Is the CPU too hot?

[Gerrardino]

Hi,

My computer specs are as follows:

OSes: Windows XP Pro
Motherboard: ASUS P5ND2-SLI
Processor: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0GHz (not overclocked)
Hard Drive: 250GB SATA
RAM: 2x 512MB DDR 667MHz
Video Card: ATI Radeon X1300 PRO
Optical Drive: Pioneer DVR-110D DVD-RW
USB: 4x USB 2.0
Sound Card: 7.1 Channel
Ethernet Adapter: Intel 10/100/1000 Gigabit

I dont know but I think my Pentium D 830 is too hot. Upon startup
(after being left off for about 10 hours), the CPU temperature is
around 45C (celsius) and steadily rises to about 70C. Even when I'm
not doing anything on the computer the temperature varies from 70C -
75C. When I am doing stuff, playing games, browsing the net, etc. the
temperature is around 75C - 81C. When I am doing big multitasking, the
temperature varies from 81C -86C. Is this normal? I know Pentium D
chips are hot but are they supposed to be this hot?

Thanks

[Rob]

That sounds too hot to me.

[WickedVex]

Yeah...that thing is running hot. Look into replacing the stock heat sink with something like Geefour mentioned. Arctic Cooling has good products for that.

[Persimmons]

what exactly is wrong with using too much paste? Im wondering...

[WickedVex]

Too much paste can result in some of it getting onto the pins on the MoBo and perhaps shorting them out. Also, it just gets too messy for my taste...LoL. Just a thin layer is enough.

[DemonicDerek]

Yeah that is waaaaay to hot that is probably somewhere into the 150F - 175F so yeah get some better thermal paste, or apply a thinner amount. Then see if it works better. If no improvement then get a better fan asap!

[jdh79]

Well the Prescott core P4s like the one you have are notorious for heating, power consumption, etc. Another thing to know about P4s and later Intel processors is they have overheating protection, and if the temperature hits an unsafe level, it will automatically throttle down to a lower speed to protect it, and eventually shut off if the temperature keeps rising. So, it is pretty hard to fry a P4.

How are you reading temps? It's possible the software is way off; ASUS PC Probe is notorious for that. Try downloading SpeedFan; it tends to give accurate readings. Also, is your system stable? If your system is overheating, you'd notice it first by experiencing lockups, crashes, reboots, etc before any hardware damage would occur. If it is perfectly stable and if you aren't overclocking and are using the heatsink that came with it, you're covered by your warranty so I wouldn't worry that much. If it's not stable, that's another issue.