My cpu seems to be running Really hot

adfggffffffddffd

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Recently my motherboard cpu temperature indicator says it's running at about 49 degrees C just sitting idle at the desktop with only about 3% activity. When I run a benchmark for my gpu it gets up into the low 70s. I have a water cooler for it so this seems really high. FYI water cooler and cpu are about 5 years old and they are both freshly cleaned (air flow is not the issue)
 

mrmike_49

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thermal paste does dry out over time
also, do NOT put on thick layer of paste: I use the credit card, but scrape in all 4 direction, leaving a THIN layer that I can almost read the writing on the cpu, repeat on heat sink, with final scrape at 90 degrees to final scrape on cpu
 

adfggffffffddffd

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So I guess I solved my own question. I did reapply thermal paste as i figured that may be the problem. I applied about a pea sized dot worth in the middle. It went all the way to the edges of the processor after pressing it down without it going over. LinusTechTips discovered there isn't any way to apply it wrong as far as thermal performance goes except not putting enough on. Anyway it acted in exactly the same manner as before. So I had an idea to test to see if the water cooler was actually working. I decided that while my computer was sitting idle at the desktop at about 2-3% cpu that I would unplug the watercooler/cpu fan combo's power supply and watch the mother board LED cpu Temperature indicator to see what it did. Sure enough it very slowly and very steadily climbed from 50 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius and when I plugged it back in it immediately dropped in temperature to the 40s again. So I guess my water cooler is just kinda garbage? or maybe the water flow isn't as good as it once was but it must be working otherwise it wouldn't have dropped temp so quickly after being plugged back in.
 

adfggffffffddffd

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Here's a video if you're not into reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2MEAnZ3swQ
Anyway what's your opinion on my cpu temperature being in the upper 40s when only at 3% activity? That seem high for any processor on a water cooler or do some processors just run hot?
 

mrmike_49

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John2090073: that article is pure bull shit
There absolutely IS such a thing as too much paste, and most of their recommendations cause that!

BUT it does have 1 good thing going for it: the "Mister Scrooge" photo is actually the way my paste looked, but I apply to both cpu and heatsink
 

adfggffffffddffd

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I agree that there is such a thing as too much and the video I posted said so too. However if you believe their testing was at all accurate then you'd have to concede that too much thermal paste could not negatively impact heat transfer (it could not make the cpu run hotter) because they applied the maximum amount of thermal paste that can fit between the heat sink and the processor when securely fastened down. Since even if you applied 10 times more than recommended or just twice as much as recommended once it is securely fastened down any excess thermal paste would be pushed out of the sides (which as they mentioned is a danger since it can possibly short out your processor). Anywho I applied the paste liberally and none of came pooring over the sides (I applied about the size of a pea in the center). Yet my 3770k processor seems to be totally unwilling to go any higher than stock clock speeds without increasing its heat output significantly. If I lock it at 4.0 ghz it will run in the mid 40s °C (room temp is about 21°C) and when it's stock it stays low to mid 30s while sitting at the desktop at minimum load. Also when I'm at 4.0 ghz it will get up into the mid 70s just from logging into windows before dropping slowly to 40s whereas if I run stock it only gets up to mid/high 50s logging in. Any ideas wth is going on? This seems like it shouldn't be happening with adequate cooling which I believe my computer has.
 


Also when I'm at 4.0 ghz it will get up into the mid 70s
suggests your AIO water cooler isn't as adequate as you think it is or your CPU vcore(in your BIOS) may be a bit high.

On a side note EVERYTHING matters. Which case are you using?

How many fans do you have?

Which AIO closed loop water cooler are you using?

How many fans are attached to that cooler?

Are they stock fans?

Are they designed with a radiator in mind?