Intel Core i3 530 Clarksdale

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Hello,

After replacing the old thermal compound on the stock heatsink with new arctic silver 5, the cpu temperature was still around the same, if not slightly lower, temperature.

The temperature went from upper 60s-70 Celsius, and now it's sitting at around lower 60s at idle.

Airflow seems really good, system is at stable 30 Celsius.

My question is if it will be okay to keep using this cpu until it overheats or gives me problem and force me to buy a new cpu. Or should I invest in an aftermarket cooler to try and revive this cpu? If it's idling at lower 60s Celsius, does that mean theres some damage done to the cpu?

I also tried checking the BIOS options, and I was surprised to find out that the CPU temperature was at 41 Celsius (what my cpu temp used to average around). After starting up Windows XP, I checked the cpu temp again, and it was back to 63 deg Celsius. Is it normal for the cpu temperature to go from 41 to 63 Celsius after starting up the Win XP OS?
 

doive1231

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Which program are you using to check your temperatures? Some programs will tell you the temperature from a CPU core sensor whilst your BIOS tells you a "CPU temperature" from a motherboard sensor. Two different temps as you are seeing.

However, lower 60s at idle does sound high and so you must ask, "How long will I keep this chip?". If you plan to keep it, get an aftermarket cooler that will run your CPU much cooler and allow overclocking. Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is an excellent low cost cooler (if a bit big).
 
G

Guest

Guest
I'm using ASUS AISuite Fan Xpert and ASUS PC Probe II to monitor my cpu temps (both show 63 Celsius average and are programs supplied from the motherboard software disk). So maybe these programs are showing me the temperature from the motherboard sensor, and should I be worried about these temperatures? I'm guessing the temperature reading I'm getting from the BIOS is from the CPU core sensor.

I plan on keeping this chip for a while (2 years at the least), since I'm on a budget. I already ordered an aftermarket cooler, and I'm wondering if there any risks that I should be worried about from having a high cpu temperature other than shutting down from overheating while using the computer until then (such as damaging the cpu). I might game a little bit (Counter-strike) and I don't think it's too graphic intensive, but I don't know if it might damage anything.

I'm also curious to know how the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ mounts onto the cpu? Is it like a normal heatsink?

I'm not sure what other specs I should be telling you guys, but I'll respond asap to whatever specs you guys might need.

Oh and I've also used this CPU for about 10 months now.

Thanks!
 
Download RealTemps and see if the temperatures are same or not.

CPU Cooler are mounted on top of the CPU in a different way, but the basic principle is the same. When you buy one, you will get a guide on how to do it. Seems complicated but its not that hard!
 
G

Guest

Guest
I downloaded Real Temp and temperatures are showing 57 Celsius average. Distance to TJ Max is 48ish. One thing I'm curious about is why it only shows 2 of my CPU cores
(Core 0 and 1) and not the other 2.

The ASUS motherboard programs still show 63 Celsius average.
 
One thing I'm curious about is why it only shows 2 of my CPU cores
(Core 0 and 1) and not the other 2.
Duhhhh... Coz the Core i3 530 is a dual core! :)

Open up your CPU check the thermal paste and also when putting back in the HSF, make sure its seated properly. Sometimes when the HSF doesn't make proper contact with the chip surface, it leads to bad temperature.

Hope you don't have a generic PSU.
 
G

Guest

Guest
I'm using a Thermaltake TR2 TRX-650M 650W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 Modular Active PFC Power Supply.

I cleaned off the old thermal paste and added arctic silver 5 thermal paste. I checked it after booting it, and it seems to be spreading properly over the cpu metal cover. Tried wiggling the heatsink but won't budge; it seems to be on pretty securely.
 
1. Is the airflow in your case good?
2. When putting Thermal paste make sure you put in a thin film of the paste and not too much.
3. Your PSU is good and don't see any problems there. But just in case, if you could get a hand on some other decent PSU, from a friend or someone, put it in and check it out.
4. It could be that your temperature sensors are bad. Too many places, it shows different readings!
 
