CPU overheating

[Chewy65]

I may have fixed this but perhaps not. I have a tower that I built a few years ago. It has been shutting down suddenly and I believe I traced the problem to an absolutely filthy CPU heat sink that I have now thoroughly cleaned and reinstalled without thermal paste. I will get some paste and apply it.

The CPU had been heating up to 100c and the MB about 60c until I cleaned up that heat sink They are now running around 51c and 48c. The fan(s) also runs a lot quieter.

Prior to cleaning the heat sink up, that CPU was running at about 90% capacity per an online software vendor called PC Fixit. I can't measure it now. I b elieve I once had an application that monitored the CPU as the PC ran, but I got rid of it for some stupid reason. I am not even sure whom it was from, but perhaps an older version of Windows. I now hav Windows10.

I am mainly concerned that my cpu may be on its way to puter heaven. Is there a way to test it? Its an AMD Athlon II X3 440 processor.

[bigmike82]

You gotta get that thermal paste in there dude. The heat transfer is really, really bad without it.

Also, that proc is 20 bucks on Amazon. I really wouldn't worry about it dying on you.

https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-II-440-3-0GHz/dp/B0035JKNFA

[The War Wagon]

Its an AMD Athlon II X3 440 processor.

You KNOW they've built NEW computers in the last ten years, right?


Buy another CPU for $10 off fleabay, if necessary.

[FresnoRob]

Most of the time it’s not dirty heat sink compound it’s a fan that’s failing or it’s loose on the CPU.

[OCEquestrian]

Get off the porn sites............

[CaliforniaCowboy]

You need to be cleaning out your PC at least a few times a year, I usually do it every other month. Take it out back, open it up and blow it out with an inflator with nozzle. The ones used to blow up air mattresses. Unless you have an air compressor with air nozzle.

Spray out the entire pc, Fans, screens, heat sinks etc. Good airflow means cooler temps and longer pc life. My PC was built in 2010 and runs pretty much 24/7 and have never had an issue other than having to replace the mobo battery. Ya it is old but it was built to be a top end pc at the time so it still holds up even to today's games and software, though it is now in the category of avg or so. I do need to build a new one.

But ya, clean it out on a regular basis, keep it clear of dust bunnies.


As for the paste, Ya, you should not be running the PC without the paste. It will shut itself down when it gets too hot, but that does not mean you will not damage it.

If you want to see how well the CPU is performing, I guess you could run a benchmark program and compare your numbers to pcs with the same chip and similar component setup.

BY the way, the pc shutting down or not booting all the way up could also be your mobo battery going dead, that is what mine was doing, I thought my pc was dying, I replaced the battery and the issue went away.

[minuteman]

You would be better off replacing the computer with a more modern system. Even budget systems will far exceed the processing power of your system. PC Fixit and the like do not fix or improve computer problems and should be considered snake oil or worse.
It sounds like you took care of the major culprit if you wanted to keep your system going. CPU failure is extremely rare as the system shuts down, as you saw, before real heat damage can occur.

[Chewy65]

Thank you all. I do have an air compressor in the garage and will blow it out. I am also going to shut down now and pick up some thermal paste. Perhaps a MOBO battery as well. As for replacing the CPU or even the puter, it is plenty fast for me but I will also look at the fastest replacement CPU for that mobo; possible an Athlon IV? I am guessing all the Athlon's have the same socket factor but will have to see what is compatible with my mobo. It appears to be an ASROCK 880G Extreme 3. Agree that if I have to start replacing major components then I might as well build a new PC.

[Chewy65]

This heat sink was incredibly matted with dust. Cleaning it cut the CPU temp from 200c to 100c. That is with all the old grease cleaned off and no new. Got to get some grease.

[Mute]

[Chewy65]

I got some thermal past from BestBuy. It's their house brand. I about died when I couldn't get my puter to fire up. It turned out that the i/o switch had been bumped or perhaps it had to be turned off and on to reset a circuit. So far it is running just a few degrees cooler (than 50c), but it is hot up here in the home office. Will now lug the tower downstairs and give it a good cleaning

[bigmike82]

The max operating temperature of that CPU is 75 my friend.

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Athlon%20II%20X3%20450%20-%20ADX450WFK32GM%20(ADX450WFGMBOX).html

Get that paste in there stat!

[Chewy65]

Got the paste and it is now running low to upper 40c with a quieter fan. I also blew the inside of the tower clean.

[Kwikvette]

If you have enough friends, usually one will have a ton of extra pc parts he or she will give away which I'm sure will be an upgrade.

I know this...I give away tons of parts

[CaliforniaCowboy]

The PC needs air like an engine needs clean oil. Keep it clean and it will be happy.