New Build, overheating?

[natep]

Here's the new build

AMD 3200+, socket 939
2gigs of Corsair Value
Geforce 6800GS
MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX
Thermaltake Soprano case
Thermaltake 430watt PSU

This is my first build with a non-barebones kit. All of my others have been Shuttles.

Hook everything up, it POSTs. Everything seems well. I install Windows XP, update it, install videocard drivers, DirectX, sound drivers, chipset drivers, and F.E.A.R. to test out the new system.

FEAR looks nice, halfway through the opening level, the PC shuts off. I go into the BIOS and the CPU temp is 56C. I install Speedfan to watch my temps while I play. My CPU temp seems to be skyrocketing and shutting my PC down. I updated the BIOS, but that didn't help.

All the fans are spinning, everything else seems in working condition, but the heatsink barely seems above room temperature. The heatsink is locked down correctly. Could it be anything other than the thermal grease not working? Will I have to go buy some new thermal paste, or does readjusting the heatsink sometimes work?

 

[letstalkcisco]

The temp does seem a little high - my OC'd 3700+ idles at 33 and gets up to 48 while prime95 is running...did you use artic silver or just the stock grease on the heat sinc? That being said I've usually only had problems with a system shutting off under load when I've had a bad power supply. If you have another you might try swapping it out...a battle-tested 350W will handle this system just fine. That will at least get rid of 1 possibility.

 

[natep]

I just used the stock thermal grease. I don't have a power supply to swap atm.

I just tried running Prime95 and watching the temps. There is also another temp that rises erratically. Temp1, Temp2 and Temp3 in Speedfan are all listed as the same chip, WinBond W8362THF, bus as ISA, and address as $290.

Temp1 stays at 32C during Prime95 small FTT test. Temp2 rises gradually toward the high 50s start at abiut 37C, and Temp3 jumps from 18C to 57C the second I start the test, and jumps up all the way to 72C, where I stopped the test.

 

[jimbob200521]

what thermal grease you use makes a very very small diff, but using the right amount can make a big diff. as long as you have sufficent (a drop about the size of a bb, or a grain of rice) on your cpu, you should be fine. also, make sure your hsf is mounted the right direction. ive worked on computers that have had the same problem you are describing, and it was because the hsf was mounted the wrong direction. other than that, make sure you have the latest drivers, and everything is connected properly. good luck

 

[natep]

It turns out my HSF was on the different direction than the picture, but it seems to make no difference. I got a little more time before it keeled over again.

I'm guessing that the temp reading is off, and that my sensors are wrong for whatever reason. I can feel no hot air inside the case after the shutdowns. Would the sensors cause my PC to shutdown, do AMD 64s have that feature?

Anyone know how to fix it?

 

[letstalkcisco]

So what temp does your CPU idle at in BIOS? Sounds like it was 56 after FEAR crashed the computer? This is kinda weird given that when you remove the load from your CPU it should cool off substantially within just a few seconds. Mine will drop ten degrees C within 10 seconds after shutting down a game or benchmark utility. It also sounds like you have some utility telling you temps while in windows. 32*C during prime95 is actually pretty good - actually maybe a little low, but I haven't owned a 3200+ so I don't know for sure.

I think that your Temp1 should be your CPU temp and the other two will be temp sensors on your chipset or something. If your CPU temp sensor is relatively stable but the other sensors are running way high, I'd have to wonder how efficient your case cooling is or even if a sensor is bad. If you're confident in your cooling setup (exhaust in rear, intake in front, so on) then I'd suggest sending an email to MSI support and describe your symptoms, steps you've taken, and see if they can help or replace the board.

The only shutdown feature I know of should be in your power settings in BIOS. They should be set pretty high and would only kick off your PC if something was truly wrong. My experience in the past is that there is a warning setting where you compy speaker starts beeping at you and then a shutdown setting (few degrees higher) where the thing actually just shuts off.

I agree that the paste you use will only make a diff of a couple of degrees at the most, and the direction of the heat-sinc doesn't matter. Maybe try running prime95 large FFT test and see how high the temp gets. It shouldn't get any hotter during FEAR than during this test, even though FEAR power consumption will be higher given the load on the video card. If you can run large FFT for like 20 minutes without any problems then you can start to narrow down the potential problems...

 

[galbicake]

I am having similar problems but my system still run, it just either blacks out on the screen or show a scrambled mess of colors.

I checked, all the fans were working but I have no clue what it may be.

Any suggestions?