CPU went from 50C to 95C in 2 seconds on Prime95

[omonoiatis9]

I'm not exaggerating. 2 seconds. I read threads saying you have to wait around 3, 5, 10, 15 minutes to see whether your CPU is fine, but mine literally went nuclear in 2 seconds. I knew it had overheating issues since it shut down on me while playing LoL (very lightweight game) a few times, but wtf.

My question is, how can it overheat so unbelievably fast that even regular stress testing is out of the question? Could it be just a thermal paste issue? I checked that the fan works normal (stock fan, and I've been using that same fan for the past 2-3 years with no issues). But can thermal paste really mean from 50 to 100 degrees in 2 seconds? Or is there something else going on, like me needing to just throw the CPU out the window because something with it is faulty?

Additional info: My CPU is i5 3570. Idle temperatures are 46C. Watching any type of video brings it to around 53-55C. Playing LoL instantly puts it at about 65C, then slowly climbs up to about 76C+ over the span of 30 minutes in game and eventually the computer freezes (I imagine CPU defense mechanism to prevent hardware damage) and I have to manually shut it down by holding the power button. I checked CPU load while performing all of the above activities and it never spikes beyond 10%.

Also, GPU temperatures are normal, and airflow inside the computer is fine (also checked without PC case)

If this is relevant: Windows 7, nvidia GTX660. Drivers up to date (motherboard and graphics card), computer is virus free.

Edit: I may have forgotten to mention a relevant piece of info. About 6 months ago I took it to some guy because I was having for the first time CPU overheating issues. The guy re-did my thermal paste (it looked kinda bad before I took it) and the computer worked fine for the next 5 months. Now I've got this issue again but more severe. Could it be that the guy did a bad job? Applied the thermal paste wrong? Didn't seat the heatsink properly? Didn't reinstall the cooler properly? If so why is the issue only now reappearing?

 

[theyeti87]

Sounds to me like the CPU heatsink isn't making solid contact with the CPU lid.

 

[USAFRet]

Yup.
Improperly installed cooler on the CPU.

 

[omonoiatis9]

Sounds to me like the CPU heatsink isn't making solid contact with the CPU lid.

Sounds to me like the CPU heatsink isn't making solid contact with the CPU lid.

Is it plausible to assume that the heatsink can just randomly come off? Given that it used to work fine. I didn't like move the case around or hit it recently to justify the heatsink coming off. Is there any way to check without having to actually take the fan and the heatsink off?

 

[Eximo]

After 2-3 years, the thermal compound has probably dried up from repeated heating and cooling cycles. Intel's stock cooler attachment method isn't the best.

Just as a matter of course you should remove the cooler, clean it and the CPU heatspreader, and reapply with new compound.

That is the cheapest option. If that doesn't do it, then something else could be wrong.

If you have always had overheating issues, then now might be a good time to invest in a better cooler.

 

[omonoiatis9]

After 2-3 years, the thermal compound has probably dried up from repeated heating and cooling cycles. Intel's stock cooler attachment method isn't the best.

Just as a matter of course you should remove the cooler, clean it and the CPU heatspreader, and reapply with new compound.

That is the cheapest option. If that doesn't do it, then something else could be wrong.

If you have always had overheating issues, then now might be a good time to invest in a better cooler.

I may have forgotten to mention a relevant piece of info. About 6 months ago I took it to some guy because I was having for the first time CPU overheating issues. The guy re-did my thermal paste (it looked kinda bad before I took it) and the computer worked fine for the next 5 months. Now I've got this issue again but more severe. Could it be that the guy did a bad job? Applied the thermal paste wrong? Didn't seat the heatsink properly? Didn't reinstall the cooler properly? If so why is the issue only now reappearing?

 

[USAFRet]

I may have forgotten to mention a relevant piece of info. About 6 months ago I took it to some guy because I was having for the first time CPU overheating issues. The guy re-did my thermal paste (it looked kinda bad before I took it) and the computer worked fine for the next 5 months. Now I've got this issue again but more severe. Could it be that the guy did a bad job? Applied the thermal paste wrong? Didn't seat the heatsink properly? Didn't reinstall the cooler properly? If so why is the issue only now reappearing?

