overheating problem (WXP-Pro)

[fogeyman]

I posted in the viruses, worms, and trojans forum about what I thought to be a virus (turned out to be a motherboard issue) and so I installed a new motherboard, wiped my hard drive, fixed the old problem, and created a new one: I was unable to control my CPU temperature. I have it set to automatically shut down at 60 degrees celsius.

The first time I noticed the overheating problem, I decided to put thermal paste (Arctic Silver 5) onto the CPU. After doing this, my computer ran kind of well and then flopped. So, I realized I should probably scrape all the old thermal paste off the heat sink and CPU and apply a new coat. After doing that, everything ran fine, for a while. Later I noticed the entire computer was overheating (the motherboard, hard drive, power supply, etc.) and I figured the fans weren't working properly. I removed the old wall fan (left the power supply, cpu, and radeon 9800 fan as is) and put in a new one as well as two additional fans into the back of the computer. Two of the three were sucking while one was blowing. I figured this would maintain the temperature well and it did, for one night. Maybe the outside temperature was the reason the computer didn't overheat at night and did in the evening. In any case, at night the computer idled at 40 and during mid-day to evening, it idled at 50.

I reasoned that, as my power supply is fairly old, this may simply be a power issue, that I don't have enough power to maintain all my hardware. I entered the "setup" that the computer has at the very beginning of the power-up and monitored the PC Health Status or something. Temperature was ~50. There were also two categories, one that said CPU VCore or something close, and another that was simply numbers (Numbers B) (corresponding numbers, I believe). Underneath CPU VCore, there were three numbers, something like 1.0 V, 3.3 V and (this number is exact) 5.0 V (Numbers A). Number B for the first two sets was always the same and lower than number A. Number B for the last Number A (5.0 V) was sometimes underneath and sometimes over, varying from 4.99 to 5.02. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that this means I'm overloading my power supply which might lead to less power for the fans, less circulation, more heat, and more overheating. What exactly is the problem and how can I fix it?

Although I'm not sure about a lot of the specifics, here's my computer specs anyway:
ECS 848P-A motherboard (not the original motherboard that came with the computer (computer ordered from a professional who builds custom comps))
2.533 Pentium 4
512MB DDR333
Radeon 9800 (256 mb)
some random card with two firewire ports
some random SB Live sound card
not sure about the power supply, though there are a bunch of numbers printed on the side of it
60GB 7200 RPM IDE hard drive
Anything else?

[tom_keefer]

More than likely whatever <a target="_blank" href=http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/eng_index.asp>CPU fan/heat sink</a> you have installed is not adequate to cool the processor. Note: if you replace it you will need to apply fresh thermal compound (Arctic Silver 5 is great), but, don't scrape off the old ... remove it with isopropyl alcohol (99%) and a soft, lint free cloth.

Also, you didn't mention the wattage on the PSU. If it is 350 Watts or less you should upgrade it.

<font color=purple>Tom</font color=purple>


ya'aa'tey

XP Pro SP2 - Intel D925XCV - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB Raptor - 1GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 - Plextor 716A - Chaintech NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT -Samsung 19" LCD -

[fogeyman]

I checked my power supply in regards to the wattage and it says:
"+5V & 3.3V COMBINED LOAD 200W
+5V & 3.3V & +12V COMBINED LOAD 330W
TOTAL OUTPUT IS 350W MAX"

In short, what does this mean?

Also, how do I find out if I'm actually overloading my power supply or not?

EDIT: I noticed on the back of my computer, on the power supply, there's a red slider which covers one number and reveals another, depending on the slider position. One number is 115V, and another is 230V. Currently, my computer is set to 115V. Which should my computer be set to?<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by fogeyman on 08/14/05 11:38.</FONT></P>

[tom_keefer]

From what you posted you have a 350 Watt PSU.

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/>Power Supply Wattage Calculator</a> - This gives you a rough guide.



<font color=purple>Tom</font color=purple>


ya'aa'tey

XP Pro SP2 - Intel D925XCV - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB Raptor - 1GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 - Plextor 716A - Chaintech NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT -Samsung 19" LCD -

[__spc__]

I have a similar problem with my machine.

Setup:
Asrock P4VT8+ m'board
Celeron D 2.4GHz
1x 512MB 400MHz DDR RAM
64MB Geforce 4 MX 4000
1 x IDE CD/DVD r/w
1 x 40GB IDE
1 x 120GB IDE
1 x 250GB SATA
2 x case fans (front sucks in, rear blows out)
1 x 400W psu

The case is a standard case that the vendor assured me would be ok for the system (before I added the extra fans and SATA drive).

The system is under a desk in an upstairs bedroom, near a window which can be opened wide.

Occasionally, say on warm days (yesterday was 28 deg C and v high humidity) or when my son's been playing very demanding games, the machine shuts down. A restart is met with a blank screen and a series of BIOS system beeps.

If I remove the case side panel and leave the machine to stand for 30 mins, the machine reboots fine.

I am guessing that I probably need a case with more fans and better vents, but it's not really a high performance system. I have no paste on the CPU...

Any recommendations anyone?

[tom_keefer]

Your PSU is fine, but you need to invest in a better <a target="_blank" href=http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-33,GGLG:en&q=CPU+cooling+fan>CPU cooling fan</a> (don't get a cheap one) and it's a must to use a thermal paste compound such as Arctic Silver 5. It's a wonder you haven't fried your CPU.

