Constant Overheating Problem

[acornman37]

Hi all,

For a while now, my computer has been having trouble handling heat, it seems. If I'm playing a system intensive game, or running the CPU at 100%, the computer starts giving off loud beeps, indicating a heat problem.

Speedfan indicates that my CPU runs at a temperature of around 50 C at 100%, however Core Temp readings show the temp at over 70 C. I set the BIOS to warn for heat at 70 C, demonstrated by the loud beeps, so I'm inclined to believe the Core Temp readings.

Here are my specs:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000
GPU: Nvidia 7950 GT
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5
RAM: 4 GB

In an attempt to lower CPU heat, I bought a new fan/heatsink:
Zalman CNPS9500

What could be the problem here, and what should I do about it? Is there a chance that the sensor chips inside the CPU are inaccurate or malfunctioning? Anything would be helpful. Thanks.

[mjc]

What kind of case?

Intake/exhaust fans on the case?

[minus-sign]

How often--if ever--has it been blown out? If this has occurred or worsened since you put the new heatsink in its quite possible that there is not enough thermal compound on the cpu or that it has not seated properly. You can try reapplying some arctic silver to the heatsink (making sure to clean both processor and heatsink thoroughly before you do).

[acornman37]

It has never crashed due to this problem. Not that I can remember anyways...

My case is an Aerocool case. I think it's an older model because it doesn't show up in their list of products, but it is a large case with a 20mm fan on the side.

I did a malware check earlier today, and among other trojans, Malwarebytes found something called fake.beep.sys or something like that. Could this be the problem?

Unfortunately, upon restarting my computer to finish the removal, I can no longer access windows. BSOD on every startup, even safe mode. I'm going to restore the master boot drive because I have lots of un-backed up data =/. But this problem is for another thread...I'll update back if I get my drive issues sorted out...

[acornman37]

I fixed the BSOD problem...some kind of boot sector corruption I think. After backing up the data to a new drive, I ended up doing a repair install of windows and it seems to be fine.

Since I got a new hard drive, and my computer is still running incredibly hot, I'm going to assume it's not a problem with any kind of infection.

It's not dusty at all inside and the heatsink didn't increase the heat - just didn't lower it by much.

At a 0-5% load, core temp puts the CPU temp at around 55 C. Maybe it's just that my CPU runs really hot in the first place. But it shouldn't run THAT hot...

[sifLord]

it might be the thermal pad needs time to "burn in " so to speak, as most thermal pastes/pads usually take a bit of use before they start working "efficently"

i think that amd cpu uses a lot of wattage so that temp doesn't look too bad

might be worth checking your mainboard for any capacitors starting to show signs of wear e.g. bulging

[acornman37]

I've had the Zalman fan/sink for about 4 months now. Does it really take longer than this to burn in?

I'm not very experienced with circuitry and there are lots of capacitors on the motherboard...any specific ones I should pay attention to?

[sifLord]

a couple of days is usually enough for the thermal paste/ pads to burn in, sorry i thought you had just installed the new hsf

as for the capacitors, check them all, especially the ones between the cpu and the backplate....i noticed there is a sticky that has some pics of what to look for

also, another cause might just be the general flow of air through your case, so check those case fans are operating efficiently (i had that problem in one of my machines recently and it was the rear case fan intermittently stopping, coupled with an old power supply, the heat build up was quick when the fan would shut off)

[acornman37]

I took at look at that sticky and checked my board. All of the capacitors seem to be flat topped and clean. All the fans seem to be functioning properly also.

My GPU runs at about 85c idle. Since the heatsink for the CPU is large, it's several inches away from the GPU...Is it at all possible that it could be conducting heat into the CPU?

[sifLord]

although your case fans are "functioning properly", as i suggested, they might not be "operating efficiently" ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_transfer
basically, the hotter the air is around something, the slower a hot object (such as your cpu and/or gpu) will be able to expel its own heat

so, if you cannot lower the temperature of the gpu/cpu, you need to increase the airflow

have you tried flipping the cpu fan over to change the direction of its airflow ?
(if the fan is blowing onto the cpu this would increase the flow rate)

[acornman37]

The model fan/sink I have has the fan perpendicular to the CPU and blowing into the heat sink.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118004

How would I go about increasing fan efficiency? Should I use Speedfan to change the RPMs?

[acornman37]

any other suggestions from anyone would be appreciated.

[sifLord]

acornman37, sorry for taking so long to get back

the problem could be that the back case fan is not adequately venting the volume of air being thrown at it by your cpu fan (as this would cause heat to build up)

as mjc asked above, could you provide some details about your case (perhaps a link) such as the number and size of fans etc...

also, does your power supply have a fan at the bottom (which would place it directly above the cpu in a tower case) ?

upping the cpu fan speed might help, but you will still need to make sure there is adequate hot air flowing out of the case

[acornman37]

Here it is...I had trouble finding it last time but I was luckier this time:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811196023

You can see from the pictures that the power supply is under the CPU, and that there isn't a fan in the back...just a big on on the side and one in the front.

Wondering, should fans generally be blowing outwards to vent hot air out or blowing inwards to circulate air inside the case?

[sifLord]

should fans generally be blowing outwards to vent hot air out or blowing inwards to circulate air inside the case?

both, otherwise you end up with "hot spots"

in general, atx cases usually have a front intake fan(usually with a filter) to draw in cool air and a rear exhaust fan (that usually sits near the cpu and above the display card) to vent warm/hot air out, with the power supply assisting in venting the hot air that rises to the top of the case

given you have a btx case, obviously the dynamics of that airflow are different, especially considering the orientation of the cpu fan and sync and that 250mmm fan on the side (is it blowing in or out ?)

have you tried changing the direction of flow of those fans ?

[acornman37]

I think the 250mm fan is blowing inwards.

No I haven't tried changing the direction...is there software that can control the fans in such a way or would I have to manually disconnect the blades and insert them in the reverse direction?