[hulkster081]

i bought my HTPC based on the guide recommendations on this forum. I got the Asus M3A78-EM with AMD 64 X2 cpu and it ran fine for a few months.


now im having issues with the pc shutting off randomly. at first it was just shutting down at night while i was asleep so i thought it was related to sleep settings in vista or something...but then it started shutting down on me when i watched hulu desktop for a little while.


i ran used Everest and Speedfan to get some temps as i suspected overheating was the problem. i noticed that just now when i ran hulu desktop, my cpu temp got to about 63C. is that too high? and do you think its reaching the max 71C (saw the max temp on a site somewhere) at night?


anyway, right now as i type this its idle at 52C. im not overclocking or anything. originally when i had this problem i thought it might be the heatsink or something. i took it off and i had not put any thermal compound on it because the stock cpu fan has that thermal compound film thing on the bottom. i had some arctic silver laying around and just applied some of that and its still at 52C. would a better HSF make these temps go down? has anyone else run into these problems with this mobo and cpu?

 

[hulkster081]

bump

 

[Servicetech571]

Did you get the Heatsink/CPU REALLY clean? If you didn't get all of the melted on **** off the Heatsink/CPU it will run hot. Which processor are you running? The 95W and up processors may need a bit more than the stock heatsink, the 45W processors work fine w/stock.

 

[hulkster081]

well there wasnt any goop on the cpu AT ALL when i took the hsf off. the stock fan has that thermal film thing...im guessing that shouldve at least left some goop? i dunno.


regardless, ive got arctic silver on there now and its still running hot. i just ordered a $40 heat sink so hopefully that will do it. the cpu i have is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 and its the 45w. so yeah thats why im a little confused as to why its running hot. ive got plenty of case fans and the mobo temps are just fine.

 

[Servicetech571]

A 45W processor should run cool, did you follow the instructions exactly as directed on the artic silver package? It goes over in detial how to clean and apply new thermal paste.


Is the heatsink getting hot or just the CPU temps high? If the heatsink feels cool and CPU temps are high the heat isn't getting from the CPU to the heatsink. If the heatsink is hot your thermal paste is probably good and you may have an airflow problem.


I'm running the M3N78-VM on my desktop and it's running 37 degrees according to the bios. Oddly the motherboard is showing the same temp so I wonder how accurate the sensor is... 4850e processor.

 

[Rigby Reardon]



Quote:
Originally Posted by hulkster081 /forum/post/16889890


well there wasnt any goop on the cpu AT ALL when i took the hsf off.

Uhm, did you make sure that the sink was seated correctly and even touching the CPU? Or perhaps you forgot to remove the plastic cover from the cooler? The AMD stock coolers come with pre-applied grease, which would definitely leave some residue behind on the CPU.

Quote:
regardless, ive got arctic silver on there now and its still running hot. i just ordered a $40 heat sink so hopefully that will do it. the cpu i have is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 and its the 45w. so yeah thats why im a little confused as to why its running hot. ive got plenty of case fans and the mobo temps are just fine.

I'm running a 5050e with a cheap Coolermaster Vortex cooler in my HTPC. Idle temperatures are in the low 30s, load temps up to about 45 degrees. Something is definitely wrong with your setup.

 

[foghorn2]

Check the bios settings, what case are you using?

 

[Servicetech571]

I'm using an el cheapo plain beige case I've had for years. The only case fan is a 92mm in "blowhole" that I have running at 7V.

 

[foghorn2]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Servicetech571 /forum/post/16892491


I'm using an el cheapo plain beige case I've had for years. The only case fan is a 92mm in "blowhole" that I have running at 7V.

Air circulation is the key, perhaps the hot air is not escaping fast enough?

 

[Servicetech571]



Quote:
Originally Posted by foghorn2 /forum/post/16892924


Air circulation is the key, perhaps the hot air is not escaping fast enough?

I'm running 37c for mobo and processor in a 78F degree room. I can live with that

 

[hulkster081]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rigby Reardon /forum/post/16890639


Uhm, did you make sure that the sink was seated correctly and even touching the CPU? Or perhaps you forgot to remove the plastic cover from the cooler? The AMD stock coolers come with pre-applied grease, which would definitely leave some residue behind on the CPU.

I'm running a 5050e with a cheap Coolermaster Vortex cooler in my HTPC. Idle temperatures are in the low 30s, load temps up to about 45 degrees. Something is definitely wrong with your setup.

well ive put tons of heat sinks on cpus before and never had a problem like this so if i did indeed forget to take the plastic off, then i'm a moron and just a brain fart or something at that time.


as for what case i'm using, im using the Antec NSK2400 shown here http://techgage.com/reviews/antec/ns...0_07_thumb.jpg


i'm dont think its a problem with airflow throughout the case because i left the case top open one evening and it still shut down on me. the fans in the case were already put in when i got it so i dont think they are not distributing the air properly or anything like that. ive got arctic silver on the cpu now and im going to leave it on overnight again tonight to see if it shuts down again.


regardless, ive got a new heat sink coming in on wednesday that hopefully will cool it better.

 

[hulkster081]

just thought id post an update....


i got a new heat sink from newegg in the mail today....hooked it up, and BAM! i go from 57C idle to 37C idle!! whoo! yep, that was the problem. crappy heat sink. problems solved, happy day.