Monitoring CPU Temperature - Prevent CPU Overheating

If the CPU temperature increases to the point of the CPU overheating this can lead to a variety of different symptoms.

This may include

• The computer slowing down as the processor attempts to cool itself.
• Frequent crashes, BSOD or blue screens of death and general system freezes, leading to an unstable system which in extreme cases will be unusable.
• Weird and wonderful smells as the thermal paste or surrounding plastics such as cables are melted.

Why does CPU overheating occur?
There are a number of reasons why a CPU overheats, but the root cause is having a processor generating too much heat for the cooling system, it maybe unfair to say laptops generally are more susceptible to over heating, but this is true due to the limited space available for a cooling system, read more about laptop overheating here..

Causes of CPU overheating

• Faulty cooling system, this can be the cooling fan not running, usually caused by faulty motor, obstruction such as a cable preventing the fan spinning, build-up of fluff, dirt and grime
• Thermal paste between the processor and the heat sink is not performing as a good heat conductor and needs to be replaced.
• Inadequate ventilation, make sure all vents are kept clear of dirt, fluff etc as this can hinder ventilation enormously.
• Has the processor been changed or clocked at all. Having a faster more powerful processor regardless of whether it has simply been upgraded or clocked will generate more heat which could easily be more than the cooling system can handle.
• Faulty processor
• Has the computer been moved to another environment? Enclosed spaces, hot or dusty environments are not good for computers

Is the computer actually over heating?

One persons concept of hot may not be another’s, especially as difference processors produce different amounts of heat, check with the processors manufacturer to find out the normal operating temperatures of the CPU and then try the following

Conclusion

After using a temp monitor and you find your computer to be overheating and nothing has changed on your computer in terms of upgrades etc, then there is generally 3 possibilities, the first of these is a faulty cooling component, this will either be the fan, heat sink or thermal paste, secondly is a faulty processor, but this is very rare, and lastly is ventilation. Depending on the computer environment dust, fluff etc can accumulate very quickly or if the room is too hot or the computer is kept in an enclosed space this can all contribute to overheating.

The definitive test is to monitor CPU temperature some computers have a temperature alert in the BIOS, this will give an audible alert if the CPU temperature is higher than the baseline setting.

A better way to monitor CPU temperature is to install a temperature monitor. There are lots of these on the market and many are free. AMD temperature monitors can be downloaded from AMD’s website and if using Intel,  checkout the application core temp or many others can be found though your favourite search engine,

Image of Core Temp Monitoring Application

Adding extra cooling to a desktop type computer is relatively easy as it’s just a case of adding a better heat sink, fan or even a complete water cooling system, but with laptop its not anywhere near as straight forward, due to proprietary components that cannot be upgraded. For more help with laptop cooling checkout our laptop cooling article.

Cleaning

If your computer is clogged up with dirt and dust the easiest way to clean this is to use a vacuum cleaner with a plastic end piece and a small paint brush to agitate and loosen dirt and dust (make sure your computer is off/completely disconnected from any electrical supply.

If you have a laptop this can be more tricky, but holding a hoover to the ventilation ports will remove some of the dust and dirt, otherwise it’s a question of opening up the laptop, and following the above procedure, this is best left to a specialist.

Warning

If you computer is under warranty opening the case may invalidate this, check with your pc supplier to see if this is the case
 

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