New heatsink - Power up problems - heat?

[flametank]

I'm pretty sure this is a heat related problem, but I'm not 100% sure. I bought a Scythe Infinity heatsink for my AM2 X2 4000+. It's running on a ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe mobo. I cleaned off the CPU with 70% isoproyl alcohol (stock heatsink was on it for about 2 months). I think I did a pretty good job. I then used the heat paste that came with the Infinity. I'm not sure how good of a job i did here, I wore rubber gloves and then spread it with a piece of cardboard. I am running the heatsink fanless. For 2 days, it worked great, CPU temps were a little higher (about 4 degrees C), but I wasn't worried since I was using it fanless.

I'm at work and I get a call from my wife saying the computer shut itself down after she was browsing the internet and then left it on to go do something else. All in all, I'd say the computer was on this morning for about 4-5 hours before it shut off. Now it won't even go into Windows all the way before it shuts off, even after being off for probably 30mins to an hour.

This is probably a overheating problem, but what would cause it after running for 2 days with no problems. In those 2 days, I ran Prime95 to stress my temps - the highest it went was 60C. (According to ASUS PC Probe II, the threshold is 90C) Sorry for the long post, but I thought the background info would help.

 

[rwpritchett]

Can you get into the BIOS to check the temps? If so, what are they?

 

[Kenyada]

I'm wondering why you chose to run the Scythe without the fan. Was it a matter of not having enough room in your case? Also did you cleanse the CPU with a damp (water), lint-free swab before you applied the paste? I'm wondering if there might have been a chemical reaction to the alcohol. It sounds like the situation may have gradually worsened over the 2-day period.

 

[flametank]

I didn't clean it with water after, I just wiped it off with a clean paper towel. I'm running it fanless for noise purposes.

 

[flametank]

If I can get into the BIOS to check temps, it won't be until I get home tonight. Then if I can't fix the problem, I won't be able to respond to this thread. :?

 

[sailer]

I didn't clean it with water after, I just wiped it off with a clean paper towel. I'm running it fanless for noise purposes.

There's a reason for using a fan, namely to get rid of excess heat. The Scythe shouldn't have been all that noisy, either. Likely as not, as Kenyada wrote, there has been a chemical reaction that has taken out your cpu. You can try removing the cpu, cleaning it and the heatsink again, this time using some water to wash it off after the alchohol, reapply some thermal compound, and try to power up again, this time with a fan.

Also inspect the motherboard for any sign of corossion, just in case it got into the socket area.

 

[Kenyada]

When you get home, it might be a good idea to remove the Scythe entirely, check the mounting brackets, etc., and I would get some Arctic Silver 5 immediately. I use those plastic promotional "credit cards" that we all get in the mail. I cut one down to the width of the CPU and spread the AS5 with it, remembering that the paste application should be razor thin. just barely noticeable. I'd also make sure that the Scythe bracket is tight (not overly tight, but secure on the Mobo. Also check the flow of air into and out of the case. You, no doubt, know all of this, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Good Luck!

 

[flametank]

Well I found out what the problem is. The damn Infinity broke my retention bracket. WTF do I do now? I've been searching aorund the internet for about 20 minutes now on a friend's computer and I can't find one. Newegg is the only seller that had one, and their out of stock. Xoxide has this one, but it's supposedly for thermalright heatsinks.

http://www.xoxide.com/thermalright-am2-bracket-rev2.html

Will it work? I don't want to pay for express shipping if it won't Thanks.

 

[Kenyada]

Well I found out what the problem is. The damn Infinity broke my retention bracket. WTF do I do now? I've been searching aorund the internet for about 20 minutes now on a friend's computer and I can't find one. Newegg is the only seller that had one, and their out of stock. Xoxide has this one, but it's supposedly for thermalright heatsinks.

http://www.xoxide.com/thermalright-am2-bracket-rev2.html

Will it work? I don't want to pay for express shipping if it won't Thanks.

I don't know, flametank, that Thermaltake bracket looks thicker than anything I've seen from Scythe. I wouldn't chance it. Are you saying that the weight of the Infinity was too heavy for their own retension bracket?

 

[Kenyada]

I took another look at the available photos of the Scythe Infinity and its brackets. It reminded me why I chose the Ninja. The Ninja comes with a retension bracket that is mounted on the underside of the Mobo. It would therefore appeal to those who are building a system from scratch. The infinity, on the other hand, seems to target those who are upgrading their coolers, with their mobos already in place. The retension bracket hardware is attached to the top side of the motherboard. I wondered whether that big heatsink would eventually break free of the motherboard.

I'd contact the manufacturer.

 

[flametank]

Well I found out what the problem is. The damn Infinity broke my retention bracket. WTF do I do now? I've been searching aorund the internet for about 20 minutes now on a friend's computer and I can't find one. Newegg is the only seller that had one, and their out of stock. Xoxide has this one, but it's supposedly for thermalright heatsinks.

http://www.xoxide.com/thermalright-am2-bracket-rev2.html

Will it work? I don't want to pay for express shipping if it won't Thanks.

I don't know, flametank, that Thermaltake bracket looks thicker than anything I've seen from Scythe. I wouldn't chance it. Are you saying that the weight of the Infinity was too heavy for their own retension bracket?

It didn't come with it's own bracket, I should have known that it was just too heavy for two little plastic tabs... Live and learn I suppose.