My CPU is getting too hot, do I need a new cooler for it?

[Shrek]

Go buy some canned 'air'; blast out the inside of the case (best done outside).
World's dustiest computer! - YouTube

I use a DataVac to save on the cost of canned 'air'.

 

[yotano211]

Get a can of compressed and start blowing on the fans, power supply, processor heatsink. Its not hard, watch a youtube video if it helps. You dont need to waste money on getting a new heatsink or getting another person to clean it or install a new heatsink.
You said it yourself, the cpu heatsink was working some time ago. Open the case and check or nosies around the cpu heatsink, maybe the bearing are dry.

 

[theFOoL]

Best thing to do is to take the pc outside with the air can and blow away

 

[Bill_Bright]

I told him system failures won’t occur until 80 C or greater.

You don't know that. 80°C in this case is just an arbitrary number or show us the manufacturers data sheet or a white paper that says that specific CPU fails when the 80°C threshold is crossed.

And again, TIM does not need to be replaced unless the cured bond is broken which would allow insulating air in between the mating surfaces.

Best thing to do is to take the pc outside with the air can and blow away

I agree with taking it outside. No need to blast the dust back into the room's air where the computer's fans can pull it back into the case.

But the "best" thing to do is to take it outside and blast it a upright air compressor that is properly fitted with a suitable inline moisture and particulate filter. But of course, not everyone has access to an air compressor so a can dusting gas or a datavac blower will do.

Oh, and it should be noted those cans of dusting gas do NOT contain “air”. Instead, they contain difluoroethane or a similar gas. These gases are typically used as refrigerants and can be extremely hazardous if inhaled. In extreme cases, it can damage the central nervous system, or even be fatal. So use in a well ventilated area or better yet, outside. Note in some jurisdictions, these are controlled substances and sold in a controlled manner, similar to how cans of spray paint are sold to [hopefully] dissuade abuse through “huffing”.

 

[Eskimonster]

ive vacum cleaned my pc on and off for 10 years now. heat is only an issue for me when dust build up.
I have never repasted it , nor changed the AIO i buildt it with.

 

[JonathanX]

I talked today with people from a PC hardware and repair store, they said it needs to be cleaned from dust (de-dusting) and then, if the overheating problem still persists, then either repaste the CPU cooler or buy a new cooler. But de-dusting is first, so tomorrow I'll take my PC to them for de-dusting.

Like I said, I won't de-dust it myself since I've never done that and I really don't wanna risk doing it wrong and causing further problems. These guys said they de-dusted thousands of PCs throughout the years, and that overheating is most commonly caused by dust accumulation, that I really don't need to worry, since countless people have the same overheating problem as I have, and in 90% of the cases it's caused by dust accumulation.

 

[Shrek]

Don't get me wrong, but dusting it yourself is probably a lot less work than taking the PC to someone; then again, in theory air flow can cause static buildup, especially when dust is present; the lighting in a volcano plume can be quite spectacular.
Volcanic lightning - Wikipedia

I seem to recall a story about a submarine that would deploy an antenna by inflating it with CO2 and the resulting electronic failures; seems the dry CO2 was making static.

That said, I don't think there is much risk just blasting the dust off yourself.

 

[64K]

I would hose the inside of the PC with compressed air and check to make you have adequate case fan cooling. Cleaning out the PC with compressed air isn't difficult. What does the PC repair shop charge to blow it out for you?

 

[JonathanX]

De-dusting it myself is still a risk I don't wanna take since I've never done it. These guys de-dusted countless PCs until now, for them it's like brushing their teeth, lol, so I'll leave it up to them. I think it's wiser to do that.

They don't charge much, but I don't care anyway, I'm willing to pay for a good de-dusting process, I'm doing OK financially, and I'm not a tight-ass when it comes to my PC's health.

In US currency, it's about... 15 or 20 dollars, I would think.
They said the process is quick, easy, and painless, LOL

 

[theFOoL]

What I tend to do is take my PC outside, disconnect things and use a Paint brush and compressed air

 

[Jose Jeswin]

I use a paintbrush to dust away the motherboard and add in boards...then use another paintbrush dipped in 90% isopropyl alcohol to brush away fine dust particles....then air dry the parts before reassembly...doing so since 2002...

some people use eucalyptus oil to clean the pcb boards...i am not sure about the method involved..

