AMD 64bit X2 Heat problem

[redeye66]

Hi all,

I'm having this problem with my newly rebuilt computer. It's the CPU, I think it's getting too hot, Speedfan reports it around 40C idle and on full load I've seen it hit 76C (the room ambient temp is around 25C). I haven't overclocked it, that's beyond my knowledge. :)

Ok here is my spec;

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 4200 X2 (skt 939) /w Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 64 and Silver thermal compound
Motherboard: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
Graphics: Asus 7600GS Silent (512MB)
Memory: 1GB PC2300? (i think, it's slow anyway - from my old system, can't afford new memory yet:rolleyes: )
PSU: 450W continuous
HDD: 1 x 80GB SATA, 1 X 40GB IDE

I think the CPU cooler I have is a decent one and the correct one, well it seemed ok for the money :) anyway here is a link, i hope this is allowed http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Arctic_Cooling_CPU_Coolers.html it's the one about 3rd from the bottom with the code FG-000-AR. I mounted this huge monstrosity using silver based thermal compound according to Arctic Silver's instructions at http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

I use a free program called Speedfan that i found, i don't know if you folks have heard of it, anyway, my ambient room temp is around 25C. When i first turn on the computer Speedfan reports the core temperature to be about 40C. But when i run any kind of load on it, theres many test pograms i can use, but they don't really matter. What matters is not being able to run my game :eek: hehe. When i start up the game, notably EVE online, the temp will shoot up to about 65C then will steadily rise then to about 75C. I seen it at 76C today after being ingame for about 10mins. I logged out then cause i got scared. :( I can get similar temps by running a free load test program i found called CPU Stability test 6.0.

This to me not only seems very high but it also seems too much of an increase in temerature from idle to load.

I don't really know what to do now, I've tried remouting the heatsink and fan numerous times with similar results each time.

I'm not sure if it's me mounting it incorrectly or if it's some other reason.

The only reasons I can think of is, (just thinking outloud here, for your opinions and advice :) );

-The surface of the heatsink that contacts the cpu is not completly flat? .....It's a new cooler, it should be ok right?

-My graphics card does get quite hot, around 65C according to it's software, it's mounted 4" under the CPU cooler(lowest down PCI-E slot), could that be an issue?

-I have no input fan, but the PSU fan and an 80MM fan is extracting from the case, maybe that's it? (the 80mm fan is mounted on the side of the case, it lines up to the top of the cpu cooler)

Ok enough of me babbling now, as u can see my mind is just one big mess and i really need help hehe:cool:

Thoughts?

Very odd.

76oC - while being very warm, is still within safe operational limits for your CPU, things start to go wrong around 90.

The only thing i can reccommend is changing you thermal material between the CPU and heatsink, make sure its about the same thickness as a piece of paper, more = the compund starts to insulate the CPU rather than carry heat away, less = not enough to be sufficient.

Check all fans are actually spinning when the PC is turned on, sounds silly, but I've made this mistake before and forgot to check my fans!

If all else fails i would check the heatsink itself. You say you use the ol'freezer, I've had a problem with one of these before where something was wrong with the heat pipes, i had to RMA it. If you can, check using another heatsink.

Good luck!

[ffire]

Check to make sure ur heat sink is correctly installed

Dude Idk man I never heard of an athlon x2 being safe at 90 C never even heard of one running past 70 C... that is just too hot if you ask me... I have an Opteron 170 (its dual core, its just like an x2 but more cache) I have it overclocked 30% I believe... and my max temp is 50C and thats after running 2 instances of Prime95 for longer than 2 hours... I also have set my MB to shut off if temps ever reach 56 C

BTW I have the stock cooling on mine and AFAIK they both have the same heat sink and fan...

No man i totally agree, 70 is WAY to hot.

I was just saying its not so hot as to panic to the point where you daren't turn your PC on. Theres still 20 extra degrees before things get really hairy.

But it does need sorting ASAP, running it that hot will reduce its lifespan considerably.

[redeye66]

Thanks guys, you gave me the motivation to retry mounting my heatsink and my cpu again, probably for the 10th time or more by now.

Today i remouted the heatsink using about 1/2 grain of rice sized ammount of silver compound, and spread it very thinly across the cpu and then mounted the heatsink, i say the layer of compound was about the thickness of a piece of paper, like you suggested, if not it was thinner.

Now the max temp i've so far seen is 56C. That's more like it! woohoo!