# CPU overheating under low load?



## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 4, 2020)

Right away, sorry if this fits better in General Hardware


I've had overheating issues for a couple weeks now, with my CPU running into high 70s or low 80s (Celsius) before my computer shuts down on its own. It was fine before this, running smoothly and never overheating, and now I can't even run games like Minecraft or early 2000's flash games. Hell, it overheats when updating Steam.

I've tried updating drivers, cleaning my case, reseating my heatsink and replacing thermal paste, resetting BIOS, redoing my cable management, checking the direction of my fans, but nothing seems to be helping. If you have other ideas for what I could do, I'd appreciate it!

Hardware:

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Super
Asus m5a99x EVO r2.0
AMD FX 8350 w/ stock cooler
16 GB RAM
Let me know if you need more info!


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## dirtyferret (Mar 4, 2020)

In the last few weeks has anything changed?  Room temp? New hardware?  BIOS update?

Assuming the heatsink is properly seated; have you checked to make sure all the fans are running properly (case, gpu, cpu, PSU)?  Other options are trying to undervolt your CPU, more case fans (if possible), better airflow case, and/or aftermarket CPU cooler.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 4, 2020)

How long has it been running?  What changes occurred a few weeks ago?  Are you sure the load is low and other processes aren't using the cpu?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 4, 2020)

dirtyferret said:


> In the last few weeks has anything changed?  Room temp? New hardware?  BIOS update?
> 
> Assuming the heatsink is properly seated; have you checked to make sure all the fans are running properly (case, gpu, cpu, PSU)?  Other options are trying to undervolt your CPU, more case fans (if possible), better airflow case, and/or aftermarket CPU cooler.


No, nothing's changed. Last thing that changed was the GPU, but that was way back in October.

I've checked all the fans, and while the GPU fans aren't running now, they begin when they're heating up. I have three case fans, an intake in the lower front and two output across the top. Maybe I should move them around somehow?



moproblems99 said:


> How long has it been running?  What changes occurred a few weeks ago?  Are you sure the load is low and other processes aren't using the cpu?


I make sure to shut it off every day when I'm done using it. I almost never keep it on overnight. 

According to the Task Manager the load on the CPU is around 20% with two Chrome tabs open, and aside from the game launcher, I don't have anything else open while playing. Nothing's changed in the last few weeks, the most recent change was installing the GPU, but that was months ago.


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## dirtyferret (Mar 4, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> No, nothing's changed. Last thing that changed was the GPU, but that was way back in October.
> 
> I've checked all the fans, and while the GPU fans aren't running now, they begin when they're heating up. I have three case fans, an intake in the lower front and two output across the top. Maybe I should move them around somehow?



I'm not sure of what case you have.  Personally I would use one fan in the front as intake.  One fan in the rear as out and one fan in the top back as out leaving the top front open for the CPU to pull cooler air in.  That said it should not be a major difference from what you have (maybe 3-4c lower if lucky).  Are you looking to move on from the current set up anytime soon?  

I would definitely look into a cpu cooler upgrade as well even something cheap like a gammax 400


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 4, 2020)

dirtyferret said:


> I'm not sure of what case you have.


I'm going to be honest, neither am I. It's on the smaller side, but it's served me well for a couple years now, though the airflow might not be fantastic.


dirtyferret said:


> Personally I would use one fan in the front as intake. One fan in the rear as out and one fan in the top back as out leaving the top front open for the CPU to pull cooler air in. That said it should not be a major difference from what you have (maybe 3-4c lower if lucky). Are you looking to move on from the current set up anytime soon?


I'd like to keep this setup alive as long as possible, but if not possible, I have some money set aside for upgrades. I'm thinking of replacing CPU, and by extension, MOBO, before long, especially if the overheating issue can't be fixed.


dirtyferret said:


> I would definitely look into a cpu cooler upgrade as well even something cheap like a gammax 400


Getting a new CPU cooler is definitely a good idea, I'll make sure to look into that ASAP.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 4, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> No, nothing's changed. Last thing that changed was the GPU, but that was way back in October.
> 
> I've checked all the fans, and while the GPU fans aren't running now, they begin when they're heating up. I have three case fans, an intake in the lower front and two output across the top. Maybe I should move them around somehow?
> 
> ...



Does it look like the cpu is getting normal voltage and isn't abnormally high?  It's really hard to say unless the CPU fan Isn't spinning fast enough.  If you set the CPU fan to 100%, how does it react?  Any Windows updates around the time the temp increase happened?



