EMERGENCY: Is My Q9400 Overheating... What Can I Do?

[knoober]

Because it's underclocked it can only reach 73% in Task Manager under full load and not 100%. Is this a bad thing for stability?

I cannot understand why this would happen. Prime95 is made to use as much CPU as it can get, as far as i know. If thks was happening to me i would first clear the CMOS and if that didnt work i would reflash/update the BIOS.

I am curious to hear what advice others may have for you.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

I cannot understand why this would happen. Prime95 is made to use as much CPU as it can get, as far as i know. If thks was happening to me i would first clear the CMOS and if that didnt work i would reflash/update the BIOS.

I am curious to hear what advice others may have for you.

I think we all agree on this one...

 

[Johan45]

wINDOWS IS SMARTER THAN YOU THINK . 2ghZ IS 75% OF THE cpuS ACTUAL RATED SPEED.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

wINDOWS IS SMARTER THAN YOU THINK . 2ghZ IS 75% OF THE cpuS ACTUAL RATED SPEED.

You have a capslock disease ?

Yes, but still, CPU usage should show 100%... Or is it like this with this gen of CPUs only?

 

[GreatUSA]

I've run Prime95 and other apps in the background, but even at full load Task Manager reports the CPU is at 73%.

I'm sure the Q9400 can only reach 73% in Task Manager because as soon as I set it back to the default speed of 2.66Ghz it was able to reach 100% in Task Manager...

 

[knoober]

I'm sure the Q9400 can only reach 73% in Task Manager because as soon as I set it back to the default speed of 2.66Ghz it was able to reach 100% in Task Manager...

Well i really cant disagree with you because im not sure, but it seems to me that an easy test would be to overclock (to 2.8ghz for example) and see if your CPU usage goes above 100%

 

[GreatUSA]

Well i really cant disagree with you because im not sure, but it seems to me that an easy test would be to overclock (to 2.8ghz for example) and see if your CPU usage goes above 100%

Woah, I never thought of that!

But like I said, the CPU reaches 100% in Task Manager as soon as I set the Intel Q9400 back to the stock 2.66Ghz.

 

[trents]

Seems like there is a bios glitch going on here to me.

 

[Suppressor1137]

I uh...disagree with using that much thermal compound. I have a very VERY minimal application, maybe .5 mm blob, and temps are amazing on my 6700k. But I was afraid of putting too much and shorting something out(With non-capacitive paste...Stupid now that I think about it.) But the results were great, so I never re-applied. I may add more later when I rip apart my pc for its annual cleaning for a test. I use Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme, which I got because it performs well, while being non-curing, non-capacative and non-toxic.

But listen to these guys more than me, I don't do any real major overclocking these days.

 

[GreatUSA]

Other than re-applying thermal paste and using an air-compressor to clean out the dust from the Intel Q9400's fan, is there anything else I can do to reduce the temperature?

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Seems like there is a bios glitch going on here to me.

Really? That sounds serious...

Task Manager reports the CPU at 100% usage when I return the Intel Q9400 to the stock speed of 2.66Ghz.

Remember that I underclocked the Intel Q9400 to 2.00Ghz to reduce its temperature.

 

[Suppressor1137]

Other than re-applying thermal paste and using an air-compressor to clean out the dust from the Intel Q9400's fan, is there anything else I can do to reduce the temperature?

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Really? That sounds serious...

Task Manager reports the CPU at 100% usage when I return the Intel Q9400 to the stock speed of 2.66Ghz.

Remember that I underclocked the Intel Q9400 to 2.00Ghz to reduce its temperature.

Nah, you are overthinking things. Nothing is "Serious" or "Dangerous" about the issues you are having.

Reapplying thermal paste and reseating the heatsink is your cheapest and safest option, The next cheapest is to lock your cpu fan speed at 100%, which simply reduces the lifespan of your fan a bit and makes it a bit noisy. To reduce temps further, you will have to invest anywhere from $20 to $80 on a new cooler that will outperform the capacity of your current cooler, with a socket mounting mechanism that is compatible with your socket. In this case, LGA 775. Cool thing is, most top quality coolers do still support LGA 775.

If your bios is glitching out, Performing a Cmos reset is one method of possibly resolving the issue. If it is corrupt, then if I'm not mistaken, it can be taken to best buy, to their geeksquad department to look into the issue. That does cost some money, so I'd save this for last if the aforementioned cooler upgrade does not yield expected results.

Again, nothing to panic about, it isn't going to explode(at all) if you don't fix it immediately.

