Hardware over heating problem

lmeyler

Hi

Looking for some insight . I have a PC (3 years old) which has the CPU heating up to 80 degree celcius +, which is a little too hot for its own good.

The PSU is hot too touch also (much more than other PCs) and seems to be spreading quite a bit of heat around the case back frame.

Hardware overview:
AGP GForce 3 Ti 500
Athlon XP 2600 (not overclocked)
1 GB memory (166 mhz)
MB: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe
2 Hard drives, 1 CD burner, 1 DVD drive
PSU: 350w
No other PCI cards, peripherals etc

I would expect the above to have a relatively low power requirement and a 350w PSU been ample to satisfy it.

After running for 30 mins, the PC can shut down instantly (no slow shutdown etc). If I try to start it up again immediately, power will come on and then shut down again immediately. If I leave it for a while, it will start up again propertly.

It seems to loose its bios settings reguarly, and if the CPU is downgraded to its lowest frequency settings (Athlon 1600), the PC seems to stay alive for quite a bit longer.

I have checked the CPU heatsink and it is fitted correctly.

So, I have a faulty part, safe to say: PSU, motherboard or CPU. I reckon it is unlikely to be the CPU(as a result of the symptoms?), something is causing the PSU to overheat, provide too much power to the motherboard.

My current thinking is the MB is the fault and so drawing too much power.

Unfortunately, I have spares of neither component to verify my suspicion so wondering if others could offer their insight into what is causing this problem before I spend money on parts that may / may not be faulty?

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers
Laurence

DublinEvents

Well, to be honest, I've never heard of a cpu going bad in such a way that it would start getting unbearably hot. You are lucky that your motherboard has cpu overheat protection. It's not uncommon for Athlon XP's to burn out due to overheating coz of a dodgy mobo. It's possible the motherboard is giving too much voltage to the cpu. According to a search on google, your cpu has a nominal voltage of 1.65V. Check your BIOS to see if the voltage is higher than this value. If it is, try to bring it down. If there is no option for changing the voltage, then the BIOS might be the problem. In that case, just update the BIOS to the latest version and the problem might get solved automatically.

In case the problem isn't with the voltage, the only other thing wrong could be the heatsink not making proper contact with the cpu core. Also, the fan on top of the heatsink MUST be running. If it's not or if it's running too slowly (like 1000rpm or less), you need to replace it. Best of luck!

Cuddlesworth

Clean the cpu and heatsink and replace the thermal paste.