Possible Over Heating - Advice Needed

[BenSta]

Hi Folks,

New around here so please bare with me.

I built my system a while ago it has the current specs

CPU: Intel Quad2 Core Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
MOBO: XFX nFroce 680i LT SLI
RAM: 4GB
GPU: 2x Geforce 8800GT 1GB (SLI)

The system ended up being stored for a while before properly being tested. I recently got it out, upgraded to Windows 7 and installed some games. However the system now chuts itself down after about 5minutes of use in a game etc. I ran some temperate checks and the CPU seems to be seriously overheating. Its minimum temperature seems to rest at 65-70 degrees and as soon as the CPU has to do anything past general admin work it climbs finally shutting out when it reaches 125-130 degrees.

I know the Intel's are known to run hot but i think this is a little extreme lol.

I only have a limited budget of around £150 to spend on fixing this pc and getting it fully working so i thought i would consult people in the know before making decision. Would you agree thats its the CPU over heating that is causing the problem?

If this is the case i need to look for a a new Case (This one is broken and has no side so has minimal fans going, i know its not helping lol) and also a new cooling system for my CPU. Could you please give me some recommendations.

My Budget is around £150 but i could stretch to £200 if needed. A case that runs fairly quiet if it has a lot of fans would be an added bonus.

Many Thanks in advance for your time, help and recommendations.
Ben

 

[enzo matrix]

your temperatures are the most extreme I have ever seen. They are about the same as the temperatures I got with my Athlon 3200+ when I didn't use thermal compound and left the HSF unlocked (ie only partially touching the CPU) mostly just hovering above the CPU. It would idle around 70*C and on load eventually reach 115*C before shutting down.

You definitely do not need to spend money on this to get your temperatures down (other than $10 thermal compound. TX-2 is good stuff). You need to open your case up, clean out any and all dust, and reseat the HSF with new thermal compound.

While you are there, check to make sure the fan is not stuck on something, such as a wire, preventing it from spinning. When you try to start it up, make sure the fan spins. That could be another potential issue.

If you find that everything is as it should be, let me know and we'll go from there.
From what you described though, especially with the slowly climbing temperatures, I would guess that your CPU fan is no longer working.

 

[BenSta]

The side of the PC case isn't present so thankfully i can see inside and the fan is working as expected. A little dust has gathered between the heat-sink and fan but i generally keep the pc clean to make sure this isn't a problem. Any dust there is isn't sufficient to cause any problems it really is the tiniest amount. But i shall take it to pieces to be thorough.

I reapplied thermal compound myself recently using some Akasa 450 silver based thermal compound. Which was the only stuff i could get hold of at the time. It may sound silly but could i of applied it wrong? Too thick or thin? or is it really shoddy stuff?

So the fan is working, and there is minimal dust. So i believe everything is working.

Where do we go from here boss.

Thanks for the swift reply and the advice, much appreciated.

 

[enzo matrix]

Alright, well please clarify that you are not overclocking. Regardless, I recommend you check your Vcore in the bios. If you don't know how to, just download CPU-z and take a look at the Vcore.

Also, what program are you using to monitor temperatures?

You can apply too much or too little compound but it would certainly not make the difference to what you are seeing right now.

You saw high temperatures both before and after you applied the thermal compound?

 

[BenSta]

To clarify, im not overclocking.

I downloaded CPU-z the core voltage for the CPU is 1.200V

Im using RealTemp to monitor the temperatures

And yes the system first ran on windows XP and insitead of just turning itself off like the flick of a switch the games would freeze out with some sound continuing but me not able to do anything. It was then i reapplied thermal cream as i accidently wiped it off when i was taking the cpu to peices to check things were installed correctly.

It was after i upgraded to windows 7 that instead of doing the whole freezing act it would just shut off instantly.

Thanks Again Enzo

 

[enzo matrix]

1.2 sounds low. I assume the CPU wasn't running at the full 2.4GHz when you read that reading?

 

[BenSta]

I took screen caps of everything for you to hopefully provide u with all the info you need.

Images on the left are the pc with just some webpages etc open. The ones on the right when i ran EA Sports Game Face Generator program. I took the cap just before the normal cut off point.

Hope this is helpful, feel free to instruct me how to get any other figures you need to diagnose the problem

 

[enzo matrix]

Well, everything you have mentioned points to normal temperatures being expected, which you aren't getting. There is the possibility of the thermal die being wrong. It can happen.

Go on load and carefully touch the CPU heatsink when the temperature goes up. You shouldn't be able to touch it for more than like a second without burning yourself.

If it is hot, then the CPU is definitely overheating and I'm stuck. Everything should be fine. You could take a picture of the inside of your case in case you missed something though.

If it isn't hot, then it shouldn't be the source of the shutdown.

 

[BenSta]

I went to feel the heatsink and pushed on the fan and cpu and saw a flicker in the temperature. So i decided to push on the heatsink and run a test and instead of shooting upto 128 my cpu temp didnt go above 90.....

Despite being completely correctly connected it would seem that my heatsink and fan are not connected tightly enough to the CPU hence when it starts working it cannot cool it correctly.

Not sure how to combat this though. i cant push down onit all the time lol

 

[enzo matrix]

^indeed at least we know what the major problem is now. But now we need to figure out if the issue is with the heatsink, or with the motherboard attachment.
Now might be the time to remove everything from the case and take a closer look at the mounting.

 

[BenSta]

Good news chaps i think i may of solved it.

I dismounted the MOBO from the case and found a bent piece of metal from the back plate of the case that over lapped the holes where the Heatsink connects to the MOBO. Whilst it didn't prevent the Heatsink from falling into place it stopped it properly locking so it clicked and felt tight but actually wasn't. I reassembled everything after removing the metal and was amzed to see the CPU resting nicely at 40 degrees and when put under the same workload that made it overheat it hit a maximum of around 60 degrees and no sign of shutting off.

A big thanks to both of you who replied and mega props to you Enzo Matrix for your help and step by step diagnosis. Saved me alot of money i didnt have buying stuff i didn't need, really apreciated.

 

[enzo matrix]

Any time. Glad you everything turned out well