CPU Overheating - Suggestions?

Hello All,

I built my first computer (specs below) just over a year ago, everything was running fine until about a month ago when the CPU temperature started going crazy. When the computer was idle it would be at 90+. I've not overclocked it or anything. When it was running well  the temp when idle would go between 30-40 then up to 50-70 when running intensive games/apps. I read the temp purely by the digital gauge built in to the motherboard.

1. I assumed it was the cooler, so I reapplied paste, same thing. Contacted Corsair for troubleshooting and tried their suggestions, still happened.
2. I installed the stock cooler and things got better, however when idle all of a sudden the temp spikes up to 90, it'll stay there for a bit then go back to 30-40. Basically it is all over the place. I can be doing nothing away from my comp, it will be at 35, stay like that for 10 mins, then without even touching it it'll spike to 99, go up and down for about for a varying amount of time, then head back down to the 30s for a while, then start all over again. When I do anything even remotely intensive, like run Hearthstone, GS:GO or Fallout on low settings, it stays between 85-99. It used to not go above 60 when I ran these games on ultra settings
3. It is well ventilated. 
4. I restored all drives to factory settings and reinstalled Windows 10, still happens

So I know it cannot be a cooler issue, right, as I've tried 2 now and it is still happening?

I know it can't be a virus, as I reformatted.

What else can it be?

I'm so broke right now I can't afford to take it a computer shop, but if I can figure out what is going on I should be able to afford to replace the specific part, or maybe it is under warranty.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

JohnZe

Windows 10

Just based on your description have you considered that this might be a bad temperature sensor rather than an actual temperature problem?

The wild fluctuation at idle (or any time, really, you tend to ramp up and ramp down, even if that's relatively quickly) makes me suspicious.

Just had another member who was reporting "hot running" on an i7, but in a laptop, when it would top out around 80 degrees during heavy use.  See:  High CPU Temperature.  Help! in the Windows 10 Support Forum.

Given that the temperature at which this CPU would start throttling is 100 C and would shut down very shortly after it also seems odd that you're not seeing any behavioral issues if you were really at 99 C and staying there.  There are plenty of recorded cases of the i7 series running in the 90s under load, though, but that seems more common in the more confined spaces of a laptop.

What utility are you using to look at the temperature?  Are you able to use a thermometer on the heat sink to see if there's actually a somewhat corresponding change in temperature there when these spikes occur, as when you're going from 30 C to 90 C that should be very easy to detect.  You might even be able to feel that there's been a change in the temperature of the vent air that's significant.

Hey JohnZe,

I would remove the case cover and also physically grab the heat sink and see how it feels to touch and it should only be warm to mildly hot.

If this is the case then the heat sink and fan are doing their job.

When you reapplied thermal compound did you apply only a small amount as too much is not good.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_application_method.html#

Also make certain your heat sink is secured to the motherboard correctly and evenly.

 

Just based on your description have you considered that this might be a bad temperature sensor rather than an actual temperature problem?

 

The wild fluctuation at idle (or any time, really, you tend to ramp up and ramp down, even if that's relatively quickly) makes me suspicious.

 

 

There are several temperature sensors (each core temp can be monitored individually, as well as the motherboards own temp sensor).  It would probably be sensible to check they confirm each other.  Core temps (can be read with HWMonitor) read higher than the motherboard temp sensor.

Edited by jonuk76, 13 April 2017 - 01:06 PM.

The temperature should be correlated with CPU activity.  If you keep an eye on HW Monitor you can see the CPU utilisation and speed, and how it affects the temperature.  

30 at idle is fine, but spiking to 99 degrees under probably moderate load is not good..

Note the Intel stock cooler can be fitted so that it has imperfect contact.  The best way to do it is by pushing down each pair of diagonally opposed push pins together (2 at a time).  It is also useful to have access to the back side of the motherboard to check that the pins have engaged correctly.  Most newer cases have square cut outs in the CPU area to allow you to do this without removing the mobo.

I disabled my VPN and things seem to be a lot better (but not as good as it was for the first year...), I am confused! I'll keep an eye on it over the next week or so.

Thanks all (esp Jonuk)