Howdy all. Just recently I ordered parts in from newegg to build a new desktop and after much time spent wiring everything together with a friend, the pc was ready to do some damage. We turned it on and started to run the xp installation. About halfway through the computer randomly shut off so we tried again and again. What we found to be happening is that the computer would shut off about 12 seconds after being turned on. If I gave it more time to rest, it seemed to squeeze out up to a minute. We wen to his house, tested the machine with multiple power supplies and the same deal happened. We pulled out all unnecessary parts 1 at a time and tested each part until it came down to the bare minimum and it seemed to be that it was a mother board or processor issue. Both the 180mm fan in the case and the heat sink fan were on and working, along with the mobo fan. Today I borrowed a fan and with the case open and exposed, i blasted cold air into the tower in an attempt to see if it really was an overheating issue. Well this time, the pc ran for about 12 minutes and then shut down. I restarted it and with the fan still blowing I would squeeze out about 2-3 minutes before it shut down. What should I do? Is the processor really overheating due to perhaps the heatsink not being 100% in place or the thermal compound maybe not working? Is the temperature sensor on the motherboard busted, making the whole thing a DOA? Is the processor just busted and heating up too much when it shouldn't be? Impart your infinite wisdom upon me. And my apologies if the thread should be somewhere else, I am brand new.

Machine Specs:
Athenatech A601BS.450 Black / Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3800BPBOX

ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory Model VS2GBKIT400C3

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

LG Black E-IDE/ATAPI DVD-ROM Multi Read Drive Model GDR-8164BK

Radeon x1600 pro 512mb ddr2

Remove the cpu heatsink and fan and check the thermal paste to see if it looks like it was sitting properly!!!!

Then when you refit it give it a slight twist left and right a couple of times to help it seat correctly and for the thermal paste to spread evenly!!!!

Let me know if that makes a difference or not!!!!

Hi HybridFrost and welcome to Techspot

first off, let me say that you have done a good job diagnosing the problem. it seems almost certain that your CPU (or chipset) is overheating.

...to answer your questions:

1. yes, it is very possible that the heatsink is not making good contact with the CPU

2. yes, improperly applied thermal compound could also prevent the heatsink from making good contact with the CPU

3. it is very unlikely that the temp sensor is defective, and I have never heard of that being the case... but I suppose it could be possible. you would need a hardware based temp probe to verify it though.

I would recommend you first ensure that both the CPU and chipset fans are working properly. once you have verified that, then remove and thoroughly clean the heatsink and CPU with isopropyl alcohol. then apply new thermal compound. different compounds have different application methods so be sure you are using the correct method.

good luck

EDIT: boy do I type slow, rik beat me by 20 mins :eek:

HybridFrost what are the specs on your powersupply, I know it's 430w but what are the amps on the 12v rail? A generic PSU like that one probably won't put out anything close to what it's rated at anyway so it could be overloaded and causeing the system restarts. Cooling it down may have helped as PSUs have higher output at lower tempratures. I recomend for a system like that you get a good PSU from a respectable company like Antec, Enermax, FSP,or PC Power & Cooling. Most PSUs that come with cases are junk anyway (the exceptions include Cooler Master and Antec).

i went into bios to monitor the cpu temperature. with the fan blasting into the computer the cpu temp steadily rose and when i turned the fan off it still increased but at a faster pace. it seems quite obvious that it is a heating problem now. however the issue is between the heat sink and the proc itself. is the proc doa by heating up too quickly or should i take off the heat sink, clean it and the proc with alcohol, apply new thermal paste, and put it back on?

I would recomend that to start with. Make sure to apply the thermal paste in the thinest possible layer that still covers the entire CPU and make sure the clamp is properly fastened.

Hello and welcome to Techspot.

That seems the sensible thing to do mate.

Regards Howard

so i grabbed some arctic silver and applied it. my life was grand for a few minutes, the cpu temp was steady at 34/35. however, upon restarting the machine and getting into bios a minute later to check out the temp, it was at 50. it slowly rose, yet again. this machine has given me so many let downs. faulty proc that keeps on overheating? what do you gents think?

I it very unlikely that there is anything wrong with the CPU itself. they are tested at the factory (to test for speed and to assign a PR rating) before they are shipped out. it is far more likely that either the heatsink itself is insufficient, or the artic silver was applied incorrectly.

assuming you bought Arctic Silver 5, here is a link to the proper preparation and application instructions for a single core Athlon64.

an overheating chipset can also cause the system to shut down the same way an overheating CPU would. are your chipset temps ok? also, you may want to apply some arctic silver to the chipset too.

the cpu temperature and cpu temp alone is rising up. what happens is that after applying new arctic silver, it idles at about 39 and then after a little bit it starts rising quickly, up to shutdown temp. is the cpu burning through the arctic silver or something? gahhh

if the CPU is overheating, then the heatspreader is not making good contact with the heatsink, as a result the heat from the CPU is not being efficiently transferred to the heatsink. arctic silver requires a very small amount, if you use too much then it can cause poor heat transfer resulting in your CPU overheating. the only other thing would be an insufficient heatsink.

1. did you follow >>>>these exact instructions<<<< when you applied the arctic silver? if not, then try cleaning and re-applying again.

2. are you using the heatsink that came with the CPU?

.

i am using the stock heatsink that came with the cpu

Are the retaining clips holding the heatsink firmly on the cpu, If it has the metal type they made need a carefull tweak to hold the heatsink on properly.

HybridFrost,
may need to replace the stock HSF. Is it possible that the heatsink is put on backwards?

i cleaned the heatsink and proc, put the arctic silver on yet again and yet again, the same thing happens. it is level for a few minutes at around 35-40 and then it sharply increases until it shuts off. any suggestions?

Defective motherboard??? I've never heard of a CPU doing this by itself

the thing is that it seems that the temperature sensor is working. how would the motherboard overheat the cpu?

One other thing... Are you accidentally overclocking the CPU? Make sure the bios are set to the default failsafe settings

all of the cpu's settings are at default

well i re applied the arctic silver tonight in a different fashion and the computer stayed on for awhile without shutting off. the only problem is that my monitor refuses to display. it is plugged in and recognizes the computer but i do not get a display. i tested it and my computer with another computer and monitor and it seems that the issue involves my computer. the fan on the vid card is running...busted mobo?