I recently upgraded from a Pentium Gold G5400 to an Intel Core i5-8500. Since the upgrade, the CPU idles around 60°C, and after launching Overwatch 2, the CPU fan ramps up dramatically while HWiNFO reports temperatures reaching about 90°C. This never happened with the G5400. My system has a GTX 1050 Ti Low Profile, an i5-8500, and 32 GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM. I used Arctic MX-4 thermal paste and believe I applied enough. The computer is a compact HP EliteDesk-style system using its original cooler, so I'm wondering whether the cooler or its installation is the problem.
2 Answers
Check the cooler mounting first, especially the push pins or retention mechanism. If even one corner is not fully locked, contact with the CPU can be poor and temperatures will climb quickly. Remove and reseat it if necessary, then clean and reapply a small amount of thermal paste.
Those temperatures are believable if you moved from a low-power Pentium to an i5-8500 while keeping the compact system’s original cooler. The i5 has more cores and can produce considerably more heat under load, while small OEM coolers are often designed with limited airflow and power targets in mind. If the cooler is mounted correctly, better cooling or improved case airflow may be needed.
That may be the issue. The computer is a very compact HP system and I’m still using its medium-sized stock cooler, so it may simply not be capable of handling the i5 properly.