Crazy High CPU Temps - Experienced overclocker stumped [SOLVED]

**Blom89** · May 10, 2011, 07:03 PM

Wow like I dunno what is going on.

I am an experienced overclocker and have been doing this for over 10 years, but I am at a complete loss here.

I have a Phenom II X3 at 4.1GHz with a zalman cooler + artic 5 thermal paste. My load temps are typically around 52c at the very most. and around 38c while im doing regular internet browsing and desktop stuff.

Now I was playing Bad Company 2 a few hours ago and my screen went black, so I restarted my PC from the tower. Then tried to play again and it happened again.

So I checked my CPU temps and they were at 80 degrees celcius.....yes I said celcius.

I opened my tower and checked my heatsink and everything was fine, fan was spinning, there was no dust and the heatsink was properly seated. But I reseated it and checked the thermal paste and it looked fine. So I turn my PC on with the case open, and boot up into windows and check temps...and it still 80c. So I shut my pc down immediately and went into the BIOS, lowered the overclocks back to 3.2Ghz stock and lowered the voltages to stock as well and now temps are at 52c just sitting at the desktop screen. As I type this my CPU temp is 51-52c.

Why are my idle temps at stock settings, as high as my load temps are when overclocked?

This does not make any sense. I have had my CPU overclocked at 4.1GHz for over 2 months and have never had heat issues. I game with HWMonitor on at all times and 52c is the max I have ever seen it go.

I am completely stumped. Its like 10 years of experience just went right out the window.

**atraps** · May 10, 2011, 07:57 PM

That's an odd issue. Are you sure HW Monitor is reporting the temps correctly?

**Crazyeyesreaper** · May 10, 2011, 09:07 PM

Its because unlike most games Bad Company 2 is maxing the hell out of that CPU,

i hit 70c in BC2 with my setup but Intel Burn Test, OCCT, Prime 95, etc i top out at around 55-58c depending on ambient temps your gonna have to back off the overclock to be stable in BC2, it sucks but thats the fact of it. I dont know what causes it or why but its an issue i know many users of Phenom II chips have encountered,

Hell even stock clocks i will hit 57c in BC2 with a FRIO and 2x Deltas at 3200rpm aka 115cfm per fan, in push pull, I have yet to find any other app or game that does the same thing.

as for thermal past use something else besides artic silver 5 the stuff is long in the tooth and out performed by many other thermal compounds and dosent need a cure time either,

best bet to test this is depending on your cooler aka HDT coolers you need to apply thermal paste differently for best effect. is to up the cpu bit by bit a 100mhz to a time and test with BC2 checking the temps. i noticed, at 3.4 to 3.7 my max temp stays about the same soon as i push higher temps skyrocket, with BC2 but everything else is normal and without issue. It should also be said, that Battlefield Bad Company 2 seems to be a better test of cpu stability when overclocked then any other app or benchmark ive come across same as GTA IV as both are so cpu intensive and are actually tasks not linpack tests that they tend to be a bit more reliable,

example i can pass 40 runs in LinX or IBT aka takes a few hours to complete at 4.2ghz but BC2 will crash withing 5mins at the same settings just something to think about.

**atraps** · May 10, 2011, 09:32 PM

BC2 aside, such a drastic change in idle temps isn't normal.

**Blom89** · May 11, 2011, 12:42 AM

I fixed the problem. It was the Zalman cooler. One of the screws was stripped, and wasnt properly tightening and one half of the cooler wasn't in full contact with the processor. It looked like it was, but it seem's it actually wasn't.

So I installed the stock cooler that came with the CPU until I can buy a new one and temps are normal now.

Remind me never to spend $30 on a cooler again! You get what you pay for!

**Crazyeyesreaper** · May 11, 2011, 01:02 PM

well its not so much the coolers fault as the mounting mechanism,

AMD is considered 3rd rate by many manufacturers aka 20% market share at best, so the mounting setups for AMD tend to be halfassed,

TT FRIO is alright due to its backplate and bolt thru design, as are other coolers, but some companies dont even offer an AMD bracket system with the cooler anymore requiring you to buy it seperate or to call them up for one. But glad to know its just a stripped screw, and not a more pressing issue,

**Blom89** · May 12, 2011, 10:04 PM

Im talking about the zalman cooler. It actually came with a pretty bad mounting mechanism. Its got 2 screws you gotta tighten so the cooler wont fall off the mobo when the tower is standing up right, but one of them was stripped.

So the side of the copper bottom that had the stripped screw wasnt pushing down onto the processor completely.

This AMD stock cooler is actually very simple to install and works better than I remembered it working. Maybe because I disabled the fan control so it runs at 6000RPM constantly now. Bit loud, but cools almost as well as my zalman.

**Crazyeyesreaper** · May 12, 2011, 10:30 PM

im talking after market coolers on AMD tend to suck not just Zalman but MOST,

imagine a cooler like a Thermal Take Frio or Coolermaster Hyper 212+ held on by the stock mechanism, basically a 800g-1000g cooler held on by plastic ive seen the metal support bar shave through the plastic and have coolers tumble down onto gpus etc. almost all Intel coolers bolt through with 4 bolts,

AMD its 50/50 some use bolt through with backplate some dont.
you can see on this xigmatek the 2 slots on the bottom plate the regular stock mechanism goes through vs The TT FRIO on the right you will see the rectangle backplate that supports the strain it uses 4 bolts with nuts to keep the heatsink on tight.

Heatsinks weakest link is the mounting mechanisms, or how its mounted, AMD happens to have well a smaller market share thus many HSF manufacturers dont really try to offer good solutions most use to just offer half assed methods granted this has gotten better over time, with most being above average now,but alot of them now require you to call them up and theyll mail you the hardware needed to mount the cooler, its becoming more and more common.

But to be honest, most Zalman coolers arent really up to par on the Phenom IIs, Zalman has put out a few new coolers that are tower designs that work well but alot of there older coolers dont hold up by todays standards. And yea stock Phenom II heatsinks are actually fairly decent, compared to there intel counterparts, If i remember right AMD phenom II chips have HSF with cooper heatpipes they even offer headroom for a bit of overclocking