Intel Core i3 temps

A friend of mine might be dealing with some overheating issues—specifically with his CPU. He's running an Intel Core i3 paired with a 95W cooler, an ASRock motherboard, a 400W power supply, all tucked inside a Cooler Master mATX case. When I check the readings using HWMonitor, the package temp spikes north of 80°C while playing Watch Dogs, and even at idle, it's hovering around 50°-60°, which definitely doesn't seem right. One weird thing I noticed is that it isn't detecting individual cores at all, just that single "package" reading. Since HWMonitor has a bit of a reputation for being buggy and inaccurate, I downloaded AIDA64 to see if things looked any different. In AIDA64, the motherboard sits at 30° and the CPU is also around 30° during idle. It actually shows the individual cores, but the temps are showing up as 8°-20°, and sometimes they just sit at 0°, which is equally bizarre. Here are the screenshots from AIDA64 and HWMonitor KLIK Is this just a hardware reporting error in HWMonitor? I don't get why it's showing 60° at idle and 80° under load... is it possible the software is just hallucinating those numbers? I already swapped out the thermal paste, even though the rig is less than two months old, but clearly, that didn't fix anything. 🤷

Unless the cooler isn't seated quite right, there shouldn't be any reason for them to be hitting those levels... maybe try the finger test 😬 ...while you're running the most intensive tasks on the processor

crimsonstag84 said:Unless the cooler isn't seated quite right, there shouldn't be any reason for them to be hitting those levels... maybe try the finger test 😬 ...while you're running the most intensive tasks on the processor

So you want me to just run Prime and touch the cooler with my finger? I know the cooler is seated correctly; I installed it twice and swapped out the thermal paste. I'm pretty sure I didn't screw it up both times. 😬

That works 😉

Sensors can be pretty flaky sometimes. I guess the readings in the BIOS are usually the most accurate, though you can't really see them under load there. But if you're seeing 30 instead of 50-60 while idling in the BIOS, then things are probably fine.

So, I'm running Prime95 (stress testing for max heat), and AIDA64 shows the CPU package at 46°C—it doesn't go any higher. The individual cores are sitting at 0°, so I guess there aren't specific sensors for every single core or something... In HWMonitor, the package temp jumps wildly between 75-80°C, which is super weird; one second it's at 73 and the next it hits 80. The heatsink itself is barely even warm to the touch after five minutes of Prime95. I don't get why HWMonitor would show those temps... is it just making things up?

UPDATE: At BIOS startup, it's hitting 40-42°, then once it boots into idle, it settles around 35. It feels a bit odd that it's hotter right at startup than when it's idling on the desktop..

Maybe try undervolting it (or just overclocking without bumping up the voltage), since AMD tends to be pretty conservative with their settings... maybe drop it by 0.05V (or try raising the FSB). An idle temp of 35°C sounds about right to me.

Yeah, the readings in AIDA64 look fine. Under Prime95 at absolute max load, it stays right at 46°, nothing higher, which is great. It was just that CPU Package reading in HWMonitor (check out the screenshot) that had me worried. That specific value in HWMonitor is actually what shows up as the CPU temp in AIDA64, and that one is perfectly fine—it doesn't climb past 46°, and even the heatsink is barely warm under Prime95.

Every software tool has its own specific layout. There’s really no point in staring at the package data; instead, just keep an eye on the green line for the CPU thermal readings (you can toggle through various programs while scrolling)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=1#post5237937

Kimberly Gomez34 said:Every software tool has its own specific layout. There’s really no point in staring at the package data; instead, just keep an eye on the green line for the CPU thermal readings (you can toggle through various programs while scrolling)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=1#post5237937

Aha, okay then. That’s exactly what I was looking for—confirmation that Core Temp is just acting glitchy. Man, how am I supposed to know what to look at? It would be common sense if under CPU->Temperatures it actually listed the processor temperature 🤣 But apparently, that's not how it works. This is the first time I've run into this. Every time I installed Core Temp in the past, it displayed temperatures perfectly fine. I've tested it on AM3, 1155, and 1150 processors before, and it worked totally normally there. Maybe FM2+ and AM3+ just have their own weird ways about them, I don't know. I googled a ton but couldn't find anything concrete. Anyway, thanks for clearing that up; now I can finally get some sleep. I built this rig myself, installed a brand new cooler and everything, and now it's overheating only a month after buying it. I seriously couldn't sleep thinking about it. 😬