Burn baby!

October 18, 2007 5:43 PM

Will I fry this chip?

Recently installed a Athlon X2 4200 to replace an older socket 939 single core Athlon. What is a good operating temperature for it? I'm not looking for maximums, that is easy to find. I want to know what is safe/good. At rest temp in Windows XP is around 46C. Turn on the UT3 beta demo and it will get closer to 60C. Running Prime95 for 10 minutes or so heats it up to 65C. Throughout this, everything has seemed stable. I'm using SpeedFan 4.33 for reporting the temps and not overclocking anything. My motherboard is a Asus A8N-E if it makes a difference. Stock heatsink/cooler and a fairly airy case. Thanks for any opinions!

posted by zackola to computers & internet (10 comments total)

I had a PC who's CPU would heat up to 190°F (87°C), that was an old AMD K6. Usually if a chip is going to fry, it will just fry. According to this your chip should be able to go up a few more degrees.
posted by delmoi at 6:06 PM on October 18, 2007

That's uhm...way too hot. Waaay to hot. You need to:
check to be sure your heatsink is seated
put on some thermal paste
increase case ventilation
and/or get a new heatsink/fan.
With that said, it could be an inaccurate report. Double check by restarting real fast and checking it in the BIOS.
posted by TomMelee at 6:15 PM on October 18, 2007

Yes, way too hot.

The link that delmoi provided is the manufacturers specification of maximum core temperature. The temperature readings that are taken by the motherboard sensors do not come from the core, therefore they are always cooler than the core. I'd say if it's running over 50 under load, it's too hot.

Can't think of anything to add on top of TomMelee's, those are all possible solutions.
posted by Sonic_Molson at 7:31 PM on October 18, 2007

Even if the chip doesn't fry instantly, running at excessively high temperatures shortens the operating life, leading eventually to the part failing without releasing magic smoke.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 7:31 PM on October 18, 2007

Down to 42C idle after cleaning heatsink, processor and reapplying some grease. Still too hot?
posted by zackola at 9:01 PM on October 18, 2007

My 4200+ is about 38C idle and 48C under full load, FWIW. Case ventilation is likely the difference, but really, don't worry about it.

Si doesn't really die until it gets to 100-120C. Anything under 60C and you're fine for a decade at least, at which point I hope you have a new computer.
posted by polyglot at 9:38 PM on October 18, 2007

Just echoing what others have said:

Find out your idle/load temps with and without the side on. That will help to determine if it's a case airflow issue. If it is much cooler loaded with the side off, then review your cables and think about a new case with more fans. And/or smaller cables.

Otherwise look at a better CPU cooler. Also make sure you are using a good thermal paste and the right amount. About a grain of rice spread as thin as possible with the edge of a credit card. Make sure the cooler is seated tightly and evenly. Just barely loose on one side can skew your temps dramatically.

My previous CPU was a 4200, I think I kept it around 48-50 loaded. Everytime I get a new system/CPU it takes a fair amount of adjusting to get the temps right.
posted by jockc at 10:38 PM on October 18, 2007

Meh, I think 60C under load is no drama, it'll be old and worthless long before it burns out.
posted by markr at 12:24 AM on October 19, 2007

nthing the "no drama". 60C ist hot, but far from damaging. Athlons are generally hotter than current Pentiums Core Duo (but not as hot as the old Pentium 4s). Things to try before buying a new cooler:
- polishing the cooler to mirror shine
- using less thermal paste. You need VERY LITTLE.
- check the bios settings. Are they set to automatically adjust fan speed? If so, what target temperature is set? Decrease if necessary.
posted by Nightwind at 1:31 AM on October 19, 2007

That is not way too hot at all. Not in the least. Rule of thumb is to keep the maximum below 70c, but it depends on the chip. They can take a lot more heat than you think. 46c is a perfectly good idling temperature.
posted by lohmannn at 6:20 AM on October 19, 2007