CPU and/or mobo damage after 108*C CPU temp

[flyboy123]

After failing to boot several times, I discovered that my CPU temp in the BIOS was 108*C, after which the computer shut down. It was caused by one of the heatsink pins coming loose. After I secured the heatsink, the computer booted up and all was well, with an idle CPU temp around 41*C, however, there is a noticeable drop in performance when running games.

Without getting into any technical aspects, I just wanted to know if having the CPU heat up to this temperature (I started it up several times before realizing the problem) would cause damage to the CPU AND/OR the motherboard. I can understand if the CPU has been damaged, but could it also have damaged the mobo?

 

[raybay]

It can, but doesn't usually... if the temperature rise is brief... No way to know without trying it...

Often the actual temperatures are not close to what your system reports... It can handle 64 to 70 degrees without trouble, and above that it is luck of the draw.

 

[Ritwik7]

I suggest you get a slightly better aftermarket HSF and thermal interface material. See how the temperaures are after that and whether you still lose out on gaming performance.

 

[flyboy123]

It was time to upgrade to a new processor anyway, so I took this opportunity to get a quad core (Q9550 2.83GHz recommended by a friend). I am also getting a new heatsink and fan (Rosewill RCX-Z5) with which the same friend saw a drop in idle CPU temp from mid 40s to around 25*C.

I had been wanting to get a new processor for a while, so the main purpose of my original question was to find out if possible damage to the mobo could cause the drop in performance in-game. Would you say that it's more likely the CPU was damaged than the mobo though?

 

[raybay]

Not me. We find that motherboards are the problem nearly all of the time... CPU problems are really quite rarely seen in our shops.
You can almost always repair a situation by replacing the board...

But none of us have seen large numbers of CPU;s damaged by high heat...

So I guess it is a draw...

We will learn from what you discover.

 

[flyboy123]

I installed the new CPU and HSF today and saw a big improvement. The idle temperature in the BIOS went down from about 41*C to 22*C and when in a game, my CPU is now at about 33*C rather than 58*C like it was before. The HSF is a monster and it made a big difference .

And for performance...The two main "games" I play are MS Flight Sim X and ARMA 2. In ARMA 2 I was getting about 8FPS after the overheating "incident", and I am now getting 20-25. I saw a similar increase in FSX.

I also changed my BIOS RAM timing and voltage settings to match my sticks.

So I am a happy camper again, but at the same time, I can't help but think about the mobo. Is there any way to check if my mobo is performing as it should? I saw no visible damage when I reseated the heatsink last week nor today when I installed the new hardware, but I don't know if the rather brief exposures to 110*C temps would produce that. I would just hate to have a quad core with 8GB of RAM and be held back by a damaged mobo.

 

[raybay]

What you have described is rare... We so seldom see a damaged CPU without even greater damage to the motherboard... But it could have been a defective unit, rather than a burned out one.