Possible Overheating, semi-noob needs assistance!

fedhell

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Jun 6, 2012
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Hello everybody, Im posting this here, as i think it may be an overheating issue with my processor, but im semi-noob at custom builds and this is the first one ive had an issue with. So to begin this system was build roughly 4 months ago, from parts ordered on tiger direct. The case and my SSD were both bought used from local comp store. Specs are

ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS 760G Socket AM3+ Motherboard
Coolmax 500W 120mm Fan Modular PSU w/ PCI-E
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition AM3 CPU
Kingston XMP HyperX Blu 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Kit
Diamond Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 PCIe 2.1
40 gig intel ssd, and an old 250gb sata 7200rpm data drive
rusty old case :)

all stock coolers 1 added case fan on rear cheap thermal paste,

Now today while playing world of tanks my comp rebooted. When it was trying to power on it failed to post.
Immediately that got me thinking it must be overheat (its 30c outside, no A/C, so my apt must be around 35 deg)

I let it sit 10 mins, sprayed it out with compressed air (it was actually very clean only a few months old), and powered it back on. I loaded up CPUID Hardware monitor and went to a 10 min session of World Of Tanks and got the following back on my temps:

Core0 on processor max 62C and my 6770 hit 70c.
Currently while idling my 965 BE is at core0 43c and the 6770 is at 54c

So im trying to understand why my machine rebooted on me there and failed to post. Im thinking it may be overheating, but then why does it do long sessions of D3 all maxed settings (1680x1050) without rebooting? I read that 60c is the max temp for that processor, which if im over max that does indicate overheat. If thats the issue ill be very happy and ill go get a custom cooler (i live on a very tight budget being a gamer / university stundent :-( so i want to be sure before i spend next weeks food money :)

Any advice is very much appreciated, i would have posted sys specs from diag, and hardware monitor outputs but cant seem the option to add attachment here :-(

-Fedhell
 

internetlad

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Jan 23, 2011
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different games will utilize different components. For example, WoW doesn't need much in the way of graphics or CPU but needs at least a couple gigs of ram to run well, not exactly what you'd expect.

Often games will not utilize much CPU usage. If WoT (from what I know) is calculating the movements of many AI tanks at once, that would be a lot more taxing on the CPU than D3 would be, I would think.

In either case, swap the thermal paste with some artic silver or whatever your preference is, and at your earliest convenience and reseat the proc and heatsink. Try to monitor your temps on both games for each core and see what games really cook your proc.

I'm mainly an Intel guy so i can't speak either way about AMD's stock coolers, but one with a bigass fan and heat fins/pipes sure can't hurt, if you're willing to spend on it.
 

1tym

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Jul 25, 2008
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you have a really crappy PSU there. I'd be surprised if it could output even half of its rated wattage. You need to get a brand name power supply that doesn't put fake wattages on their labels. It's probably the thing that is causing the reboots. Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, XFX are trusted brands. You get what you pay for right?

get this psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093

and download coretemp to monitor your temps
 

fedhell

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Jun 6, 2012
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Thx for the replies guys. Ill save up for a new cpu cooler and PSU and see if that fixes me up. Its said becuase I knew that the PSU was really bad, i actually the morning after ordering called to try and get it swapped but they said i would ahve to do an exchange after recieving it, and i didnt wanna wait 2 weeks.

-Fedhell
 

internetlad

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Jan 23, 2011
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smorizio makes a good point.

Stock coolers usually aren't bad if you're not OC'ing. I'm running a stock cooler on my 2500 with no issues, but i'm also running with a Fractal Designs R3, a case designed for proper airflow with all intakes and exhausts that I don't want covered.This way you can guarantee airflow from the cool air in front of the case to an exhaust at the back, and it reduces noise.

I'd suggest something like an antec earthwatts EA-650. inexpensive, effective and solid.