MacchiatoLatte said:


> Getting a new CPU cooler is definitely a good idea, I'll make sure to look into that ASAP.



I don't think that is necessary if you were running with good temps previously.  It is possible that the GPU is just dumping too much heat into the case though.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 4, 2020)

moproblems99 said:


> Does it look like the cpu is getting normal voltage and isn't abnormally high?  It's really hard to say unless the CPU fan Isn't spinning fast enough.  If you set the CPU fan to 100%, how does it react?  Any Windows updates around the time the temp increase happened?
> 
> I don't think that is necessary if you were running with good temps previously. It is possible that the GPU is just dumping too much heat into the case though.


It's at 1.345V right now.​​HWMonitor says my CPU fan is spinning around 3400RPM at 100%, but I've seen it up at 5000RPM in the past. It doesn't go that high anymore, though.​​I don't _think _there were any Windows updates back then, but I'm not entirely sure. Is there some way to check?

That could be it. It's releasing heat towards the CPU, but it seems strange the problem wouldn't have happened sooner if that was the case (pun intended)?​


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## dirtyferret (Mar 4, 2020)

moproblems99 said:


> It is possible that the GPU is just dumping too much heat into the case though.



It was one my initial thoughts but he said he got it in October and there was no noticeable temp increase then.



MacchiatoLatte said:


> It's at 1.345V right now.​​HWMonitor says my CPU fan is spinning around 3400RPM at 100%, but I've seen it up at 5000RPM in the past. It doesn't go that high anymore, though.​​I don't _think _there were any Windows updates back then, but I'm not entirely sure. Is there some way to check?​​That could be it. It's releasing heat towards the CPU, but it seems strange the problem wouldn't have happened sooner if that was the case (pun intended)?​



5k RPM?  off the top of my head I thought that cooler peaked at 3400rpm...


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 4, 2020)

dirtyferret said:


> 5k RPM? off the top of my head I thought that cooler peaked at 3400rpm...


It probably does since that's what it peaks at now. Though, I don't know how often it happened. I remember reading it once on HWMonitor while playing Subnautica, so maybe it was a software glitch and not a hardware error?


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## dirtyferret (Mar 4, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> It probably does since that's what it peaks at now. Though, I don't know how often it happened. I remember reading it once on HWMonitor while playing Subnautica, so maybe it was a software glitch and not a hardware error?


So the FX8350 came with two coolers.  The stock cooler used a 80mm fan @ 4700rpm+ (it sat plainly on top of the heat sink) with a sleeveless cable.  The wraith cooler used a 92mm delta fan @ 3200rpm (the fan had a plastic cover along its outside) and a sleeved cable.  I'm guessing you have the former but only you can tell.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 4, 2020)

dirtyferret said:


> So the FX8350 came with two coolers.  The stock cooler used a 80mm fan @ 4700rpm+ (it sat plainly on top of the heat sink) with a sleeveless cable.  The wraith cooler used a 92mm delta fan @ 3200rpm (the fan had a plastic cover along its outside) and a sleeved cable.  I'm guessing you have the former but only you can tell.


Judging by the cable, yes, it's the former. Wonder why it stays on 3400 despite the temperature increasing, then.


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 4, 2020)

What power supply?


Do a clear cmos and save optimized settings.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 4, 2020)

eidairaman1 said:


> What power supply?
> 
> 
> Do a clear cmos and save optimized settings.


It's a Corsair CX750m.
Sorry for stupid question by the way, but what's the difference between factory resetting BIOS and clearing CMOS?


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## xvi (Mar 4, 2020)

Have you physically checked to see if the heatsink itself is getting hot? If the heatsink is getting nearly as hot as the processor, you should be able to feel the heat coming from it without touching it. You could try touching the metal parts of the heatsink too, just be cautious not to give yourself a heatsink-shaped burn. 

If the heatsink is hot, the fan is spinning, and it's not chock full of dust, then I'd say check your CPU voltages with CPU-Z, AMD Overdrive, or HWMonitor/OpenHardwareMonitor just to make sure it's not accidentally running it at 1.8v or something.

If the heatsink is cold and you have fresh thermal paste, have you tried reseating the heatsink? I'd like to make another vote for an inexpensive aftermarket heatsink but I don't think that's the problem. I've always changed mine out for aftermarket but that was mostly for looks as well as performance. The stock one should obviously perform well enough to keep it from overheating.

