PCH temperature hitting 110°C

[FaizanZulfiqar]

 I have HP Victus 16 2023 and I just wanted to check regular temperatures on my laptop so I downloaded HWinfo and found out my motherboard PCH is hitting 110°C. Surely that's not normal and how can I control it. Sometimes I use my laptop docked but even after removing everything temps are still sky rocketing.

[Raj_05]

Hi @FaizanZulfiqar,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

You're absolutely right—110°C for the PCH (Platform Controller Hub) is definitely too high for a laptop and could indicate an issue with cooling. Ideally, the PCH temperature should stay well below 90°C, and consistently hitting 110°C can lead to thermal throttling or long-term hardware damage. Here are some steps you can take to address this.

Ensure Proper Cooling:

• Check if your laptop's cooling fans are working properly. Sometimes, dust buildup can clog the fan vents and impede airflow.
• Try using a cooling pad or external fan when using the laptop on a desk or docking station. This can help improve air circulation.

Monitor and Adjust Performance Settings:

• Lower your laptop's power settings to prevent overworking the CPU and PCH. You can do this by going to Power & sleep settings on Windows and choosing a power-saving plan or tweaking the advanced power settings to reduce the max processor state.
• Disable Turbo Boost or any overclocking settings in BIOS (if enabled).

Update Drivers and BIOS:

• Sometimes, thermal management improvements come through BIOS or driver updates. Make sure your laptop’s BIOS and chipset drivers are up to date by checking HP's support page.

Check Background Processes:

• High background activity can cause higher temperatures. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to check if any processes are consuming excessive resources and try to close unnecessary ones.

Thermal Paste:

• If you’re comfortable with hardware, consider checking the thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink. If it has dried out or is improperly applied, it can cause high temperatures. You might want to have a professional replace it if you're not comfortable doing so.

Revert to Factory Settings:

• If the issue persists even after cooling and driver updates, try performing a system restore or factory reset (after backing up your data). Sometimes software issues can interfere with thermal management.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4

HP Support 

[FaizanZulfiqar]

Hi Alden4,

Thanks for responding.

My laptop is fully clean and even performing very well in stressed conditions like playing hours of forza horizon which make my GPU stay over 90% usage. Even in these conditions my CPU and GPU temps are under 85C. I am attaching some screenshots for reference. Everything on my device is controlled except motherboard HP 8BC2 (Intel PCH) censor which is reporting over 105C. This censor hits 100C even in seconds of after booting my totally cold laptop. Am I missing something, censor is malfunctioning or am I litterally toasting my laptop at this time.?

Please share your thoughts on this and guide me to solve my problem.

Faizan Zulfiqar.GPU temps at low usage2 Nvmes are istalled and here are the tempsRAM tempsCPU tempsCPU core tempsAnd that's the only censor reporting 108C. Is that false readings or I am litterally toasting my laptop.

[Raj_05 · Accepted solution]

Hi @FaizanZulfiqar,

Thank you for your response, 

the PCH temperature you're seeing is concerning, especially since it spikes to 100°C right after booting when the laptop is cold.

Given that the PCH temperature is significantly higher than expected, the issue could indeed be related to sensor malfunction or improper thermal management. 

Here are some more advanced steps to consider:

Thermal Sensor Calibration or Malfunction:

• The PCH temperature sensor might be malfunctioning, especially if it jumps to such high readings instantly. Some laptops have a tendency to show inaccurate temperatures due to faulty sensors. A BIOS update might address this, so it's definitely worth checking the HP support page for any updates. If that doesn't help, consider running a stress test or diagnostic tool like HWMonitor to cross-check the temperature with different software.

PCH Heatsink Contact:

• If the thermal paste on the PCH heatsink has degraded or isn’t making proper contact, it could lead to higher temperatures. This is more of an advanced fix, but you could consider having the heatsink reattached or the thermal paste reapplied if you're comfortable with disassembling the laptop.

Check Your Thermal Management Settings in BIOS:

• Some BIOS settings could be causing the temperature issue. Look for settings related to fan control, thermal throttling, or any power limits. Sometimes, there's a setting that can help improve the distribution of heat, especially when the system is under load.

Thermal Throttling from Software:

• Even though your laptop handles intense games like Forza Horizon well, software might still be pushing the thermal limits without you realizing it. Check for any third-party software that might be overclocking or forcing higher power limits than necessary. Also, check the Windows power settings, particularly the advanced processor settings, and set them to a lower maximum processor state to help manage heat better.

Inspect the Internal Cooling Setup:

• Since your cooling system appears to be handling your CPU and GPU well, double-check the internal airflow. It might be worth cleaning the internal fans, removing any dust, and ensuring the thermal paste is still fresh. If you're comfortable, opening the laptop up for an inspection of the cooling components could help.

[Raj_05]

Monitor PCH Behavior Across Software:

• Use programs like HWMonitor or HWInfo to log and monitor the temperature of your PCH over time. This might help you get a better sense of whether it's a software issue causing it to report inaccurately or if the PCH is genuinely heating up abnormally.

