Not sure if anyone can help since this thread doesn't seem very active. I have an old i5-2500. Recently I asked a repair shop to replace my motherboard because it had been having some minor problems for some time (LAN port dead, motherboard can't deal with powering down and hibernating correctly).

After I got the computer back I checked everything thoroughly and discovered that my CPU overheats. I suspect that it had actually been overheating for some time but I just never realized it. It routinely goes up to 95+ degrees C and gets throttled while doing intensive tasks. Even low load tasks, like browsing, gets it up to the high 50s.

So I buy some Arctic Silver 5 and apply it and it's much better. Temps go down at least 10 degrees C. But it still goes up to the high 90s and gets throttled when I test it with Prime95 or something similar. Naturally I'm just using the stock cooler.

So my question is, surely I don't need to buy an aftermarket cooler just to run a CPU without overclocking? What else could be the problem? I applied the thermal compound wrongly? My stock cooler is damaged? My CPU itself is damaged? I realize that there is plenty of information everywhere on the net but most of it is US-based and their ambient temperatures are like in the 20s and mine are closer to 30s. What's your experience here in Malaysia?