Do thermals change if you power it up on its side? Kind of reminds me of an issue I had back in 2010. I had a Radeon HD 4850 that would overheat unless I laid my PC down on its side (with the card facing straight up and down). I chalked it up to a failed heatpipe and replaced the cooler.



MacchiatoLatte said:


> what's the difference between factory resetting BIOS and clearing CMOS?


Shouldn't be much. Pulling the battery will actually power everything down and reset rather than just stamping default settings on top of something that may have a glitch or quirk. Sort of like a full, cold shutdown rather than a warm reboot.

Edit: Tons of revisions adding and changing stuff around.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

xvi said:


> Have you physically checked to see if the heatsink itself is getting hot?


Just checked, it's around room temperature immediately after the computer almost overheating again.
I'll try reseating the heatsink and then booting on its side just to see if it'll change something.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 5, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> Just checked, it's around room temperature immediately after the computer almost overheating again.
> I'll try reseating the heatsink and then booting on its side just to see if it'll change something.



Just curios but is it summer or winter for you?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

moproblems99 said:


> Just curios but is it summer or winter for you?


It's late winter right now.


xvi said:


> Do thermals change if you power it up on its side? Kind of reminds me of an issue I had back in 2010. I had a Radeon HD 4850 that would overheat unless I laid my PC down on its side (with the card facing straight up and down). I chalked it up to a failed heatpipe and replaced the cooler.


Double-checked heatsink and it was attached properly. CPU still gets extremely hot even when booted on the side. I'll try to find the MOBO battery for a CMOS clear and get back to the thread in the morning since it's getting way too late for troubleshooting. Thanks for the help so far, though!


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## Durvelle27 (Mar 5, 2020)

Was the CPU new or used ?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

Durvelle27 said:


> Was the CPU new or used ?


It was new when I got it, but it's a couple years old by now.


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## Durvelle27 (Mar 5, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> It was new when I got it, but it's a couple years old by now.


Has it ever been overclocked


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## joemama (Mar 5, 2020)

Computers shutting down on its own doesn't seem like a overheating cpu problem, and also 70~80 degrees celsius isn't too high of a temperature to a cpu


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

Durvelle27 said:


> Has it ever been overclocked


It hasn't, no.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 5, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> It's late winter right now.
> 
> Double-checked heatsink and it was attached properly. CPU still gets extremely hot even when booted on the side. I'll try to find the MOBO battery for a CMOS clear and get back to the thread in the morning since it's getting way too late for troubleshooting. Thanks for the help so far, though!



Is the ambient temperature significantly different compared to before the overheats?



joemama said:


> Computers shutting down on its own doesn't seem like a overheating cpu problem, and also 70~80 degrees celsius isn't too high of a temperature to a cpu



I believe it could if the thermals aren't reduced by throttling.  In any case, it wasn't overheating previously.

Actually, @MacchiatoLatte , was it not overheating previously or just not shutting down?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

moproblems99 said:


> Is the ambient temperature significantly different compared to before the overheats?


Yes, actually. With no load except HWMonitor, it can stay down near 20-30°.


moproblems99 said:


> I believe it could if the thermals aren't reduced by throttling.  In any case, it wasn't overheating previously.
> 
> Actually, @MacchiatoLatte , was it not overheating previously or just not shutting down?


It didn't overheat at all. To be exact, it still got to low 70s, but the CPU fan would kick in at that point and keep it from rising more.


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## phanbuey (Mar 5, 2020)

Is the cooler hot when this happens, or does it feel cool to the touch.  Sounds like something warped and isn't making good contact... or the thermal diode is going nuts.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

phanbuey said:


> Is the cooler hot when this happens, or does it feel cool to the touch.  Sounds like something warped and isn't making good contact... or the thermal diode is going nuts.


It's pretty hot, or at least the air is.


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 5, 2020)

xvi said:


> Have you physically checked to see if the heatsink itself is getting hot? If the heatsink is getting nearly as hot as the processor, you should be able to feel the heat coming from it without touching it. You could try touching the metal parts of the heatsink too, just be cautious not to give yourself a heatsink-shaped burn.
> 
> If the heatsink is hot, the fan is spinning, and it's not chock full of dust, then I'd say check your CPU voltages with CPU-Z, AMD Overdrive, or HWMonitor/OpenHardwareMonitor just to make sure it's not accidentally running it at 1.8v or something.
> 
> ...



