CPU Overheating, worried about damage

[Ross_19]

Hi guys,

I've just bought a new computer - the specs are at the bottom of this post. I'm sorry if I'm not too tech savvy!

I first installed Windows 8.1 with no problems, and then windows 10 - during this installation, it rebooted twice - in both instances, the screen showed a CPU overheating error (71C). Windows 10 still installed fine, however.

As I was naturally worried about this overheating, I installed some ASUS software to monitor the CPU temperature. Most of the time it was around 55-60, but it (for no apparent reason) climbed to 88-90C and stayed there for a solid minute. I wasn't even doing any difficult tasks (YouTube, surfing the internet, doing a download).

I did a reboot or two, looked at the BIOS, but I couldn't see any apparent quick fix and the temperature kept on climbing back into the 80's, so naturally I've stopped using it for now.

I'm petrified that I've now damaged the CPU! I'm really hoping I haven't? Clearly there is something wrong, but I need some advice. The computer is obviously going to be covered under warranty but I'm wondering if something as simple as reapplying the thermal paste would fix the problem.

Any advice?

Specs:
• CPU: Intel Core i7 6700 3.40GHz Skylake Processor
• Motherboard: Asus B150M-A Micro ATX Motherboard
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 Memory
• Storage: Corsair 240GB Solid State Drive
• Optical Drive: Asus DVD-Writer
• Graphics: On Board
• Case: Corsair Carbide SPEC M2 Mid Tower Case
• PSU: FSP 550W Gold PSU


Thank you so much!

 

[Ecky]

90c is warm for that CPU, but not dangerous. Intel set it to throttle at 100c and shut down to prevent damage at 130c. My advice is to keep an eye on temps and make sure they don't hit 100 - not because it's going to kill your chip, but because it will slow down at that temperature and you'll lose performance. I've literally never heard of a modern Intel CPU dying due to high temperatures.

 

[Ross_19]

That's reassuring, thanks for that