CPU=too hot!

[NETRONOMICON]

Ok, now I have some serious overheating problems. I'm running an athlon 1.1 (Yeah how'd you guess) and the cpu is going up to 50 degrees when sitting idle. My mobo is also getting real hot around it as well. I have the case covers off, and all the cords and stuff are out of the way, the heatsink and fan are attached and working properly (I have this noisy twin fan to cool it down, but despite of all the noise it makes it's obviously not working) I havent overclocked it or modified it in any way, but whenever I do anything demanding it locks up and nothing will respond, the power and reset buttons dont work, and I have to shut it down by turning the power off at the switch.

It used to do this randomly and infrequently, and now it's doing it all the time. The only way i can run without crashing is by sticking a home fan in there to keep it cool.

Any ideas on why it decided to get so hot lately?

[Floppyman]

Hi,

What kind of heatsink/fan are you using on your cpu? Also what did you put thermal compound between the cpu and heatsink (i.e. something like Artic Silver II). Do you have any case fans? Taking the covers off your system won't necessarily cool it down and in some instances could make it run warmer. I always recommend having at least one fan blowing air in at the bottom of the front of the case and one fan exhausting the air in the back. Now the idea is also to have efficient airflow. Sticking too many fans in your system may actually just make your system louder, not cooler. Let me know if you have any more questions and hope this helps a bit.

[NETRONOMICON]

Thanks for your help floppy,

I have a superorb twin fan cooling my cpu. The termal glue I used was the generic brand that came with the processor - sillicone compound. I dont have any case fans at the moment, in fact, one of the covers broke on my box a while ago, and i've been running it open ever since.

Upgrading my fan seems like an inexpencive venture, and i will certainly take your advice and look into some case fans/exhausts.

Maybe the sudden crashes came on as a result of the weather changes, summer has come into full effect here recently.

[NETRONOMICON]

Also, what temp should my cpu be sitting at on average, when both idling and at 100% usage?

[Sgt_Zeke]

I would definitly go with a new case and 2 good case fans. I am using Thermaltake fans and an Enlight case. If your mobo supports 3 wire fans (rpm monitoring) use them. Front in back out.

[whr2206]

I dont think you need a new case. Get 2 extra case fans..... get like a globalwin h/f or jsut something different to try out. Since it freezes alot, whats your ps...how mnay watts??IS it amd approved?? I had the same problem about running demanding applications, then it froze. I found out that it was my h/f...and A ps that wasnt amd approved...hth

[wrelax]

i have 2 intake fans, 2 exhaust, 2 fans on power supply, and alpha 8045 w/ sunon 80 mm. Read my sig its at 1300 mhz.. and my idle is 36 C and load is 40 C. Just to give u an idea of how hot ur temps are.

I would definetely add some fans to your case and keep things circulating. If i were u i'd take off the heatsink and start all over. Clean it all up and make sure u get some good thermal paste such as artic silver 2. Apply a thin layer of as2 on the cpu core and carefully place heatsink on the cpu. Attach clip, make sure u don't move it around while seating. I would lap the heatsink too, it usually drops the temps about 1-2 C. Alright HTH.. cya

[NETRONOMICON]

Thanks to everyone for the input, it's really helping me narrow the problem down. Also, just as a point of intrest, there is a part of my mobo that is extremely hot, to the point where it burns to touch. the rest of the board is relatively cool, but this area (next to the atx power suply socket) is red hot.

[Sgt_Zeke]

What size is your supply? It may be over taxed and heating up like a cheap extension cord.

[Bobo23]

Is it really ok to touch your motherboard while its running? wont you get shocked? Also, when you get a temperature reading, do you use a standard thermometer? How do you do it? and if you use a standard thermometer, where do you put the sensory part? right onto the top of the chip? Please inform me on the ways of chip Temperature regulation.

[Cricket]

Most modern motherboards have a built in heat sensor or probe. There's a health monitoring processor on the motherboard and you can check the CPU temp in BIOS or with a Windows based health monitoring software such as Motherboard Monitor.

If your motherboard doesn't have heat sensor probe or health monitoring processor on board, you can pick up something like CompuNurse to monitor your CPU temps. You can check it out here: http://2cooltek.safeshopper.com/44/163.htm?835

Cricket

[Bobo23]

what would be really cool is if there was something exactly like that CompuNurse thing, except you could set a temp at which you wanted to sound an alarm, so that it could alert you when your cpu is at a dangerous level, meaning you could turn it off and ice it down (jk).

[Alfie]

By installing mbm and setting the alarms to your liking,such a setup already exists!
Compare the temps from mbm to your thermisistor reading and set up the alarms as you like them.
In addition to mbm you can use a program called shutdown,it, in conjunction with mbm, will shut the computer down if the temp you set is exceeded.
It's adviseable to set a low threshold,in this way you'll have time to shutdown and check it all out.