xeon x3220 running hot on 2 cores.

[busterofsouls]

I have just installed a new cooler in my gaming computer and the first 2 cores always run 9-13 degrees Celsius hotter than the other two. ive tried re-applying the thermal paste 3 times and have even tried different coolers and all have the same story. i cant figure this one out. any ideas?

 

[MasterMadBones]

Seems to me like bad threading in the software you use or possibly a faulty heat spreader. Open Task Manager to see which cores are used most.

 

[busterofsouls]

Seems to me like bad threading in the software you use or possibly a faulty heat spreader. Open Task Manager to see which cores are used most.

Noting out of the ordinary. even at just the desktop with all cores at 0% cores 3 and 4 sit at 32 degrees celsius and 1 and 2 sit at 40 degrees. ive tried different coolers as well. and i ran a straight edge over the cpu and it is dead flat.

 

[MasterMadBones]

That probably means that the TIM that Intel uses under the heat spreader wasn't applied properly. You should return the CPU or ask for a refund.

 

[busterofsouls]

That probably means that the TIM that Intel uses under the heat spreader wasn't applied properly. You should return the CPU or ask for a refund.

I thought with all xeon and older core 2 quads/ duos they were soldered heat spreaders. unless they changed for this variant.

 

[MasterMadBones]

You're right. This particular Xeon has the Nehalem architecture, which means that the heat spreader was soldered onto the die.

Do the core 0 and 1 and 2 and 3 pairs display exactly the same temperures or do all 4 cores have different temperatures? I'm not familiar with the architecure and its sensors.

 

[busterofsouls]

You're right. This particular Xeon has the Nehalem architecture, which means that the heat spreader was soldered onto the die.

Do the core 0 and 1 and 2 and 3 pairs display exactly the same temperures or do all 4 cores have different temperatures? I'm not familiar with the architecure and its sensors.

core 0 and 1 are always the same temperature. regardless of what im doing on the PC. and core 2 and 3 also have the same temps but are always 10-15 degrees cooler

 

[MasterMadBones]

So that means there are two sensors in the CPU. Either of the sensors is faulty or something went wrong when when applying the solder between the die and the heat spreader. Either way, cores 0 and 1 are more likely suffer from thermal throttling and overclocking won't yield the expected effects. In the latter case your CPU's lifetime could take a hit. There is no way to know which it is but Intel definitely messed something up in the production process.

With the age of that CPU you're probably out of warranty so it's up to you what to do with it. A broken CPU could possibly damage your mobo and some other components. You're going to have to replace both someday for whatever reason and you don't want your GPU or RAM to become the victims of collateral damage if it's due to a fried CPU. You'd better be safe than sorry and replace it.