A desktop technician upgrades a high-performance workstation CPU to a processor with a 125W Thermal Design Power (TDP). Shortly after powering on under heavy processing loads, the workstation suddenly powers off without displaying a stop error. Hardware diagnostic software recorded CPU core temperatures rapidly spiking above 100°C before the system shut down. Upon visual inspection, the technician observes that the active cooling fan is spinning normally and thermal compound was applied to the processor surface. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this thermal throttling and shutdown issue?
- The protective plastic peel-off film on the bottom of the heatsink copper base plate was left attached prior to mounting.Answer
- BThe power supply unit wattage capacity is insufficient for the peak power consumption of the new processor.
- CThe motherboard BIOS requires a firmware flash to support multi-core hyperthreading processor instructions.
- DThe processor was installed with incorrect pin orientation inside the Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) motherboard socket.
Answer
The protective plastic peel-off film on the bottom of the heatsink copper base plate was left attached prior to mounting.
The correct answer identifies that leaving the manufacturer's protective plastic film on the bottom of the heatsink creates a thermal insulator. Even with working fans and thermal compound, heat cannot conduct into the heatsink fins, resulting in rapid thermal throttling and system protection thermal shutdown.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
CPU Thermal Management and Heatsink Installation