Question CPU overheating warning randomly appears ?

chris18

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Jan 14, 2008
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I have just replaced my Intel i5-9400f with an Intel i7-9700 3.00GHz.
I did not replace my Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO CPU Cooler.

I now find that sometimes I get a CPU overheating warning on start up. If I turn PC off and leave it a few minutes the warning doesn't show.

Any advice as to why this is happening and how to fix it ?
 
When posting a thread of troubleshooting nature, it's customary to include your full system's specs. Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

If the innards of the system weren't touched since it was built, you might want to disconnect the system from the wall, take off the side panel and dust out said innards. Dirt and debris might be hindering your CPU cooler's effectiveness at dissipating heat. The intake vents for the case might also be clogged up, hindering the case's ability to draw in cooler ambient air.
 
You installed a stronger/hotter processor.
The TX3 cooler is a basic push pin cooler that is no better than the stock intel cooler.
I would replace the TX3 with a decent cooler. Perhaps $50 or so.

But, since you had to remount the cooler during the processor swap, you may have not secured it level.
With power off, nudge the cooler to see if it wiggles.
Check the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 push pins are through the motherboard and locked.
To that end, here is my stock answer on how to do it:

----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.
Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.
When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.
If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, first run the cpu to heat it up and soften the paste before shutting down and powering off the pc. That makes it easy to unstick the old cooler.
Turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.

It is hard to use too little.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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You installed a stronger/hotter processor.
The TX3 cooler is a basic push pin cooler that is no better than the stock intel cooler.
I would replace the TX3 with a decent cooler. Perhaps $50 or so.

But, since you had to remount the cooler during the processor swap, you may have not secured it level.
With power off, nudge the cooler to see if it wiggles.
Check the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 push pins are through the motherboard and locked.
To that end, here is my stock answer on how to do it:

----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.
Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.
When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.
If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, first run the cpu to heat it up and soften the paste before shutting down and powering off the pc. That makes it easy to unstick the old cooler.
Turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.

It is hard to use too little.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks, any suggestion on a suitable cooler (I am in the UK) ?
 
Thanks what would be the advantages over my existing cooler??
Well, on a price performance ratio, the Peerless is an amazing cooler. Not only does it cool as well if not better than, lets a Noctua NH-D15 which is very expensive, it is also very quiet too. It's s stellar CPU cooler.

Your current paste is just about good for stressing/benching only, but it doesn't last long and suffers from pump out even on a desktop CPU. You will be repasting every 2 months. You are better off with Something like Arctic MX-4/5 Noctua NT-H2. The Noctua is a very good all rounder. The JLJ has a thermal conductivity of 3.1 w/m-k, which is very low by comparison to even midrange pastes like the MX 4, which is 8.1 w/m-k. You need better paste.

My own philosophy with thermal paste is, if you buy cheap, you buy twice.
 
I now find that sometimes I get a CPU overheating warning on start up. If I turn PC off and leave it a few minutes the warning doesn't show.
Any advice as to why this is happening and how to fix it ?
Did you reset cpu cooler push pins before reinstalling the cooler?
If you do not reset them, then cpu cooler doesn't make a proper contact with cpu.

Here instructions, how to reset push pins on Intel stock cooler.
Principle is the same for Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO CPU Cooler.

resettingpushpins4.jpg

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005852/processors.html
 
Well, on a price performance ratio, the Peerless is an amazing cooler. Not only does it cool as well if not better than, lets a Noctua NH-D15 which is very expensive, it is also very quiet too. It's s stellar CPU cooler.

Your current paste is just about good for stressing/benching only, but it doesn't last long and suffers from pump out even on a desktop CPU. You will be repasting every 2 months. You are better off with Something like Arctic MX-4/5 Noctua NT-H2. The Noctua is a very good all rounder. The JLJ has a thermal conductivity of 3.1 w/m-k, which is very low by comparison to even midrange pastes like the MX 4, which is 8.1 w/m-k. You need better paste.

My own philosophy with thermal paste is, if you buy cheap, you buy twice.
Thanks for the advice. I hadn't realised there was so much to be aware of with thermal past. I will get some Noctua NT-H2 and get my grandson to re paste.
 
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Repasting is not a panacea unless the cooler mount was badly done to begin with.
Bad mounting with push pin type coolers is easy to do. That might have been the situation here.
Yes, there are differences in paste quality, ease of application and longevity.
The paste that comes with a cooler is usually ok to use.
Differences in temperature outcomes between the best and merely good paste might be only a few degrees. Not important unless you are seeking overclocking records.

Understand the purpose of paste.

It is to fill in microscopic air pits in the mating surfaces.
Air is a poor conductor of heat.
Paste is much better.
But paste is not as good as metal to metal contact.
Applying too much paste will act as an insulator; it is hard to use too little.
Application methods vary with not much real difference among them.
A small rice sized drop in the center of the cpu will spread out under heat and pressure.
Larger processors may need a different method.

If the mating surfaces do not match you will never get good contact.
Frames to prevent bending or milling the surfaces may need to be a solution.
 
Repasting is not a panacea unless the cooler mount was badly done to begin with.
I wasn't suggesting it's a panacea. Only that the current paste (JLJ) is known to suffer with pump out. Even in a desktop setup (which is unusual, as average paste mostly pumps out in laptops, do to the CPU bare die), and this is only after a couple of months. Bu using something like the Noctua paste, is much better, and a single good application should last for years 👍