CPU overheating, can't figure out why

[Backlash Pro]

I have had this rig running for about half a year now. It has been OCed since day one but has always been extremely stable and never given me any issues. Today I come home, turn it on and happened to look at my cpu temp, it was idle at 70C. That's not good. I tried opening a different temp program, speed fan, computer completely shut down. Pressed power again, went into BIOS, BIOS showed 73C I tried getting into it further to drop the OC just in case and the pc shut down again.

At this point I was thinking maybe my corsair Hydro h60 crapped out. It's been great at keeping it idle at 35C and load never more than 55C. I swapped it for the stock cooler. Let the computer sit for a bit, fired it up, same thing. Even got up to 80C. so I just shut it down because I don't know what to do. Nothing was changed, my house hasn't gotten hotter, I have a ton of case fans with optimal airflow direction, etc. And yes, I re applied the thermal paste, correctly, each time.

What can I do? What could be causing the CPU to get that hot?

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+
AMD FX 8350 OC to 4.5ghz
Corsair Hydro series h60 cooler
8gb corsair vengeance
750 W CORSAIR HX professional series
(x2) gigabyte gtx 660 ti

 

[dovah-chan]

*sees that owns the UD3* What revision is it?

 

[Backlash Pro]

*sees that owns the UD3* What revision is it?

Latest one. I think 4?

 

[Jcomptech]

Overclockage increases the temps for your cpu. You may need to underclock it back to its normal frequency to see if your temps are still hot. If they are still hot, then I would say it is your motherboard cooling. Also, what is your PSU wattage as that comes into play as well for overclocking.

 

[Backlash Pro]

Overclockage increases the temps for your cpu. You may need to underclock it back to its normal frequency to see if your temps are still hot. If they are still hot, then I would say it is your motherboard cooling. Also, what is your PSU wattage as that comes into play as well for overclocking.

750w corsair HX. It's been over clocked and stable with good temps for 6 months though

 

[Jcomptech]

Overclockage increases the temps for your cpu. You may need to underclock it back to its normal frequency to see if your temps are still hot. If they are still hot, then I would say it is your motherboard cooling. Also, what is your PSU wattage as that comes into play as well for overclocking.

750w corsair HX. It's been over clocked and stable with good temps for 6 months though

I honestly think it has to do with your motherboard. Also, tone it down a bit to see. If there is any change in temps then I would say keep it the way it is. Otherwise, if I doesnt do anything then try replacing your motherboard.

 

[Backlash Pro]

Ya I'm going to try that today. Problem was that when I would try to get into BIOS to just set everything to default, it would shut down before I could even hit the key, save and exit. I just want to make sure it has nothing to do with my PSU or my cpu chip itself.

 

[Jcomptech]

Ya I'm going to try that today. Problem was that when I would try to get into BIOS to just set everything to default, it would shut down before I could even hit the key, save and exit. I just want to make sure it has nothing to do with my PSU or my cpu chip itself.

Get a higher wattage PSU. I just noticed you have two 660 tis in SLI and your cpu is overclocked. I know it has been running fine since day one but a year later. Your cpu could be aging. I do think it has to do with your PSU. Considering the capacitors age day by day and decrease voltage. So the same with your processor and other components.

 

[Backlash Pro]

I'm going to be throwing parts at it so I need to weed out what it isn't. I hardly use the second card as most games I play don't support SLI.
this specific PSU should be able to handle a slight over clock and the components that are in it. At least longer than 6 months. If not, why would it just be super heating the cpu and that's it?

 

[Jcomptech]

I'm going to be throwing parts at it so I need to weed out what it isn't. I hardly use the second card as most games I play don't support SLI.
this specific PSU should be able to handle a slight over clock and the components that are in it. At least longer than 6 months. If not, why would it just be super heating the cpu and that's it?

Yes. Your PSU shouldn't be aging that badly as I just caught myself. Anyway, underclock it a bit and try all the things I stated. There has to be a solution to your dilemma.

 

[Backlash Pro]

I'm going to be throwing parts at it so I need to weed out what it isn't. I hardly use the second card as most games I play don't support SLI.
this specific PSU should be able to handle a slight over clock and the components that are in it. At least longer than 6 months. If not, why would it just be super heating the cpu and that's it?

Yes. Your PSU shouldn't be aging that badly as I just caught myself. Anyway, underclock it a bit and try all the things I stated. There has to be a solution to your dilemma.

ok i was able to get everything to default settings. its still idling at about 45C when it usually idles at 18-20C. With this browser open its at 60C. Here is a screen shot of my temps and i included my processes to see if you guys could see if there may be any malware or anything that could be the culprit.

http://i.imgur.com/HHV5dY0.jpg

dont mind the CPUID readings, with default BIOS settings the system jumps all over the place but thats normal for this CPU and mobo.


EDIT: so I sat and watched the temps. i closed every program and just ran HW monitor. It would go down to low 20's and then bounce up to 35, 38, then back down, up and down up and down repeatedly. I tried running a virus and malware scan and it got up to 79C so i stopped it. the TMPIN2 temp got up to 79C as well on the motherboard. Now I have the browser open and its staying in the mid 20's. But it was just in the 40-50 range when I had it open. Im comparing temps to speed fan and they are the same.

no idea what the heck to do still. I system restored to a previous date and that didnt solve anything.

 

[Backlash Pro]

Just got new motherboard, same problem. So now I'm wondering if I should replace the PSU or the CPU

 

[DeNachtwacht]

It also could just be cooling paste. If it has been too hot for a long time, it can melt and slip away from the cpu. So just replacing the cooling paste could do a lot here. And remember: only use a LITTLE bit. The lesser you use it, the better it is.

 

[Backlash Pro]

I have replaced the thermal paste 4 times now, with two different coolers. I always use about a grain of rice and that's always worked well for me keeping temps at idle 20C and load at 50c when I had an over clock. I don't understand why it was fine one day keeping perfect temps then out of nowhere it has a crazy temp spike.

 

[Backlash Pro]

Ok, tried a different PSU, that didn't solve it either. My last two options are a reformat to see if it is something in Windows (though it's showing a high temp in BIOS) or its the CPU

 

[Backlash Pro]

swapped out for a new processor and everything is normal. Idling at 20C and ran Prime with no errors and a max temp of 48C. But I think I found what happened. A THICK layer of dust (over the six months) somehow built up between the fan and the radiator of the H60. No airflow was getting in which resulted in cooking the CPU. Now I dont know if it was because it just built up dust on its own or because I had put a second fan on the other side of the radiador for a pull push configuration. For now im just leaving one fan on it to see if just as much dust builds up.