Do old CPUs start sometimes overheating by some internal fault of their own ??

[idata]

Do old CPUs sometimes start getting overheated ?? My desktop is 8.5 years old. It's Intel 2-core CPU. In the last year I noticed its temperature rise to 70 Celsius quite often (maximum allowed is 80 and normal is 35-50). I cleaned the fan and the heatsink with dry air pressure, but it did not help. The CPU fan was working fine all the time just until 2 days ago. Then the fan suddenly became noisy. Yesterday I replaced it with a new fan but now the temperature soars even higher -- above 80-90 Celsius. So is there any hope for fixing the temperature rise of the CPU or should I just buy a new desktop ??

[AlHill]

One thing that can contribute to heating is the breakdown of the thermal paste. If your system is 8.5 years old, that could be a problem.

However, in my opinion, I would get a new desktop. Performance, compatibility, supportability are all gained by doing this. Plus, you will be good for another 8.5 years.

Doc

[idata]

Hello y2016new ,

As time passes by, the components of a computer start to be affected by the use, especially after several years.

I do support Al opinion on how the thermal paste could be affecting the temperatures gotten with the processor, too much is not great and too little either. Making sure it covers most of the IHS should be good.

As he was saying, performance, compatibility, and support would be "leveled up" while getting a newer system with newer components

Hope you can get this sort out soon.

If any additional inquiries are present, feel free to reach us again.

Regards,

Esteban C

[n_scott_pearson]

I agree with both Al and Esteban.

Thermal paste (or, more correctly, Thermal Interface Material (TIM)) will break down and dry out over time and needs to be replaced somewhat regularly (I recommend roughly every three years). Without it, thermal issues will occur more often and be more acute and this can, over time, cause degradation in the silicon of the processor and reduce its potential lifetime.

The average MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) rating for most components used on motherboards is on the order of 7 years. Over time, metal components can become more brittle, connector pins can lose their spring tension and not provide a good connection, connector surfaces and solder can oxidize and not pass electrical signals as well, etc. and etc. and etc. Thus, with systems this old, many different kinds of failures and issues could (begin to) occur. At the same time, hardware and BIOS (and other software) compatibility issues can occur when upgrades (especially graphics and memory) are attempted. Thus, I also have to agree with Al, you should be thinking seriously of replacing this system with a more modern one.

Hope this helps,

...S

[idata]

Thank you Scott for the contribution!

Regards,Esteban C