MSI K8MM3 / AMD SEMPRON 3000 cutout

[John Richardson]

I have an MSI K8MM3 motherboard with AMD Sempron 3000 processor.

Each time I power it up, it works for about 1/2 hour and then cuts out, usually when the CPU temp reaches about 31 degrees C. Is there a way to stop this happening, or have I just got to buy a super powerful fan? 31 degrees C doesn't seem a very high temperature to me. Could the 'quiet n' cool' feature be causing this ?

Help !!

 

[Fragrant Coit]

31 is quite cool - but it may not be reported correctly.

Try the scientific method and touch the Heatsink as near the base as possible after it's been running a few minutes.

If it's unconfortably hot, that's your culprit. remove the Heatsink, clean the gunk off it and the CPU thoroughly, and use some decent thermal paste. Just apply some about the size if a grain of rice to the center of the CPU and reinstall the heatsink..

Whilst you are in there, see if the Northbridge is getting hot too {the other heatsink}. Look at the Capacitors {little barrel looking components on the board} and make sure none of the tops look bulging or rusty.

Is all that checks out OK - try running Memtest and verify your RAM isn't the culprit