I've just finished a new system build and I've run into a persistent issue with my CPU temperatures.
My system details are as follows:
CPU - Core i7 960 Bloomfield 3.2 GHz
Motherboard - ASUS Rampage III Formula
RAM - 6GB of DDR3 Patriot Memory
Graphics - EVGA Superclocked GTX 560 Ti
HDDs - 2 Raid 0 WD Velociraptors (150GB each)
Case - Cooler Master Storm Scout
Whenever I stress test my CPU with Prime 95 the temps of all 4 cores shoot up above 90 degrees within 5 or 6 minutes. Even reaching 100 degrees C at one point in time. I'm quite aware that these are not safe operating temps for a brand new CPU.
But here is the kicker. Everything is running at regular stock speeds. The heatsink and fan are the one that Intel ships with the processor. I realized its very likely that the thermal paste got messed up or that the heatsink/fan was not mounted properly so I removed everything. Cleaned both the processor surface and the heatsink surface. Applied brand new thermal paste, then mounted the stock heatsink and fan back onto the motherboard. I made sure to look at the back side of the motherboard to double check that ALL 4 push pins had completely locked into place (And they had). Started my system back up. Checked the idle temps. They were about 42 C for each core. (Which was actually a 3-4 degree improvement over what they last were before I reseated the cooler). Then ran Prime 95 once more. Again, my temps shot into the 90's just like the previous tries. What could be wrong? I'm using Real Temp to monitor the core temperatures. I followed instructions to the dot when it came to cleaning and reapplying thermal paste. Checked that the all pins had come completely through the motherboard and locked. Temps should not be this high with stock speeds. I'm all out of ideas.
Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated!
My system details are as follows:
CPU - Core i7 960 Bloomfield 3.2 GHz
Motherboard - ASUS Rampage III Formula
RAM - 6GB of DDR3 Patriot Memory
Graphics - EVGA Superclocked GTX 560 Ti
HDDs - 2 Raid 0 WD Velociraptors (150GB each)
Case - Cooler Master Storm Scout
Whenever I stress test my CPU with Prime 95 the temps of all 4 cores shoot up above 90 degrees within 5 or 6 minutes. Even reaching 100 degrees C at one point in time. I'm quite aware that these are not safe operating temps for a brand new CPU.
But here is the kicker. Everything is running at regular stock speeds. The heatsink and fan are the one that Intel ships with the processor. I realized its very likely that the thermal paste got messed up or that the heatsink/fan was not mounted properly so I removed everything. Cleaned both the processor surface and the heatsink surface. Applied brand new thermal paste, then mounted the stock heatsink and fan back onto the motherboard. I made sure to look at the back side of the motherboard to double check that ALL 4 push pins had completely locked into place (And they had). Started my system back up. Checked the idle temps. They were about 42 C for each core. (Which was actually a 3-4 degree improvement over what they last were before I reseated the cooler). Then ran Prime 95 once more. Again, my temps shot into the 90's just like the previous tries. What could be wrong? I'm using Real Temp to monitor the core temperatures. I followed instructions to the dot when it came to cleaning and reapplying thermal paste. Checked that the all pins had come completely through the motherboard and locked. Temps should not be this high with stock speeds. I'm all out of ideas.
Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated!