Random temp fluxuations

[DeathScytheVT]

Hey guys, I had a post in the CPU section yesterday about a problem with my CPU heat I thought was related to a power surge. Everything seems fine but i'm still getting a HUGE difference in my CPU temps at times.

Earlier yesterday it was running at 27'C while idle. When it restarted from the surge, it was at 52'C idle. Earlier today I was checking to see if my RAM would fit in my girlfriend's comp, and when I put it back in mine and restarted I was back to 27'C. Was fine till just now when I had to restart again from a program... and now am back up to 52'C. What's the deal here? I've updated my bios and everything so I dont think its mis-reporting my temps. Nothing is seriously changing between the starts, and it's not a constant thing. I've restarted numerous times and still am at 52'C idle temp

Any ideas what could be causing this? And how to fix it?

Edit: Forgot to say that I've tried lightly touching the heatsink to see if its hot, and it's barely warm to the touch, hear that's usually a sign that it's running relatively cool.

 

[CycloWizard]

Did you check the ambient temperature levels in the case? Sounds to me like the case temperature is rising while the computer is on, as it should. As ambient temperature rises, so will CPU temperature. Thus, if you let it sit off for a while, the ambient temperature will decrease and your starting CPU temperature will be lower. Try monitoring the temperature from startup and see if it increases continuously.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Did you say you had a power-line surge? I assume you had your system behind a surge protector, but even those devices have limited effectiveness.

I've had all kinds of equipment die on me from power-line surges during electrical storms, even with surge-protectors. I now keep a battery-backup system between every single computer and the wall-socket. It was a worthwhile "insurance policy". But you eventually need to replace either the batteries themselves, or the UPS device once every four or five years.

 

[imported_waldo]

What are your load temps? That would probably be a good indicator as well....are you sure you mounted the HS properly? Although that doesn't seem to be the problem, cause that is on restart. How long is your Computer on after you restart it? What is the temperature before you shut it down? etc...

 

[DeathScytheVT]

Yep, everything's properly mounted, though I am planning on getting a new HS/F and some Arctic Silver stuff to see if that helps. Running a 754 socket processor, what would be a good HS/F? I've been reccomended ZALMAN CNPS7000B-Cu Copper CPU Cooler for Socket 478/462/754/939/940 CPUs , any thoughts?

Temps seem fairly constant through when I run the computer. Start it up, it starts @ about 52 ish. Depending on how much/little I run, I can drop down to around 46 (as it is now while im posting), but my screensaver's knocked it up to 57 at times.. a little odd.

I could understand if my comp was just running a little hot, but its just boggling that I can have it running for a full day @ a reported 27c, and then hit "restart computer" from the menu, and it jumps to 50's and won't go back down. I changed nothing hardware wise, nothing was different in the programs I was runing, its just reporting 25 degrees hotter.

Shutdown temps are often in that same range, about 52 ish reported when I shut it down.

One final question, I see people posting temps for their video cards all the time, where can I find something to monitor that temp?

 

[akira34]

What mobo and processor model are you running? IF my processor ever started at over 50C, I'd be powering it down and hunting for what's F'd up.

 

[DeathScytheVT]

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (no OCing at all) @ 2.2GHz
MoBo is MSI "K8T NEO-FSR" K8T800. Had it up and running for about 2 months now, but just recently installed the temp monitoring stuff (b/c i got interested in the idea of OCing), so its completely possible it's been running hot the whole time.

Got the new HS/F ordered and should ship today, so I'm hoping that it and some Arctic Silver will help keep it cool.

 

[KyjL]

Originally posted by: DeathScytheVT
Edit: Forgot to say that I've tried lightly touching the heatsink to see if its hot, and it's barely warm to the touch, hear that's usually a sign that it's running relatively cool.

Barely warm? Meaning you can barely feel it's warmth?

If so, that's a bad sign that your heatsink has bad contact. Try remounting your heatsink (even though you mention that it only happens when you restart, it just caught my eye...)

 

[akira34]

Make sure you have the very latest bios version installed on that board. Also, I didn't see what you're using for software to monitor the temps... I've seen the 3200+ run in the low 30's C, even below 30C, with a cooler airflow coming to the case (early spring with a window proped open near it).

I agree that you really should check the contact between the heatsink and processor. If it's not 100%, or the compound isn't 100% then that could very well be where your problem is. Also, when you install the new cooler, make sure you really clean up the processor to remove ALL residue from the old compound. Otherwise, you're just setting yourself up for more problems.

 

[DeathScytheVT]

Alright, I'll make sure I've got the thermal goop on really well. My stock HS came with the tape that was already on it, so are there any particulars to smearing on the arctic silver? or will it explain on the package? Also, I may have asked this before but what's the best thing to use to clean off the processor of the thermal tape's gunk?

Was using the CoreControl program that came on my mobo's CD, and now have SpeedFan running instead.

Temps right now (While under a load gaming)
Case: 44C
CPU: 60-61C

While idling, usually 37ish for case, 46-52 CPU. (not truly idle I guess, light load like IE and AIM. fully idle it rests around 46 sometimes).

I'm wondering if it'll randomly drop down again, because it did it yesterday, then after next restart it came right back up.

 

[akira34]

Those temps are high for what you're doing with the system. For applying the thermal compound (not goop) you REALLY need to follow the instructions that go along with it. Go to Arctic Silver's site, find the compound you have, and follow the instructions for the processor you have. Applying too much compound can be just as bad as not applying enough compound.

For cleaning off the old gunk, use either rubbing alch or denatured alcohol... I use the denatured since that's what I have at home, and it does the job REALLY well. Besides, I don't have any rubbing alcohol (never touch the stuff).

To give you an idea of temps, my Athlon64 3400+ (754 pin) idles at 30-35C with a case temp damned close to that (if not the same). Load temps give me about 10-15C increase over idle (which is normal). I'm still breaking in my XP-120 cooler, and have not flipped the fan over yet. Depending on what time I get home tonight, I might be able to try it then.

I actually had bad results with speedfan, which I'm not a fan of, but much better results with MBM5. Check your bios to see if you have the cool and quiet aspect active or not. If it is, check your target temps to make sure they're not 50C with a 5C spread (or more/higher). As I mentioned, check for bios updates as well. If you are on a previous bios version, update it. If you're at the current bios release, then something else is whack.

 

[DeathScytheVT]

Updated the bios last night, they're current. And those temps sound like what they WERE listed at. I'm still trying to figure out what causing it, because it just randomly reset to 52 a couple days ago, and then again yesterday. Before it hit those temps, it was running BEAUTIFULLY at like 27'

No ideas what could be causing it to randomly go so rediculously high? I'm half expecting it to randomly drop back down again sometime.

Oh and cool n' quiet is not active, it was giving me weird temperatures before too.

 

[akira34]

How about posting up what you have inside the case (and what make/model case it is)? Odd as it might sound to you, it COULD be the case, PSU, and/or fans that are the cause of the temp increase. Also, how long have you been running speedfan?? What did you change in the 24-48 hours before this started happening?

 

[DeathScytheVT]

Ok, quick further update:

I just powered down my computer, opened the side up, turned on my room fan and let it sit for ~10 mins before turning it back on. Now my CPU temp is idling at 25 again. (THOUGHT I had tried this before, maybe i'm just dumb).

Edit: After letting it cool:
Idle: 25ish
Load (Running WoW, Aim, IE and outlook): 36. Speedfan may be a few degrees off, but that's about what it was showing before with CoreControl.

Anyhoo, why would that make such a big difference? I mean I understand the need to let the CPU cool down... but if I restart my computer with it running at 25'c.... WHY would it reboot and suddenly go to 50C on a restart?

Now to answer akira34:
Case: A-Top XBlade Black/Silver (I'll be the first to admit its a cheap case, but havent had problems with it)
Inside the case I have:
Stock cooling on my AMD Processor
one 80mm fan on the side panel (intake)
one 80mm fan on the rear (exhaust)
(Did you want a list of the complete system specs? If so I'll post em, also will link if necessary)

24-48 hours previous to the problem:
Installed CoreCenter. (I've since uninstalled it, made no difference)
moved one 80mm fan from front intake to rear exhaust, thought it might help cooling a bit
left in the morning to help father with a campout
returned to find computer at the welcome screen (from power outage) and running at 52'c

Since then I have:
reseated processor
reseated heatsink
updated bios
installed speedfan

That's really about it. Like I said, I changed nearly nothing before it happened.

 

[akira34]

I've had my rig running for about a week straight (until I was leaving for work this morning). Idle temp was 33-35C even after all that time... I turned it off this morning, since the download was finished (took bloody long enough). If I get home at a decent hour, I plan to flip the fan on the XP-120 from blow to suck and see how it does. Also going to experiment, a little, with the fan speed controller to see what I can run it at and keep it cool enough, yet quiet enough for my liking. If I can't get where I want, I'll be checking on liquid cooling the processor (that has the loudest fan in my rig). If I can get that to run at the same sound level as the other fans, it will be a dead silent running rig... around 20db 24/7... I'm looking at the Tt bigwater item as an economical, yet decent, solution. Especially since I can get it for about $100 (less actually). I will put it 100% inside the computer, so that I don't have to worry about grabbing anything else when moving my rig around. I had thought about putting the spare res. outside the case, but I really don't want to try and mount it. Especially since that would require drilling the case.