Heatsink Problems for Athlon 64

[shouldaboughtadell]

Hi,

I'm relatively new with messing around with computers, so take it easy on me...

I put together a system recently, and have had continuous BSOD, program crashes, and random restarts ever since.

I have reinstalled windows XP a couple times, to no avail. I have installed all windows updates, etc. I have run Ad-aware and spybot and have McAfee installed.

I was leaning towards overheating being the issue, and swapped out the Speeze hsf with a new Thermaltake copper unit... no change in BIOS temps, hovering around 55 deg C at idle for CPU. I have two exhaust fans (top and bottom) and one intake fan on the side of the case.

The thing is, neither of the heatsinks seem to be very snug on top of the chip. You can move the heatsink pretty easily with a slight twisting motion after locking the clips down and pushing the tensioning mechanism down. Is this normal for an Athlon 64 setup? When I installed the Thermaltake, and it was the same, I figured it was normal. I just noticed that the sides of the heatsink don't even warm up to the touch when the system is on, and this doesn't seem right.

The new power supply is a generic 350w, and is probably on my list of things to replace next, but I can only handle one thing at a time.

Anybody have any ideas about this? Let me know what other info I can provide.

Thanks

 

[HardWarrior]

I've assembled one A64 board so far and the stock HS fits nice and snug. It hovers around 32c at idle. Stupid question: You did apply thermal paste, right?

 

[Jaxidian]

If your CPU is running at 55C (or even running period) and your heatsink isn't even warm to the touch, something doesn't add up there. Without your heatsink your cpu isn't going to run. And if your heatsink is against the cpu, then it's going to be warm to the touch.

I'm not calling you a liar or anything, I'm just saying things don't add up here...

EDIT: BTW, Welcome to AT!

 

[shouldaboughtadell]

I know, it's strange...

yeah, I used a small dab of AS3 paste each time I tried reseating the it, same results.

Just to make sure, I just opened the side of the case and put my finger on the side of the copper part of the HS...room temp, if not cooler.

 

[HardWarrior]

Well, it's kind of hard to see just what a "dab" is. Did you cover the entire heatspreader, from edge to edge, with a paper-thin layer? I've got no idea why your HS would be so easy to move. The retaining bar would have to be bent out of spec for something like that to happen. But since you've tried two different HS's that can't be it. You've got a mystery there, should.

 

[shouldaboughtadell]

Ok, seemed to figure out a couple things, but haven't solved the crashing problem yet.

Firstly, the thermaltake HS has an insert that runs the length of the body, which apparently draws heat from the copper face, because when I took off the heatsink and fan, the fins and face of the hs were cool, as was the chip. This little insert was quite warm, so everything looks to be working as far as the hs is concerned.

As for the moveability of the hs, well, my only guess is that I originally put too much compound on, and didn't clean the sucker off completely after each reapplication (just wiped with a rag). I cleaned pretty thoroughly with nail polish remover this time, and the fit is more snug. I think just the nature of the A64 cpu, being so big and flat with the heat dissipating surface, lends to this movement, if too much compound is there.

Ok, so BIOS still reading on the high side (51-52c). I had hardware monitor installed, but free trial is up. When it was working, the temps were 1-2c above BIOS readings. I do not have the most current BIOS flashed yet, should that make a difference?

I seem to have the most crashes with periods of high loading, so I still think this is a temp issue.
Any ideas?


Thanks

btw, my setup is:

Athlon 64 3200+
Soyo CK8 Dragon Plus
2- Ultra 512 MB 400 mhz RAM
ATI Radeon 9200
Maxtor 120 GB HD
Maxtor 80 GB HD
1 DVDRW drive
1 CDRW
1 CDROM
Codegen 350w PS