Do I need a better motherboard or a new case with better airflow?

[Tenuto]

Basically in short. Motherboard VRMs are overheating and throttling my APU. Motherboard is Gigabyte A68H chipset. APU is 7870k. Do I need a motherboard with a better chipset or better ventilation (currently 1 92mm fan) Thanks.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Possible PSU issue - under-regulated would challenge the VRMs.
Address the symptom with ventilation to be sure no 'dead' spot? - introduce additional fan to see if issue is resolved.

 

[Tenuto]

I know you helped me with another thread so thanks very much but now I've isolated the issue and need some advice. Basically, when I put a fan over the VRM my APU doesn't throttle nearly as much. My case only supports an intake and an exhaust each of which are only 92mm. I still need to get a new fan for the intake but don't think it will do much. Could my motherboard be defected or not rated to handle my APU?

 

[cliffordcooley]

Does your CPU cooler not blow air across your chipset? What CPU cooler are you using?

 

[Tenuto]

I'm using a stock CPU cooler it's very smaller but does a great job of keeping the processor cool. But no it doesn't get the chip set at all

 

[Cycloid Torus]

The lower end motherboards may use fewer VRMs, which means bigger steps, which means more heat. This becomes a larger problem if the PSU is not regulating tightly (+or- 3% or less). Dust (which can accumulate in small places) adds to the problem.

If you monitor PSU and it stays within +-3%, then don't worry about PSU - but if it is larger variation, you might want to upgrade that.

You said above that you had stock cooler - I mounted a 120mm on top of one by using a few screws and popsicle sticks. Hokey, but it worked.

 

[Tenuto]

Thanks for the replies. Getting a new motherboard is an option for me but I'm still not sure if it would be a guaranteed fix. Not sure how my PSU is performing and handling the VRM unfortunately. The problem is when I try to cool the VRM using a fan clipped and aiming at the VRM I lose my exhaust fans. My case is pretty darn slim for a mATX. Basically I'm not sure if getting a new motherboard would help since airflow is poor. And not sure if airflow will help. I'm not sure what to do haha.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Another thought - when your machine is powered off, remove and reinsert the 4pin CPU power connector - just in case there is a small amount of corrosion built up.

As to PSU, use HW Monitor or SpeedFan - let them run in background while you run some games then go back and look at the Min and Max - and compare those numbers to the standards 12v and 5v - we won't get into ripple, but we do need to know about how far the voltage strays.

It is probably not the motherboard - so check the voltages and try the ventilation.... and you can always try flipping the exhaust fan around and having both blow in - it will exhaust through the PSU and every little opening (remove some of the slot protectors on the back if it doesn't seem enough). Check temps before and after - each case is different - but it could work better.

 

[Tenuto]

So I turned my exhaust into the intake and I did see some positive results. It takes longer for it to throttle and it doesn't throttle as bad. I still need to check the voltages though.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

It shouldn't be throttling...we must be missing something.

Can you provide some (well, a lot) of detail? Screenshots from SpeedFan or HWInfo is a good method - need range of temps and voltages after you have run your system into "throttled" condition.

What are the model numbers for motherboard, the PSU and the CPU? and when & where did you get them? Did you use thermal paste or was there a pad when you attached the cooler?

 

[Tenuto]

Ok before I do that I have a slight update. Turns out I had 8 pins for the CPU power connected. I'm now using only 4 pins. That along with the fan pointed at the motherboard solve this issue. Unfortunately it hampers upgrade ability a lot. If I want to add a GPU I won't have an exhaust fan.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

If you replaced cooler fan with a larger one...one which pushed air over the VRMs.... might that work?