Question If I overheated my CPU once would it damage it?

[unplanned bacon]

When I built my PC 5 years ago, the CPU cooling fan wasn't fully plugged in so not running. The first time I booted, it overheated as a result and emergency shut down. I fixed the cooling fan issue immediately, but it hasn't had heating problems since

 

[momowicket]

It would definitely of been damaged but I do';t know about permanent damage that is noticeable.

It probably just has a bit of smaller lifespan now, maybe.

 

[kanewolf]

It would depend on the specific CPU model. Most CPUs have internal sensors to protect them. BUT, if it has run for 5 years, I believe it has demonstrated that you didn't damage it.

 

[unplanned bacon]

It would depend on the specific CPU model. Most CPUs have internal sensors to protect them. BUT, if it has run for 5 years, I believe it has demonstrated that you didn't damage it.

It's an i5 4570 if that changes anything

 

[unplanned bacon]

It would definitely of been damaged but I do';t know about permanent damage that is noticeable.

It probably just has a bit of smaller lifespan now, maybe.

This is one of those questions I sort of wish I'd never asked now

 

[momowicket]

It's fine like @kanewolf said 5 years still going it may of been damaged once but it's fine now.

 

[kanewolf]

If the heatsink was installed, but just the fan was not working, it may have been the motherboard (and not the CPU) that shutdown. Most motherboards monitor the CPU fan RPM and shutdown if the fan is not running. In that case, the CPU never overheated.

That CPU does have thermal protection according to the Intel Documentation. See section 5.8

 

[unplanned bacon]

If the heatsink was installed, but just the fan was not working, it may have been the motherboard (and not the CPU) that shutdown. Most motherboards monitor the CPU fan RPM and shutdown if the fan is not running. In that case, the CPU never overheated.

That CPU does have thermal protection according to the Intel Documentation. See section 5.8

Everything was installed, just the fan was not running because it wasn't fully plugged in

 

[InvalidError]

While overheating MAY damage a CPU, the thermal shutdown is intended to shut down the CPU before any real damage is done.

Whatever damage may have been done by overheating only once likely has absolutely no effect on the CPU's useful life. What the "damage" is more likely to do is eat a bit into the CPU's tolerance margins, meaning it may be a little more picky about the conditions necessary to reach the same overclock it may have previously been hypothetically capable of reaching and force you to dial the overclock back a step or two if you have an unlocked chip.

 

[DavidM012]

The transistors may be damaged by overheating to the extent that the chip doesn't overclock as high as it would've but, if you aren't trying to hit the high notes you may not notice anything in real world performance terms. Check out this vid. from jayz 2 cents at about 3.00 he somehow overheated it and found that it's no longer an amazing overclocker.

What's the takeaway? Always strive to never overheat the cpu even once. It would probably take a sustained overheating to kill it completely but, chance being what it is, something important could die the first time but it would be more likely to die if you were running it too warm over time with a cooler that had a failing pump or fan, or the thermal paste on it was going off, and particularly on warm days when ambient temps are up and idle temps are higher, those are the sort of conditions where cpus can die. Besides over-volting which can occasionally happen as well if there is some electronic fault on a board.

 

[R4DIO4CT1VE]

Modern CPU's have built protection measures to prevent any major damage from overheating (emergency shutdown), your cpu is fine.

Possible if you wanted to overclock (not that you can with your non K chip) you would be more limited though.