Overheating problem

[sepulveda]

I was previously using an EVGA GT 430 and heard that a Radeon HD 6670 was a little better so decided to switch to it. Ever since I switched, my computer has been having overheating problems when running games (At least I believe it to be overheating problems). What happens is that after about 10 minutes or so I get a blue screen that says its dumping something and my computer restarts. I mainly play less demanding games like Diablo 3 on the lowest settings. I imagine its the video card, I've even had it replaced with another one through MSI and the same thing happens. Could it be that my computer can't handle this video card? Might it be something else like my CPU over heating or could it be something completely different. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Mobo - ASUS M2N-E

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2/M2NE/

Video - MSI Radeon HD 6670

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127586

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 x2 5800+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103274

RAM - samsung ddr2 ram 800mhz 2gb (cant find a link and dont exactly remember more than what i posted)

PSU - 550w coolmaster

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-NA-_-NA

 

[COLGeek]

How are you monitoring your system temperatures? Also, how old is the power supply?

 

[sepulveda]

I have no idea how to monitor temps. My video card came with MSI afterburner that tells me the temp of my GPU. The PSU is about 3 years old, but it went around 6 months or so without use.

 

[COLGeek]

Download and install hwmonitor. Run it. It will provide temps.

Go here:

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

[sepulveda]

ok I ran it, but there are a lot of different temps going on. what exactly do you want me to look at?

 

[COLGeek]

Look at your CPU temps (one per core) and the GPU (video card) temps? Look at idle and peak.

 

[sepulveda]

Core #0- Min 45 C Max 58 C
Core #1- Min 46 C Max 65 C
GPU Min 36 C Max 40C

Once I ran Diablo 3 Values changed to

Core #0- Min 44 C Max 65 C
Core #1- Min 46 C Max 75 C
GPU Min 36 C Max 45C

 

[nforce4max]

Could be the board or psu but not your gpu and the cpu temps are a little on the high side. Clean the cooler and replace the old compound. Temps should fall into the 50s and low 60s.

 

[sepulveda]

It is 3 years old

 

[COLGeek]

Nothing too bad here. How old is your power supply?

 

[nforce4max]

Duh you said that a few times already. How many more will you be saying that?

 

[COLGeek]

It is 3 years old

Sounds like your PSU could be on the verge of failure. When PSUs age, they become less efficient and generate more heat and tend to deliver poorer quality power to your system. Do you have access to another PSU that you could swap in for troubleshooting?

 

[nforce4max]

Sounds like your PSU could be on the verge of failure. When PSUs age, they become less efficient and generate more heat and tend to deliver poorer quality power to your system. Do you have access to another PSU that you could swap in for troubleshooting?

Cheap caps, recapping a supply isn't to hard

 

[sepulveda]

Duh you said that a few times already. How many more will you be saying that?

I know, the person helping me asked me again, and perhaps they didn't see it.

Anyway I don't have another power supply available. Is there anything else I could try for the time being, or is that the main thing I should look at?

 

[nforce4max]

Take the unit out and take a look inside. If you see any bulging caps then they are bad, even if the bulge is small the cap is still bad. Any brown or darkened spots where the pcb has been hot for a long time is where a possible short can take place. You can replace the caps if you are skilled enough but beyond that buy a new unit. The generics don't last long and three years is about as long as they live with daily use.

 

[COLGeek]

I know, the person helping me asked me again, and perhaps they didn't see it.

Anyway I don't have another power supply available. Is there anything else I could try for the time being, or is that the main thing I should look at?

Are you overclocking anything? If so, stop and revert to stock speeds. That will put less stress on your power supply.

 

[sepulveda]

No I don't know how to overclock hahah. If I replace my power supply and that does not resolve the problem, what would be another possible solution to this problem. You guys sound pretty convinced that its the power supply, but I might not be so fortunate to have the same people help me in the future if changing out the PSU doesn't resolve the problem.

 

[COLGeek]

Are your drivers up to date? Catalyst is now on version 12.8.

 

[sepulveda]

No but I am updating them now that you mentioned it.

I just ran out to the store, came back and noticed a difference in my temps. I guess I left Diablo 3 minimized, so I don't know if this affects this at all.


Core #0- Min 44 C Max 82 C
Core #1- Min 46 C Max 102 C
GPU Min 35 C Max 45C

 

[COLGeek]

Your CPU is way too hot. Are you using a stock heatsink or an aftermarket unit?

 

[sepulveda]

Also I should add that when I start up my computer. I get a warning that my CPU is running slower than it should. Should this me a DUH moment for me?

 

[sepulveda]

Aftermarket. It is some sort of thermaltake. I bought it about 2 years ago. Ive been looking to get the Cooler Master 212+ ever since I started having these problems. I just recently realized that it might be a problem with my CPU overheating instead of my video card.

 

[COLGeek]

Sounds like your CPU fan is turning a bit slow and not cooling the CPU enough. Clean the fan if necessary. Wouldn't be a bad idea to put new thermal paste on as well (clean the old stuff first). Try going into your BIOS and setting the fan to max (might be a little loud, but will test whether this is the problem),

 

[sepulveda]

Ok, I will try that tonight. I will update this tomorrow with the results.

 

[COLGeek]

Good luck!