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[Hzza]

This could probably be done in a simple PM to Chaos, but I wanted to open it up to the floor and show off my ignorance to the world .

My CPU is running really hot even whilst idling (high 80's) and I was just wondering what I could do do cool it down some more? I'm going to reseat the fan (stock intel) but before I do I wanted to get some opinions on a new one; I was thinking this but as has been proven (many) times before, I have no clue when it comes to these things! Is there much of an improvement or is it really not worth it?

I'm also running my case fans on medium, I guess it'd be worth cranking them up to high right? Lastly, the thermal paste stuff, does that need to be replaced; if so how often?

Cheers

Oh, and don't laugh....

[Chaos]

I think your stock fan should be fine. BUT it will need a re-seat and some new thermal paste. How did you put the paste on when you used it? How much did you use?
this guy explains thermal paste application well enough. There are different ways to do it, they're all pretty effective, so just find the one that works best for you.
If you do decide to upgrade your heatsink, then the Freezer 7 is awsome! I used it for years and it does the job for a really good price so its a real goodun.
But try re-seating it before you buy a new heatsink, and use some of this as your paste

[Hzza]

Cool, I'll give it a go tomorrow, needed to give the inside of the case a bit of a clean out anyway .

I think if I remember rightly I didn't take the existing thermal stuff off and then added more on top . Don't really want to spend any money atm so hopefully this'll work.

[aquila]

I used an arctic freezer and arctic silver paste on my new build a couple of years ago - only a mildly overclocked core2duo 6400.  My cpu temperatures usually keep around mid 60s but rise as the dust filter on my sonata2 case gets blocked up.  I use it as a gentle reminder to clear the dust off everything else as well.  Me included, the cobwebs get quite bad on my walking stick

[Junta]

I suspect your temp readings may also be wrong mate.

At 80 your system would a) throttle down (slow to reduce heat) and at worst b) shut down to protect the CPU

I'm not saying that your CPU isn't hot, just that the temps may be innacurate. They seem VERY high to me!

[Finaldeath]

I've had that when the heatsink wasn't pressed on enough - so make sure it is secure! Thermal paste is needed if it is re-seated really, just to be sure.

Dust dust dust, yep, a total problem. Get some air in a can to spray in there - nothing works better then taking it outside and blasting it full of air

Case fans, if they're already at medium, after trying mine at high apart from my hard drives (which are next to the intake fans at the front, and there are 6 of them) I doubt the other components felt much love, except for a massive amount of noise, heh.

[PapaFade]

The over-application of thermal past can account for those high temps for sure. I agree with everyones advice to remove, clean and reseat the HSF with a fresh application of TIM.

I also agree with chaos on the AC Freezer 7 pro. An excellent value HSF, Lexi has one in hers and I used it mine originally with my oc'd quad core. Brilliant bit of kit.

What are u using to read the temps? Is it a windows based app or straight from the bios?

[Hzza]

What are u using to read the temps? Is it a windows based app or straight from the bios?

Realtemp I think, whatever Chaos said in his OC sticky. I took 2 different readings: 1 after playing TF2 for about half an hour and got about 88 and the other one about 10 mins later and it was 85. Might have to splash out on the new cooler before my money dries up then!

[Gonk]

Wish I could add some words of wisdom but I've got even less of a clue! On a positive side people have always helped me muddle through Good luck mate hope you sort it soon

[Junta]

What are u using to read the temps? Is it a windows based app or straight from the bios?

Realtemp I think, whatever Chaos said in his OC sticky. I took 2 different readings: 1 after playing TF2 for about half an hour and got about 88 and the other one about 10 mins later and it was 85. Might have to splash out on the new cooler before my money dries up then!

Verify with another application.

What CPU is it btw? Model number / speed?

Most Core 2 chips will clock down when they hit 70 degrees or so. I still think 80 degrees will cause the CPU to clock down and if you're NOT seeing that then those temps really have to be reported incorrectly

[Hzza]

Intel Core2Duo E8400 3.00Ghz, there was some noticable clockdown in TF2; went down from about 120 FPS to about 5! That's why I started investigating possible problems!

[Junta]

Intel Core2Duo E8400 3.00Ghz, there was some noticable clockdown in TF2; went down from about 120 FPS to about 5! That's why I started investigating possible problems!

I have one of those CPU's

Idles around 35... gets up to 55 at most.

Standard Intel CPU / Fan... housed in an Antec 900 case.

Thanks for giving me the extra info - does look like a HSF seating issue.

Try some arctic clean and new thermal paste to reseat the heatsink and fan. Use a pea sized blob of paste and press firmly Under no circumstances use a pea sized blob or press firmly *edited for Papa* . Check the retention clips on the cooler / fan (I hate these on socket 775... stupid plastic things)

[PapaFade]

Use a pea sized blob of paste and press firmly.

Don't u dare!!!!
Use cling film wrapped over the end of ur finger and spread it thinly and evenly across the whole of the contact surface of the cpu. If ur using something with a silver compond element in, u'll know that it's right when it has a slightly mirror quality to the surface. The surface needs to be even to ensure there are no hotspots and no excess dripping over the edge or areas missed entirely.

[Millicent Bystander]

I have the same processor as you with the massive Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Cooler (£15 off ebuyer.com), get a reading of between 28 and 40, even under heavy load. 

If it turns out there is a problem with you fan I still have the standard Intel one you can have for the price of postage.

[Hzza]

Thanks Milli, I'm going to give the whole rig a clean tonight so if I don't get any noticable improvements after the cleanout I'll take you up on that.