Question how to tell if I am overheating?

[J-mie]

I took the heat sink off my CPU to blow all the dust off it and since I have done that, it seems like my computing speed has taken a crap. If I go to my task manager and look at the performance tab, my CPU shows 16% as I am typing this but hovers around 1 GHz. Even the browser is having trouble keeping up with my typing speed. If my heat sink didn't get completely seated, could this cause the problem I am experiencing?

 

[Kamal007v]

Yes it could cause issues like that. Use HWinfo64 to monitor temps.

 

[Karadjgne]

Don't usually need to remove the heatsink to blow it out, just removing the fan is plenty as long as it's done with some care.

What cpu? Did you clean the old stuff off and repaste correctly?

 

[J-mie]

Don't usually need to remove the heatsink to blow it out, just removing the fan is plenty as long as it's done with some care.

What cpu? Did you clean the old stuff off and repaste correctly?

I think my heat sink wasn't seated properly. I took it off and tried to get it back on there better and that seems to have worked. I think those few degrees were causing some massive issues. The fins around the heat sink had caked in dust. Now I am getting a performance around 3.55 GHz when before I was just 1. It's an intel i5. I didn't have any gel or whatever it is that I could put back on the cpu. I did not scrape anything off.

 

[Karadjgne]

And that's the problem. When it's first applied, it gets spread out evenly, and sticks to the cpu and cooler base evenly. With no air bubbles or gaps. If you pull it off, it's done. It'll no longer stick evenly, there will be air bubbles and gaps and that'll make hot-spots on the cores. Continued or even partial use can permanently damage a cpu as portions of the chip can get extremely hot in a matter of seconds.

I'd strongly advise you don't use the pc until after you look up the correct way to clean off a cpu/cooler (91% (or better) isopropyl /rubbing alcohol and coffee filters or other lint free materials) and buy a decent paste and do the job right before you fry that cpu. Heat damages to a cpu are permanent. Kinda like bad sectors on a hdd are permanent. There's no fix.

Good paste is cheap. I personally use Noctua NT-H1, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut or Gelid Extreme GC. Costs @ $8-$13 for a tube, good for 3-5 applications.