# Why is my cpu overheating?



## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

CPU I'm using is AMD Athlon 64, 2400 MHz (12 x 200) 3800+

Well around 2 months ago, my comp started shutting itself down and reseting itself. I checked some temps and it seems it was very hot. So I took some measures.

Never leave it on anymore (it was on pretty much all the time), moved it from a corner - it's now out in the open, leave one side of the case off and cleaned alot of dust away from inside the comp, especially heatsink etc and also put a big desk fan next to it which is along side it, not going directly into it.

This seemed to do the trick and it dropped around 20-25 °C and stayed that way for around 2 weeks. Now the problem has returned and its back at high temps - I cleaned the dust away again but there was nothing there tbh and it made no difference whatsoever.

Heres the temps right now










It tends to shut down while I'm playing FPS games, I've checked the temp while in game and it's generally high 70's or low 80's, I've seen it at 90 aswell which is very worrying

Never had any problems with this exact set up for around year or so, have a casefan aswell.

So whats causing the high temperatures and how can I sort it? :4-dontkno

Thanks in advance.


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## TechHelp24 (Dec 1, 2006)

Well, the most likely reason when it shuts down when you're playing FPS games, is that it has a lot of CPU usage, giving it more reason to heat up..

As for the problem itself, you should check the inside of your computer and see if the fan is still intact, in all aspects, for this will matter deeply with the actual Cooling of your computer.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

Also - have a look at the power supply (what brand/model is it?)
Please post the other system specifications - video card, RAM etc.


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## Chevy (Jul 25, 2003)

Ok ...

1 - Removing the side panel can actually hurt cooling, as it radically effects the airflow over components

2 - You may want to remove the heatsink/fan assembly from the CPU, clean both (just a soft cloth is enough to remove the old thermal paste) and apply fresh paste (there are several ways to do this. I prefer to put a small dab on the center of the CPU, and a similar dab on the center of the heatsink. They will spread out as pressure is applied and will provide even coverage).

3 - How many fans (plus size and location) do you have? My AMD64 5000+ was running very hot. I had a side fan (blowing in, 80mm), Rear (exhaust, 90mm), and Front (blowing in, 80mm). I reapplied the thermal paste and added a second exhaust fan (80mm) and intake fan (120mm, sitting just below my DVDRW. I had to remove a faceplate). My temps are 100F at idle, and about 125 under heavy load.


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

TechHelp24 said:


> As for the problem itself, you should check the inside of your computer and see if the fan is still intact, in all aspects, for this will matter deeply with the actual Cooling of your computer.


The fan is fine, and working.



eneles said:


> Also - have a look at the power supply (what brand/model is it?)
> Please post the other system specifications - video card, RAM etc.


Asus A8V-X
AMD Athlon 64, 2400 MHz (12 x 200) 3800+
1GB DDR Ram
nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS/XT AGP
Purepower 560W PSU


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

Chevy said:


> Ok ...
> 
> 1 - Removing the side panel can actually hurt cooling, as it radically effects the airflow over components


Alright, so you would suggest putting it back on?



Chevy said:


> 2 - You may want to remove the heatsink/fan assembly from the CPU, clean both (just a soft cloth is enough to remove the old thermal paste) and apply fresh paste (there are several ways to do this. I prefer to put a small dab on the center of the CPU, and a similar dab on the center of the heatsink. They will spread out as pressure is applied and will provide even coverage).


Will order some thermal paste now.



Chevy said:


> 3 - How many fans (plus size and location) do you have? My AMD64 5000+ was running very hot. I had a side fan (blowing in, 80mm), Rear (exhaust, 90mm), and Front (blowing in, 80mm). I reapplied the thermal paste and added a second exhaust fan (80mm) and intake fan (120mm, sitting just below my DVDRW. I had to remove a faceplate). My temps are 100F at idle, and about 125 under heavy load.


Just the one case fan, along side the other component fans.. also as said ATM I have a desktop fan a bit bigger than this http://www.medwastesolutions.com/shop/images/FLKW3038.JPG
running to the side of the tower as ridiculous as it sounds :grin:

Sorry about the double post, accidently posted and it would have been a pain editing


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

Thanks.
Start the computer and enter BIOS. Watch the temperatures and voltages in BIOS for about 5 minutes. 
What happens? Temps? +12V?


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## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

Dont order any Thermal Paste, Get Artic Silver 5 & Make sure it contains 99% Silver.


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

eneles said:


> Thanks.
> Start the computer and enter BIOS. Watch the temperatures and voltages in BIOS for about 5 minutes.
> What happens? Temps? +12V?


Ok, this is all after I've removed the headsink, throughly removed any dust and let the processer cool for a while - has been a while since it's been out. 

On Everest I'm at 46.. which will rise and rise the longer I'm on/in game I should imagine. But in BIOS

CPU Temp - 37!
Motherboard - 29
VCORE V - Varied from 1.456-1.572
12V - 12.099-12.160
3V (I think) - 3.296-3.312
5V - 4.972

Thanks again, for your help.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

The temps and voltages look OK.



> Ok, this is all after I've removed the headsink


??? Did you remove the heatsink? Have you put it back and re-applied thermal paste between the heatsink and the CPU? If you didn't clean the old paste off and put some new on (just a little - about the size of a rice grain) - please do that ASAP.


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

Heatsink* not headsink lol. I put it back but didn't have any thermal paste.. but as said I will get some arctic silver 5 asap and see if that solves the problem


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## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

It should Defenatly fix it, You never break contact between the CPU/Heatsink without Re-applying the Thermal Paste :grin:


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

Alright I've ordered some and I'll report back a few days after I've applied. A couple of questions though - how often should I re-apply and how much should I put on the processor and the heatsink. You mentioned a dab.. a small one?


