CPU Temp and PC Shut Down Issues

[13bravo]

Hey All,

I am hoping you can help as you have done many times before. I built a PC for my kids last December and it has been running fine until about a month ago. Last month it started this annoying habit of shutting down by itself with no error messages and no reboot. Sometimes it would last 5 minutes, sometimes 3 hours.

Now, I thought overheating of the cpu might be the culprit and I took a look at their case...all fans appeared to be running fine however there was a lot of dust. I checked the CPU temp listed in the bios and it said 76C...my son was playing a game just before I checked so I guess that might be considered a load temp...although, I did reboot and stuff so it may have dropped some before I got to it (not sure how that works exactly...or how quickly the temp drops).

Then I did a major dust cleaning of the case, the fans, the components, the intakes, etc. When I booted it back up the temp was around 50C and then climbed up to around 60C within 2 or 3 minutes.

Any thoughts? Is the shut down related to the temps? Whether it is or isn't, are the temps still too high? What should an average no load temp be (in the 30's?)?

Any other ideas about the shutting down?

Here are the particulars on the PC:

CASE: Raidmax Smilodon
Mobo: Asus P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Pro
PSU: P&C S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N802-A3 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
HDD: Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (PRT 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
OS: Windows XP w/SP2C OEM

I am using the Intel stock HSF and the case's stock fans (1X120 Front intake; 2x80 Side intake; 1X80 Rear out)

Thanks in advance for your help!


13Bravo
USHA!

 

[fatty35]

The HSF might need to be re-seated and have new thermal paste put on it but if I was you get rid of stock completely and buy a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 they are very good HSF and should fix your problem. However it could also be faulty ram or a overheating North Bridge. Try swaping around the ram and leaving one stick in and taking anouther out .etc & also try running memtest.

Link:-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

 

[13bravo]

Thanks for the reply fatty35! So even if the cpu temp is not the cause of the shut downs, you think the temps noted above are too high?

 

[fatty35]

Its best to keep the temp under 40c under load but the motherboard will normally shut itself down when a set max temperature is reached eg. 70c.

So the answer is yes the temps are to high but don't know if that is what will be causing it.

fatty35

 

[mtyermom]

It would also be good to get some 'real' temp readings in Windows. Use a program like Speedfan to monitor temperatures at idle and at load.

76c in BIOS is way high, and after you cleaned everything, seeing it go from 50 - 60 in 2 or 3 minutes in BIOS is still a concern, in my opinion.

As fatty recommended, remove the heatsink and clean its base and the surface of the CPU heat spreader, reapply your thermal paste and reseat the heatsink. The Xiggy s1283 with its bolt through kit retention bracket is also a good recommendation. It would give you peace of mind over the stock HSF with its inadequate push pins.

 

[fatty35]

Thanks for adding about the retention bracket mtyermom I hate those push pins so much. Here is a decent retention bracket and bolt through kit to go along with the HSF.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

They are currently out of stock so you might have to wait or find another shop that has them in.

 

[mtyermom]

Thanks for the reply fatty35! So even if the cpu temp is not the cause of the shut downs, you think the temps noted above are too high?

For the e6750 at stock speeds, 76c just in BIOS is way high. From everything you've told us, I'd bet the shutdowns were caused by overheating.

 

[geofelt]

1) With the PC unplugged, try to wiggle the cpu heat sink. If it is a bit loose, it is not mounted properly, and is likely part of the problem. An oem heatsink like the Xigmatek mentioned is cheap, and will do a better job.
2) Check that all fans are spinning, and in the proper direction. Dangle a piece of tissue in front of the fan to see if it sucks or blows.
3) Open up the side of the case, and direct a house fan at the innards. If the problem goes away, you have a case cooling problem.
4) The 8800GT will let lots of hot air recirculate in the case. A dual slot card will help cooling by expelling the hot vga air directly out the back. If you are inclined to upgrade, there are many options. If not, you can get an EVGA Akimbo cooler for the 8800GT:
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=202-F2-EV03-A1