Big CPU Cooling Issue - Seeking Advice

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!

Its either the stock cooler or the CPU. And even though you don't know which one it is they came together, and you have to RMA them together, so you might as well send it back .

Did you mess with auto tune or something like that at all? You could have a voltage set way to high

If not, take the side off the case and get a house fan to blow in the case and try again. If that doesn't help then the HS is bad or the application of the thermal paste is all wrong.

Ohh, does the CPU fan ramp up to very high RPMs when you load the processor? If not, check the fan, how it's connected to the mobo and the auto CPU fan stuff in the bios.

Yeah, check case airflow like Conum said (fan blowing in with the side door off) and see if that helps. I have actually been running some heatsink tests on that round POS that Intel shipped with my 930 proc and while I ain't impressed with the performance, it's better than what you are seeing. I am actually able to overclock to 3.6 with the stock hsf; temps get to the mid to high 80's running P95. I'm doing this for a future review for the front page.

Conumdrum said:

Did you mess with auto tune or something like that at all? You could have a voltage set way to high

If not, take the side off the case and get a house fan to blow in the case and try again. If that doesn't help then the HS is bad or the application of the thermal paste is all wrong.

Ohh, does the CPU fan ramp up to very high RPMs when you load the processor? If not, check the fan, how it's connected to the mobo and the auto CPU fan stuff in the bios.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the helpful responses!

The CPU Voltage is around 1.18 when looking at the BIOS. I'm not and expert on Core i7 Voltage specs so I dont know if that is in acceptable range. I didn't change a single thing with auto tune as far as I can remember. The CPU fan is at almost maximum RPMs from boot so I barely notice a difference in fan speed when I load it on Prime95.

My next step will be to track down a house fan like you and Muddocktor suggested. I'm hoping that it is just an airflow issue. Much easier to fix.

muddocktor said:

Yeah, check case airflow like Conum said (fan blowing in with the side door off) and see if that helps. I have actually been running some heatsink tests on that round POS that Intel shipped with my 930 proc and while I ain't impressed with the performance, it's better than what you are seeing. I am actually able to overclock to 3.6 with the stock hsf; temps get to the mid to high 80's running P95. I'm doing this for a future review for the front page.

Click to expand...

I've just tested with the side door off and a house fan blowing in. (It wasn't an industrial house fan with crazy high RPMs, but it still put out a good amount of air. The CPU reached into the 90's again. But it took ALOOOT longer to get there. About 10 minutes of Prime 95 torture testing as compared to the 2 minutes it took previously. Do you think a new aftermarket cooler and a few extra case fans (intake oriented) would put a rest to the issue?

No, something isn't right to start with.

Try another reseat, build the PC on cardboard this time. Check the HS pins really close.

When you run Prime are you using CPUZ to check votages? Bios ain't going to tell you much at all when it's at idle.

Conumdrum said:

No, something isn't right to start with.

Try another reseat, build the PC on cardboard this time. Check the HS pins really close.

When you run Prime are you using CPUZ to check votages? Bios ain't going to tell you much at all when it's at idle.

Click to expand...

Under full stress CPU-Z says that the core voltage is 1.232. Is that abnormal?

I'll reseat the fan once again tonight and I already have a aftermarket HS and fan being shipped. If the reseat doesnt work, and the aftermarket makes no difference. Then would it be best to just RMA the CPU?

Thanks for all the help so far.

Before talking about RMA'ing the proc, let's see what you get with your aftermarket cooler. BTW, what kind of cooler did you order? Because believe me, there are a bunch of crap coolers out there and price can't be the sole judge on quality.

What thermal paste are you using? Describe how you are applying it.

Thoes voltages are fine, but if you have certain options enabled in the BIOS the CPU could be automatically over clocked to meet load/demand. So go in and turn off the halt states, Turbo modes etc. Do not disable the TM state, this is the last line of defense for your cpu before it gets cooked.

If you are applying everything correctly and not accidently overclocking really hard. I would say either the IHS or the heatsink has a significant surface defect like being overly convex or concave or wavy...

I had a similar issue with a Prescott generation CPU but it was not under waruntee so I went ahead and lapped the heat sink and IHS and problem solved! I know this isn't exactly a fair comparison but it is worth noting...