PC Processors

[steveis2]

Hi,

 I have an Athlon x4 760K and an arctic Freezer Pro CPU cooler mounted on an MSI A78M-E35 (MS-7721) motherboard that seems to have a possible heat problem, or not (?).

 Using HWINFO the CPU(Tcl) temperature has been shown as between 8.4C and 36C at idle but the CPU Package (TSI) temperature is given as 56.6C to 85C. At the same time using cinebench 23 the CPU(Tcl) was in the 70's but the CPU Package (TSI) was given as 110C which seems way too high.

 I'm thinking either there is something wrong with the cooling or the measurements that HWINFO is giving are almost completely inaccurate. I have read that this type of CPU does not always report accurate temperatures.  Can anyone throw some light on what might be going on?

Regards Steve

[elstaci · Accepted solution]

According to a Maximum Temperature hardware website the Athlon x4 760K Maximum Operating Temperature is 74c. So if it is reaching 110c the PC should have shut down to prevent overheating damage.

So it is possible that your monitoring software is not getting accurate Temperature readings due to not being 100% compatible with your athlon processor.

The Athlon x4 has a fairly high TDP rating of 100 watts so you will need a CPU Cooler of at least 125 watts rated TDP for your processor.

AMD had a Monitoring program for its processor that has been discontinued and not available any more from AMD website  but you can still download it from here: https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/amd_overdrive.html

It is AMD OVERDRIVE which should give you accurate temperatures for your Athlon x4.

[steveis2]

Hi I think you are right about the inaccuracy of the reported temperature. I've got the overdrive software now and things look healthier.

Thanks for the advice

Steve

[MADZyren]

Try running the machine with side panel open before doing anything else - if it helps, you just need more air to your case. 

If it didn't help:

Remove CPU cooler, clean contact surface. Press CPU cooler against mirror (glass on mirrors is more straight than regular glass, hence it is sometimes used as cheap 3D printing surface). Does the cooler "wobble"? If it does, contact surface is not straight and could be the issue. While not optimal, I noticed that you can enhance cooling capability in that situation a bit by using more thermal paste - don't expect miracles though. Use about double as much as normally. Also use some good stuff like Kryonaut or Noctua paste.

Make sure you have installed cpu cooler correctly.
Make sure there is no dust build-up in cooler
Use only one paste (if there is pre-applied, remove it).
Clean contact surfaces with isopropyl alcohol and let it dry properly before applying new paste.