G

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Airflow in my case seems good. I'm using a Lian Li Lancool K58 case with sufficient room around it.

I followed the directions off the Arctic Silver website when putting the thermal compound on. I first "tinted" the heatsink, then put a 1 mm thick vertical line over the cpu metal cover. Mounted the heatsink then wiggled it rotationally left and right so the thermal compound on the cpu can spread. Took off the heatsink to double check and it looks like it spread evenly over the cpu. I don't think there is too much.
 
Have you made any changes in the BIOS? C1E, Speed Step (EIST), and C States all help to dramatically reduce idle temps.

Are you sure it's idle in Windows? Open the task manager and see if there's activity.

What are your ambient temps? Usually if ambient is around 20-25 you'll see ~40C idle.
 
G

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Yes, I'm looking through the clear cover of the case right now, and can see that the cooler fan is working.

I have made no changes in the BIOS whatsoever. Everything is still normal.

Task manager shows the norm; low cpu usage with low memory usage.

Ambient temperature is around 30C.

edit: I just remembered that after applying the new thermal paste and reseating the heatsink, I took the heatsink off to double check to see if the paste spread properly. I then mounted the heatsink back on. Would this create air bubbles or just be a no-no?

I'm going to try to re-apply the paste, but can I skip tinting the heatsink again? I'm thinking about just wiping off the paste on the heatsink that was rubbed off from the cpu cover and the paste that is on top of the cpu cover.
 
Yes, I'm looking through the clear cover of the case right now, and can see that the cooler fan is working.

I have made no changes in the BIOS whatsoever. Everything is still normal.

Task manager shows the norm; low cpu usage with low memory usage.

Ambient temperature is around 30C.

edit: I just remembered that after applying the new thermal paste and reseating the heatsink, I took the heatsink off to double check to see if the paste spread properly. I then mounted the heatsink back on. Would this create air bubbles or just be a no-no?

I'm going to try to re-apply the paste, but can I skip tinting the heatsink again? I'm thinking about just wiping off the paste on the heatsink that was rubbed off from the cpu cover and the paste that is on top of the cpu cover.

Whenever you remove the cooler, you must clean off the old tim and reapply. You can't just replace it, or you will introduce air which is no good.
The usual mistake is to put on too much tim. It then acts as an insulator. You only need enough to fill in the microscopic pits in both surfaces and force out any air.
If your ambient temperature is 30c. , then that is a hot room, and your cooler will not be as effective.
Do not worry too much about hurting your cpu. It monitors it's own temperature, and will slow itself down to protect itself.

It is a pain, but the ONLY way to mount the cooler is to do it with the motherboard outside of the case.
1) The pushpins are hard to get down. If you try to do it with the mobo in the case, you will bend the motherboard and possibly cause other problems. Just put the mobo on a piece of cardboard.
2) You need to be able to look at the back of the motherboard to be certain that all 4 pins are through and locked.

First, look at the cooler, and play with the pins, until you understand how they work. Read the Intel instructions that came with your cpu. The trick is to push in a diagonal pair of pins at the same time.

 

xaira

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alot of noobs apparently leave the pushpins loose, you must turn the head to the right then apply force so the base of each clip goes through the board, then push each pushpin down until a click is heard, the cooler will be locked into place and unable to move so if you can nudge it, then its in wrong,

this is 32nm, sometimes i just unplug the fan on mine, and mine is C2, and it stays within 10 degrees of ambient unless i decide to convert a vid, but to me this sounds like a sensor error, the only app that gives me accurate readings of evrything, xept the gmch is everest
 

pkim87

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Sep 24, 2010
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Yeah, I figured out how the pushpins work the 2nd time around which is the last time I did it. The pushpins clicked in after the feet went through the mobo. There were a few times when I bent the motherboard about 2 or 3 cm deep while trying to mount the heatsink in before while it was in the case.