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

De-dusting it myself is still a risk I don't wanna take since I've never done it. These guys de-dusted countless PCs until now, for them it's like brushing their teeth, lol, so I'll leave it up to them. I think it's wiser to do that.

talk to your friends, neighbors, and family to see if they've ever done such things. Someone could take time to show you how easy it is and save a few bucks at the same time

 

[Bill_Bright]

and use a Paint brush and compressed air

Yep. Same here. One word of caution though. Make sure the paint brush is made of natural bristles. Some are made with synthetic materials like nylon or other plastics. Those are great at dusting but some can also generate lots of static. Not good around ESD sensitive devices like CPUs, GPUs, memory modules and other high-density ICs.

 

[freeagent]

Its really not a big deal. Just take your side panels off, take it outside and blow the shit out of it. It is satisfying to see all of your dead skin be ejected with force. Put a finger on a fan so you don't spin the bearing if its a sleeve type.. Its about the easiest thing you can do to it.

 

[trog100]

De-dusting it myself is still a risk I don't wanna take since I've never done it. These guys de-dusted countless PCs until now, for them it's like brushing their teeth, lol, so I'll leave it up to them. I think it's wiser to do that.

They don't charge much, but I don't care anyway, I'm willing to pay for a good de-dusting process, I'm doing OK financially, and I'm not a tight-ass when it comes to my PC's health.

In US currency, it's about... 15 or 20 dollars, I would think.
They said the process is quick, easy, and painless, LOL

this guy has it sussed why is everybody trying to confuse him with alternatives.. he he

trog

 

[yotano211]

De-dusting it myself is still a risk I don't wanna take since I've never done it. These guys de-dusted countless PCs until now, for them it's like brushing their teeth, lol, so I'll leave it up to them. I think it's wiser to do that.

They don't charge much, but I don't care anyway, I'm willing to pay for a good de-dusting process, I'm doing OK financially, and I'm not a tight-ass when it comes to my PC's health.

In US currency, it's about... 15 or 20 dollars, I would think.
They said the process is quick, easy, and painless, LOL

Its not hard, have you watched any youtube videos on the process. Believe me its not hard, I clean out my laptop every 2-4 weeks.

 

[64K]

De-dusting it myself is still a risk I don't wanna take since I've never done it. These guys de-dusted countless PCs until now, for them it's like brushing their teeth, lol, so I'll leave it up to them. I think it's wiser to do that.

They don't charge much, but I don't care anyway, I'm willing to pay for a good de-dusting process, I'm doing OK financially, and I'm not a tight-ass when it comes to my PC's health.

In US currency, it's about... 15 or 20 dollars, I would think.
They said the process is quick, easy, and painless, LOL

I'm surprised. Usually those PC repair shops charge a $60 minimum.

 

[QuietBob]

I talked today with people from a PC hardware and repair store, they said it needs to be cleaned from dust (de-dusting) and then, if the overheating problem still persists, then either repaste the CPU cooler or buy a new cooler. But de-dusting is first, so tomorrow I'll take my PC to them for de-dusting.

After so many years your PC definitely needs a makeover. Hopefully those guys will not only blow the dust out but also brush the components and fans, and clean the case on the inside. That alone should bring your temps down by a few degrees. However, the high numbers you've been seeing recently is a combination of a few different factors.

Firstly, without AC your room temperature may be approaching 30c with the current heatwaves across Europe. That alone will cause a huge spike in your operating temperatures. Secondly, as others said, your case has very poor airflow. That means your components are not getting enough air for cooling and the resulting heat gets trapped inside the case. Ask the repair guys to install additional case fans, your case appears to support two 80mm exhaust fans. Third, your CPU tends to run a little hot in general. This could be remedied with a bigger heatsink. However, without replacing the case itself, such an effort would be largely in vain.

As an immediate workaround, you could remove the left panel altogether and use your PC in this manner for the time being.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I agree with every thing above, except the following.

As an immediate workaround, you could remove the left panel altogether and use your PC in this manner for the time being.

This may help but don't try it without careful monitoring of your temps - and not just the CPU temp, but system and GPU temps too. This is because the side panel of our computer cases ensure, or more accurately "facilitate" the "flow" of cool air through the case. When you remove the side panel, any air "pressure" or "flow" produced by the fans just dissipates or escapes out the side. With the side panel in place, you create a channel, conduit or the "ductwork" needed to direct the cool air towards the heat sensitive devices inside the case.

So when troubleshooting heat related issues, when I suggest removing the side panel, I always recommend blasting a desk fan into the open case too. But of course, that probably would not be wise if the case is full of dust! So best it be cleaned first.

