[Drakmor]

Hey, I just finished putting together my new desktop. Its the first one I built from scratch, so I'm hoping I just did something stupid.... when I first booted it, I got a beep code for hardware failure and a message onscreen saying that the CPU (an i7-2600k) is too hot. Before I shut it down, I quickly checked the BIOS and it said the CPU was running at 97 degrees Celsius. I'm using the generic heatsink/ fan, but I did put Arctic Alumina thermal compound between the CPU/ heatsink as per the directions on their website. There is a few things that didn't go very well during the install that makes me think it might be a physical problem. First, when I was clamping the processor to the mobo (Asus P8Z68-V pro), the metal holder seemed to push against the processor and make a grinding noise. I looked and other people have had the issue and say you just need to power through it, but I still feel like something got screwed up there. Also, when I was removing the pre attached thermal stuff from the heatsink, I by mistake scratched it a bit. Not much, and I had thought it wouldn't make a difference because I'm not overclocking, but it looks like it did. I honestly have no idea what to do from here to try to troubleshoot and fix this.... any ideas?

Also, here's the full parts list in case it helps:
Rosewill Cruiser case (airflow *seems* to be ok, all the fans are running, and none of the cables are over or touching the processor)
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO mobo
EVGA Nvidia GTX 560 ti
hec XP1080 1080W power supply
Intel Core i7-2600K
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB DDR3 RAM
Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB HDD (Yes, I know its a laptop hard drive, but I decided to try it.)

Thanks!

[MattNo5ss]

It sounds like the heatsink isn't installed correctly. I know it can be hard to get those push pins to go through the mounting holes. There's been many time I thought they were in all the way, but it turned out that they weren't.

I haven't had any experience with 1155, but I've never heard a grinding noise while clamping down a CPU on 775, 1156, or 1366. It would be hard to install a CPU incorrectly since there are keyholes (notches) on two sides of the CPU that make the CPU only fit one way in a socket. Plus, if it was installed incorrectly the system wouldn't even POST or get to the BIOS.

[EarthDog]

Likely didnt mount the heatsink properly. Those pushpins are a bear to get on right.

[Drakmor]

Thanks for the quick responses! I'll try that soon. Also though, I was looking around and saw something saying there's a bug in the bios that causes the heat detection to get messed up.... anyone know if this is true?

[computergeek]

I agree with EarthDog there a right b**** to get in.
Just re-seat the Intel stock cooler and you should be fine.

[Drakmor]

Just to check, do I need to reapply the thermal compound when I do that? Or is that only if I take the heatsink completely off?

[EarthDog]

Originally Posted by Drakmor

Thanks for the quick responses! I'll try that soon. Also though, I was looking around and saw something saying there's a bug in the bios that causes the heat detection to get messed up.... anyone know if this is true?

It can be... however, the first place I would look is the mount. Press down firmaly on the heatsink and see if the temps drop and the heatsink gets warm.

If you are sitting at 97C and the heatsink is working, it should burn you.

[Drakmor]

Yeah, I'm checking the physical stuff now first.

[Drakmor]

Okay, I checked the heatsink/fan and it was really loose so I made sure it was on and I can't jiggle it around now. It boots initially, but when I went into the bios it was still at 86 or so, and the heat would go up every few seconds until it got hot enough the numbers turned red, at which point I turned it off. Should I take off the heatsink completely and reapply the thermal compound, then put it back on correctly?

[Janus67]

The fan is plugged in, right?

And yeah, double/triple check that all of the pushpins are fully in. It still sounds like something isn't in all the way. The stock heatsink should have had thermal paste on the bottom of it, I don't believe there is a sticker on it, but double check that as well. I wouldn't worry at this point to reapply thermal compound as long as it is there and there is some spread on the CPU.

[Drakmor]

The fan is plugged in, I can see it running fine. I'll check again to make sure its on right though. The instructions for the thermal compound said to remove the stock paste, which I did....

[Drakmor]

Okay, I jiggled the heatsink and fan a bit more, and I flashed the BIOS to the newest version, then rebooted. After a few seconds where the screen didn't show anything, it booted, then beeped saying the CPU was too hot. However, I went into the BIOS and it quickly cooled down, down to about 53 degrees C. Is that an okay temperature?

[EarthDog]

Thats WAY better... but its LOAD temps that are important. On stock with average ambient (72F), you shouldnt see over 80C really.

