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can a cpu become too cold?

can a cpu become too cold?

By IsaacDaGrazin February 6, 2016 in CPUs, Motherboards, and Memory Share https://linustechtips.com/topic/542349-can-a-cpu-become-too-cold/ More sharing options... Followers 2 Go to solution Solved by Godlygamer23, February 6, 2016

Yes, but it would have to be extremely cold for the CPU to stop operating.

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IsaacDaGrazin
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would it damage the cpu? can it still operate normally? is it good or bad?

by 'cold' I mean like -20 degrees Celsius and below

thanks!

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TheRandomness
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CPUs can operate until -150ish(?) deg C before they hit the 'cold bug'

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PSU Tier List | F@H stats

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C0LL0SS0S
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(edited)

well when extreme OC, they cool it with liquid Nitrogen(-198 I THINK) so naah. But they also use a blowtorch to heat it up sometimes so maybe yes

Edited February 6, 2016 by C0LL0SS0S Edited the temp

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IsaacDaGrazin
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Just now, TheRandomness said:
snip

Just now, C0LL0SS0S said:
snip

ooh thanks!

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Badazzz
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I don't think actual sub zero temperatures would affect a CPU since there aren't any moving parts... but I'm not any kind of scientist.

My ~$200 USD build:

AMD A8-7600 G. Skill Ripjaws Z @1800 CAS 8 EVGA 500w 80+ PSU Gigabyte GAF2A68HM-DS2H Motherboard

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runit3
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Won't damage it, will run just fine. The only problem you will run into is condensation, you would need to adequately protect the board unless your ambient temps were even colder. Cold bugs usually hit hardware ~ -70-90C.

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beach_boy98
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Yeah they can get too cold that they won't launch. Thats why they use blow torches in OC world championships.

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Guest
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Yes if you reach like 0 Kelvin

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Godlygamer23
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Solution

Yes, but it would have to be extremely cold for the CPU to stop operating.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

"I didn't die! I performed a tactical reset!" - Apollolol

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IsaacDaGrazin
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Just now, Godlygamer23 said:
Yes, but it would have to be extremely cold for the CPU to stop operating.

thank you!

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LawrenceBarnes2013
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as far as i know, for CPUs the colder the better

Crust : Intel Core i5 4690K @ 4.4Ghz 1.45v | Motherboard : MSI Z97 MPower | Fruity Filling : MSI GTX 960 Armor 2Way-SLI | Cooling : Noctua NH-D15 | RAM : 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz | Storage : 2xSamsung 840 EVO 500GB SSDs Raid-0 | Power Supply : Seasonic X-Series 1250W 80+Gold | Monitor : Dell U2713HM 27" 60Hz 1440p |

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-iSynthesis
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No. The only problem you may encounter at those temperatures is water from condensation.

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Guest
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Yeah, if you look at extreme overclocking videos, sometimes the computer won't even boot up because it's too cold, so they have to get a blowtorch and you can complete the rest of it.

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IsaacDaGrazin
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Just now, jaffer said:
Yeah, if you look at extreme overclocking videos, sometimes the computer won't even boot up because it's too cold, so they have to get a blowtorch and you can complete the rest of it.

wow interesting

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Djole123
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Can a CPU OC itself to keep warm?

Athlon X2 for only 27.31$ Best part lists at different price points Windows 1.01 running natively on an Eee PC

My rig:

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Celeronator (new main rig)

CPU: Intel Celeron (duh) N2840 2.16GHz Dual Core

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ReesZRB
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Yes, pour LN2 on it. CPU bugs out and won't post, until it is heated to a certain point for it to both

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IsaacDaGrazin
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Vavetti
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Intel cpu's will cold bug if they are too cold when using ln2 but iirc amd cpu's will just be fine and be able to run far colder than Intel.

IsaacDaGrazin
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IsaacDaGrazin
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Just now, Vavetti said:
Intel cpu's will cold bug if they are too cold when using ln2 but if iirc amd cpu's will just be fine and be able to run far colder than Intel.

ahh

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Tmt97
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Would water from condensation even be dangerous? My understanding is that distilled water doesn't conduct electricity, and I would think after evaporating and then condensing on the cold CPU straight from the atmosphere, it would have lost any conductive ions in the water cycle.

Don't do drugs. Do hugs!

IsaacDaGrazin
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IsaacDaGrazin
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50 minutes ago, Tmt97 said:
Would water from condensation even be dangerous? My understanding is that distilled water doesn't conduct electricity, and I would think after evaporating and then condensing on the cold CPU straight from the atmosphere, it would have lost any conductive ions in the water cycle.

hmm

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Tmt97
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19 minutes ago, IsaacDaGrazin said:
hmm

Of course if it sat there for a while, it might pick up some ions from the metals on the cpu and motherboard, but if you wiped it up once in a while it might be ok?

Don't do drugs. Do hugs!

IsaacDaGrazin
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TacoSenpai
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21 minutes ago, Tmt97 said:
Of course if it sat there for a while, it might pick up some ions from the metals on the cpu and motherboard, but if you wiped it up once in a while it might be ok?

That's the biggest problem it wouldn't take long for that to happen either. 5-10 minutes at best before it picks up ions from the metals on your board and shorts out.

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Tmt97
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28 minutes ago, LordTaco42 said:
That's the biggest problem it wouldn't take long for that to happen either. 5-10 minutes at best before it picks up ions from the metals on your board and shorts out.

Where are you getting the numbers on 5 - 10 minutes? Not saying your wrong, Im not a chemist. Just wondering if you have a source. Also heres a crazy idea. If you do this subzero cooling. Do it with the motherboard positioned upside down. That way if water forms on the cpu from the extreme cold, it might actually drip off before it becomes ionized. Then you could just have like a trip tray underneath or something.

Don't do drugs. Do hugs!

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TacoSenpai
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5 minutes ago, Tmt97 said:
Where are you getting the numbers on 5 - 10 minutes? Not saying your wrong, Im not a chemist. Just wondering if you have a source. Also heres a crazy idea. If you do this subzero cooling. Do it with the motherboard positioned upside down. That way if water forms on the cpu from the extreme cold, it might actually drip off before it becomes ionized. Then you could just have like a trip tray underneath or something.

Just a rough uneducated guess. Let me see if I can find something I think Linus mentioned it in a video about Slick's mineral oil PC.

Go to about the 2 min mark.

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Tmt97
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28 minutes ago, LordTaco42 said:
Just a rough uneducated guess. Let me see if I can find something I think Linus mentioned it in a video about Slick's mineral oil PC.

Go to about the 2 min mark.

What if you did sub-zero cooling but submerged it in mineral oil. Not to use the mineral oil for the cooling necessarily, just to prevent condensation. Maybe not even mineral oil, just submerge it in some fluid that doesnt pick up ions or conduct electricity. If there is no air, then there's no condensation.

Don't do drugs. Do hugs!

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IsaacDaGrazin

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TheRandomness

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C0LL0SS0S

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