CPU 100 Degrees celsius at 50% Utilization

Jan 21, 2019
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Hey, guys, I have been reading around here about CPU temps and how mine is. I think I have a cooling problem But I'm not sure what it is. I have an I7 8700 (non K)

https://imgur.com/a/YP2UH1v This is the XTU of the bootup, idle and under 20% load, if I get much higher it starts to hit 100 degrees. I would really like to get my CPU to be more stable so I can hit higher usage of it without throttling like it always does, so thank you in advance for any help or advice.

I have - Really good airflow all around case
- Reapplied thermal paste (pea sized in the center)
- I have the intel stock cooler (Reseated it a few times but temps remain the same)
- Tried fans on 100% didn't change much at all
- Blown out all dust

I think it might be because the CPU isn't seated well as I messed up putting it in the first time and didn't turn the arrows correctly, however it goes in fine now so im not sure whats up.

Thanks for any help guys!
 
Solution
Since you've remove the cooler and compared the pins to one another, it sounds like you've found the source of the problem. Like I said, the push-pins are deceivingly tricky ... they seem to be such a simple little no-brainer mechanism, but as you see, there's more to it than meets the eye.

The suspected pin may be damaged in such a way that it nether holds the cooler on the CPU with enough contact pressure, but nor does it allow the cooler to fully contact the CPU when you push down on it. Either way, it seems that your testing and troubleshooting efforts have definitely confirmed my suspicions.

If it's not possible to persuade the pin to securely latch by any means, then you'll need to replace the cooler. Local PC shops usually have...

CompuTronix

Intel Master
Moderator

jackson16419,

On behalf of Tom's Moderator Team, welcome aboard!

Your stock cooler has a push-pin that's not latched completely through the motherboard, which is a very common problem. Even though you've re-TIM'd and reinstalled a few times, you just haven't found it ... yet.

Respectfully, it doesn't matter how many times you've installed stock coolers, the push-pins are deceivingly tricky to get them fully inserted through the motherboard and properly latched. Don't feel bad if you've missed one; it happens to the best of us. This causes poor contact pressure between the cooler and the CPU, resulting in high temperatures in BIOS, as well as in Windows at idle, and especially during any significant workload.

You can troubleshoot this problem by pushing firmly on each corner of the cooler for about 30 seconds while watching your load temperatures. When you see a significant drop, you've found the loose push-pin.

(1) To re-seat a single loose push-pin, rotate the latch mechanism in the direction of the arrow counterclockwise 90° then retract the pin by pulling upward. Rotate the latch clockwise 90° to reset the pin, but do NOT push on the latch yet.

(2) To get the pin fully inserted through the motherboard, push only on the leg, NOT on the top of the latch.

(3) While holding the leg firmly against the motherboard with one hand, you can now push on the top of the latch with your other hand until the latch clicks. If your case allows you to see the back of the motherboard, you can use a strong light to closely examine and compare the push-pins, as one may be damaged.

(4) If you're re-seating the entire cooler, then be sure to latch the pins across from one another, rather than next to one another. Use an "X" pattern, so as to apply even pressure during installation.

Intel Stock Cooler Installation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qczGR4KMnY

Go ahead and try again. The problem is there ... you just need to proceed slowly and very carefully with eyes focussed on attention to the smallest details. Use a strong light and look from different angles ... you'll find it.

Once again, welcome aboard!

CT :sol:
 
Jan 21, 2019
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This is the image of XTU temps while i pushed down on each of the pins separately (for about 15 seconds each with quite a lot of pressure) https://imgur.com/a/TtNULYt

There seems to be little to no change at all, does this still mean I might have a loose pin, all of them feel like they are in quite well?
 

CompuTronix

Intel Master
Moderator
The problem is there, you're just not finding it. This is by far the most common issue we see here on our forums with stock Intel coolers. Your IXTU image shows only 1% CPU utilization which is idle. You need to put enough load on it to force it to 100°C so you can duplicate the problem.

"You can troubleshoot this problem by pushing firmly on each corner of the cooler for about 30 seconds while watching your load temperatures."

Give it another try.
 
Jan 21, 2019
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Awesome I found the right pin, but I can't figure out how to push the leg itself down, I can't get my motherboard out and check, but i did a check and all my pins seem to be not broken, do you have any videos of just the leg being pushed down or some tutorial I can follow to make sure I get it right, thanks :)
 

Dugimodo

Distinguished
I agree that it's most likely a push pin, they are a horrible mounting method. If you can't find it with the above suggestion you may have to resort to looking at the bottom of the motherboard to make sure all 4 are fully latched in. Would you be insulted if I also asked if you removed the plastic cover off the bottom of the heatsink if it had one?

You could just go around the whole issue and get an aftermarket cooler, intel stock coolers are generally ok but almost anything else is better.
 
Jan 21, 2019
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Don't worry I'm no elitist any advice helps and thank you for the idea, ill double check, but when I did the thermal paste and just tried to reseat it then, I'm pretty sure the plastic is off.
 

CompuTronix

Intel Master
Moderator

jackson16419,

You must first fully retract the pin by rotating it counterclockwise 90° and pulling it up. Then rotate it clockwise 90° to reset it. Once you're sure the pin is centered in the motherboard hole, just push down on the cooler with one hand near the base of the pin, then push down on the top of the pin with your other hand until you hear a definitive "click".

Here's the video I had already included for you in my first post: Intel Stock Cooler Installation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qczGR4KMnY

CT :sol:
 
Jan 21, 2019
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I just tried to redo this three times, and each time on launch I get the same temps and the same pin seems to be the problem even though I get the clicks and the cooler feels like it is in position. I feel like the pin might be broken but it clicks fine and when examining it the black pin does not come out of the bottom like on this video https://youtu.be/MOGUNqrk3w4?t=13

So im not sure how to remount it and fix the faulty pin problem
 
Jan 21, 2019
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This is the stress test with me pushing each pin down individually for around 15 seconds each and the temps did go down maybe 10 degrees but nothing significant https://imgur.com/a/miONP4o

At the start is the start of the stress test I waited for it to start throttling then pressed down on each of the pins as you can see the temps go down a tiny bit but im not sure if thats it. then at the end I ended the stress test when the throttling stops
 

CompuTronix

Intel Master
Moderator
Since you've remove the cooler and compared the pins to one another, it sounds like you've found the source of the problem. Like I said, the push-pins are deceivingly tricky ... they seem to be such a simple little no-brainer mechanism, but as you see, there's more to it than meets the eye.

The suspected pin may be damaged in such a way that it nether holds the cooler on the CPU with enough contact pressure, but nor does it allow the cooler to fully contact the CPU when you push down on it. Either way, it seems that your testing and troubleshooting efforts have definitely confirmed my suspicions.

If it's not possible to persuade the pin to securely latch by any means, then you'll need to replace the cooler. Local PC shops usually have a box stacked full of stock coolers thrown in the corner, and may be only too happy to just give you one. Otherwise, as Dugimodo suggested, replacing the stock cooler with a decent aftermarket cooler that has proper fastening hardware (no push-pins) with a backplate is the best solution.
 
Solution
Jan 21, 2019
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Just wanted to say thank you so much for your help so far

I have taken out the cooler and taken some pictures of both the thing as a whole and the specific pin I think is causing problems, however, all pins act the same so I'm not sure if they are all broken, none broke or one broken but I can't detect it, here is the album https://imgur.com/a/WCz0ex2

if I can't find a solution today I might just bring it down to a local computer shop and get them to have a look at it and help me install and buy a new cooler