed with the zalman yet, ive taken it off and reapplied thermal compound twice now, no difference yet.
 
dwilson041781, make your own thread, you are crapping on this one. To the OP, I agree, touch the HSF and see if it feels hot.
 
I'm sure its a faulty sensor. What's the Motherboard temp? It should somewhat reflect the cpu's temp. If your CPU is really 120 C, it would burn to a crisp.

Also, I also get a reading of 120 C, but that's for my MoBo, and I can still touch + the heatsink on it (is a bit warm though) So i know that it is a faulty sensor.
 
Thanks for the replies all.

domoMKIV said:
ill elaborate more in a few if noone else has but...
i probably wouldnt even use my PC at all if the temps were that high, not for longer than checking the temps after adjusting something anyway.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have been very wary about staying on for so long already but still looking for answers. I really hope that I don't regret keeping my rig on and having to check the forums at work :(.




jcll2002 said:
wouldnt they fry at that temp? Something seems wrong. Maybe the sensor? dust? I have no idea lol
Click to expand...
The dust shouldn't be a problem but will go through the pc with duster again. I hope it is just a sensor problem because cheap P4 northwoods seem hard to come by.




theseeker said:
When you switch out the CPU coolers do the temps go back down? You were referring to two months later...confused.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the confusion. Switch the 'later' with 'after'. While switching from the Zalman to the XP-90c and vice versa, the temps stay the same Idle about 95 and Full Load at 120.




TopGun said:
Ive got a question, Does your system seem really slow when its running at those temps that could tell you if they are true or not because if those are the real temps then your system should be slow as hell because your processor would be throttling. If that is the case then i would make sure you followed the directions for applying the AS5 and that somenthing isnt wrong with your motherboard and it just keeps getting worse, As in your temp sensor could be frying or somenthing.

-TopGun
Click to expand...
I have been afraid to keep pushing my cpu so I have yet to play Fear or HL:2 or Elder Scrolls Oblivion :( in its current state. I did try playing Madden 06 and did notice some 'lag.' It was playable but did lag. As far as using programs (Photoshop, MS Access, DVD Shrink), my system hasn't been slow at all. Later on tonight, I will reapply the AS 5 and reseat the Zalman and check again.




InorganicMatter said:
Given that they have been steadily increasing over time despite the new cooling stuff, I would say you've got a fried heat sensor. If you're feeling gutsy just touch the heatsink when it's at 120C; believe me, you'll know if it's right or not (do this at your own risk, BTW). If not, you can get one of those all-in-one front bay things with temp sensors on it so you can get real numbers and not the motherboard sensor's skewed numbers.
Click to expand...
I was thinking about picking up a cheap heat sensor just to compare temps. I also am in the process of picking up a 2nd epox board (same as the current) just to test things out.

-Blazeops
 
Accidently switched to faranheit and don't know it?
120C is like 250f, well past waters boiling point just so you know how hot it is.

Some sensors are just buggered, like if you open Speedfan and configure the temps, there's some that say 120C by defualt.

I bet it's just fualty. You wouldn't have a computer if it was running that hot...even at idle.
 
t0x1k said:
Accidently switched to faranheit and don't know it?
120C is like 250f, well past waters boiling point just so you know how hot it is.

Some sensors are just buggered, like if you open Speedfan and configure the temps, there's some that say 120C by defualt.

I bet it's just fualty. You wouldn't have a computer if it was running that hot...even at idle.
Click to expand...
'tis actually 248 F.

To convert C to F, take C, and multiply it by 9/5, or 1.8. Then add 32.

To go from F to C, take F, subtract 32 and the divide by 9/5 or 1.8 =D

Oh btw, I probably should have said this in the beginning, but currently my P4 3.0e Prescott is idling at 26 C with stock cooling and AS5. Hope it helps out a little.
 
Well, last night, I reapplied the AS 5 and resat the Zalman. Temps sort of changed but not really for the better. Temps still hovered around 95-110 C.

I touched the heatsink. It was warm to the touch and was definitely not 95+C. That could be good, meaning that there is something wrong with the sensor. On the other hand, it could also mean that there isn't proper contact between the heatsink/AS5/IHS.


Panda Man said:
Oh btw, I probably should have said this in the beginning, but currently my P4 3.0e Prescott is idling at 26 C with stock cooling and AS5. Hope it helps out a little.
Click to expand...
That temp sounds damn good right about now. I have been looking for my stock intel hsf to just to test. I am pretty thorough when putting things together but have that nagging feeling I did something wrong.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Once I try the other epox board and try some other options...(Exchanging Panaflow fans for the Coolermasters, Lap the Zalman, etc.) we shall see. I wanted to switch to water eventually but I would like to get these temps corrected on air cooling (with some OCing). Will update when I can :).
 
Your processor doesn't magically start producing more temps. I would say that the thermal sensor is off. If it was geting that hot, you would notice instability.
 
At 120C CPUs do not throttle...they turn off wayyy before that, or they melt. Put simply, at 120C, you can flashboil water. :p
 
is it just me or is the logic of touching a hot heatsink mean it's overheating faulty? Isn't is good that the heatsink is transferring the heat, and therefore warm? Meaning: if it weren't in good contact, the heatsink wouldn't be transferring any heat at all, and therefore cool.

to the op: sounds like you've surely got a messed up sensor. I wouldn't get too excited, as I'm sure if you've reseated the HSF (with the proper technique of applying thermal paste) and it felt warm to the touch that everything is just fine. If you're still freaking out a bit you could always borrow something to measure the temps with, but i'm sure everything is well within spec, and the sensor has just kicked the bucket.
 
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