A hot CPU can be caused by 3 things:
o Insufficient CPU cooler
---- although the Intel supplied cooler is adequate
o Insufficient case airflow
---- which is a common problem with the hotter CPUs
o Incorrectly seated heatsink
---- Intel's physical fitment is good - better than early Athlon clip/broken-die
---- however it IS possible to miss-align the heatsink during fitment = hot CPU
First - check the heatsink is properly seated.
Second - if the heatsink has been reseated, the TIM pad may need replacing:
o Thermal Interface Material, TIM, are generally a one-use compound
o Performance is good - TIM have come a long way from the early offerings
o However it can be beaten - good heatsink compound is available, cheaply
If you use a liquid/paste type compound, remember less is better:
o Two metal surfaces only truly contact at 3 points
---- the rest of the interface is full of microscopic voids
o Those microscopic voids are filled with air
---- air is an insulator - it does not conduct heat well
o Thermal compound is simply a better conductor of heat than air
---- it is not a better conductor of heat than metal
So the objective with thermal compound is enough to fill in the microscopic
voids in the metal surfaces - and not spread like butter on a toast, spread thin.
Assuming the heatsink is seated correctly, a CPU temp of 62-70oC is too hot:
o It could be the temperature is being miss-reported
---- however even with a 10% error depreciating the 70oC figure, it is still high
o It is more likely the case temperature is too high
---- I suspect your case temperature is being reported as 40oC
If your case temperature is being reported as 25-30oC, whilst CPU temperature
is being reported as 62-70oC that indicates a reporting or heatsink fitment error.
However, assuming a case temperature of ~40oC...
Case temperature is important with Prescott CPUs:
o Northwood CPUs had a low idle thermal output
---- sat idle they emit ~30-35W, fully loaded they emit 75-89W
o Prescott CPUs have a higher idle thermal output
---- sat idle they emit ~50-55W, fully loaded they emit 89-110W
Case temperature of 40oC is too hot
o CPU-coolers use case-ambient airflow to cool the CPU
o The lower case-ambient, the greater the temperature delta between case & CPU
o A high case-ambient results in the CPU cooler losing efficiency = hotter CPU
Hence Intel refer to an "approved chassis" in relation to Prescott CPUs, and the
idea of BTX is to get case-ambient (as seen by the CPU) closer to room-ambient.
Elevated case temperatures will elevate the CPU temperature:
o CPU coolers typically recirculate 40-70% of their own heated air
---- in doing so their airflow cfm must be increased to compensate
o Case exhaust fans should exhaust air quicker than the CPU cooler heats it
---- the ideal is to get case-temperature as close to room temperature as possible
---- a case temperature of 40oC in a room ambient of 25oC will mean a hot CPU
Airflow through a case can be optimised - from exhaust to intake:
o Exhaust fans must overcome resistance of fingerguards
---- punched case-metal grills can flow just 45-55% air
---- round wire grills flow 89-91% air & make less noise = cooler CPU
o Exhaust fans should be sited correctly
---- fan exhaust ports should be prioritised near to the CPU & at the top
---- exhaust fan behind a CPU reduces CPU cooler airflow recirculation = cooler CPU
o Exhaust fans should not be short-circuited
---- correct airflow path in a PC is exhaust at top-rear, intake at front-bottom
---- an empty rear fan port or missing drive bay cover can short-circuit airflow
---- short-circuited airflow will increase CPU cooler airflow recirculation = hotter CPU
o Intake fans are best at cooling HDs sited by them
---- an intake fan acts serial to an exhaust fan - thus is not additive in airflow cfm
---- however, serial fans are additive in pressure - so do assist an exhaust fan
o Intake fans, indeed the whole case, must breathe through the smallest intake port
---- typically this is viewed as the intake punched-holes in the case
-------- this is partly correct, and often such metal grills flow just 45-55% air
-------- the intake of a fan is also more sensitive to obstruction regarding noise
---- however more often the smallest intake port is in the front plastic fascia
-------- intake cutouts of 3"x1" are less than half the c/sectional area of 1x 80mm fan
So high case temperatures, if present, will produce a high CPU temperature.
o The solution is to address case (system) level cooling first
o This may be a matter of blocking off an empty exhaust fan port - or adding a fan
o One variable at a time should be changed - not throwing money/fans at the solution
If, conversely, case temperatures are relatively low, and CPU temperature is high
o The solution is the CPU cooler is insufficient in airflow for the application
o Since this is an Intel cooler, I would tend to suspect case airflow & case
temperatures
You can have a situation where case temperature is reported as (relatively) low,
due to the sensor area receiving airflow but the CPU cooler is recirculating its air.
An example would be older ATA cables obstructing the CPU cooler intake path.
Prescott CPUs will run warmer than a Northwood - at least in an identical system.
Cooling a Prescott CPU is not particularly difficult, if you build a PC yourself then
you are assumed to be the System Integrator. That gives you flexibility, but it also
requires you to do some simple benchmarking & correction if temps are not suitable.
So...
o Check your case temperatures
o If they are 40oC you have "insufficient case airflow changes per hour"
o The solution is to improve airflow - via another fan or correcting an airflow problem
Since an Intel cooler is in use I'd be inclined to suspect case temps are too high.