i5 2500K too hot on stock cooler

[reubenno]

Hello,
My brother just purchased a pre-owned gaming PC with an i5 2500k inside.
When we brought it back I ran the basic tests to make sure everything was running smoothly, however I noticed that the CPU was getting very hot.

Under 3D Mark CPU test it was hitting 88 degrees and I had to stop Prime95 for fear of overheating and damaging the CPU.

Is this normal for the stock cooler? I've only personally used the Hyper 212 EVO on my 3570K. Would a reapplication of thermal paste help or should he just get a Hyper 212 (or equivalent)?

Thanks.

EDIT: The CPU is running at stock and does not go past 1.21v when under stress.

 

[Kavinqt]

They probably used some very crappy thermal paste on the CPU, I'd recommend putting on your own thermal paste something good like http://a.co/5XTLlEL These prebuilt pc's come with no love when they are built they just build it in 20mins and send it on its way. If this still doesn't help upgrade the CPU cooler to something decent like a 212 evo or something Cryorig.

 

[dgingeri]

If it is the stock Intel cooler, yeah, that is pretty typical, no matter what thermal paste you use. It is a pretty crappy cooler.

 

[mcnumpty23]

the paste on stock intel coolers is perfectly adequate for the job its decent enough stuff

is the 2500k overclocked?

and usually if a temperature problem with the stock cooler its because one or more of those push pins arent properly engaged

 

[Kavinqt]

If it is the stock Intel cooler, yeah, that is pretty typical, no matter what thermal paste you use. It is a pretty crappy cooler.

It's decent enough to keep it below 70c with no overclock. I've never really seen those coolers do bad unless running on an overclocked system there is a good reason intel includes these coolers it's because they work well for the clock speed and voltages set.

But the Original poster didn't tell us if its overclocked or not.

 

[reubenno]

They probably used some very crappy thermal paste on the CPU, I'd recommend putting on your own thermal paste something good like http://a.co/5XTLlEL These prebuilt pc's come with no love when they are built they just build it in 20mins and send it on its way. If this still doesn't help upgrade the CPU cooler to something decent like a 212 evo or something Cryorig.

Okay thanks, I think this one was a custom build that somebody wanted to sell on. The PSU isnt the best either (Corsair VS450), but for £350 and i5, 16GB of ram and a 960 isnt too shabby.

I'll try replacing the thermal paste, my best guess is that it has dried up over time, but right now he cant use the PC for even basic tasks as the temps spike.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[reubenno]

If it is the stock Intel cooler, yeah, that is pretty typical, no matter what thermal paste you use. It is a pretty crappy cooler.

It's decent enough to keep it below 70c with no overclock. I've never really seen those coolers do bad unless running on an overclocked system there is a good reason intel includes these coolers it's because they work well for the clock speed and voltages set.

But the Original poster didn't tell us if its overclocked or not.

My apologies for the lack of clarification. The CPU is not overclocked, the highest I saw the voltages reach was 1.21v when under stress.

 

[Kavinqt]

Could we get a full list of specs? that PSU seems crap the VS series is known to be kinda bad.. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it if your brother or you knows how to replace a power supply and re-cable everything up

 

[reubenno]

Could we get a full list of specs? that PSU seems crap the VS series is known to be kinda bad.. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it if your brother or you knows how to replace a power supply and re-cable everything up

Yeah sure:
i5 2500K (stock)
Asus motherboard (I don't have the PC to hand as its in his room so cant check the model right now)
16GB Hyper X Fury DDR3 ram
Corsair VS450 PSU
240GB Kingston V300 SSD (I'm aware of the issues they have)
3TB Toshiba HDD

I'm a fairly experienced PC builder having built my own rig and some others for friends and I can easily recable the PC if need be.

Thanks for the help.

 

[dish_moose]

These cpus OC very well - you should get a better cooler and OC it. You may get close to 5GHz. (I would say at least 4.5GHz). A decent cooler will be more effective and less noisy.
-Bruce

 

[reubenno]

These cpus OC very well - you should get a better cooler and OC it. You may get close to 5GHz. (I would say at least 4.5GHz). A decent cooler will be more effective and less noisy.
-Bruce

Thanks for the advice. The PSU we have however is already close to its limit and I wouldn't feel comfortable OC'ing the CPU yet, but if I manage to persuade my brother to upgrade the power supply I'll overclock it a little

 

[Kavinqt]

Yeah I'd say get a better CPU cooler and a better power supply if possible it's his best bet, It will truly increase the system's performance by a decent amount.

 

[dish_moose]

Ok get a new PSU and cooler then look here:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1100100/info-intel-2500k-2600k-overclocking-tips
-Bruce

 

[reubenno]

Yeah I'd say get a better CPU cooler and a better power supply if possible it's his best bet, It will truly increase the system's performance by a decent amount.

I'll do my best to persuade him, he's not got too much money but I'll make the hard sell

 

[reubenno]

Ok get a new PSU and cooler then look here:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1100100/info-intel-2500k-2600k-overclocking-tips
-Bruce

Thanks for the link, I'll pass it onto him.

 

[Kavinqt]

Yeah I'd say get a better CPU cooler and a better power supply if possible it's his best bet, It will truly increase the system's performance by a decent amount.

I'll do my best to persuade him, he's not got too much money but I'll make the hard sell

GL it's the best he could do PC performance wise

 

[reubenno]

Yeah I'd say get a better CPU cooler and a better power supply if possible it's his best bet, It will truly increase the system's performance by a decent amount.

I'll do my best to persuade him, he's not got too much money but I'll make the hard sell

GL it's the best he could do PC performance wise

Considering he got an i5, 16GB of ram and a 960 for £350, I think he can afford to get a decent PSU

 

[Kavinqt]

I'd make sure you tell him how important a quality power supply is, you don't want to have a bad power supply. that thing powers all your pc parts something goes wrong with your Power Supply you could lose everything in your PC.