Is my motherboard DOA or my CPU?

Question

I'm building a custom PC and I got all the components in yesterday. I plug them all in and voila! it works. My BIOS comes up and I start to install windows. I get to the user agreement and it turns off and tells me a I have CPU overheating error. I get into my BIOS and it says my cpu is at 100 degrees Celsius! That cannot be right b/c all my fans are working properly. I've tried rearranging my heatsink and everything. I'm sure I put the correct amount of thermal paste on it. Is there anyway to troubleshoot to see if it is my cpu or motherboard that is giving me the problem. Any suggestions?

CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115036

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131219

Answer 1

it really depends, either your fan isn't working properly (which i think is the case) or something is wrong with your motherboard reading.  You should change your CPU heatsink and fan, usually the stock version that comes with CPU sucks, so you should buy a new CPU heatsink & fan.  It doesn't cost much, just check it out at www.newegg.com  just read how to install and you should be fine (some requires that you install something under the motherboard, which requires you to pull out your motherboard from the case and it's very troublesome, but some doesn't, be cautious!!)

Answer 2

Your E8500 is just a 65 watter. At default speed and voltage, the stock fan should be able to cool it adequately. Be sure you have loaded fail safe defaults in BIOS and have not tweaked anything yet, especially Vcore.

A possible cause of processor overheating is improperly seated cooler. Try touching the cooler near its base. If processor temp is 100°C but heatsink near the base is barely warm to the touch is an indication that heat is not properly transferred to the cooler. Try reseating the cooler and ensure all push pins are locked.

Otherwise, replace the cooler. You might have gotten one where the base is a bit concave such that contact with processor heatspreader is less than 50%.