Question CPU temp at full load too... low? (!)

[HWright001]

So I have a i7-9700 (not k) that came with a stock intel cooler. I changed the cooler because I wanted to try something new. Turns out, the new cooler I bought was way loader than the stock cooler. So, seeing as how I never had a problem with the stock Intel cooler, I decided to switch back to it. I cleaned all the thermal paste on the CPU and the Intel cooler and re-applied some new paste I got from Amazon and re-seated the cooler. Everything seems good and the temps I got were around 30-40C at idle on the desktop.

So then I run Prime95 for exactly 1 hour and stress-test all 8 cores on the CPU. I come back, turn off the stress test and look at my CPU temps. and they were... 42-45C after an hour of the stress test with the fan and CPU at 100% load. I know it sounds strange but this kind of concerned me with it being so low. I thought the CPU would be at least 80-85C but maybe I'm mistaken. I used MSI Afterburner, SpeedFan, and then checked the CPU temp in BIOS right after the stress test. They all basically gave me the same temp . range: 41-45C.

Should I be concerned about a faulty reading or are these low temps possible? (This is the new thermal paste: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011F7W3LU?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details&th=1 . If that is what's keeping things cool, boy do I recommend it.)

 

[DRagor]

The temps during the test are important. Those that you got AFTER won't be any different then idle ones. CPU simply cools off very fast (in a matter of seconds) without load.

 

[Zerk2012]

So I have a i7-9700 (not k) that came with a stock intel cooler. I changed the cooler because I wanted to try something new. Turns out, the new cooler I bought was way loader than the stock cooler. So, seeing as how I never had a problem with the stock Intel cooler, I decided to switch back to it. I cleaned all the thermal paste on the CPU and the Intel cooler and re-applied some new paste I got from Amazon and re-seated the cooler. Everything seems good and the temps I got were around 30-40C at idle on the desktop.

So then I run Prime95 for exactly 1 hour and stress-test all 8 cores on the CPU. I come back, turn off the stress test and look at my CPU temps. and they were... 42-45C after an hour of the stress test with the fan and CPU at 100% load. I know it sounds strange but this kind of concerned me with it being so low. I thought the CPU would be at least 80-85C but maybe I'm mistaken. I used MSI Afterburner, SpeedFan, and then checked the CPU temp in BIOS right after the stress test. They all basically gave me the same temp . range: 41-45C.

Should I be concerned about a faulty reading or are these low temps possible? (This is the new thermal paste: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011F7W3LU?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details&th=1 . If that is what's keeping things cool, boy do I recommend it.)

The thermal paste makes very little difference.

The stock coolers sux and should be replaced, you need to check your temps while running the stress test!

EDIT I don't know why they still even include a cooler since their not adequate for full load I have heard the new 12XXX coolers are a bit better but no real benchmarks yet.

 

[HWright001]

Wow, does this post show my ignorance…

Ok, now I’m running Prime95 again and actively monitoring the temps. They are consistently around 65-70C at max load. Obviously, much more “normal” temps given the workload. I will keep the test running for about an hour and see what happens but anything from 60-75C should be acceptable correct?

Thanks again guys.

 

[DRagor]

They are consistently around 65-70C at max load

Those are on the stock cooler? Then pretty much what you could expect from it - completely mediocre. Not high enough to force you to swap into something more powerful, and not low enough to consider them really good.
Out of curiosity, what you bought that was louder then stock? Maybe it was just a matter of fan settings to make it (more) silent?

 

[HWright001]

Those are on the stock cooler? Then pretty much what you could expect from it - completely mediocre. Not high enough to force you to swap into something more powerful, and not low enough to consider them really good.
Out of curiosity, what you bought that was louder then stock? Maybe it was just a matter of fan settings to make it (more) silent?

It was the ARCTIC Alpine 12 CO. I tried to get an "easy install" fan because I don't really want to take apart my computer to install a backplate on the motherboard. I know those are much better fans, but I'm not an expert in computer hardware, and really dread taking everything out of the case, especially my motherboard. (Once for the initial build was enough.)