Replaced graphics card causing overheating CPU

Mike_199 · May 2, 2016

Hi,

A few days ago my graphics card blew up (a 780 GTX), not sure what happened (although maybe now overheating could be to blame, or just bad luck?). I got a replacement 970 and installed it today, I removed a spare HDD enclosure to make it fit, installed it and booted up all nice and sound. After about 5 minuets I started lagging then BSODed with a an error message to do with hardware failure. I tried to boot up again and got a CPU overtemperature warning, so I left it and came back a while later. Tried again, this time watched the CPU load and it was just idling around 1-2%, as time grew that increased up to around 50% as the lag started then another crash.

Next time I looked at the temperature with speedfan. By the time I had downloaded the program the CPU temp was at 60C, GPU temp was at 25C and some other measurements 'Aux1' were at 110! Over 5 minuets the CPU temp crept up to 80, and another crash. It sounds like maybe the new card is more efficently pulling heat out of itself, heating the case up and causing the CPU to overheat right? Well, I dont know about that, feeling the case fans the extraction is cool. The CPU is being cooled using a corsair H55, so I checked the pump. One tube is hotter than the other and I can feel liquid flowing through it so thats still working.

Could it be old thermal paste has died? Making a poor connection between the CPU and heatsink, so even though the extraction is working it's not extracting properly? The PC was running with the 780 absolutey fine for 2 years, so to encounter these problems one after another doesnt feel like coincidence.

13thmonkey · May 2, 2016

could be a poor HSF contact on the CPU. Ignore Aux1.

Mike_199 · May 2, 2016

13thmonkey :

Solved by removing the heatsink, cleaning the thermal paste off, applying new thermal pasteE? Thats currently my hypothesis, the graphics card doesnt seem to matter, maybe I knocked the heatsink while I was tinkering with wires (had to take the backplate off to sort out some extra cable length) and just messed with the connection

the_crippler · May 2, 2016

Mike_199 :

Exactly what I was going to hypothesize after reading your original post.

InvalidError · May 2, 2016

Mike_199 :

That would be the most likely explanation. Most thermal pastes do not really ever "go bad" even after they dried since the main ingredient responsible for thermal transfer in most pastes is powder (zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, diamond, etc.) in the first place. The gooey stuff (typically silicone grease) is only there to hold the powder in place to facilitate application. When the heatsink gets nudged, that breaks the vacuum seal formed by the paste packing down over time and thermal cycling, and you lose a chunk of thermal conductivity.

13thmonkey · May 2, 2016

Mike_199 :

Yes, but initially just loosen and re-tighten each leg of the cooler. It's not optimal, but you'll only be out by maybe 5C and you'll see if it makes a difference, if it does, go for the full remove and clean off.

Mike_199 · May 2, 2016

13thmonkey :

Looks like we have a winner. I just did what you said (loosened then tightened all the pegs individually) and suddenly we have the CPU temp holding cvonstant at 48C while watching some youtube videos for 5 mins or so now.

Do you think I should replace the thermal paste with it running like this? http://i.imgur.com/P2iUIFR.png Its not something I've e ver done before but how hard can it be, right?

13thmonkey · May 2, 2016

You just done half of it, go the whole hog, and you'll be one step closer to being able to build from scratch.

Mike_199 · May 2, 2016

13thmonkey :

Yep, played a game or two of a (admittedly fairly CPU intensive game (WoT) and the CPU got upto about 75 degrees which seems a little hot to me?

So, steps for removal. I bought some arctic silver 5 with some cleaning stuff; http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Thermal-Compound-ArctiClean/dp/B002DILLMS/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1462209676&sr=1-3&keywords=arcticlean . Google tells me that rubbing alcohol would do the job, but that would probably cost me just as much so why not.

Remove the heat sink then put a drop or two of the cleaning solution (or alcohol) on the bottom of the heatsink and top of the processor. Leave it a minuet or two then wipe gently with a paper towel. Then put a pea sized blob of the paste in the middle of the processor, put the heatsink back down, screw it tight and jobs done? Everyone seems to have a different way of putting the paste on, a little blob in the middle doesnt feel like it'd spread enough, but is putting too much (and it spreading too far) a big issue?

13thmonkey · May 2, 2016

Mike_199 :

13thmonkey :

Yep, played a game or two of a (admittedly fairly CPU intensive game (WoT) and the CPU got upto about 75 degrees which seems a little hot to me?

So, steps for removal. I bought some arctic silver 5 with some cleaning stuff; http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Thermal-Compound-ArctiClean/dp/B002DILLMS/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1462209676&sr=1-3&keywords=arcticlean . Google tells me that rubbing alcohol would do the job, but that would probably cost me just as much so why not.

Remove the heat sink then put a drop or two of the cleaning solution (or alcohol) on the bottom of the heatsink and top of the processor. Leave it a minuet or two then wipe gently with a paper towel. Then put a pea sized blob of the paste in the middle of the processor, put the heatsink back down, screw it tight and jobs done?

That's it, make sure it's properly dry.

Mike_199 · May 2, 2016

13thmonkey :

Mike_199 :

That's it, make sure it's properly dry.

So wait an hour or two after applying before using?

13thmonkey · May 2, 2016

Mike_199 :

13thmonkey :

Mike_199 :

That's it, make sure it's properly dry.

So wait an hour or two after applying before using?

5mins

NevaScurred · May 2, 2016

Mike_199 :

13thmonkey :

Yep, played a game or two of a (admittedly fairly CPU intensive game (WoT) and the CPU got upto about 75 degrees which seems a little hot to me?

