I5 temperature too high

[gavagai]

Hi there, and sorry for the newbie question --

My system is:
i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8Ghz LGA 1156 95W
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6GB/s USB 3.0 ATX
GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series GV-N470SO-13I GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi)
G.SKILL PI 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3
SILVERSTONE ST75F-P 750W ATX 12V

It's the first system I've built (I haven't overclocked the CPU or even touched BIOS settings), and the cpu has always run hot (50-65C idling, 80C if I'm doing something more processor-intensive), but I just ignored it because it didn't seem dangerously high. Now it's idling around 75C and breaching 90C if I, say, run a chess engine.

The cooler that came with the i5 seems to be running fine (although the cheap plastic pins that lock it in to the motherboard are frustrating, it seems to be secure) and the thermal paste seems to be applied correctly (pea-sized amount, spread evenly with a credit card over the CPU). Any ideas? Should I upgrade coolers?

Thanks.

 

[UselessSoul]

Yes, it's way to high. Others, including myself, would suggest getting a new heatsink and most people would suggest getting a Hyper 212+ (Link Below). It's cheap and does the job. If you don't want to spend money, re-seat the heatsink once again.

Hyper 212+ for 29.99 and free shipping! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

 

[calmstateofmind]

No, you don't need to upgrade the cooler. The stock cooler for the i5 doesn't naturally give those high temps; of which they are. Before you go spend more money, I'd try reseating the CPU, as well as double check to make sure the fan is 100% installed. Even a slight tilt for the fan will cause a non-full connection with the CPU and will result in high temps. Also, check to see if the fan is connected properly to the motherboard. You might not be getting full power to it, causing a slower fan speed.

I have an i5 in one of my rigs and before I bought my heatsink I used stock cooler and my temps were idle @ 45-50c and under full load around 60c. You shouldn't need to get an aftermarket heatsink, especially if you're not even OCing.

 

[gavagai]

Best answer selected by gavagai.

 

[gavagai]

Thanks very much both of you. I think calmstateofmind is correct that the heatsink is less than fully connected to the CPU which is causing the problem -- but this is due to the cheap plastic connectors that came with the stock cooler. The mounting system for the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus looks much more reliable, and it's cheap, so I'll probably just go for that.