[SOLVED] i7-8700 running at 99C when idling just after boot

[mattpmariani]

HWinfo has my CPU clocked at 4300Mhz [when the base is 3200 and the max is 4600 ]and at an average temperature of 99C out of a max of 100C even with thermal throttling automatically toggled. These readings were taken seconds after signing in to windows and have stayed around these levels for about an hour. This is also the first time I turned on my PC today. This is an issue that's been happening for the last few weeks or so.

All of this is happening while my computer is sitting idle on the desktop screen, with task manager listing CPU usage at 7%. As far as I know, overclocking is disabled.

Any idea what's causing this?

Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700
Cooler: Stock Intel Cooler
GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 Ti
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 4x8GB
PSU: EVGA 600 B1, 80+ BRONZE 600W
Motherboard: MSI Z390-A PRO LGA1151

Here's some benchmarks also:

Yesterday's Benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/46656737
Recent(1-2 months ago) Benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/45125534

 

[punkncat]

Would check your cooling solution and/or case air flow. First guess would be poor paste application, or bad air flow in the case.

Might check Task Manager and see if there is a suspect process running. That low utilization with such a high clock is strange.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

include all of your system specs including your system-wide cooling setup.

 

[geofelt]

What is the make/model of your cooler?
What is the make/model of your case and fan arrangement?

A idle temperature of more than 10-15c. over ambient suggests a defective or badly mounted cooler.

 

[mattpmariani]

Would check your cooling solution and/or case air flow. First guess would be poor paste application, or bad air flow in the case.

Might check Task Manager and see if there is a suspect process running. That low utilization with such a high clock is strange.

I've been monitoring task manager and HWinfo side-by-side for about 15 minutes and I've noticed that my fan speed and temperature will spike from about 85 to 98-100 with no corresponding increase in CPU usage.

 

[punkncat]

Drop your side panel and see if temps drop a significant amount.

 

[mattpmariani]

include all of your system specs including your system-wide cooling setup.

Done. I have the stock intel cooler and no thermal paste, which I've learned recently was a mistake, however this overheating problem started very recently and I've had this computer for about 3 years, with the most recent change being 2 more sticks of RAM and a new motherboard about 2 months ago. I first noticed the issue a few weeks ago when games I used to run at ~80-110 fps started hovering around 40-60.

 

[geofelt]

Intel stock cooler is minimally adequate.
It came with pre-applied paste so you were not wrong to not apply any.
Since you were ok before, it is most likely, the cooler has come loose.
Here are my canned instructions on how to mount a pushpin cooler:

----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.
Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.
When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.
If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, first run the cpu to heat it up and soften the paste before shutting down and powering off the pc. That makes it easy to unstick the old cooler.
Turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.

It is hard to use too little.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[mattpmariani]

Drop your side panel and see if temps drop a significant amount.

The air coming out of the case fans is room temperature. The CPU fan also feels about room temperature. As I was doing this, my temp dropped to 65, then increased to 96, then dropped again.

Update: the temperature has been holding at around 60C with the case still open.

 

[mattpmariani]

What is the make/model of your cooler?
What is the make/model of your case and fan arrangement?

A idle temperature of more than 10-15c. over ambient suggests a defective or badly mounted cooler.

Stock cooler,
NZXT S340 Elite ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

 

[mattpmariani]

Intel stock cooler is minimally adequate.
It came with pre-applied paste so you were not wrong to not apply any.
Since you were ok before, it is most likely, the cooler has come loose.
Here are my canned instructions on how to mount a pushpin cooler:

----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.
Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.
When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.
If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, first run the cpu to heat it up and soften the paste before shutting down and powering off the pc. That makes it easy to unstick the old cooler.
Turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.

It is hard to use too little.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I tried wiggling the cpu cooler and I noticed that it has a little freedom to tilt in either direction, so I'm going to unplug my pc and reseat it.

 

[Phaaze88]

Over time, the push-pin coolers lose 'grip' at the pins. You may need a new cooler because the pins have worn, and thus the cooler doesn't sit as flush as it used to.
They are not a permanent, or long term solution.

 

[mattpmariani]

Over time, the push-pin coolers lose 'grip' at the pins. You may need a new cooler because the pins have worn, and thus the cooler doesn't sit as flush as it used to.
They are not a permanent, or long term solution.

My cooler was a little loose so I reseated it and launched my PC, but it's still sitting around 50-60C idle, which is still way too hot.

 

[Phaaze88]

My cooler was a little loose so I reseated it and launched my PC, but it's still sitting around 50-60C idle, which is still way too hot.

Well, the stock coolers weren't exactly stellar...
Once those pins wear down, it doesn't matter how many times you remount the cooler - actually, frequent remounts accelerate wear on the push-pins faster.

 

[mattpmariani]

Well, the stock coolers weren't exactly stellar...
Once those pins wear down, it doesn't matter how many times you remount the cooler - actually, frequent remounts accelerate wear on the push-pins faster.

Yeah I'm considering getting some thermal paste and an actual CPU cooler. I had a lot of trouble trying to correctly reseat the cooler and even when I did, it still seemed loose so you're probably right about the pins. My PC is sitting at 45-55C right now, which I believe is still hotter than it should be.

 

[Jacob 51]

Yeah I'm considering getting some thermal paste and an actual CPU cooler. I had a lot of trouble trying to correctly reseat the cooler and even when I did, it still seemed loose so you're probably right about the pins. My PC is sitting at 45-55C right now, which I believe is still hotter than it should be.

The thermal paste makes a lot of difference. My cousin forgot to apply thermal paste on his i9 9900k, and even with a good quality liquid cooler, that CPU just burned in. Then he bought an i7, with deepcool thermal paste and had no issues with cooling anymore.