 

[freeagent]

I always get better cooling results with my side panel on.. but if the pc has no airflow it probably won’t matter much. I have an old
R4 stuffed with shitty fractal fans. I can literally do a better job blowing on everything myself. FML those fans suck.

 

[Nash]

De-dusting it myself is still a risk I don't wanna take since I've never done it. These guys de-dusted countless PCs until now, for them it's like brushing their teeth, lol, so I'll leave it up to them. I think it's wiser to do that.

They don't charge much, but I don't care anyway, I'm willing to pay for a good de-dusting process, I'm doing OK financially, and I'm not a tight-ass when it comes to my PC's health.

In US currency, it's about... 15 or 20 dollars, I would think.
They said the process is quick, easy, and painless, LOL

So you could have essentially earned $20 in two minutes simply by knocking the DUST off a PC. Don't forget to tip your waiter!

 

[Bill_Bright]

FTR, I have never seen a Fractal Design fan that was bad and most of our builds in recent years have been with FD cases with FD fans. It is important to note that FD fans are known to be quiet. That automatically means they must spin slower and move less air. That of course reduces cooling effectiveness. It is an inevitable trade-off with all cooling fans.

It sounds like you just had the wrong fan for the job.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I noticed lately that my computer makes too much noise, that means either the CPU fan or the GPU fan is working too hard. My CPU is an AMD Phenom II X4 945 - a quad core of 3 GHz, and I noticed ever since I got it that its cooler and its fan are way too small. But it wasn't making any noise back then, only lately. I know that during summer any computer's temperature tends to rise and that the room's temperature influences the temperatures inside the case.

If I stay on the desktop and don't do anything, the CPU's temperature is 53 degrees Celsius, that's what Core Temp says. And my GPU's temp is 50 degrees according to GPU-Z. But if I start watching a 720p youtube video, after a few minutes the CPU's temp rises to 61 degrees. And if I play a game, the temp goes to 66 degrees! And the GPU's temp goes to 63. I think that's way too much, especially since I read that my CPU's maximum supported temperature is 71 degrees Celsius.

What do you think about this? Are these temperatures normal? Cause I don't think they are! Do I need to buy another cooler for my CPU?

PS: the temperature in my room is around 25 degrees Celsius, maybe 27 or 28 max.

I know I'm late to this party, but my two cents is to buy a new heatsink. A CoolerMaster Hyper 212 is inexpensive, cools like a champ, is easy to install and will do wonders for your Phenom2 X4!

EDIT: If you're stateside, Newegg $35 shipped

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition CPU Air Cooler - Newegg.com

Buy Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition CPU Air Cooler, Silencio FP120 Fan, 4 CDC 2.0 Heatpipes, Anodized Gun-Metal Black, Brushed Nickel Fins for AMD Ryzen/Intel LGA2066/1151 Compatible with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[OneMoar]

80 C is a general rule of thumb for a CPU failure limit that most people want to stay below, 71 degrees is either in the BIOS or just stated for warranty purposes.

My advice to you is to remove the current thermal compound using a dryer cloth, or lintless cloth. Apply new thermal compound to CPU heatsink/fan at a dime size amount. Purchase two fans for intake and outtake exhaust on your PC case.

that rule of thumb does not apply to those old chips Jesus do your research

60c-65c on the old stuff anything over that and they get unstable/unhappy real fast especially if overclocked the older process chips are much more sensitive to temperature that maximum rating is just that on those the maximum before the cpu throttles NOT 24/7 acceptable range like the newer intel/amd stuff


op needs a new system the board is going to let go before the cpu anyway (age and less then optimal vrm design on that board I would expect it to fail sooner rather then later)

if he goes to a tower cooler hes going to need to figure out how to get some air flow on the vrms or its going to go POP!

 

[Ravenas]

that rule of thumb does not apply to those old chips Jesus do your research

60c-65c on the old stuff anything over that and they get unstable/unhappy real fast especially if overclocked the older process chips are much more sensitive to temperature that maximum rating is just that on those the maximum before the cpu throttles NOT 24/7 acceptable range like the newer intel/amd stuff


op needs a new system the board is going to let go before the cpu anyway (age and less then optimal vrm design on that board I would expect it to fail sooner rather then later)

if he goes to a tower cooler hes going to need to figure out how to get some air flow on the vrms or its going to go POP!

I have the CPU he is referencing. It absolutely applies. The range is fine even on new chips.

I guess he could follow your reference points…

You: Buy a new motherboard, change his case, buy new case fans ( I recommended this).

Seems logical.