Heat Emergency!!!

[Tarrant64]

I just recently moved from TT Venus 12 to a Zalman 7000 HS, and it's quiet and all, but my temps are killing me! I've taken it off and reinstalled it 4 times now, and even tried more thermal paste, and then less thermal paste.
The temps aren't going up or down. Well, actually i went from some regular paste that came with the zalman, but then tried some AS5, and still no change. As a matter of fact, it got a few degress hotter!

And i think at some points I actually hit 70 because the computer will just shutdown on me. And I have it set to shut down if it overheats.

I am using AMD 64 3200+ with the DFI Lanparty 250g NF3 board.

What else..umm....How 'stuck' to the cpu should this HS be? I have screwed it down as far as it will go, and when i twist the actually heat sink left or right, it moves just a 'little bit'. Should it be making more contact? If so, what do I do?

I got this from a friend who bought the wrong HS for his mobo, so he gave it to me for free. I was actually going to buy a 7700 zalman. Should I throw money in for that?
Help ASAP!

Thanks so much. I hope someone here has a quick answer. It's burning by the minute here.


P.S.

Previous temps with my Asus mobo(Asus K8V SE Deluxe) were around 34-42max. It even used to be at 32 when i kept all that dust out.
I tried different temp readers, and I am getting 30-32 in everest(for the CPU temp, but the AUX temp is the same as the DFI bios temp...around 55+)

Is the CPU temp right? Or is the AUX temp? What's the difference?

Sorry for the long post. My adrenaline is kinda pumping right now.

TIA.

 

[Duvie]

I am wondering if the 7000 is compatable...sounds like it is not making good contact....May be slightly elevated over the chip and not making flush contact...clean up chip and underside of HSF...then rip a strip of paper ( about 2-3" long) (regular)...place it on top of the IHS (let it overhang on of the sides by aboput 1" or enough to grab it with your fingers) and place the HSF on top of chip (*** cautiion do not start PC***) once the HSF is tighten all the way down, see if you can pull the paper out. YOu should not be able to !!!

 

[Tarrant64]

I am sure now that I think about it, if I was to do that, i would be able to pull it out.

If this is the case, what should i do?

I will be shutting down for a little bit to be taking a look at this.

 

[Tarrant64]

Well, i just tried it, and to my surprise, it didn't come out.
Should I also try a bios update?

 

[Duvie]

Definitely....Also when you has it on the cpu and the pc on...was the HSF hot or very warm at least??? This wil confirm the good contact we appear to possibly have eliminated as a culprit...

 

[imported_Kensai]

Get a 7700Cu. It provides more area to dissipate heat.

 

[Tarrant64]

I just ordered the 7700 overnight. The HS isn't getting too much warmer. However, the temps are still climbing. 63 now. I may have to return to the thermaltake and use that for the next couple of days. I am really dissapointed. I remember reading the 7000 was a good fit too.

 

[thriemus]

Sounds like too much thermal paste to me

 

[Xed]

did you use the backplate that came with the 7000?

 

[rise]

zalman

actually, looks like it's not supposed to go on the dfi, unless i'm reading it wrong as i know little about mobos. the 7700 isn't compatible either.

is it touching anything it's not supposed to?

 

[Tarrant64]

I think your reading it wrong. It's compatable. It's in under DFI mobo's, LanParty UT nF3 250Gb.

Well, i keep trying different variances of thermal paste. I tried a lot, then a tried very little. Then i tried a moderate amount. The temps just aren't droppin'.

 

[Tarrant64]

Another quick question. Do you think a powersupply could cause this problem as well? Maybe if it's failing? I don't see how, but I have this old...Powmax in this case. 300...maybe 320 watt. I forget what it was when I ordered the case. What I have is in my sig. Should I opt to move up to 400+? Would it help?

 

[rise]

ah, it's in the other column, sorry, i just saw the nf4's at first.

that is odd, i have the 7000 and it's great and as you said most rave about it. when you removed the paper that duvie had you put under it did it leave an even impression on the paper?

 

[sangyup81]

I wouldn't risk using a Powmax with an A64 setup.

 

[Markfw]

POWMAX is a big problem. Dump that and get an antec 350 or better and your problems will go away.

 

[compusaguy]

Ffollow the steps below:

1. open case and take HSF off
2. make sure you aren't touching anything on the case
3. dump a bowl of water on your hot processor
4. see what temperature it gets down to after boot up

 

[Tarrant64]

Originally posted by: compusaguy
Ffollow the steps below:

1. open case and take HSF off
2. make sure you aren't touching anything on the case
3. dump a bowl of water on your hot processor
4. see what temperature it gets down to after boot up

?

 

[Xed]

i'll ask again, did you use the backplate that came with the zalman?

and i'm sure compusaguy's post was a joke =)

 

[Sentential]

What I would do in your position would be to RMA the CPU for another one. This hasnt been the first time that I have seen similar cases. Occasionally AMD botches the TIM job between the core and the IHS.

If the contact is poor to the heatspreader (not by your HSF but between the core and the IHS) it does not matter what you use to cool it (reletively speaking).

Unless you pop the lid off and change the TIM underneath the heatcap your temps will always be high.

My advice is to RMA the CPU. It happens, and sadly it happened to you

 

[Solutions]

Originally posted by: compusaguy
Ffollow the steps below:

1. open case and take HSF off
2. make sure you aren't touching anything on the case
3. dump a bowl of water on your hot processor
4. see what temperature it gets down to after boot up

Sounds like something a CompUSA worker would recommend... LOL.

Not sure why but I do have an A64 3500+ that is running @ 65+ @ idel and at load. Could be poor temp reading from the Asus Probe software but it hasn't resulted in sluggishness, BSoDs, corruption, etc yet. How is your CPU running (other than the high temps)? Is it still shutting down now that you have reseated the HSF several times?

 

[Tarrant64]

Well, i disabled the shutdown on certain temperature in the bios, and everything seems to be running fine now. I upgraded to the 7700 and the temps don't seem to have changed much. In Everest under the CPU Temp, it has dropped a good 3 degrees with the new HS. However, under CPU Aux, it remains the same. Not sure which one to read at all. The BIOS temps are all wacked out though. They still read 62+(hence when i enable the shutdown feature, it just...shutsdown on me, even when set to 70).

Other than that, the system is running top notch. I upgraded the powersupply to a...Antec NeoPower 480w. Pretty cool PS. Other than the temps, it's running just fine. Should i just ignore them for now and wait and see what happens?

I don't want to RMA the CPU because i've had it for almost a year now. I don't think that's it. PLUS, no clue if it's still under warranty.

 

[Tarrant64]

bump

 

[Jojo7]

Did you already update the bios as suggested earlier?

If you aren't going to take the advice that people are giving, go elsewhere for help.

 

[Xed]

Since you won't answer me I'll assume you didn't swap the backplates and the hsf isn't making proper contact.

None of my three 7000's move at all.

 

[Tarrant64]

Sorry about the update. I've had my PC off working on the problem.

YES, i did a BIOS update as earlier. and YES, i've been taking the advice.

I had the proper backplate in in the first place. I used the backplate that came with my 7000.
It makes good contact once it's on. But if i try to turn it just a lil' bit left or right, it budges. Just a little bit. I got the 7700 in, and the same thing happens.