Core i7 Overheat but no heat. . . ?

[idata]

I recently built a new gaming machine for a buddy with Asus ATX board P8H61-m and Core i7 Quad 2600k (retail). Using stock fan end EVGA 460 graphics card. We started with a 350-450 watt PSU. Ran liked greased lightening! He attempted to play a heavy graphics laden game VIA web and it crashed. Turned back on and ran fine. CPU and all gave no indication it was hot. A day later he turns it on and the Bios software reaports the CPU running at 181'F! But heat sink is cool as cucmber and locked in place.

Ran additional checks with 3rd party software and it too inidicates HIGH CPU temp but no heat. Even MOBO is Cool.

We have updated BIOS software, reswapped PSU to original 450w in box, and reformatted and re-installed software.

Any help you can provide?

When we installed the CPU we added a little extra thermal paste beyond what was stuck to the bottom of Intel HSF.

Please let me know!

[idata]

A CPU can be very warm, while the other components on the board are only mildly warm, everything does not heat up to the same temperature as the CPU. The chipsets used with Sandy Bridge CPUs tend to run much cooler than earlier generation CPUs, much cooler, so the board and other components being cool is normal.

Short of a faulty thermal sensor on the CPU, if the CPU is at 180F in the BIOS, which is possible since these CPUs can heat up very quickly, then it's possible the CPU cooler mounting is bad, even if it is solid. That symptom is common with a bad mounting of the CPU cooler. The stock Intel CPU cooler is supplied with more than enough thermal compound, so adding more likely did not help. Frankly, I've never felt a CPU cooler that was more than a little warm at most, but a very cold one indicates that the contact between the cooler and CPU is poor. I would remount it, removing all the old thermal compound and use a small amount of fresh compound.

What is the cooler's fan speed during all of this? It should be running at full speed if the CPU is that warm. Also, when playing the game, was the video card under high usage, or the CPU? Video cards can create a large amount of heat that can affect the CPU cooler's ability to operate. You did not mention the type of case and ventilation the case has, which can also affect CPU temperature.

[idata]

Parsec,

Thanks for that. I will try this soon. The Case is a Coolermaster CA-SGC 1000. Has two fans, 200MM Front and 120MM rear. I would say both of those running at max capacity. The CPU Fan was also running at Max speed.

While playing the game the Evga 460 was under High use but that was blowing moderately warm air. It has its own Heat sink/Fan Unit and that is actually pointing away from the CPU towards the Bottom vent in the case, so I do not think necessarily that would/could cause this issue since its heat is being pushed out the bottom vent.

If remounting the fan and re-applying thermal paste does not handle this, any other suggestions you have?

~Justin

[idata]

The CM Storm Enforcer, even with just the stock fans, is not adding to this problem. The video card is in a typical configuration, and although you still can get a surprising amount of heat radiating from the bottom of the card's circuit board, that is not the problem.

You mentioned third party monitoring software indicated a high CPU temperature. Was it very high like the reading in the BIOS? Did different software show the same temperature, more or less? Running different monitoring programs at the same time can cause weird reactions, like crazy temperature readings. I've seen that happen, and others have reported that in forums. But that would not explain the reading in the BIOS

Besides remounting the stock cooler, I would try another cooler if one is available to you. When you re-do the CPU cooler, or if you can recall from mounting it previously, did it seem to contact the CPU's top surface? I'm wondering if to much thermal compound is acting like an insulator, but that should not happen, as excess compound should be squeezed out when the cooler is locked down. I suppose some kind of defect in the CPU socket could cause it to place the CPU lower than it should be, so the cooler is not in proper contact with it, but that is a stretch.

The only thing left is trying this CPU in another board and see if it does the same thing. Or put a different CPU of the same or similar model in this PC and see what happens. Yes, a lot of work and you don't have another CPU in you back pocket, right?

The CPU cooler's fan running at full speed should indicate the PC is sensing a high temperature condition, such as that high BIOS reading. You might want to flash the BIOS on the board, in case a glitch occurred with the current one, or first try clearing the BIOS with the jumper.

Did you notice what the CPU's voltage was during all this? Is it constantly high, as in over 1.2V? Are any of the CPU power saving options enabled in the BIOS?

[idata]

Parsec,

Thanks for all of your help! We cleaned off the thermal paste and re-applied new, however significantly less that what was there before. Turns out the 3rd party software that was indicating high CPU temp was made originally for a MOBO's and CPUs 6 gens back as well. (running Win 7 x64 home prem).

To any extent, cleaning the thermal paste and removing the old software and installing the ASUS software seems to have rectified any issues we were having. All is well and I thank you for your time and assistance!

Kind regards,

Justin D.

[idata]

Glad you figured it out. But what's with the old software? I know we have our old favorites, but OMG. I've seen the newest software being wrong too, but software that old even working with the new CPU architectures is amazing. Or I should say, it didn't work, which is no surprise. Thanks for being honest about the error, some people never post the results after their mistake is revealed. Enjoy!