Newly build PC is turning off at random, won't go into Bios

[toronado97]

I just bought an intel e6400 c2d, a gigabyte p965 S3 motherboard, and 2 gb of G.Skill DDR2 800 memory. Put it into my old case with my WD 160 gb SATA HD, a floppy drive, my old HP Cdwriter, and a evga 7600 GT video card.

When I turn the computer on it posts, gives me the beep, shows the processer at 2.13 ghz, and the memory shows up at the 2gb equivalent. It then goes through the IDE drive list, and when windows starts to load, immediately turns off. If I try and enter the bios, it immediately shuts off. Sometimes after it posts, it immediately turns off. I would assume this is a problem with the motherboard, but since I have 3 new pieces of hardware it's kind of hard to assume that without asking here first. I will just RMA it if it's the motherboard, so if any of you have had this issue yourselves, or have heard of it happening, I would appreciate some feedback here as I'm kind of lost.

PS. I upgraded from an AMD, so unfortunately I cannot cross test parts between the two systems. Also if it matters, I'm using my case power supply, a Colorsit 480 watt. Not a name brand by any means but I would assume that it's powerful enough to drive the mobo/cpu, a midrange video card, and 3 drives.

 

[toronado97]

Upon further inspection, I got into the Bios, hit the PC Health tab...

My CPU temp hit 108 degrees CELSIUS before turning off...I'm assuming if I got back in there it would hit 108 and turn off again.

The issue I have, is the heatsink is absolutely installed correctly. There is no give, no wiggle, and all of the "feet" are seated properly. The fan is turning on etc, so I'm at a bit of a loss. Is there something I need to know about this heatsink that I've missed so far?

 

[imported_fixit]

Have you checked whether the CPU fan and heatsink are suitable? Also check the power supply

 

[stogez]

Originally posted by: toronado97
Upon further inspection, I got into the Bios, hit the PC Health tab...

My CPU temp hit 108 degrees CELSIUS before turning off...I'm assuming if I got back in there it would hit 108 and turn off again.

The issue I have, is the heatsink is absolutely installed correctly. There is no give, no wiggle, and all of the "feet" are seated properly. The fan is turning on etc, so I'm at a bit of a loss. Is there something I need to know about this heatsink that I've missed so far?

Definitely an overheating issue. Do NOT turn it on before you either reseat or replace the heatsink. Did you apply enough thermal compound? Too much can be bad as well. Which heatsink are you using?

 

[toronado97]

I'm using the stock Intel fan that came with the retail box.

I've since managed to get it on "correctly" I assume. I've had it idling in Bios for 10 minutes or so, cpu started at 34 or so Celsius, and has now moved to 43 degrees. It seems to be holding fairly steady, but it has been increasing about 1 degree every couple of minutes up to it's present point.

I had planning on buying a Zalman anyway when I overlock it, but I didn't expect to have this much trouble getting the intel fan to work. Whoever thought this type of heatsink coupler was a good idea needs to be shot on sight.

Anyway, anybody know if 44C idle on a 6400 is normal, or at least workable with the stock cooler? Tomorrow I'm going to try and find an decent cooler, but I'd like to at least get windows installed and everyone up and running first.

Edit: I did not apply thermal compound, I used what came pre-applied on the heatsink. Tomorrow I will pick up some Arctic Silver, but for now I have to make due.

 

[Phlargo]

44C is a decent idle temp.. not what I would call low - you should be around 30-34C - but it could be from lousy thermal conductivity with the heatsink.

 

[stogez]

I think with AS5 it will come down another couple degrees easily. Plus remember than AS5 needs time to "cure" also.

 

[toronado97]

I've gotten everything up and running, which is fairly exciting. I plan on getting a fan and some AS tomorrow to cool things down a bit. The stock fan is pretty inept in comparison to my AMD stock fan heh. Thanks for all the information guys and one more question:

Did I do any damage to the CPU before? I wouldn't think it would make much difference seeing as it only stayed there for a matter of seconds before getting turned off, but I wanted to make sure just in case.

 

[stogez]

Actually a lot of people have had their e6300/e6400 run at 3ghz with stock cooling. Maybe you got a bad fan or a really bad IHS.
Hopefully there isn't any damage as the computer shutoff by itself but I guess you never know.

 

[dfuze]

Shutting off should have kept it from being damaged.

You might want to also consider the regular airflow for the rest of your case. If you
don't have decent airflow, it won't matter how good a Zalman is; it's gotta pull new
air in from somewhere.

 

[toronado97]

Well, I'm no cable managing expert, but it's not a tangled mess in there either. I have 2 80mm exhaust fans, both on the side of the case, a 120 mm in the power supply, and a 120 mm on the front of the case. I would expect that there's enough airflow in there to get the job done.

Thanks again for all the help guys, you rock.