So, steps for removal. I bought some arctic silver 5 with some cleaning stuff; http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Thermal-Compound-ArctiClean/dp/B002DILLMS/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1462209676&sr=1-3&keywords=arcticlean . Google tells me that rubbing alcohol would do the job, but that would probably cost me just as much so why not.

Remove the heat sink then put a drop or two of the cleaning solution (or alcohol) on the bottom of the heatsink and top of the processor. Leave it a minuet or two then wipe gently with a paper towel. Then put a pea sized blob of the paste in the middle of the processor, put the heatsink back down, screw it tight and jobs done? Everyone seems to have a different way of putting the paste on, a little blob in the middle doesnt feel like it'd spread enough, but is putting too much (and it spreading too far) a big issue?

One thing after another huh? Glad it looks like you got this one sorted out.

I use 90% isopropyl alcohol and qtips to clean.

I usually go with the x method and probably use more than I should but I rarely run into cooling trouble.

Mike_199 · May 3, 2016

NevaScurred :

Mike_199 :

One thing after another huh? Glad it looks like you got this one sorted out.

I use 90% isopropyl alcohol and qtips to clean.

I usually go with the x method and probably use more than I should but I rarely run into cooling trouble.

WEell actually it gets worse again. I got my stuff today, tried to set about cleaning. Only the heatsink wont come off. its held in place by 4 screws, 3 of them I can unscrew just fine, one of them wont unscrew at all. Its kinda stiff to turn, spins somewhere between 50-75% of a twist then sort of slips and never tightens or losens. So I cant get the damn thing off to clean/reapply it.

I hate computers.

NevaScurred · May 3, 2016

Mike_199 :

The good news is you get to buy a new cooler and install it. Tighten those 3 screws back up until you get a replacement. Your temps are a little high but not critical.

This has happened to me before, to get it loose i had to press down on the stuck screw turn it and luckily it came loose. Another time i had to get some wire cutters and clip the plastic things off that are holding it on under the motherboard.

Either way I wouldn't put it back on.

Now its time to research cooling options. Or buy another stock cooler.

I completely understand hating computers. I recently upgraded from a 3570k to a 5820k and had a lot of issues, First motherboard was flaky, two RAM kits failed, my brand new cooler had issues. I had to return my initial CPU/mobo, upgraded my mobo when I made the exchange. I even had to go buy a soldering kit to fix the PWM splitter for my cooler so I wouldnt have to wait for a replacement or go buy a temporary replacement.

InvalidError · May 3, 2016

Mike_199 :

Sounds like you cross-threaded that third screw and now the standoff it screws into is spinning loose. You will need to use something to grip it from behind the motherboard to stop it from spinning when you (try to) unscrew the screw. You will also need some form of replacement for the busted screw and standoff.

A cross-threaded screw would easily explain why you had poor contact: the threads bind after two or three turns and you think the screw bottomed out when it is in fact barely in.

Mike_199 · May 3, 2016

NevaScurred :

Mike_199 :

The good news is you get to buy a new cooler and install it. Tighten those 3 screws back up until you get a replacement. Your temps are a little high but not critical.

This has happened to me before, to get it loose i had to press down on the stuck screw turn it and luckily it came loose. Another time i had to get some wire cutters and clip the plastic things off that are holding it on under the motherboard.

Either way I wouldn't put it back on.

Now its time to research cooling options. Or buy another stock cooler.

I completely understand hating computers. I recently upgraded from a 3570k to a 5820k and had a lot of issues, First motherboard was flaky, two RAM kits failed, my brand new cooler had issues. I had to return my initial CPU/mobo, upgraded my mobo when I made the exchange. I even had to go buy a soldering kit to fix the PWM splitter for my cooler so I wouldnt have to wait for a replacement or go buy a temporary replacement.

Yep, it looks like whats happening is the metal "bolt" that held in place by plastic on the backplate of the whole heatsink assembly has probably come loose or worked its way out of the plastic so it just spins in the bolt rather than undoing it. Fixable, if i completely dismantle the computer and take the motherboard off, hold it with plyers then unscrew it. But this is one of the advantages of not building yourself, its still under warrantee so I'm going to have it collected and they can do it for me (yes I know, I know its super simple and do it yourself and all that stuff, but when its £1ks worth of gear that I rely on for my work, I dont want to do it myself, replacing paste is one thing, taking effectively the whole thing apart is another to me). Now to try and find a cardboard box big enough.

InvalidError · May 3, 2016

Mike_199 :

If it were me, I would not let a third party work on my PC, especially if I use it for work: I don't want them wiping the HDD/SSD by "accident" or anything else of the sort. Many years ago, a journalist investigated the Geek Squad and caught many of them snooping around people's PCs. I doubt Geek Squad is the only place doing things like that.

Mike_199 · May 3, 2016

InvalidError :

Everything important gets backed up onto the universities highpowered computing cluster, its only short term/preliminary research stuff that stays on this machine. As for privacy, to be honest I dont care, every company that wants to know anything about me already has it from google and co. I understand, and I totally get that in the long term it is far cheaper and better and all that, but for now I just cant be bothered with the faff of doing it myself, and potentially dealing with fucking something up.

cbag · May 4, 2016

You can just remove the hard drives before you send it. They don't need it for this operation. They will just make sure it posts before sending back.

Replaced graphics card causing overheating CPU

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