Depends on motherboard actually.

Another thing, make sure there is no plastic film on heatsink.



MacchiatoLatte said:


> It's a Corsair CX750m.
> Sorry for stupid question by the way, but what's the difference between factory resetting BIOS and clearing CMOS?



How old? New or Used?


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## moproblems99 (Mar 5, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> Yes, actually. With no load except HWMonitor, it can stay down near 20-30°.



What I meant is the temperature of the room that the PC is in.  Has it gotten warmer or colder since October?

Have you put any other heat generating items near the intakes of the PC?  Have you put anything around the PC that could restrict the intake or exhaust?

I don't really believe this has anything to do with the PSU.  That wouldn't cause the CPU temps to rise 10c but it could cause the shutdowns.  Still, not where I would spend time at this point.


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## Athlonite (Mar 5, 2020)

if the fan is supposed to spin upto 4700+ RPM and now it's not sounds like a dying fan struggling to do its job try replacing the fan if that doesn't fix the problem then there's something more amiss. Have you had any power outages or brownouts or power surges recently those can also cause physical damage to electronic components


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## xvi (Mar 5, 2020)

phanbuey said:


> or the thermal diode is going nuts.


I'm starting to wonder this too. Maybe the temperature sensor on the CPU is failing.
MacchiatoLatte, when you physically check, it sounds like everything seems warm but not hot? Like a fresh brewed cup of tea/coffee hot?


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## Durvelle27 (Mar 5, 2020)

What software are you using to read temps


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

eidairaman1 said:


> How old? New or Used?


It's, I think 4.5 years old? It was new when I bought it.


moproblems99 said:


> What I meant is the temperature of the room that the PC is in. Has it gotten warmer or colder since October?


It's gotten colder since October. Maybe 5 degrees outside, 17 or so in my room.


moproblems99 said:


> Have you put any other heat generating items near the intakes of the PC? Have you put anything around the PC that could restrict the intake or exhaust?


I moved my fan there, but it's been there for almost a year now.


Athlonite said:


> Have you had any power outages or brownouts or power surges recently those can also cause physical damage to electronic components


Not since December, no.


xvi said:


> MacchiatoLatte, when you physically check, it sounds like everything seems warm but not hot? Like a fresh brewed cup of tea/coffee hot?


It's like a slightly-too-hot shower. I'd say around 45 degrees.


Durvelle27 said:


> What software are you using to read temps


I'm using HWMonitor to read the temps.


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## JackCarver (Mar 5, 2020)

Did you reset BIOS already? If so I assume it's a broken temp sensor which reads cpu temps. You

- applied new thermal paste
- reseated the heatsink
- double checked that heatsink is sitting propperly
- cleaned PC, heatsink, fans
- checked that all fans are working as they should be
- checked that ambient temp is around 17C, would be way too cold for me, but is good for the hardware 

So criterion for exclusion says, that it shouldn't show that high temps even at low load. Only thing which is remaining is a broken cpu temp sensor. Maybe time to buy new cpu.

Edit:
By the way, were those cpus soldered or did they use thermal paste like Intel did long time?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> Did you reset BIOS already?
> 
> By the way, where those cpus soldered or did they use thermal paste like Intel did long time?


I did reset BIOS.

I think they're soldered.


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## JackCarver (Mar 5, 2020)

Ok so even on factory setting still heat problems. Broken temp sensor which gives you wrong cpu temps is my guess then. When they are soldered there should also be no problem with the heat dissipation between Die and IHS.

Edit:


MacchiatoLatte said:


> I'm using HWMonitor to read the temps.


Did you also check with another program like CoreTemp?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> Ok so even on factory setting still heat problems. Broken temp sensor which gives you wrong cpu temps is my guess then. When they are soldered there should also be no problem with the heat dissipation between Die and IHS.
> 
> Edit:
> 
> Did you also check with another program like CoreTemp?


I just checked with CoreTemp and it shows the same numbers.


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 5, 2020)

Swap motherboards, test in a shop and see if anything changes...


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

eidairaman1 said:


> Swap motherboards, test in a shop and see if anything changes...


I don't have a motherboard to swap with, and no shops nearby with hardware, unfortunately.


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## JackCarver (Mar 5, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> I don't have a motherboard to swap with, and no shops nearby with hardware, unfortunately.



