Reasons for i3-3220 overheating

[BMarq1]

Hi there. Got a problem with my i3-3220. It was running at 40+ with light loads, where I expected 30+. I finally pulled the heatsink (an Artic 1.1), cleaned the contacts, put fresh thermal paste (besides cleaning dust around the fans). Now it seems to be even worse in behavior. Last night it varied between 42 and 95 degrees Celsius. It also showed 42-45 with 0% load, according to CoreTemp and RealTemp. The CPU is a 3,3 gHz CPU, but it varies between 1600 and 3300 according to CoreTemp. Don't know if the problem is the Heatsink (it is just 3-4 months old) or the processor itself.

[Marvin_L_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hi gallicbear,

There is an application that we provide to test the unit and confirm if there is any problem with the unit or if the issue is being caused by another component/software. The application is called Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool. The purpose of the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool is to verify the functionality of an Intel® Microprocessor. The diagnostic checks for brand identification, verifies the processor operating frequency, tests specific processor features and performs a stress test on the processor.

You can download it on the following link: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool-64-bit- Intel® Download Center (The file name is: IPDT_Installer_2.11.0.0.W-2_x86_2.20.0.0.W.MP-1_x64.exe)

After you complete the test, please check where says "File" and then click where says "Open Results File" which will open a notepad with all the information, so you need to save that file and then attach it to this forum so we can have a better view of your issue.

If you need more assistance in regards of the steps recommended please let me know.

Best regards,

marving_intel

[BMarq1]

Thank you, marving_intel. In the end I didn't have to go through that. After some searching, I figured out that a certain Windows service was using much resources of the CPU and RAM, causing a load of 35-40%. Runtimebroker/Timebroker. When I eliminated it, all things were back to normal. Now my CPU idles at 30-35 degrees, which is what I expect.