It does seem to idle warm.

When you push down on the heatsink now will the temps drop (hold it for a bit).

[Bisquit]

You would do yourself a big favor in buying an aftermarket cooler.
As for the cpu mounting with s1155, the bottom screw should be all the way in, There are three in total but you only need to check the bottom one. If this bolt is loose, the metal from the socket could push the heatsink away from the cpu, making a poor contact.

When fitting the cpu in a s1155 socket, you will hear a cracking sound, that's perfectly normal. It's a really tight fit. Still, make sure the pins from the cpu are all in and aligned.

With asus boards and s1155, bios temp for cpu will sit around 50°C or higher with the intel heatsink. Better coolers would bring temps below that figure.
In windows desktop you will notice temps are 20°C lower compared to bios temps. The conclusion is that the asus bios puts a mild load on the system.

If you find your temps are 50°C or higher in windows desktop, then something is still wrong.

[jmdixon85]

BIOS putting load on a system? Never heard that one before???

But yeah that stock cooler was designed to "just" cope.

Even a cheap aftermarket cooler will improve things a great deal. Like this one for example: http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/prod...roduct_id=2923

[jason4207]

I've found it's best to install the stock HS w/ the mobo removed from the case. That way you can put the pressure where it's needed most w/o warping the mobo as badly, and you can physically see if the push-pins are all the way through the other side of the mobo.

I like to install the CPU, HS, and RAM onto the mobo, and then install that whole unit into the case. I typically use the HS to hold onto the whole mobo unit as I slide it into position.

Also make sure you have the push-pins turned correctly. The arrows point in the direction required to remove the HS, so you want to go in the opposite direction for installation. Push in 2 diagonally-opposite corners of the HS at the same time, and then do the other 2 opposite corners. Then try to twist the HS in either direction a little to seat the TIM well.

Personally, I would start all over by cleaning everything up good with 91+% alcohol, and then re-applying new TIM. Before cleaning, take a look at the CPU and the bottom of the HS. Is TIM oozing out the sides everywhere? If so, you used way too much.

[EarthDog]

Originally Posted by Bisquit

When fitting the cpu in a s1155 socket, you will hear a cracking sound, that's perfectly normal. It's a really tight fit. Still, make sure the pins from the cpu are all in and aligned.

With asus boards and s1155, bios temp for cpu will sit around 50°C or higher with the intel heatsink. Better coolers would bring temps below that figure.
In windows desktop you will notice temps are 20°C lower compared to bios temps. The conclusion is that the asus bios puts a mild load on the system.

If you find your temps are 50°C or higher in windows desktop, then something is still wrong.

+1 for this ^^,

-1 for the part I left out. Its a push pin factory cooler with 4 pushpin mounts, there are no bolts, and you need to have all 4 mounted properly not just 'the first one'.

EDIT: OOOOOOhh, you are talking about the metal bracket on the motherboard? Heh, oops?! Still though, never seen one of those come loose ever.

Originally Posted by jmdixon85

BIOS putting load on a system? Never heard that one before???

Let me lift up that rock you are under (joke!). The bios is usually at least a few C warmer than windows idle. It has been this way for me since Athlon64 days, all the way to now and Intel.

[jason4207]

Originally Posted by jmdixon85

BIOS putting load on a system? Never heard that one before???

But yeah that stock cooler was designed to "just" cope.

Even a cheap aftermarket cooler will improve things a great deal.

Whether there is a load or not is debatable...perhaps it's just that no power saving features are enabled yet. But on almost every system I've seen the BIOS temp is higher than the temp you see in windows while idle.

[jmdixon85]

Originally Posted by EarthDog

Let me lift up that rock you are under (joke!). The bios is usually at least a few C warmer than windows idle. It has been this way for me since Athlon64 days, all the way to now and Intel.

Can't say I've ever noticed that. I've always read temps from windows as idle temps mean next to nothing anyway.

The BIOS readings do come in handy for times like this though, when the cooler might not be mounted properly.

[Drakmor]

Okay, thanks. A couple of things: One, my house doesn't have AC (its getting installed in the next week or so), so the entire house is relatively hot. Second, I'm running linux- I don't know if that makes any difference energy efficiency wise. Also, the thermal compound says after about 36 hours of use, the temperature can drop from 2 to 10 degrees C becuase its "broken in." I'll keep an eye out and see how things go....