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## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

See this :

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Just a small Dab about the size of a grain of rice, Then use a credit card to smudge the AS5 over the top of the CPU.






As for how often you should Re-apply. Never really, unless you have too. My Old PC Has Never had the Thermal Paste Changed since i got it 5 years ago :grin:


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## DCasi34 (Apr 7, 2005)

OMG, I've had problems with my pc overheating then crashing, suggestions on another website indicated it was my PSU. So I went out and bought one for nothing after reading this thread I applied the thermal paste and wohoo it works again....I guess I need to package the PSU back to fry's..thanks guys!


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

I'm glad you got it fixed DCasi34.
Now - let's see what *idx* answers.


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

Ok the Artic Silver has arrived, but have been busy as of late so haven't had time to apply it but the temps are already staying down and with some Artic Silver applied I have no doubt that this will work so thanks for your help everyone.

A couple of questions though (I've never applied this stuff before) When I've put a dot of the stuff on, I take it I smudge it around the whole of the bottom of the processer? May seem like a silly question but you mention it here but it makes no mention of it on the user guide. Also do I apply any to the bottom of the heatsink? 

Cheers. :wave:


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## Underclocker (Aug 13, 2007)

Don't put a lot on, as any of the goop that is left without contact will actually dry and crack. Just a blob on and smear it so that it covers all the metal on top of the CPU. You won't need to apply any to your heatsink.

By "bottom of the processor" I take it you mean the side with the pins? Don't apply any there.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

*Arctic silver instructions.*


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

Applied the stuff.

But my temp is at 75 °C (167 °F).

Should I be worried? Or is this the period that people speak of in which it will take time for it to take effect? Should it have gone up that much?

Should I leave it a good 4-5 days before taking note of the temp or what?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

if it is that high you have put to much on or have not secured the heatsink correctly 
it should be no higher than the low 40's


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

I'm 99% sure the heatsink is on.. it won't move an a mm and is definetly on correctly.

As for too much AS5 on, Admittedly I probably put a bit more on than the recommended 'grain of rice' but anything less and it would have been very difficult to spread all around the surface..


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

putting to much on causes as much problems as none at all that's why you were given the instructions to follow
you will have to clean it off and reapply it correctly,i use a business card or a credit card to spread it over depending on how much room i have to do it,you are only filling the minute indentations to make it level,it looks perfectly flat to the naked eye but it is'nt and the paste solves this but if it is applied to heavy it does not transfer the heat correctly to the heatsink


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

I've re-applied it and put less on this time but no luck yet again. 

Temp: CPU 78 °C (172 °F)

And it gets hotter, causing my machine to reset itself. What could be the problem? The Heatsink IS on properly.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

Is it that hot in BIOS? Please watch the temperatures and voltages in BIOS for 10-15 minutes.


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

I turned on my comp after it being off for a few hours and in Everest it sat idling at 65-70 °C so I went to bios and it started at 45, but when up around 1°C every 45 seconds and ended up at 62°C after 10 mins, but before I quit off showed no signs of giving up there. 

Voltages were the same as I reported before.

I have a spare Heatsink, is it worth trying that?


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

Yes, if it fits - you've got nothing to lose. You have to remove the old paste with, for example, acetone before applying new.


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

Also, I believe my graphics card to be faulty (it's been playing up for a while) as you can see here

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1127/wtfoi9.jpg

I'm getting a new one anyway cause I've had it ages, this would have nothing to do with the processor speed rising in temp though right? Or could something be causing both problems?


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

No, that shouldn't cause the CPU temp to rise.
Have you tried reseating the video card and the monitor plug? You may have disturbed it when applying the thermal paste.
Before you buy a new video card - make sure you have a PSU that can support it.


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## ldx (Aug 14, 2007)

Yeah I've tryed all of those, I think it's just faulty. I will try a new heat sink/ re apply the paste and if that doesn't work I'll just take it to a repair shop or something - getting fed up with it.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

Let us know how you get on.


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## gallup (Oct 26, 2007)

eneles said:


> Let us know how you get on.


Don't ya just hate when it ends that way??? What happened next...
Anyhow, nice info so far. 
I thought I was having a similar problem until I saw his temps. 
Mine with new ocz u5+ smeared on cpu (Athlon XP 2400+ 2.0 GHz) with only voltage off a bit is the 5v at 4.85v is registering about 57C while scanning with spybot to give the cpu something to think about.
For the first hour it stayed about 44C, then halfway through first scan went to it's current 57C mark and has stayed pretty stable. This is measured with the ITE Technologies Smartguardian program, which is consistant with SiSoft Sandra. 
Should I worry about the 5v @ 4.85 and how does that affect temp?...and
I was worried about breaking 50C, but then noticed a test of thermal paste in which they were reaching 56C under load with the same paste as me. Arctic Silver did best but still came in at 53C when tested on a 
AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Barton.
What started me checking temp was a repeated shutdown problem. The factory paste seemed to melt away when observed. I seem to be under the impression that the silver based paste should not do this? It reached well into the 60 when I took it apart the first time. I came by this in trade for work on someone elses virus infested pc's. Thought to buy for parts perhaps a rebuild, but works pretty well. Just the temp ordeal. Is this a normal heat range for this processor? Socket a/472 just seems to have such a small contact patch with the heat sink @ the 2ghz speed range to draw the temp down sufficiently. Should I perhaps get a better heatsink/fan combo? This will never be used for anything taxing other than scanning for virus/malware. I am going to use it to network others to the internet mainly, so will need to be stable at temp.
thanks for all your help and time on other issues.
Mike


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