CPU temp over 90C in idle!?

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mchizz

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Hi,

for a few months now i have occasionally had this problem where my system will just shut down instantly, as if turned off at the wall. It happens when using certain software i.e. converting video, burning video dvd's. I thought it was a problem with my graphics card at first but today i looked at the temperatures of my processor and i think i may have found the problem, but i haven't clue why? In idle the temp is over 90 degrees C. Which, reading up on it is ridiculously high! so when using intense cpu power this just works the cpu even more, hence shutting down before the whole thing melts!

I need to know why this is happening, even at idle. I have a fan at the front of my unit, one to the side and one at the rear, all sending air in the right direction, and of course one on the CPU. I have checked my bios setting and all the fans are running. I have also watch the temp's in the bios from turning the system on, within minutes its over 90. All the fans seem to be working so what else could this be? could this be a problem with my motherboard and the management of the fans? surely when its picks readings up of over 90c the fans should kick in? My system is just a year old, and its not a new issue, just that i have only just stumbled on a possible reason why? 90% of the time the system is used to brose the web, so its not as if the system if over worked very often?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any help or ideas on this would be much appreciated!!

Kind regards

Marc

Windows vista 32
Asus P5N-D motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad, Q8200
4gb Kingston HyperX ram
Radeon HD4870 1gb graphics card
 
Well, if the bios is reading the same temperature that means it's accurate. Add in the fact the shut downs are most likely due to over heating, I say you're right to believe that is the cause.

Need to start troubleshooting:

-check all fans for dust
- is it prebuilt or did you build it? If the later, how did you apply the thermal paste?
-does air have room to circulate in/around the computer? (in a desk, bad wire management, etc)

Check those out, then we can move to other things.

(just a side note, by using a 32 bit OS you're wasting RAM. 32 bit can only recognize 3.25-3.5gb of RAM. Then add in your 1gb graphics cards you're basically only using 2.25-2.5GB of your RAM.)
 
Hi Wafflehammer, thanks for the quick response!!!

I vacumn the case and fans regularly, it is prebuilt to my spec by a small firm.

The computer tower has plenty of room, in my opinion and how i've had computers setup before. There is about 1ft of room to the rear, 1m to the side with the fan, and inch or so the mother board side of the case.

I didn't quite realise how the 32bit version of windows worked, i get a few messages regarding running out of ram. I knew that the only 64bit version recognises 8gb. I thought the 1gb of the graphics card works independantly of the 4gb of ram i have?

Reason i didn't go for the 64 bit is because of having to revert to 64bit only software?

Thanks again for your help buddy
 
I knew that the only 64bit version recognises 8gb.
Actually 64-bit Windows can use up to 128GB of RAM, and up to exabytes theoretically.

I thought the 1gb of the graphics card works independantly of the 4gb of ram i have?
It does, but since 32-bit can only 'fit' up to 4GB into the inner workings, it needs to include that 1GB otherwise it would be as if you had no graphics RAM.

Reason i didn't go for the 64 bit is because of having to revert to 64bit only software?
Btw, this isn't much of a problem nowadays. Pretty much everything has a 64-bit version nowadays, and 32-bit programs will still work in 64-bit.
 
I seriously suggest re-checking your vacuum job. Just simply sticking a vacuum in the case and wiggling it around won't work. It's best to take it apart and get your hands dirty. I use a wire brush to clean mine.

I would be willing to bet that under that CPU fan is a big cake of dust and nastyness that needs to come out.
The only reason your system would be running so hot is inadequate cooling. You said you bought it from some company, so surely to god they had the knowledge to put a heatsink on correctly. This is why I believe you're harboring dust cakes between the fan and the heatsink.

For what it's worth, 90c will kill your processor. Most CPUs are only rated up to around 70 or 80c MAX. Yours is hitting 90c. Fix it before your computer dies completely. Also, the temps in BIOS are 70-80% load. That's not an idle temp.
 
Thanks rich, my next move is to get in and remove the CPU fan, will post my findings!
 
Yamikotai! you may be the right man to ask about this, is there a way of freeing up ram if i'm using a graphics program such as photostop or a rendering program such as 3D studio max? I get error message every so often and i just have to make do and work round it? cheers mate
 
also what is your power source? if it's too low it can cause these problems. I had a similar problem with an AMD athlon 64 and found out that after upgrading to a bigger power supply (a 520 watt server psu from a friend) that my cooling problems stopped. also noticed that the fan above the cpu when turned by hand was not spinning smoothly and swapped that out with a fan in better condition. just my 2 cents though on this subject.
 
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