Asus A7V8X new setup - shuts down immediately

[amheck]

Hi everyone,

I have built (or put together, is more like it) a new system using a A7V8X with an Athlon 2400 and 512Megs of Kingston PC2100 Valueram. When I turn on the system, it immediately shuts off after 1-2 seconds. Do you have any idea what might be causing this problem and how I get around it?

I don't know if this makes a difference, but I bought a Volcano fan and put thermal paste over the middle part of the CPU and then put the fan on. When I was able to talk to Asus tech support, they told me to wipe off the paste from the CPU and use the AMD fan that came with the CPU, since that already has some sort of thermal barrier on it. Now, no matter which fan I use, I get the same thing.

Thanks, Aaron

 

[amheck]

Anyone?

 

[floccus]

Ok, well beyond heat issues from the HSF not being properly secured.... what PSU do you have? You need something that is at least 300W and preferably more to run everything. Remember, todays components suck up a lot of juice, especially if you run all the features offered on the board and a bunch of HDs and Optical drives.

Also, w/ the Volcano, how much grease did you put on? Too much can be just as bad as too little some times and if the core heats up to much the system will shut off to save it.

 

[mechBgon]

Reversed heatsink is the most likely reason. Note the step cut into one end of the heatsink's base... that must be oriented to match the solid-plastic end of the CPU socket.

Also, if your Volcano is one of the models that comes disassembled, you need to confirm whether you installed the clip into the heatsink in the correct direction. The clip is asymmetrical, and its pressure point must be directly over the CPU core.

Lastly, be aware that the stock thermal pad on the AMD retail heatsink is a one-use-only pad intended to be installed in the right direction and left on. If you remove the heatsink thereafter, you need to scrape off the remains of the thermal pad and use thermal grease.