Yes, that is a relevant bit of info.

It may have been that it was 98% connected, and after these past months...it worked just a teeny bit loose.
Resulting in actual non-contact, and the speedy temp rise you are seeing.

Only suggestion is to take it off, clean and reapply thermal paste, and reinstall it.

 

[Eximo]

In truth you should rarely have to change thermal compound. I suppose it depends on a lot of factors, how well the clips held up to removal and re-insertion, what kind, and how much, thermal compound was used, and so on.

It falls under a fairly simple thing to do to maintain your computer, and give you a chance to give the cooler itself a thorough dusting. That is another possibility, lack of airflow in the rest of the computer, are there any other fans in the system?

 

[omonoiatis9]

I may have forgotten to mention a relevant piece of info. About 6 months ago I took it to some guy because I was having for the first time CPU overheating issues. The guy re-did my thermal paste (it looked kinda bad before I took it) and the computer worked fine for the next 5 months. Now I've got this issue again but more severe. Could it be that the guy did a bad job? Applied the thermal paste wrong? Didn't seat the heatsink properly? Didn't reinstall the cooler properly? If so why is the issue only now reappearing?

Yes, that is a relevant bit of info.

It may have been that it was 98% connected, and after these past months...it worked just a teeny bit loose.
Resulting in actual non-contact, and the speedy temp rise you are seeing.

Only suggestion is to take it off, clean and reapply thermal paste, and reinstall it.

Thanks for your help. I guess I'll just take it somewhere else this time since I don't think I'm savvy enough to do that myself. Can't imagine something as simple as that would cost a lot.

In truth you should rarely have to change thermal compound. I suppose it depends on a lot of factors, how well the clips held up to removal and re-insertion, what kind, and how much, thermal compound was used, and so on.

It falls under a fairly simple thing to do to maintain your computer, and give you a chance to give the cooler itself a thorough dusting. That is another possibility, lack of airflow in the rest of the computer, are there any other fans in the system?

There's only 2 coolers on my pc, the cpu fan and the stock fans of the GTX 660. The airflow in the computer seems to be fine. I did the regular dusting maintenance. Don't think a little bit of dust would warrant a temperature skyrocket in the span of 2 seconds anyway.

 

[omonoiatis9]

UPDATE: I called a technician and they said they'd charge me 60 euros for "hardware service" which included some dusting off, reapplying paste and reseating the cooler. I said to myself "that sounds like overcharging for a 15 minute max job", so for the first time I tried to solve a pc hardware issue myself.

I followed the advice on here and I re-installed the cooler (also cleaned thermal paste and reapplied new one even though the last reapplication was 6 months ago but just in case). Now my idle temps are 15C lower than they were (from 46-47 to around 32C. Motherboard temp was fine before but now that's also lower. Stress testing doesn't make it go from 50C to 100C in 2 seconds. It lasted a few seconds without going over 60C but paranoid me said "I'm happy with the current results" and just stopped it in case my paste melted off eventually or something.

Long story short: Redid thermal paste, reinstalled cooler, removed dust and hair. Temps are wayyyy lower and the heat is now properly conducted. Thanks to all for the suggestions.

 

[USAFRet]

UPDATE: I called a technician and they said they'd charge me 60 euros for "hardware service" which included some dusting off, reapplying paste and reseating the cooler. I said * that, sounds like overcharging, so for the first time I tried to solve a pc hardware issue my first.

I followed the advice on here and I re-installed the cooler (also cleaned thermal paste and reapplied new one even though the last reapplication was 6 months ago but just in case). Now my idle temps are 15C lower than they were (from 46-47 to around 32C. Motherboard temp was fine before but now that's also lower. Stress testing doesn't make it go from 50C to 100C in 2 seconds. It lasted a few seconds without going over 60C but paranoid me said "I'm happy with the current results" and just stopped it in case my paste melted off eventually or something.

Long story short: Redid thermal paste, reinstalled cooler, removed dust and hair. Temps are wayyyy lower and the heat is now properly conducted. Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Good deal.
And now you have a much deeper understanding of what goes on inside that box, rather than relying on the monkey at the repair shop. Who will not as good a job as you just did.