Question CPU reading 100° C despite not being hot to the touch

[LilyRose]

Hello,
So my computer was running fine and from one moment to the other it started lagging and crashing my programs and being horrible and throttling to no end, I went to check bios and it says my CPU is at 100 celsius but it's just not, touching the heatsink is just normal warm. I've let the pc sit turned off and tried resetting my bios config but nothing seems to help. CPU is i7 11th gen

 

[Darkbreeze]

The temperature to touch has nothing, at all, ever, to do with core temperatures. Heatsinks are pretty much always "just warm" to the touch especially if you have an aftermarket tower cooler or an AIO.

Download HWinfo. Install it. Run it and check the box next to "Sensors only". Make sure "Summary" is not checked. Scroll down to the CPU core temperatures area and expand the section by clicking on the arrow next to "Core temperatures". While at idle, meaning no other programs open except HWinfo, take a screenshot of the core temperatures section and then upload it to imgur or another image hosting site and link to it here using the guide below.

How to PROPERLY post images on the Tom's hardware forum​

Then run whatever you were running before when you noticed you were having problems, and with the HWinfo window on top take another screenshot of the core temps.

Also, please list your EXACT hardware specifications including full model numbers for CPU, motherboard, memory kit, power supply, CPU cooler, case, number of case fans, location of EACH case fan and what direction, exactly, each case fan is blowing, in (intake) or out (exhaust).

 

[LilyRose]

Oh thank you so much for responding! that was painful to screenshot as the pc didn't even want to turn on

Here are the images of the sensors and anything else I could find on the temps
CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i7 - 11700k
MB: MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge Wifi
PSU: SuperFlower SF - 850F14HG 850 W 80 plus gold
RAM: G. Skill F4 4000C18d 16GVK DDR4
Cooler: Corsair H80i V2
I'm not sure about the case model
There's two front intake and one at the side for exhaust

Thank you in advance

 

[Darkbreeze]

Your cooler is not sufficient for that CPU. For one thing. For another, it's probably not installed correctly or not working properly.

Most likely I'd say the cooler quit working. I don't think there's much if any doubt that the cooler has failed here, especially since you're hitting 100°C at only 2100mhz, which is not even half of full boost speed for this CPU.

But even if that H80 was brand new, it would STILL be less than capable enough to be recommended for use with your CPU. Get a new cooler, and make sure it's not a little 120mm model like that one. Either get a decent air cooler or a larger AIO liquid cooler.

 

[bdcrlsn]

If you're hitting those temps just in the BIOS, your CPU cooler is either not working, installed incorrectly, or just generally now powerful enough. These days, the single 120mm AIO coolers do not cool the CPU's effectively, which is why you don't really see them for sale anymore. There are many choices for air cooler that are under $50 that would be able to cool that CPU, even a quick search of Tom's will pull up many options. Best of luck to you.

 

[helper800]

There may have been a plastic film on the CPU cooler. Did you remove it before installing the CPU?

 

[Darkbreeze]

There may have been a plastic film on the CPU cooler. Did you remove it before installing the CPU?

They said it was running fine before and only just started behaving differently. So I'd be pretty doubtful this is the cause but obviously it would not be desirable if it were the case.

 

[helper800]

If mounting pressure is fine then he needs a better cooler.