You will have to test it with other mainboard, otherwise I assume you won't find the problem.


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## milewski1015 (Mar 5, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> It didn't overheat at all. To be exact, it still got to low 70s, but the CPU fan would kick in at that point and keep it from rising more.



By this do you mean the fan isn't starting until the CPU hits the low 70s?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 5, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> You will have to test it with other mainboard, otherwise I assume you won't find the problem.


Shit, that sucks. Guess I'll have to figure something out.


milewski1015 said:


> By this do you mean the fan isn't starting until the CPU hits the low 70s?


The fans are always running, but they don't speed up at high temps anymore.


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## xvi (Mar 5, 2020)

eidairaman1 said:


> Swap motherboards





JackCarver said:


> test it with other mainboard


It would probably be cheaper to buy a low-end CPU used to see if thermals show good there. I would suspect a motherboard would be more costly to ship than a cheap CPU.

If you don't mind my curiosity, Macchiato, are you in the US? I may have some spare parts.


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## Aquinus (Mar 5, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> The fans are always running, but they don't speed up at high temps anymore.


Maybe the fan on the cooler is beginning to fail. It might be trying to run at full tilt already because there's not enough airflow because by the time the CPU gets that hot, it's already feeding 100% PWM to the cooler. I'd turn the machine off and feel the fan. Does it have a lot of movement up and down? Is it easy to spin without friction slowing it down almost immediately? As I understand it, the stock cooler should be spinning up as high as 4.5k RPMs. If it's considerably lower than that at full tilt, the fan might be on the way out.

With that said, a new cooler is a relatively cheap part. It might be a good place to start.

Edit:


MacchiatoLatte said:


> HWMonitor says my CPU fan is spinning around 3400RPM at 100%, but I've seen it up at 5000RPM in the past. It doesn't go that high anymore, though.


I missed this post. I'm even more convinced that the fan might be failing. I'd replace the cooler.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 6, 2020)

xvi said:


> It would probably be cheaper to buy a low-end CPU used to see if thermals show good there. I would suspect a motherboard would be more costly to ship than a cheap CPU.
> 
> If you don't mind my curiosity, Macchiato, are you in the US? I may have some spare parts.


That's a good idea, I'll probably try that out.

No, I'm unfortunately in Sweden, so my options are fairly limited for new and used parts.


Aquinus said:


> I missed this post. I'm even more convinced that the fan might be failing. I'd replace the cooler.


I'll probably try to do that sometime next week if I find a good replacement. Considering a Hyper 212 Evo, do you know if that's any good?


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## xvi (Mar 6, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> Considering a Hyper 212 Evo


They're usually pretty highly recommended as having good performance while being inexpensive. They're getting a little old now, but it would be a good upgrade over the stock cooler.

If the issue is a failing temperature sensor, a colder CPU should help keep it from shutting down, but I suspect you'll still have some issues under load.

If you're comfortable with it, a free and quick solution that would have a similar effect would be to lower CPU voltage to reduce temps. You would gain colder temperatures but it may make your processor unstable. If you accidentally turn voltage up, it could physically damage the processor or motherboard.

The process would be to find some kind of overclocking software (probably AMD Overdrive which I've just noticed has been discontinued, so here's a mirror) and lower the "CPU VID" voltage which will significantly reduce temperatures. You gain colder temps but the tradeoff is you reduce the stability of your processor. As long as you don't accidentally change your voltage up at all (shouldn't be over ~1.4v when you start out), there shouldn't be any risk.
You'll want to save and close out of anything you're working on and slowly lower CPU voltage down until either the temperatures look good or your computer crashes. If it does crash, when it boots back up, set voltage to slightly above where it crashed.

If that works, you could try both the new CPU cooler and lowered voltages and you should hopefully be back to pretty stable conditions.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 6, 2020)

xvi said:


> They're usually pretty highly recommended as having good performance while being inexpensive. They're getting a little old now, but it would be a good upgrade over the stock cooler.
> 
> If the issue is a failing temperature sensor, a colder CPU should help keep it from shutting down, but I suspect you'll still have some issues under load.
> 
> ...


Definitely trying this tomorrow! Do you have a recommended software or is a Google search enough?


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 6, 2020)

@MacchiatoLatte
Welcome to the forums!

Looks like a bunch of good people have already chimed in with input and you could be having one of several different problems.

