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Athlon Overheating problem!

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Drazula

Junior Member
Hi,

My wife's PC just started rebooting after about 5 minutes of being on. I checked everything but noticed that the CPU temperature was 85C degrees. I checked the case fans, CPU fans. I even took off the heat sink and put silver compound between the CPU and heatsink. It is still running very hot.

What could be the cause of this? Is the CPU shot? Or is it a motherboard problem? Can I salvage either one? BTW, I am not overclocking.

CPU is Athlon 1.4 GHz, Motherboard is a Biostar M7VIT.

Thanks.
 
There are a few things to try...
1. Did you completely clean the heatsink and cpu before adding new compound? (be very careful not to scratch either surface!!)
2. Check the speed on the HS fan...these go out quite often. Solution for this is a new HSF (they aren't that expensive)
3. Load latest bios, and double check the voltage settings
 
if theres heatsink contact with paste and a spinning fan not clogged with dust, how it could hit 85c i dunno. that heatsink temp would be blazing hot. maybe the clamps loose, try another cooler. with good contact it doesn't make sense.
 
85C thats pretty hot, if the cpu is making contact with the heatsink. Then try feeling the heatsink, If it doesn't burn you then, your CPU is fine and there must be a problem with the sensor.

Also If the computer doesn't shut down by itself or set itself on fire well into windows, then its not the CPU, but you'll want to try the other options first.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. Just a few things:

1. Yes it is getting that hot. It does so within 5 minutes of booting up, then shuts itself down. No, I can't touch the heatsink when it is that hot.

2. The fan is spinning and the heatsink is not dusty. The motherboard is about a month old.

3. For an Athlon 1.4 what should the voltage be? Where would I find that info? Yes, I am lazy. 😉

I don't mind having to replace any of the parts, but I need to know which one (or more) is the problem.

Thanks again.
 
whats the heatsink on this puppy, its obviously producing too much heat or its not being cooled. Reset your bios settings, that should read the correct voltage from the cpu. Is it a Thunderbird or XP. Thunderbirds have a ceramic base.
 
CPU: AMD K7 Athlon 1.4 GHz @ 266 FSB (Socket A) AYHJ stepping
Heatsink/Fan: CoolMaster (AMD Approved)

I don't think it is the heatsink/fan. I felt the heatsink as soon as the PC started. The heat is transferring to the heatsink quite nicely. But it gets too hot very fast!

Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate your input.
 
Well, what I was thinking was that maybe you need a bigger heatsink

Whats that stepping thing?

Which coolmaster?
 
Check you voltages as on a thouroughbred I believe that 1.75 volts is the maximum default. 85C is EXTREMELY HOT. Though that is not one of the best steppings it is one of the better so Heat being and issue without overclocking seems very strange. You said that the motherboard was about a month old and that you have installed a coolermaster on it, right? I do hate to say it but it sounds to me like a cracked core. Granted not a very bad one as the computer does bood but that much heat is just amaizing withough the volts being over about 2 volts.
 
The stepping thing was a version of the CPU that was supposed to make it easier to overclock. But I never got around to overclocking it. 😱

The CoolMaster is an EP5-6I11.

I leaning toward something wrong between the CPU and motherboard. I am going to investigate the voltage. But if it is not that, I am not sure where else to look.

EDIT: I am monitoring the system from the AwardBIOS PC Health Status screen. Something interesting:

- when the CPU temperature was 45C degrees the CPU fan speed was 800 RPM.
- when the CPU temperature was 70C degrees the CPU fan speed was 2400 RPM.
- when the CPU temperature was 74C degrees the CPU fan speed was 860 RPM!?

I don't know if this is the crux of the problem as the CPU temp shouldn't reach 70C anyway. Also, I monitored the voltages, and they were within acceptable range. I am thinking my CPU got damaged somehow. I just don't know if the motherboard cause it.

Could it have been an installation issue? Also, could a CPU going up to 85C damage a motherboard? I mean, if the socket is okay, is there anything I should be concerned with? Looks like my wife is getting a new CPU!
 
Originally posted by: Drazula
I don't know if this is the crux of the problem as the CPU temp shouldn't reach 70C anyway. Also, I monitored the voltages, and they were within acceptable range. I am thinking my CPU got damaged somehow. I just don't know if the motherboard cause it.

Could it have been an installation issue? Also, could a CPU going up to 85C damage a motherboard? I mean, if the socket is okay, is there anything I should be concerned with? Looks like my wife is getting a new CPU!
Click to expand...

Yeah I hate it when thigs like this happen but it is easier than people think to scrack your core or even just theo core packaging. If you do decide to the 2500+ is a great processor and they are really pretty cheap for a processor and should work on your board.
 
You might wanna check if the motherboard is grounding out somewhere. I had a somewhat similar situation but my computer wouldnt even boot. It would turn on for about 5-10sec then just shut off. My heatsink and vcard got really hot within those few seconds. I found out that my motherboard fried from it grounding out. All was fine with the replacement motherboard and luckily nothing else fried as a result.
 
It doesn't sound like the CPU at all...
It's either:
1. bad fan on the HSF, or
2. faulty mobo...
3. you've connected the fan or mobo incorrectly...

JMHO
 
I'd just save the trouble and get either a $90 XP 2500+ or a 1700+\1800+.

EDIT: Get a retail package and you'll have a heatsink more than capable of cooling the chip.
 
most likely is the heatsink. also try droping the voltage. Tbirds can run fine undervolted a little. my 1ghz tbird is hitting 1.3g@1.6 volts. stock is 1.825v. i can run prime95 overnight and never hit one error or go over 40C.
 
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