i did not overclock my cpu. its an i5 3570k. at 3.4 GHz

i do have some aftermarket fan for the cpu, i think its the evo 212 fan


at times under load the cpu temp can hit around 65 C sometimes even slightly higher. i feel like this is on the higher end of temps...

may be the thermal paste on cpu? ive had my tower for around 4 or 5 years now maybe? if i remember correctly. around how long till i should re apply thermal paste?

not too sure what else it can be

whenever i dust out my case with compressed air cans, theres always some dust still caked into the cpu fan area, but not too much. i may have to take apart the fan and then really dust in there


ive seen some people who overclocked theirs and run around 80 C. but mines not overclocked. i mean, i guess 65 C is fine then? but still somewhat of a concern. my gpu idle is around 36 to 38 C.... so its cooler when idle. around 15 to 20 C difference.

This post was edited by noob_whacker on Aug 20 2016 04:48pm

65 at load is fine, but 55 is quite high for idle. Reapply paste.

nvm if gpu idles at 36-38 then clean it and reapply paste

This post was edited by King Atrhur on Aug 20 2016 05:13pm

It depends on your Bios settings.
If you have that feature that makes your cpu run at 1.6 ghz --- 3.4 ghz
Then at idle, it will run at around 31 to 34 C
If you have the bios to make it run at 3.4 ghz at all times.
Then at idle, it will run at around 38 to 42 C

Thats if you have the default stock fan.

I have a coolmaster scout case with the handles on top.
1 fan in front / back .
2 fans on side of case, that blow air inwards.

Make sure that your CPU fan is blowing towards the cpu chip.


If your computer is dusty, then yeah sometimes even at the Bios 3.4 ghz, at idle, it will go up to 48 to 51 C

Then at Max load... when your actually running stuff, and not only is your CPU running more stuff, but all your other parts as well.
Especially the ram, if your ram is not being cooled, and doesn't have heat spreaders... that will cause some extra heat in the cpu area.

so If you built a cheap computer... that could be why you have temps at nearly 65 C...

My Power supply draws in heat from the Video card, and pushes it out of the case which is really nice.


so yea lots of neat little tricks.

Thermal paste.