My recommendation would be to remove the heat sink and fan to clean them out, then reseat the unit and see if cleaning helped. Next, @xvi suggestion of lowering the voltage is good idea to try if your CPU has developed a fault. However, to keep this stable, you should also reduce the clock speed by a double percentage, rounded down to the nearest 5%. For example, if you drop the voltage from the 1.345v you stated earlier to 1.3(a good setting to try) which is about 4% drop, lower the clock speed by 10%. This would be a change from 4000mhz to 3600mhz. Then reboot and watch your temps. If Windows crashes, you'll need to drop your clock speed lower to say 3400mhz and try again. If windows is stable but your CPU still overheats then you very likely have a fault in your CPU, the motherboard or perhaps both, which is unfortunate.

Try this out and keep us posted as to the results.

PS, At this time, it might be wise to consider an upgrade. You can get a Ryzen 5 1600 or Ryzen 7 1700 for very cheap and a matching motherboard and ram for very reasonable prices. That's only a thought, but lets work the problem first.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 6, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> @MacchiatoLatte
> Welcome to the forums!
> 
> Looks like a bunch of good people have already chimed in with input and you could be having one of several different problems.
> ...


I'm gonna try cleaning the heatsink and fan, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow because I don't want to wake family by messing around too much.

As for the clock speed, do I do that with the same software as the voltage?


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 6, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> As for the clock speed, do I do that with the same software as the voltage?


You would be doing that from within the bios. Have you done such before? It's ok if not. There's a first time for everything and we can help walk you through that too.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 6, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> You would be doing that from within the bios. Have you done such before? It's ok if not. There's a first time for everything and we can help walk you through that too.


I haven't before, no. I'd appreciate the help with getting it done, but I'm afraid it's a little too late in the night to do so, as it's 2:30 in the morning and I have to be up early tomorrow. Thank you so much for being so helpful so far, though! I'll clean out the heatsink and fan when I get back, and if I can't figure out the BIOS I'll try to find a guide somewhere. I'll make sure to post the results tomorrow afternoon, though.


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 6, 2020)

MacchiatoLatte said:


> I'll try to find a guide somewhere.


Try this one as it should illustrate everything you need to work your way through your board's BIOS;








						Chapter 3: Bios Setup; Knowing Bios - Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 User Manual [Page 73]
					

Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 Manual Online: chapter 3: bios setup, Knowing Bios. The New Asus Uefi Bios Is A Unified Extensible Interface That Complies With Uefi Architecture, Offering A User-Friendly Interface That Goes Beyond The Traditional Keyboard- Only Bios Controls To Enable A More...




					www.manualslib.com
				




EDIT;
In the Advanced menu, start by disabling the AI Overclock tuner and the AMD Turbo Core Tech and see if this helps.


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## xvi (Mar 6, 2020)

I used AMD Overdrive when I had my FX 8350 and would recommend that over most other options. If you have trouble installing it from this mirror at Guru3D or prefer something else, you'll probably want to use the software included with your motherboard which appears to be ASUS's AI Suite II although I'm having trouble finding a download link for that on ASUS's site. Someone may have another recommendation.


MacchiatoLatte said:


> As for the clock speed, do I do that with the same software as the voltage?


Yes, most software used for overclocking that lets you change both. Normally, you'd be increasing CPU frequency and adding voltage for stability but we'd be doing almost the opposite. The main thing we want is to lower voltage to get temps down and as Lex noted, you may need to lower frequencies to keep your computer stable.

Optionally, you can change this all from the BIOS which is considered the best place to make these changes since the changes made via software would revert back to their default settings every time the computer is rebooted. I don't prefer making these changes in the BIOS when experimenting since bad settings can cause the board to fail to boot meaning you have to clear your BIOS and try again.
Once I've ironed out my settings, I'll for sure go into BIOS and apply them there though.


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## oobymach (Mar 6, 2020)

Your mobo looks like it has a vrm cooler which is good, your cpu can go up to 3.9-4.0ghz on stock cooler. I would go into bios and set your cpu clock manually instead of letting it turbo on its own, start at 3.8ghz and around 1.2v and while running Core Temp or similar software to monitor cpu temps run prime95 a minute or 2 and see if it immediately crashes threads, if not you're good, if so bump voltage a bit and try again. 

Look for 60 degrees max while running p95. Under that and you're golden. I would invest in a new cpu cooler, zalman cnps 10x or a hyper 612 will work very well with 8350 and will allow for probably 4.4ghz with your board if not more.


