On board GPU running hot, despite video card installed / CPU Overheat

[lordcaric]

Hi everyone,

My first time posting here, but I've been looking for a short term solution here. My CPU runs a little warm normally, it should run around 40 C at idle and runs around 55-60 at idle speeds normally (posting this on Chrome, running at 58). It is not the stock fan/heatsink kit, but not a great one either. First thing I know I need is a better heatsink/fan system. At full speed, it runs at 1600-1700 rpm. I have a front side case fan blowing in, side case fan blowing in and a large backside case fan pulling the heat out (might need a better one of those too). Airflow is working from manual inspection. My CPU is not overclocked, specs will be posted below.

When gaming on hot days (my computer is in the basement with no A/C - I know, not ideal), the CPU temp will hit the 80 C shutdown temp and shutdown on me, so I can't really play games like Starcraft II that are CPU intensive on hot days.

The other issue I noticed is that even though I have installed a gaming video card, the GPU chip on the motherboard seems to be putting out a lot of heat. The heatsink for it is hot to the touch, but its been disabled with the video card installed. Mobo settings don't have a disable option, only Enabled and Auto so its on Auto.

It seems like the GPU is generating a lot of heat and it sits close to the CPU, which is raising the amount of heat in the case I think and not helping the situation.

Besides getting a better CPU fan, heatsink and a better backside case fan, I am concerned with the onboard GPU generating so much heat. Has anyone seen this before? I don't think it should be running this hot even with average fans and heatsinks. Currently I have a regular house-box fan blowing towards the computer to give it some cooler airflow, which helps knock about 5 C off of the temp.

Specs:

Biostar TF7025-M2 mobo, with Nvidia 7050 onboard GPU. AMD Athlon dual core X2 3800+ processor, 4 GB DDR2 memory Again, nothing is overclocked.

Thank you for any suggestions, ideas.

 

[FinneousPJ]

It's an old system. The problem is most likely old thermal paste. Reinstall all heatsinks. Also, what is your case and how is the air flow?

 

[jsrudd]

Did you disable the onboard GPU in BIOS?

I really short term solution would be to take the side of your case off and use a large desk fan to cool the entire computer.

 

[lordcaric]

Thanks for the quick reply FinneousPJ.

You know, I didn't even think about the thermal paste losing effectiveness over time, that's a good suggestion. Yes it is an older system, I'm not one to upgrade unless I really need it (parent here, kids are expensive too!)

Case is an Xblade gaming case, it came as a kit with the mobo and the only bad things I heard about them is the stock fans are loud and the paint flakes, but these were never an issue.

Air flow seems to be working, I can feel the air being pulled in from the front and and side fans and hot air is being blown out the back from the 120mm fan. I suspect it could be a little better though.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Well, if you have functional front, side and rear fans the airflow should be adequate for a basic system like yours. I'm pretty sure it's the thermal paste. Do you have experience installing heatsinks?

 

[lordcaric]

Did you disable the onboard GPU in BIOS?

I really short term solution would be to take the side of your case off and use a large desk fan to cool the entire computer.

Hi jsrudd,

I took a look at the BIOS this morning and the only options I have are Auto and Enable, there is no Disable option so I have it set to Auto. I can't see any way to truly disable it.

I am using a box fan currently and it knocks about 5 C off the temp without the side being off. Taking the side off and turning the case doesn't help much at all though, it actually seems to cool more efficiently with the side being one and the side fan blowing air over the CPU.

 

[unksol]

The CPU heatsink is likely installed improperly. The other heatsink your messing with is likely the northbridge and is probably fine.

What CPU do you have they has an 80° shutdown temp? Most modern intels can run hotter than that and modern AMDs run far cooler

Edit: yay reading fail. Max temp is supposed.to be 71°. check the CPU voltage and reinstall the heatsink.

what are your ambients any way. It was always nice in our basement with no house AC when it was 100°+... Never had problems

 

[lordcaric]

Well, if you have functional front, side and rear fans the airflow should be adequate for a basic system like yours. I'm pretty sure it's the thermal paste. Do you have experience installing heatsinks?

That was my thought too. Yes, I have experience installing heatsinks. I actually am an IT pro for 12+ years, but haven't done a lot of hardware work in the last 5 years or so. I've been in a management / engineer role for a long time and while I still build systems on occasion, I never get to work on issues such as these so I'm losing my touch.

Thanks again for your suggestion, it makes a lot of sense to me now that I think about it. Always helps to have someone else's experienced opinions.

 

[lordcaric]

The CPU heatsink is likely installed improperly. The other heatsink your messing with is likely the northbridge and is probably fine.

What CPU do you have they has an 80° shutdown temp? Most modern intels can run hotter than that and modern AMDs run far cooler

Possible, but its only been a recent problem and I've had this system for years. If the heatsink was improperly installed, I would've seen this issue before.

No, the other heatsink sits on top of an Nvidia GeForce 7050 chip.

I posted CPU earlier but it's an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, dual core. I agree, it should be running cooler, between 40-70. I could increase the shutdown temp, but since AMD recommends not running hotter than 70 C, I don't think that's wise.

Edit: yeah, I was looking at the voltage last night too. Vcore is at 1.33-1.34V

 

[lordcaric]

Best answer selected by lordcaric.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Problem fixed?