EXTREMELY high cpu temp

[teethlikelions]

i just installed FC5 the other day...
for the first time i have been getting these messages in my consoles and ttys:

Message from syslogd@artax at Fri Mar 31 22:06:11 2006 ...
artax kernel: CPU0: Temperature above threshold

Message from syslogd@artax at Fri Mar 31 22:06:11 2006 ...
artax kernel: CPU0: Running in modulated clock mode

(edit: i know, posts about his message are out there, but they just want to kill the message... i want to fix my cpu so it's at a reasonable temp)

this looks dangerous... i've had fc4 running for some months now and never encountered these errors, are they new to the kernel through fc5?

i've got an Intel Pentium P4 3.00Ghz processor and i just checked in my bios for temps.... bad news:
~80 C --> CPU Temp!!!!
the max operating temp listed for it is 69 C!!!!

my system temp is only 48 C, though i'm unsure what that means...

i've never thought to look into the bios about temps before... could this be a new problem stemming from my fc5 install? or are the alerts simply a new feature added to fc5?


also... where should i go to find out how to fix this problem? (i know this probably doesn't belong here, but i was here already when i saw the messages just now... it seems like an emergency situation to me)
i mean... i have a HUGE fan and heatsink on my processor, why is all the heat staying in it? also, there are several fans circulating the air through the system, and the sytem temp is low... what gives?

although... it is surrounded on three sides... could this be it?


I'M CONCERNED FOR MY INVESTMENT!

[JEO]

48C is real hot for a system temp. You should install a better case fan or cut a hole and add another fan. The big cpu cooler can only cool to it's environment, which is the air inside the case. There should be a free flow of air through a case. An air inlet and and air outlet. On mine I have the air coming in throught the front and going out through the back (had to add a fan there, the power supply fan wasn't enough).

[jhetrick62]

Did you install the heatsink with artic silver compound? It usually makes a huge difference. Do you live in an area where it get hot in the house?

Do you have fans blowing both in and out to keep fresh air running through the box? It's not FC5 by itself causing the problem, the sensors are just different and pointing out the problem.

Jeff

[bob]

Just for general maintenance, every six months or so try cleaning out the case and killing the dust bunnies that end up in there. It's often surprising how much lint and animal hair gets trapped in the system and wrapped around key components. Not sure if it's part of the problem or if you have a system fan that's on it's way out, but I'd check inside that case pretty soon.

[teethlikelions]

i did use arctic silver to put the heatsink on ther processor and i cleaned it out about 3 months ago with compressed air (before i moved), but i've moved from nj to fl and it's been about ~80s the past couple days down here and it's SUPER dusty everywhere. also, my fan is in the back under the power source (and the one in the power source), but that's facing a corner with a desk next to it.
i guess i'll have to try to move it to a better area and try to increase air flow, because the fans seem to be blasting hot air out the back, and it's probably just getting sucked back in.
a fan in the front sounds smart

[marko]

Also a lot of people don't apply the Arctic Silver properly. I see lots of pictures on
DIY webpages where they show WAY too much A.S. on the heat spreader.
This works good for me:

Get out some high strength rubbing alcohol 90% or higher and clean
the heat sink surface that will touch the cpu spreader and the cpu
spreader itself. I find QTips are good for applying the alcohol. This
steps helps remove oils left from the factory.

Let the two dry out so there's no water left (the alcohol dries quickly, the
water residue might stay a while. Any radiant heat source like a light
bulb would help drive this moisture out (or using 100% alcohol would be
good)

Put a plastic sandwich bag on your hand and press a finger into the bag tightly
so it forms around the finger. Put a rubber bang around your wrist so the
bag stays on. put a small amount of A.S. on the finger and smear in it
on the heat sink and the cpu spreader to a square area in the zone
where the cpu chip actually is. The bag is to keep you from getting
A.S. all over, it's sticky and a big mess so this way you can just throw
away the bag. There's no need to go way out where the
chip isn't at, there's no heat flow out here. Now wipe the A.S. off the
two with a clean cotton rag (like an old T-Shirt) so that you only see a
hazy layer on each. - the point of this step is to prefill the micron size cracks in
the metal surfaces.

Let the two alone for a while, then apply a small blob of A.S. to the
cpu spreader (size of a grain of rice or so). trowel this out to the area
where the chip is with a single edge razor blade. Using the razor blade is important
because you need as straight an edge as possible. The layer should be an
thin as you can make it and try to make it convex so the middle will touch
the heat sink first then the outer part last so air doesn't trap in the
compound.

Attach the heat sink to the motherboard as the manufacturer says.

This all sounds hard but after you do it once or twice it gets pretty easy,
so there's no point where you can't start over, it's not like gluing a
plastic model together where at a certain point you're committed and
mistakes can ruin the whole thing. Only when you turn the machine on
is there a risk (bad heat joint can burn up the chip)

Mark

[teethlikelions]

i just got a new power supply and decided i would do some work with the cpu today.

i opened up the box and the cpu fan was COVERED with dust. i forget how much dustier it is here than my last house... it's only been a couple months since i cleaned it last, whereas before i could go for about a year with only minimal dust build-up.

i sprayed it clean and now i'm down to a ~48C cpu and ~44C system temp. my single case fan isn't working properly and the new power source is 99% heat sink with only a tiny fan so the system temp is a little high, but i'll probably get that straightened out soon