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 6, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> Try this one as it should illustrate everything you need to work your way through your board's BIOS;
> 
> 
> 
> ...





xvi said:


> I used AMD Overdrive when I had my FX 8350 and would recommend that over most other options. If you have trouble installing it from this mirror at Guru3D or prefer something else, you'll probably want to use the software included with your motherboard which appears to be ASUS's AI Suite II although I'm having trouble finding a download link for that on ASUS's site. Someone may have another recommendation.
> 
> Yes, most software used for overclocking that lets you change both. Normally, you'd be increasing CPU frequency and adding voltage for stability but we'd be doing almost the opposite. The main thing we want is to lower voltage to get temps down and as Lex noted, you may need to lower frequencies to keep your computer stable.
> 
> ...





oobymach said:


> Your mobo looks like it has a vrm cooler which is good, your cpu can go up to 3.9-4.0ghz on stock cooler. I would go into bios and set your cpu clock manually instead of letting it turbo on its own, start at 3.8ghz and around 1.2v and while running Core Temp or similar software to monitor cpu temps run prime95 a minute or 2 and see if it immediately crashes threads, if not you're good, if so bump voltage a bit and try again.
> 
> Look for 60 degrees max while running p95. Under that and you're golden. I would invest in a new cpu cooler, zalman cnps 10x or a hyper 612 will work very well with 8350 and will allow for probably 4.4ghz with your board if not more.


I got the voltage down to 1.275 without crashing, and lowered clock speed to 3.4GHz too, and it seems to have dropped the temps by a lot. I probably won't buy any hardware until I've decided whether or not I'm replacing the whole rig right away, but this seems to have given my computer a little more time to let me come to a decision! Sure, performance dropped, but that's to be expected from powering down the CPU. 

Thank you all so much, and if there's anything else I've forgotten, please don't hesitate to tell me!


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## JackCarver (Mar 6, 2020)

Did you also clean heatsink and fans?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 6, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> Did you also clean heatsink and fans?


I did, yes.


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## theonek (Mar 6, 2020)

maybe the cpu itself is starting to die already, i remember an old dual core amd's tend to do this overheating problem with no load right before they die completely, so the problem maybe the same here, take in mind that, just look for any other cpu for substitute...


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 6, 2020)

theonek said:


> maybe the cpu itself is starting to die already, i remember an old dual core amd's tend to do this overheating problem with no load right before they die completely, so the problem maybe the same here, take in mind that, just look for any other cpu for substitute...



Never had that problem


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 6, 2020)

theonek said:


> maybe the cpu itself is starting to die already, i remember an old dual core amd's tend to do this overheating problem with no load right before they die completely, so the problem maybe the same here, take in mind that, just look for any other cpu for substitute...


As much as I want this to not be the case, it is getting up there in age, so it might be. I'll look into hardware for an upgrade before long.


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 6, 2020)

eidairaman1 said:


> Never had that problem


I've seen it from time to time. But it also happens with Intel CPU's. Not often, but it does happen.


MacchiatoLatte said:


> I got the voltage down to 1.275 without crashing, and lowered clock speed to 3.4GHz too, and it seems to have dropped the temps by a lot. I probably won't buy any hardware until I've decided whether or not I'm replacing the whole rig right away, but this seems to have given my computer a little more time to let me come to a decision! Sure, performance dropped, but that's to be expected from powering down the CPU.
> 
> Thank you all so much, and if there's anything else I've forgotten, please don't hesitate to tell me!


Glad you got it under control and stable! The problem is we still don't know what the issue is. It could still be either the CPU or the motherboard.


MacchiatoLatte said:


> As much as I want this to not be the case, it is getting up there in age, so it might be. I'll look into hardware for an upgrade before long.


The good side of this is that an upgrade is very easy, and inexpensive. A Ryzen 7 1700, 1700x or 1800X and matching motherboard and ram would be a massive upgrade from what you have. A Ryzen 2700 or 2700x would still be inexpensive as well. If money is not an issue, get yourself some Ryzen 9 3900x goodness. 12 cores at 4.2ghz all core turbo... Oh yeah! Good for gaming and everything else! For the cost, it kicks the crap out of anything Intel has on offer currently. It's what some of us stateside call a sweet-spot CPU.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 6, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> 12 cores at 4.2ghz all core turbo.



