Overvolted i3

[Rhaemond]

Hey guys. I used to have a 4th gen i3 that would constantly overheat and had idle temps of 38°... 

 

I got it checked and the repairman told me that it was because of bad thermal paste and weak heat sink.

 

Is this true? Or could a bad PSU cause it? But then again, wouldn't a bad PSU also fry my other components if that would be the case? 

 

Note: NEVER overclocked during its lifespan. I used it for 2-3 years I think before I upgraded my system... 

[Princess Luna]

Idle temps are meaningless, and even then 38Cº doesn't sound off at all.

 

2 minutes ago, Rhaemond said:

Is this true? Or could a bad PSU cause it? But then again, wouldn't a bad PSU also fry my other components if that would be the case? 

It would be so much more easier to tell you if we new what are these components.

 

3 minutes ago, Rhaemond said:

Note: NEVER overclocked during its lifespan. I used it for 2-3 years I think before I upgraded my system... 

Then why does it matter now?

[aisle9]

3 minutes ago, Rhaemond said:

I got it checked and the repairman told me that it was because of bad thermal paste and weak heat sink.

A Haswell i3 would be roughly 4-5 years old at this point. The thermal paste, assuming it was the original installation, would be about at the end of its life, if not somewhat past it in the case of Intel's junk. The Intel stock cooler is garbage, but it's enough to hold down an i3 without much trouble. Now, if the fan on your stock cooler is getting ready to call it a life, that would change things, and if the fan was made by Nidec or Foxconn, there's a decent chance that it's about ready to die. The tech may well be spot on the nose on this one.

[Rhaemond]

5 minutes ago, Princess Luna said:

Idle temps are meaningless, and even then 38Cº doesn't sound off at all.

 

It would be so much more easier to tell you if we new what are these components.

 

Then why does it matter now?

I used some no name brand true rated PSU... 

 

I found it nestled in my closet and was planning to sell it only to remember what the repairman said about it. Was hoping to learn from the masters if they can confirm that, the seller said or what can actually be the cause 

[Rhaemond]

2 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

A Haswell i3 would be roughly 4-5 years old at this point. The thermal paste, assuming it was the original installation, would be about at the end of its life, if not somewhat past it in the case of Intel's junk. The Intel stock cooler is garbage, but it's enough to hold down an i3 without much trouble. Now, if the fan on your stock cooler is getting ready to call it a life, that would change things, and if the fan was made by Nidec or Foxconn, there's a decent chance that it's about ready to die. The tech may well be spot on the nose on this one.

Well I think I can recall times when the paste was changed, but the brands were basically generic so really bad quality thermal paste

 

Hmm... Good to learn someone has confirmed what he said. Actually thought that a faulty psu tried to overvolt it but realized that if that happened, wouldn't the Mobo or RAM be struck first? 

[aisle9]

2 minutes ago, Rhaemond said:

Well I think I can recall times when the paste was changed, but the brands were basically generic so really bad quality thermal paste

 

Hmm... Good to learn someone has confirmed what he said. Actually thought that a faulty psu tried to overvolt it but realized that if that happened, wouldn't the Mobo or RAM be struck first? 

Not necessarily, but I can more or less promise you that voltage is not an issue with a Haswell i3. It sounds like an actual heat problem. Take a can of compressed air to your PC and blast the dust out.

[Rhaemond]

2 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

Not necessarily, but I can more or less promise you that voltage is not an issue with a Haswell i3. It sounds like an actual heat problem. Take a can of compressed air to your PC and blast the dust out.

I had good airflow, but I only used generic cheap pastes and the stock fan... Hmm.. Maybe it did get stuck at a certain temp threshold or something like that. 

[Tristerin]

2 minutes ago, Rhaemond said:

I had good airflow, but I only used generic cheap pastes and the stock fan... Hmm.. Maybe it did get stuck at a certain temp threshold or something like that. 

Stock Fan from intel is like spending $3 to cool that chip

[aisle9]

4 minutes ago, Rhaemond said:

I had good airflow, but I only used generic cheap pastes and the stock fan... Hmm.. Maybe it did get stuck at a certain temp threshold or something like that. 

https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-RCX-Z300-92mm-Ball-Cooler/dp/B003WLZ1XA

 

Copper slug, 92mm fan, solid purchase. I use a couple of these and love them to death for low-power builds.

[Rhaemond]

10 hours ago, aisle9 said:

https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-RCX-Z300-92mm-Ball-Cooler/dp/B003WLZ1XA

 

Copper slug, 92mm fan, solid purchase. I use a couple of these and love them to death for low-power builds.

New development, I checked again, CPU had burnt pin/s. What do you think is the cause?

Faulty PSU?

My RAM before had different frequencies (1333 and 1600) 

Motherboard is still good and kicking as per the RAM but I really wanna know what can cause this.

 

10 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Stock Fan from intel is like spending $3 to cool that chip

Heh. Well... 

[aisle9]

3 hours ago, Rhaemond said:

New development, I checked again, CPU had burnt pin/s. What do you think is the cause?

Can you get a picture?