<font color=purple>Tom</font color=purple>


ya'aa'tey

XP Pro SP2 - Intel D925XCV - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB Raptor - 1GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 - Plextor 716A - Chaintech NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT -Samsung 19" LCD -

[__spc__]

Thinking about it (and checking the BIOS beeps for AMI BIOS), I reckon it's a video card issue.

When I've thrashed the machine, the CPU fan's nearly taken off it's been working so hard (say 5500 rpm) and this's not been happening prior to the shutdowns.

Me tinkering with the case etc is probably enough to temporarily jiggle the card about so it works. I'm going to reseat the video card tonight and see what happens.

(For the first few months of use of the machine, I did nothing with it, then lately (coinciding with the problems) I've added several extras, each time requiring the cable sto be unplugged, and this may be where the problem's arisen.)

[yaniv2008]

Hello,

I am internationally A+ certified... nd for the first time ver I am having a problem very very similar to this one.... the computer beeps and all of that but not the normal beeps you know the ones that relate to an error, its none of those...

this beeping just doesnt stop, I have taken out the cpu, put more thermal stuff etc etc like everything mentioned before, but before, during the problem he CPU said the temp was 96 degrees then after I opened the case put more gel, waited a few mins it still says 96 degrees... I dont think its anything to do with any of my fans...

I know this sounds far fetched but could it be some kind of virus?

[tom_keefer]

☻Couple of questions:

1) What kind of CPU and motherboard?

2) Is the CPU fan stock?

3) Is that 96° temp Celsius or Fahrenheit? If its Celsius that is way too hot. I have an Intel P4 2.8 Ghz CPU (Prescott) and it idles at 42° C.





<font color=purple>Tom</font color=purple>


ya'aa'tey

XP Pro SP2 - Intel D925XCV - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB Raptor - 2GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 - Plextor 716A - Chaintech NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT -Samsung 19" LCD -

[jdharm]

"...then after I opened the case put more gel..."


I feel like I might be speaking a little out of turn here, but I also feel like this should be said 'just in case':

When it comes to heat transfer paste "less is more", even for high performance paste.

The paste is only meant to fill in the microscopic imperfections that keep the two mating surfaces from being 'perfectly flat'. The layer of paste should be exceedingly thin. Otherwise the paste will act like an insulator more than a conductor.

Just sayin'.



Josh
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.jdharm.com>www.jdharm.com</a>

[yaniv2008]

Hi,

My CPU is a Intel P4 3.Ghz, Motherboard is a Gigabyte - GA-8IPE775 PRO its got 1GB of ram..

The thing is, I left it off over night, turned it on this morning and I checked the Bios first thing, and it still said my CPU was at 96 degrees celsius... which is impossible because surely it would burn out or something?

I took out the CPU yesterday and it was not even warm so I think something may be wrong with the bios?

I am going to but a new heatsink /fan tomorrow and see if that makes a difference... but this is really wierd because the CPU is definately not getting that hot...

To be honest it did only start about 2 days ago when I 'accidentally' kicked my pc so I figured maybe something moved out of place...

I will try the new fan tomorrow.

Thanks for your help!

[yaniv2008]

Hi,

Yeah you are 100% right, I did take off the original gel and add some more, maybe too much but I dont think that is causing the problem, I have put gel on many CPU's before, no problem so I really think this is just something with the BIOS

The thing is, I left it off over night, turned it on this morning and I checked the Bios first thing, and it still said my CPU was at 96 degrees celsius... which is impossible because surely it would burn out or something?

I took out the CPU yesterday and it was not even warm so I think something may be wrong with the bios?

I am going to but a new heatsink /fan tomorrow and see if that makes a difference... but this is really wierd because the CPU is definately not getting that hot...

To be honest it did only start about 2 days ago when I 'accidentally' kicked my pc so I figured maybe something moved out of place...

I will try the new fan tomorrow.

Thanks for your help!

[tom_keefer]

<font color=red>"To be honest it did only start about 2 days ago when I 'accidentally' kicked my pc so I figured maybe something moved out of place..."</font color=red>

That can't be good. Usually kicking and computer shouldn't be used in the same sentence. /images/forums/icons/laugh.gif



<font color=purple>Tom</font color=purple>


ya'aa'tey

XP Pro SP2 - Intel D925XCV - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB Raptor - 2GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 - Plextor 716A - Chaintech NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT -Samsung 19" LCD -

[yaniv2008]

haha yeah :)

[nowshining]

have u updated-FLASHED the BIOS, try seeing if you there is a newer BIOS for your motherboard as the newer ones can fix many problems the old versions had.

Go here to start the find process for the Correct Update Bios for your Motherboard
http://www.giga-byte.com/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_List.aspx <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by nowshining on 06/18/06 11:24.</FONT></P>

[alkaline]

I have the identical problem! After replaceing a ton of parts trying to figure out witch one was overheating, i found out that ALL MY PARTS WERE OVERHEATING!!!! so to fix it i did the most simple thing, Take a large fan (house fan) turn it to MAX and blow all the heat out! Just buy one of thoes fans that the top rotates side to side, usually sold in lowes, and that should do the trick, but some of the motors in some of them will make your monitor flicker, so choose your fan wisely, i use a small SMC 4 speed fan it is about 2 feet tall.