I hope he is lucky enough to get that.  I have done a fair amount of tweaking and only get spurts of 4.15ghz all-core.  I think the remainder of problem is temp as my ambient is fairly warm.


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## Vayra86 (Mar 6, 2020)

Did not read 3 pages. But when I see heat and an FX 8 core CPU my first suggestion is to check and drastically lower VRM/ mosfet temps.

That is how these guys fail. And even on a good board, age will bring out the ugly there.


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 6, 2020)

Vayra86 said:


> Did not read 3 pages. But when I see heat and an FX 8 core CPU my first suggestion is to check and drastically lower VRM/ mosfet temps.
> 
> That is how these guys fail. And even on a good board, age will bring out the ugly there.


I was thinking that too. However, in the case of the OP's board the VRM's are heatsink'd. Thing is, lowering the voltage and the clocks seems to have worked. That could indicate CPU or motherboard. With the VRM's if even one failed, lowering the voltage would have made no difference. Would be interesting to see what they look like under those heatsinks.


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## Aquinus (Mar 6, 2020)

You know guys, the OP said this:


MacchiatoLatte said:


> with my CPU running into high 70s or low 80s (Celsius) before my computer shuts down on its own


This isn't a Ryzen chip. Isn't this chip supposed to be kept at or under ~61°C more like the Phenom chips? It just sounds like the CPU is running mad hot, hence why replacing the cooler first might be the better option.


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 7, 2020)

Aquinus said:


> This isn't a Ryzen chip. Isn't this chip supposed to be kept at or under ~61°C more like the Phenom chips? It just sounds like the CPU is running mad hot, hence why replacing the cooler first might be the better option.


That was true for the first gen FX 8 core CPU's(Zambezi 81xx), but for the refresh(Vishera 83xx/9xxx) they did not declare publicly(AFAIK) the temp threshold for those CPU's. They were thought to be 80C->90C before beginning to throttle themselves. The 9370 and 9590 where 215w TDP parts and those would have had to have high temp tolerances.


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## biffzinker (Mar 7, 2020)

Is it possible the indium solder between the die, and heatspreader has micro fractures causing separation?


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## MacchiatoLatte (Mar 7, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> The good side of this is that an upgrade is very easy, and inexpensive. A Ryzen 7 1700, 1700x or 1800X and matching motherboard and ram would be a massive upgrade from what you have. A Ryzen 2700 or 2700x would still be inexpensive as well. If money is not an issue, get yourself some Ryzen 9 3900x goodness. 12 cores at 4.2ghz all core turbo... Oh yeah! Good for gaming and everything else! For the cost, it kicks the crap out of anything Intel has on offer currently.


Hey, thanks for the suggestions! I added a Ryzen 2700 and compatible MOBO and RAM, along with a Cooler Master CPU cooler to a list of future purchases. All in all it's around $500, which I feel is a fair price for an all-round upgrade, especially since a 2060 Super should last a little while longer without an upgrade. A nice bonus, it solves the issue of whether it's CPU or motherboard-related.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 7, 2020)

biffzinker said:


> Is it possible the indium solder between the die, and heatspreader has micro fractures causing separation?



Basically, anything is still on the table because the OP has no way to diagnose.  If it were me, I would buy a 212 or something to test it out on.  If it fixes it great, if not, throw it in the spare parts bin.  If the OP doesn't have the funds for that, then I would use a cheap dvm to actually test the voltages going in as best as I could.  If the voltages are where they should be....


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 7, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> That was true for the first gen FX 8 core CPU's(Zambezi 81xx), but for the refresh(Vishera 83xx/9xxx) they did not declare publicly(AFAIK) the temp threshold for those CPU's. They were thought to be 80C->90C before beginning to throttle themselves. The 9370 and 9590 where 215w TDP parts and those would have had to have high temp tolerances.



I've had the 8350 at 5.0GHz with my current cooler at 75°C under Ryzen Blender set Vcore is 1.467, under under blender it goes to 1.524. Gaming it is 55°C, Idle it is 40°C

Motherboard is TUF Sabertooth 990FX R2.0.



Vayra86 said:


> Did not read 3 pages. But when I see heat and an FX 8 core CPU my first suggestion is to check and drastically lower VRM/ mosfet temps.
> 
> That is how these guys fail. And even on a good board, age will bring out the ugly there.



Ambient is like 75°F-85°F


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