 

[cdawall]

I am just sitting here failing to see the issue. The stock coolers for LGA775 were just barely capable of cooling the heat monsters under them. Sub 70c is absolutely fine for any intel CPU p4 and later and it can run at that temperature until the motherboard fails. If you reseated the heatsink, replaced the thermal paste and the fan spins freely there is nothing wrong.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

My Intel Q9400 is still underclocked to 2.00Ghz from the stock 2.66Ghz to reduce its temperature.

Because it's underclocked it can only reach 73% in Task Manager under full load and not 100%. Is this a bad thing for stability?

Just so that it's clear in my mind, is it safe for me to leave my Intel Q9400 the way it is for the very long term?

These are the temperatures I'm getting from the Q9400:

CPU Temperature: 61C
Core 1: 69C
Core 2: 68C
Core 3: 65C
Core 4: 63C

By leaving my CPU like this, am I risking any type of failure? Is it dangerous for me to leave the CPU at 2.00Ghz?

Underclocking your CPU should have no impact on maximum Processor/CPU utilization in the Task Manager. You should be able to hit 100% load whether you're at 2GHz, 2.66GHz, 3.5GHz, or anywhere in between provided you're actually at full utilization. At least, I've overclocked and tested a lot of LGA775 chips, and I've never seen a CPU report only 73-74% utilization in Windows XP or Windows 7.

I think what's more likely is that your CPU (or possibly some other component, such as the motherboard's CPU Power Section/Voltage Regulation Modules) is/are throttling back when under load because of the high temperatures to prevent damage from overheating. If I remember correctly the LGA775 Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo chips have a tendency to thermal throttle when you get into the high 60's or low 70's in degrees Celsius.

More information would be nice.

What kind of heat sink/CPU cooler are you using? Is it a stock one? Is it all Aluminum or does it have a Copper Core?

What brand and model of motherboard are you using?

What sort of case? What is the case's cooling situation, what size fans, number of fans, and what positions are they in? (To help explain the high temperatures...)

Pictures of your motherboard or inside of your case would be potentially helpful if you have the time.

 

[trents]

I uh...disagree with using that much thermal compound. I have a very VERY minimal application, maybe .5 mm blob, and temps are amazing on my 6700k. But I was afraid of putting too much and shorting something out(With non-capacitive paste...Stupid now that I think about it.) But the results were great, so I never re-applied. I may add more later when I rip apart my pc for its annual cleaning for a test. I use Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme, which I got because it performs well, while being non-curing, non-capacative and non-toxic.

But listen to these guys more than me, I don't do any real major overclocking these days.

Personally, I never eat mine.

 

[Suppressor1137]

yeah, neither do i. i just bought it for the first two bits��

 

[wingman99]

You can go all the way up to 95c before it will throttle for safety and will shut down the PC at 120c so there will be no damage.

Here is mine with the heatsink fan off.

 

[||Console||]

What are you using to stress your CPU that is only hitting 73% try Prime 95, aida64 , occt. , Iinpack.

 

[GreatUSA]

Your replies are much appreciated!

I just checked and the HWMonitor app is telling me that the called "FANIN0" is currently at 2537 RPM.

Is this the CPU fan and does this number sound fine?

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Your replies are much appreciated!

I just checked and the HWMonitor app is telling me that the called "FANIN0" is currently at 2537 RPM.

Is this the CPU fan and does this number sound fine?

We still don't know what you're using to cool the CPU, so impossible to tell.

 

[GreatUSA]

Underclocking your CPU should have no impact on maximum Processor/CPU utilization in the Task Manager. You should be able to hit 100% load whether you're at 2GHz, 2.66GHz, 3.5GHz, or anywhere in between provided you're actually at full utilization. At least, I've overclocked and tested a lot of LGA775 chips, and I've never seen a CPU report only 73-74% utilization in Windows XP or Windows 7.

I think what's more likely is that your CPU (or possibly some other component, such as the motherboard's CPU Power Section/Voltage Regulation Modules) is/are throttling back when under load because of the high temperatures to prevent damage from overheating. If I remember correctly the LGA775 Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo chips have a tendency to thermal throttle when you get into the high 60's or low 70's in degrees Celsius.

More information would be nice.

Well, I'm sure the Q9400 can only reach 73% in Task Manager because as soon as I set it back to the default speed of 2.66Ghz it was able to reach 100% in Task Manager...

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We still don't know what you're using to cool the CPU, so impossible to tell.

I'm using the stock cooler that came with my Q9400 to cool the CPU.

Is there another way for me to check why the Task Manager is only hitting 73%?