Chipset overheating

[BA]

What kind of issues would I get from the BX chipset getting too hot?

System:
Tyan Tiger 100 w/ dual C550(trying at stock now, although that probably won't help to isolate chipset or CPU)
TNT2Pro 5.32 drivers

Symptoms
Locks up, usually under moderate multitasking(few IE windows, Winamp, AIM, ICQ CS server, RC5) Runs RC5 fine overnight
BSOD-kernel or display driver
USB Intellimouse freezes or erratic tracking(but displays some of the same symptoms on PS2, although less frequently IMO. May have dropped it once too many times. Don't currently have another mouse to test with)
Random IM disconnections(?, but it appears to just be me, if many other people were having trouble, everyone on the floor would be bothering me to fix it)



I'm thinking chipset because:
It has a dinky heatsink(thermal pad mounting)
dual processors@100FSB
it'll run RC5 fine overnight
USB flaking out(that is in the chipset somewhere, right?)

 

[toph99]

sounds to me like the chipset. does it feel warm/hot to the touch? i suggest two options:
1. add a small fan to the greenie and see if that helps
2. take off the chipset heatsink and replace it with some thermal compound and something like the Blue Orb

good luck

 

[BA]

It doesn't get that warm, at least where I can reach(I use the ever sensitive finger-probe). Of course, that could be part of the problem, the pad sucks so much that the heat isn't getting to the heatsink.

and it's not even a greenie. Black, plain square, not even mounting holes.

And at 366 it's been going strong for 1.5 hours

 

[Homer]

Some thoughts:

I have a BX chipset that gets quite warm, as high as 45C (built in sensor apparently) running things like Prime95 and BurnBX. That chipset felt very warm. That's on a BXmaster with a PIII650@866. The setup is stable. I haven't run across anyone who could tell me that a hot chipset was definitely the source of an instability problem, although it has been talked about as possible.
Nevertheless I took off the little green heatsink, which on the BXMaster mounts with two corner plastic pins, and replaced it with a TennMax Lasagna, using Arctic Silver goop. This produced maybe a 2 degree celsius drop in temperature. I could not have installed any higher profile HSF because of clearance problems - this is a slot 1 mobo with an oem PIII and a GORB which sticks out right over the chipset. There was no change in performance and I have not tried to push the FSB any higher. Maybe it would go higher, I don't know. My old TNT1 was streaking badly @ 89 AGP as it was. I may try soon, as I have a new vid card & better RAM, but that won't tell anything because there will be no "before" test.