CPU heat problems.

[Hetzer]

First experienced in game#1, the PC would freeze with a continuous high-pitched scream from the speakers on hot days (20c). I put it down to a code issue in the game but yesterday it happened in game#2.

I have a Corsair H50 water-cooler and my BIOS monitor tells me the pump is working ok and the rad-fan certainly is. After re-doing the thermal paste yesterday the temp is worse. In a 20c room at idle (1600mhz to 2000mhz) on 3% load I'm seeing 45~55c. Using Prime-95 the temp immediately shot to 90c+ and would have gone higher if I hadn't terminated the prog.

My rig seems to be functioning ok in non-game use, which tells me the CPU isn't damaged but I'm wondering this...is it possible, having had the CPU over-heat to the point of freezing my PC several times, it can now be running much hotter due to damage? Or is it possible the pump has failed in the cooler but the BIOS still gives a reading for RPM? If the pump isn't connected to the CPU-fan header on the mobo I get a boot-up alert telling me so. Otherwise the BIOS is telling me 1400rpm or so.

I've been fixing PCs for over a decade and have never before come across anything like this, hence my asking here. TIA for any input. I'm thinking new cooler or new CPU.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[The Artist]

What processor is it?

[CaNsA]

Graphics card temps?

[Hetzer]

An Intel i5 2500k (Sandybridge).
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Hetzer]

[CaNsA]

Overclocked at all?

[CaNsA]

Also, are you utilising the i5 Intel HD Graphics 3000 in tandem with your graphics card?

[lihp]

Is the radiator clean?

it also seems as though mobo is reporting fan speed on the radiator so it can still be possible that the pump has failed.

Do you have an air cooler lay around that you can throw on it as a test? If you don't get same temp issues then you may have a prob with the cooler. Not sure how you would test the pump in a sealed unit though

[Hetzer]

The CPU was turboing up to 4300ghz but I now have it maxing out to 3700ghz (which it doesn't come close to while using only the browser).

No, the onboard graphics are not being used. I think that's available only on the i7 series anyway?

The pump is connected to the CPU-fan header on the mobo. The rad-fan is connected to a chassis-fan header. Both are showing healthy RPM in the BIOS and I've turned off q-fan, to force them both to do max RPM continuously.

My air-coolers are not available presently (will be tomorrow).

The rad is spotless, I gave it a thorough cleaning a few days ago. No crap anywhere, including between the fins.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[CaNsA]

What thermal paste are you using?
Did you put enough on?
Are you sure the block is seated correctly?
Do all cores heat up evenly?
Grab openhardwaremonitor (if using windows) and watch the core temps.
https://openhardwaremonitor.org/

[Hetzer]

I used a syringe from Asus (came with my last mobo). My Arctic Silver is locked away over the weekend. I used about two grains of rice' worth. The block is properly seated.

Yes, all cores temp evenly.

I suspected the old paste was dried out but when I removed the block it was still 'fluid' (not dried out). So it should still have been working ok (was Arctic Silver).

I'm thinking maybe the pump is no longer working but is still sending a signal to the BIOS saying it is. I can also feel a vibration in the pipes, like water is moving or the pump is vibrating the pipes.

So it's not possible the CPU would still be working ok in terms of processing data but damaged enough to run hotter than it should?
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Hetzer]

I'm going to take the CPU out and do what I used to do, spread the paste evenly over the die instead of putting a blob in the middle.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[CaNsA]

It's possible.

There have been reports of the thermal compound under the CPU lid of getting borked though.

Depending on how this plays out, you might find yourself having to de-lid.

Fun times.

[Hetzer]

[CaNsA]

[Ste]

The problem occurs when you run prime95 or intel burn test?

The H50 is a PoS in my experience, the pump decided it was happier to not work all the time. Trying a different cooler would be much first step, if not just to rule out the H50 as being the culprit.

[mathewculver]

I run a computer repair shop and I can tell you now, don't spread the paste yourself. On bigger cores, a pea size shape in centre of the chip will be perfect. I've used cheap and expensive pastes before and as long as you use a grain of rice on smaller cores and A pea on larger core covers then it will be spot on.

[CaNsA]

[Ste]

Putting a pea sized amount or a blob the size of a couple of grains of rice is a really vague way to get the thinnest possible layer of thermal paste that evenly covers the whole cpu.

"I recently commented on the underhand tactics of other companies yet left it anonymous in the hope it wouldn't happen again, I have now had yet another customer contact me saying that once again, he had contacted a customer by private message informing them that he/his company could do it cheaper. So if anyone that has requested a repair from Speedy I.T. receives a message from Mathew Culver or Prism Technology please let me know. In this day and age we all have to be competitive, but to do that is just a shame. To think that I have been fairly helpful to him since they reopened and for him to do that makes the saying "there is no friends in business" ring true."

[Hetzer]

Fucking ASUS paste, utter unmitigated SHITE. Upon trying to spread it I discovered it turns to clay after a few seconds exposure to the air.

Then I found a little sachet of the white generic stuff which spread beautifully. I'm now around 60c at 3.4ghz running Prime, which isn't particularly good but at least I now know the CPU is ok. Idles around 30c (used to do 25c but that might have been in the winter in an un-heated room).

I'm going to order a new cooler, the Corsair Hydro H110 most likely.

Thanks for the help guys.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[gsxfdumb]

[Hetzer]

[CaNsA]

[Hetzer]

I'm getting 73c on one core while another's hitting 81c (now running Prime at 4.3ghz). Is that kind of differential normal? Same spread at idle etc.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[CaNsA]

one of mine always heats up a little more than the others.

Parked/unparked cores?