Question What could cause my high temps?

The Shroom

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Mar 31, 2019
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I'm having some cooling issues with my CPU.
When I stress test my PC the CPU temperature reaches 95 degrees celcius after just a minute or so.
The CPU is an Intel Core i7-4790K and it is not overlocked. It has the Noctua NH-U9S cooler installed, which as far as I know should easily be able to cool the CPU.

Might be worth noting that the CPU originally had a stock cooler on it, but due to the CPU overheating in the summer and shutting down I replaced it with the current Noctua one, but as you can see I'm still getting high temperatures.

Not sure what I should do to fix the high temps.

These are my PC components:
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-A ATX
CPU: Intel Core i7 4790K 4GHz, 8MB
SSD: Samsung SSD EVO 850-Series 250GB
HDD: 2TB Toshiba 7200rpm 64MB
PSU: EVGA Supernova G2 750W, 80+ Gold, Modular
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB
RAM: Crucial 16GB (2x8GB) CL9 1600Mhz Ballistix Sport
CASE: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus Black
CPU COOLER: Noctua NH-U9S
 
I would first check the cooler to see if it is snug. It needs to be snug....as in....not wiggle or feel loose when you apply reasonable pressure.

I would also run with the case open and see what happens to the temps.
If they go down, I would add case cooling or run with the case open (as long as you're careful not to drop or spill anything in there).

I would also go into the BIOS and see what kind of options you have for controlling the CPU fan and perhaps there is something you can adjust (fan curve etc) to get the fan to spin a bit faster.
 
I would first check the cooler to see if it is snug. It needs to be snug....as in....not wiggle or feel loose when you apply reasonable pressure.

I would also run with the case open and see what happens to the temps.
If they go down, I would add case cooling or run with the case open (as long as you're careful not to drop or spill anything in there).

I would also go into the BIOS and see what kind of options you have for controlling the CPU fan and perhaps there is something you can adjust (fan curve etc) to get the fan to spin a bit faster.

I tried running with an open case but there was no difference in temperatures, however while doing this I noticed that the CPU fan seemed to be blowing in the wrong direction, so I flipped it around and now the temps are about 60 on idle and it jumps to 75C on max load.

These seem like alright temperatures to me, so I guess the CPU fan direction was the problem. Thanks a lot for the help! :)
 
Also make sure your fans in the case are setup properly

Yes they are, I checked that as well. Though I'm not sure how effective the fans are, they all came with the PC when I bought it so I imagine they might not be the best.

Have you tried changing the thermal paste or making sure it’s plugged in properly.

I will try to change the thermal paste today, I'll reply here again with the new results once I've done that.
 
I tried running with an open case but there was no difference in temperatures, however while doing this I noticed that the CPU fan seemed to be blowing in the wrong direction, so I flipped it around and now the temps are about 60 on idle and it jumps to 75C on max load.

These seem like alright temperatures to me, so I guess the CPU fan direction was the problem. Thanks a lot for the help! :)
75C on max load seems good.....but 60C on idle seems high....but it won't hurt anything.
 
Just a cautionary note in case you did this. Noctua often supplies their fans with a small device they call a Low Noise Adapter that you can insert into the connection from the fan to the mobo header. All it really is, is a resistor that reduces the voltage to the fan so it runs slower and quieter. BUT that also means it can NOT deliver maximum cooling when needed! This device is useful only if your fan is connected directly to a PSU output at a fixed 12 VDC with no ability to control its speed. When you use your cooler plugged into a mobo CPU_FAN header that is using automatic fan speed control, do NOT use that Low Noise Adapter unit in the fan supply connections.
 
Just a cautionary note in case you did this. Noctua often supplies their fans with a small device they call a Low Noise Adapter that you can insert into the connection from the fan to the mobo header. All it really is, is a resistor that reduces the voltage to the fan so it runs slower and quieter. BUT that also means it can NOT deliver maximum cooling when needed! This device is useful only if your fan is connected directly to a PSU output at a fixed 12 VDC with no ability to control its speed. When you use your cooler plugged into a mobo CPU_FAN header that is using automatic fan speed control, do NOT use that Low Noise Adapter unit in the fan supply connections.

Yes I'm aware of this, so I don't use any of the adapters. :)

75C on max load seems good.....but 60C on idle seems high....but it won't hurt anything.

Yes that's what I thought as well but I think it might be because of a high room temperature? Currently the temp in my room is 29.3C.
 
Maybe you have more things running at idle than normal?
Maybe go to task manager and look at the CPU usage at idle.

CPU usage jumps around between 5-15% with a CPU temperature of 56-60C.

Also, the room temperature is 34C, not 29C like I said before. Seems like my other thermometer isn't very accurate.

Tried running another CPU stress test and the temp is around 81-84C.