I still haven't gotten around to replacing the thermal compound yet, so I'll get back to you guys if it still hasn't fixed the problem.
 
You don't need to remove the mobo from the case. Just depends on the case. My Antec 902, as an example, has a nice hole on the back side if I remove the panel so that you can have access to the heat sink backplate, or with a stock cooler at least see the pins... but a lot of mainstream cases won't have that so in that case it's a good idea to remove it.

Good luck with it pkim
 

pkim87

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Sep 24, 2010
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Well, I just tried reapplying the thermal paste and starting up the computer again, but the temperature was still the same.

Is there any difference between using the line method and the small mound in the middle method for applying the thermal paste? I've been using the line method, and it seems difficult to not create any air bubbles.
 

xaira

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the folks who make a fuss over air bubbles are the OCD types, i use the dot method, but once there is thermalpaste, it should run smoothly, as a matter of fact, im using thermalpaste i scraped off an old socket A cpu on my 540 as we speak, it s a wrong reading, it cant be anything else

this is me after 12 mins of prime maximum heat/power, post a screenie as well so we can know what you see

i312minsprime.jpg


i actually forgot prime running LOL, this is after three hours

3hrsl8r.jpg
 

pkim87

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Sep 24, 2010
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I will post a screenshot as soon as I install the new heatsink I will be buying soon.

I'm getting the feeling that the cpu might be damaged due to the improper installation of the stock heatsink and the prolonged use from it since I first bought the computer. Would it be possible for the cpu to become more sensitive to heat due to this?

After I took off the stock heatsink to check for anything wrong, I noticed that one side of the thermal paste on the heatsink was untouched, which most likely means that only one side of the heatsink was properly mounted. Also, after replacing the thermal paste with Arctic Silver 5, the temperature dropped slightly but rose back to the previous high temperature after a short while.

Anyways, thanks for all the feedback you guys have been giving me so far.
 

reaper2794

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Sep 6, 2010
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Hello,

After replacing the old thermal compound on the stock heatsink with new arctic silver 5, the cpu temperature was still around the same, if not slightly lower, temperature.

The temperature went from upper 60s-70 Celsius, and now it's sitting at around lower 60s at idle.

Airflow seems really good, system is at stable 30 Celsius.

My question is if it will be okay to keep using this cpu until it overheats or gives me problem and force me to buy a new cpu. Or should I invest in an aftermarket cooler to try and revive this cpu? If it's idling at lower 60s Celsius, does that mean theres some damage done to the cpu?

I also tried checking the BIOS options, and I was surprised to find out that the CPU temperature was at 41 Celsius (what my cpu temp used to average around). After starting up Windows XP, I checked the cpu temp again, and it was back to 63 deg Celsius. Is it normal for the cpu temperature to go from 41 to 63 Celsius after starting up the Win XP OS?

Upgrade to an i5-750 :D
 

pkim87

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Sep 24, 2010
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I just replaced the stock heatsink with a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, and the temperature readings (from programs CoreTemp and Real Temp) are now around 45C at idle. I guess this is a bit of an improvement. Maybe it'll go lower after the break-in period for the heatsink and the arctic silver 5 thermal compound?

Do CPUs usually become gradually warmer over time? I've had my i3 CPU for almost an year now, and it had an idle temperature of 38C out of the box. My guess is that the improperly mounted stock heatsink gradually had an affect on the CPU (without me noticing since I stopped checking temp readings after a few months).

I guess I'll keep using this i3 CPU and Hyper 212+ combo for now, until it breaks down on me.. then maybe I'll upgrade to an i5-750 haha.
 


Untouched TIM is very very bad. That would be the source of the issue. Could be the CPU top is wonky, could just be the heat sink itself or simply an improper install. I originally had very bad contact between heat sink and CPU so I just did some lapping. Helped a ton but it voids warranties so I don't really recommend it.