AMD Phenom X6 - New cooling kit - Check for damage

[baquintraz]

Hey. I have a Phenom II X6 1090T on an ASUS M4A89GTD.

My PC has started to suddenly shut down whenever it gets some load. Now it won't even stay on for a minute. I can't even check the BIOS properly.

I'm thinking of getting a proper heat sink and fan, but I've never bought one myself, so I have no idea where to begin. What's a good choice? Something that can take the heat from that CPU under some gaming, nothing too fancy.

Aside from that, how can I check if my processor was damaged? I think I smelled something burning just after one of these shutdowns, and I'm praying it was the heat sink, or something else. Actually, I'm assuming the heating problem is in the CPU, but what's the best way to be sure about that? The graphics card (HD6870) gets hot too, but not as much, I think.

I recently installed a new CPU (Corsair TX650) and the HD6870. Could this be related to the heating issues? The computer has been working well for a month with those new components.

Thanks.

 

[stickg1]

This is decent enough for a non-OC'd chip. It installs on the existing AMD backplate too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064&Tpk=coolermaster%20tx3

This is about 30% more effective but requires a little more work to install. And it is rather large and we will need to know what type of RAM and case you use.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

 

[baquintraz]

Well, I've never been much of an OCer, and I don't think I'm gonna be starting anytime soon but, is there anything a little more reassuring than "decent enough"? I'm kind of freaking out at the chance of my dear 6-core dying out on me, and I'm willing to spend the right money for the right purpose

I have three of these guys http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KVR1333D3N9_2G.pdf
And just short of 2cm of free room at both sides of the CPU socket.

I've just removed the CPU and it doesn't show any damage. Can I feel relieved, or can heat damage be invisible? Any way to know at this moment? I'd like to get some sleep tonight...

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[stickg1]

Well I'll put out this way, that TX3 took 22C off of my load temp on an i5. So yes it will do wonders over the stock cooler.