Test With Minimal Load:

• Try running the laptop under very minimal conditions—like just booting up with no other programs open—and see if the PCH still reports an unusually high temperature. If it does, it could indeed point to an issue with the sensor itself rather than excessive heat generation.
   

By following these steps, you should have a clearer idea of whether the high temperature is due to a hardware issue or a malfunctioning sensor. 

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4

HP Support

[FaizanZulfiqar]

Hello again Alden4,

Thank you for your guidance,

My BIOS are up to date and minimum temperature I observed right after booting up and opening HWiNFO is about 79C while my laptop was shutted down and cooled down properly. BIOS are also up to date. I will do a regular drivers update for all other stuff as well but still not sure what's the actual reason of high temps on PCH. 

I will try troublshooting by tweeking BIOS and Windows settings. I have some doubt on 4TB NVMe that I installed recently. Haven't changed thermal paste or removed heatsink yet and it's about an year of me using it since new. I'm not sure which chip on the board is PCH and not sure what's the external temparature of the chip is when it's hitting 108C internally.

I have ordered industrial laser themometer to check what's going on externally. Don't actually think it's dried out thermal paste but that would be my last option after all these step.

Can you please tell me where exactlly HP 8BC2 located on motherboard as I am still not sure about the positioning of the chip. Is that a dedicated chip or It's a part of CPU chip.

I also have heard some noise around the RAM section. Please guide me about that as well if you can.

Here is the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tELVPIQk20WTdg2hRht7yUy20Q1ImGDX/view?usp=drive_link

Thanks for so much.

Faizan Zulfiqar.

I found noice around this area

Here is the full motherboard if you can help me locate PCH

[Raj_05]

Hi @FaizanZulfiqar,

Thank you for your response, 

The HP 8BC2 likely refers to a Platform Controller Hub (PCH) or an equivalent component, which is responsible for managing communication between the CPU and other hardware components like storage, USB ports, and other peripherals. Here's what you need to know.

Where is the PCH located on the motherboard?

The PCH is generally a separate chip from the CPU, located near the CPU socket but not integrated into the processor itself. On many laptops:

• It is positioned closer to the storage interface (NVMe or SATA connector), as it handles the data pathways.
• It often has its own small heatsink or thermal pad if it is a high-power chip.

Since "HP 8BC2" isn’t a standard chipset designation, it might be the internal identifier for a specific PCH used in HP laptops. Check your laptop's Service Manual to identify the exact layout of your motherboard.

How to identify the PCH physically?

The PCH:

• Usually has a small, square package with the manufacturer's logo (e.g., Intel, AMD) printed on it.
• May have a thermal pad or a tiny heatsink covering it.
• Typically resides in the lower half of the motherboard, between the CPU and the storage devices.

Could the 4TB NVMe drive be the issue?

Yes, it's possible:

• NVMe drives generate significant heat during operation, especially high-capacity ones.
• If the drive is causing excessive heat buildup in the area, it could indirectly affect the PCH's temperature since both are often located near each other.

Steps to Troubleshoot High PCH Temperatures:

a. Monitor and log temperatures

• Use tools like HWiNFO or HWMonitor to check the PCH temperature consistently.
• Confirm if the temperature spikes during specific workloads (e.g., NVMe usage).

b. Inspect the thermal management

• Check the thermal pads and heatsinks for proper contact with the PCH and other components.
• Ensure that the airflow isn’t blocked and that dust isn’t restricting the cooling system.

[Raj_05]

c. Test with the NVMe removed

• Temporarily remove the 4TB NVMe drive and boot using another drive or external boot medium.
• Observe if the PCH temperature decreases significantly.

d. BIOS and Windows Settings

• Check BIOS for advanced thermal throttling or power-saving options.
• Disable unnecessary PCIe power management features if they cause the PCH to overheat.

e. Check the thermal paste

• After ruling out other causes, consider replacing the thermal paste on the PCH (if it has a heatsink) or even on the CPU. Dried-out thermal paste can reduce thermal conductivity and lead to overheating.

Using an Industrial Laser Thermometer

When you receive your laser thermometer:

• Focus on the area around the NVMe drive and CPU to identify hotspots.
• Cross-reference the readings with your software-based temperature logs for consistency. 

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4

HP Support

[FaizanZulfiqar]

Hi Alden4,

I'm also concerning that it might be NVMe drive as you mentioned some PCH are placed closed to NVMe slots. I'll also take a look at manufacturer guide.

I will try all possible troubleshooting methods you provided above and keep you up to date about the condition.

Thank you so much sir.

Faizan Zulfiqar.

[Raj_05]

Hi @FaizanZulfiqar,

Thank you for your response, 

Please feel free to reach out to us. We are here to assist you and provide any necessary support.

I will be archiving this case for now however, you can respond to the same thread to continue the conversation.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Take care and have a great day ahead!

Alden4

HP Support