AMD Athlon 2400+ Overheating!

[deadken]

I am AMAZED that your temps went up with the larger HS/F. I am sorry if I have caused you to 'waste' $15. I can only hope that when you get this straightend out, you will relish its quietness.

 

[MarkHark]

If your heatsink is getting too hot to the touch, then it is not getting good ventilation. Double-check that it is not accumulating dust between the fins and that the fan is spinning well (which it likely is since you just installed a new HSF combo and temps did not lower). If everything looks fine, yet the heatsink gets hot, you probably have a case of poor case ventilation, and hot air is building inside your case too fast, which takes us back to my first post. If there is no cool air to dissipate the heat to, the best heatsink in the world will be ineffective.

 

[breakz]

The idle temp on the computer is finally down to about 65C, which is better than before, but still not as good as some other temps I've been hearing about from other people. I think that the case and mobo are playing a larger part than I expect, especially since the case doesn't have excellent ventilation. Also, when I mount my motherboards I place the foam b/w the board and the mount in order to avoid shorts. Could this be the deciding factor?

Also, I've been trying to play World of Warcraft, but I keep getting black screens at random points; I imagined that this problem could be traced back to a hot CPU, but after last night (when the CPU AND northbridge were both cool, yet the game crashed), I need to look for other solutions.

 

[Vee]

Originally posted by: smbunn
I have the same problem, my machine is as follows;
Athlon XP 2400+
AU13 Motherboard
Radeon 9800 Pro
512MB PC3200

Its running at 133 FSB (at 166 it wont even boot) and the memory is at 166. The CPU is running at 65 C idle and winds up to 75c when busy. The heat sink is stinking hot, uncomfortable to touch. BIOS, MBM5 and SiSoft Sandra 5 all agree on the temperature. I just assumed these chips run hot. Its got a bog standard Athlon heatsink and fan with white thermal grease. I cleaned the heatsink last night and applied a new light smear of grease, no change in temperatire. Tomorrow I will buy a beater fan and heat sink, any recommendations?

Well I'll be damned. Me too. I've also noted one of my XPs (2years old) picking up temp lately (not that much sofar though). Well, we better be picking up some replacement socket A CPUs while they're still available. But it could have something to do with the MB too, I suppose? The power regulation and voltages could be off? Could bad caps do it?

 

[kitkat22]

When you upgraded did you replace the case? If not I would think this would be the problem. Get an Antec case with one of their PSU's and I suspect your problem will go away. From the suggestions given it sounds like your HSF is fine and all the BIOS settings are good, etc. The issue seems to lie in the fact the hot air isn't being moved around. You mentioned installing two case fans, but I suspect on closer inspection the only fan that is really doing something is the rear case fan, as the front fan is probably being held ineffective by wiring and possible case issues, like the fact the air vent for the front is under the case. The average antec case is about $50 or so, or choose a brand you like, but good quality. This will even help with future upgrades. This will even help with the hutch problem.

 

[Harvey]

A common mistake is to use too much thermal compound. You should use a VERY thin coating.

Essentially, the main purpose of thermal compound is to fill any pits or pores in the mating surfaces to increase the surface area available for thermal transfer. A thicker coating actually degrades the performance of the combination.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: breakz
Also, when I mount my motherboards I place the foam b/w the board and the mount in order to avoid shorts. Could this be the deciding factor?

Could you explain a bit further. I've never heard of ne1 inserting the foam pad between the mobo and case.

Are you using the brass standoffs?

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: breakz
Also, when I mount my motherboards I place the foam b/w the board and the mount in order to avoid shorts. Could this be the deciding factor?

Could you explain a bit further. I've never heard of ne1 inserting the foam pad between the mobo and case.

Are you using the brass standoffs?

I was wondering about that myself. I haven't ever heard of it, and I haven't ever heard of a short between the Mobo and the case. I don't imagine a HUGE difference in temps, but I would not put foam in there. There just isn't a reason too. (BTW: Where did you get the idea to do that?)
If you are going to get a new case, I'd suggest the Antec 3700 series. The SLK3700AMB or the 3700BQE are both AMAZING cases for the price.

 

[breakz]

The foam is a long story, but that won't be there for the next build come later this year. I've been waiting for Athlon 64 prices to drop in order to build a new box, so hopefully I can grab a new mobo, RAM, CPU, case and vid card for somewhat cheaper than usual. I've got my fingers crossed.

Anyway, yeah, the mobo is mounted on those tiny brass brackets that come w/ it, and the fan that was reccomended is definitely doing a better job. I have a setup w/in my case where one fan pulls air in from the front and another sends it out the back, but like someone said here the old-school IDE cables I'm using (along with what seems to be poor ventilation from the front) are keeping the case from better ventilation. I think the moral of the story is ventilation (i.e. Antec cases) are the way to go.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: breakz
The idle temp on the computer is finally down to about 65C, which is better than before, but still not as good as some other temps I've been hearing about from other people. I think that the case and mobo are playing a larger part than I expect, especially since the case doesn't have excellent ventilation. Also, when I mount my motherboards I place the foam b/w the board and the mount in order to avoid shorts. Could this be the deciding factor?

Also, I've been trying to play World of Warcraft, but I keep getting black screens at random points; I imagined that this problem could be traced back to a hot CPU, but after last night (when the CPU AND northbridge were both cool, yet the game crashed), I need to look for other solutions.

With the CPU running 70 degrees C I wouldn't be surprised if that foam pad started melting. There's no reason to put it there... that's why the motherboard mounts on those standoffs. If your motherboard is ever flexed enough to touch the metal mounting plate and short out, you've bent the motherboard WAY too much. I ALWAYS install heatsinks with the motherboard out of the case and on a hard flat surface with either one of those foam pads that come with motherboards, or a whole newspaper so there's SOME cushion, but not enough to let the board flex when applying the ~15 pounds of pressure required to secure the clip on the heatsink. After seeing a college room mate push the entire CPU socket through the motherboard trying to install a heatsink without removing the motherboard, I'll never install one with the motherboard inside the case if it uses clips like that.

*EDIT* As for your IDE cables... try some IDE cable origami to get them out of the way as best you can.

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: breakz....Anyway, yeah, the mobo is mounted on those tiny brass brackets that come w/ it, and the fan that was reccomended is definitely doing a better job......The old-school IDE cables I'm using (along with what seems to be poor ventilation from the front) are keeping the case from better ventilation. I think the moral of the story is ventilation (i.e. Antec cases) are the way to go.

I agree with Jeff7181 in that if you ever put enough pressure on the mobo to even get close to the metal tray, you'd most likely end up with sevral smaller Mobos (well, pieces of mobos). While I am not sure that it'd melt from those temps, I sure would like to know if the temps drop without it there.

I am glad to hear that the $15 Speeze HS/F is doing better. It certainly points to getting more airflow to get better cooling. Like Jeff7181 said, a little creative folding goes a LONG way (I've also heard of some people 'rolling' them 'round').

Ventilation is a big part of cooling (as someone here pointed out, even the best HS/F can't do much without good airflow), and Antec cases are most certainly designed with that in mind. Keep Antec in the front of your mind when it comes to building that 64bit rig you want to build. Good luck with everything.

 

[epic59]

i had a similar issue on one of these boards. might i recommend you make sure that the raised part of the CPU socket is not holding the HSF off the proc. Had a customer bring in a comp that was overheating extremly. appears that it was not making contact, hardly at all. sadly they didnt bring it in, until it wouldnt boot anymore (no more magic smoke) and the chip was well browned. filed it down and new proc and its back to 35c idle. Good luck!