OT: Overheating PC?

[Ext User(Diesel Damo)]

A local business has asked me to have a look at their computer
(because apparently I'm a "computer bloke").

Problem is it keeps turning itself off after a couple of minutes.

The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens. That does seem a
little hot, but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
they hang rather than turn themselves off.

Or would this be a dodgy power supply problem?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"Diesel Damo" <Diesel_4WD@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message

> Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I had a similar heat problem a few months ago, and on the advice I got from
a few in here I purchased a better case. I ended up getting a "Cool Maser"
brand thing, which wasn't elaborate or expensive in my opinion at well under
a hundred bucks, but it made a *huge* difference to the internal
temperatures.

Prior to using this case you couldn't hold your hand on the top of the old
case for long as the heat in the power supply area would be too hot, but
after moving the internals over to the new case the temps are around 5
degrees warmer than the ambient temp of the room.

Best thing I ever did.

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Diesel Damo)]

On Jul 12, 1:25 pm, "Noddy" <dg4163@(nospam)dodo.com.au> wrote:
> "Diesel Damo" <Diesel_...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
> > Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>
> I had a similar heat problem a few months ago, and on the advice I got from
> a few in here I purchased a better case. I ended up getting a "Cool Maser"
> brand thing, which wasn't elaborate or expensive in my opinion at well under
> a hundred bucks, but it made a *huge* difference to the internal
> temperatures.
>
> Prior to using this case you couldn't hold your hand on the top of the old
> case for long as the heat in the power supply area would be too hot, but
> after moving the internals over to the new case the temps are around 5
> degrees warmer than the ambient temp of the room.
>
> Best thing I ever did.

Yeah I might have to go that route. The girls in the office have
snakes blood, so cold Oberon winters mean they have the fucking place
like an oven.

I specialise in solutions that cost zero dollars. I usually use bits
and pieces I already have lying around and don't charge anything for
my time, because out here doing a favour for someone is far more
valuable than a few bucks in your pocket.

But yeah, I think they're going to have to spend some dosh this time.

[Ext User(Diesel Damo)]

On Jul 12, 1:25 pm, "Noddy" <dg4163@(nospam)dodo.com.au> wrote:
>
>"Cool Maser"

Also, is that a typo on "master" or is it actually called "Cool Maser"?

[Ext User(David Springthorpe)]

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:40:35 -0700, Diesel Damo <Diesel_4WD@yahoo.com.au> wrote:

>Yeah I might have to go that route. The girls in the office have
>snakes blood, so cold Oberon winters mean they have the fucking place
>like an oven.

Bloody Oberon ! I've been there in summer and it was cold then.

[Ext User(Ron)]

Diesel Damo <Diesel_4WD@yahoo.com.au> wrote in news:1184210163.217042.69200
@g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:

> A local business has asked me to have a look at their computer
> (because apparently I'm a "computer bloke").
>
> Problem is it keeps turning itself off after a couple of minutes.
>
> The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
> friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens. That does seem a
> little hot, but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
> they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>
> Or would this be a dodgy power supply problem?
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>

Have a look at the little cooling fan on the mother board.
The one in my computer stops occasionally, after being turned off for a
while. The computer beeps on startup, then shut down. I think the fan
cools the chip that runs the screen. (I'm not a computer boffin :-)

I had to take the small fan out and put a drop of oil in it.
Fixed the problem, I guess they eventually run dry.

Ron

[Ext User(Atheist Chaplain)]

"Diesel Damo" <Diesel_4WD@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:1184211635.022160.155740@w3g2000hsg.googlegro ups.com...
> On Jul 12, 1:25 pm, "Noddy" <dg4163@(nospam)dodo.com.au> wrote:
>> "Diesel Damo" <Diesel_...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
>> > Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>
>> I had a similar heat problem a few months ago, and on the advice I got
>> from
>> a few in here I purchased a better case. I ended up getting a "Cool
>> Maser"
>> brand thing, which wasn't elaborate or expensive in my opinion at well
>> under
>> a hundred bucks, but it made a *huge* difference to the internal
>> temperatures.
>>
>> Prior to using this case you couldn't hold your hand on the top of the
>> old
>> case for long as the heat in the power supply area would be too hot, but
>> after moving the internals over to the new case the temps are around 5
>> degrees warmer than the ambient temp of the room.
>>
>> Best thing I ever did.
>
> Yeah I might have to go that route. The girls in the office have
> snakes blood, so cold Oberon winters mean they have the fucking place
> like an oven.
>
> I specialise in solutions that cost zero dollars. I usually use bits
> and pieces I already have lying around and don't charge anything for
> my time, because out here doing a favour for someone is far more
> valuable than a few bucks in your pocket.
>
> But yeah, I think they're going to have to spend some dosh this time.
>

A few things to check for
have you checked the fan in the Power supply, it is the easiest place to
start and if a PS is overheating it will have a thermal cut off. easiest
thing to do there is replace rather than repair (and cheaper)
is the CPU fan/heat sink all blocked up with dust and crud, this will make a
huge difference to thermal efficiency.
is the Heatsink/Fan loose or not making a good contact.
Remove the HS/Fan and see if the thermal paste/patch has dried up or gone
crusty (it happens) regardless, clean the top of the CPU and base of the
HS/Fan and apply a thin smear of new paste (Arctic Silver is a good brand)
a replacement HS/Fan is often a good idea as well, and cooler master is a
decent brand, I believe tricky Dickey has them and there is one in Bathurst
or Orange so reasonably close.
when the girls have the heaters on, do they blow directly at the computer,
remember that the HS can only work by dumping heat to cooler air, the warmer
the ambient temp the less efficient the HS will be.

as to the system shutting down when hot, from the Pentium D onwards, Intel
chips have had "Thermal Cut-out Protection" and that cut off temp should
generally be able to be set in the BIOS somewhere. AMD chips have only
caught up to Intel in that regard in the last few years.


--
"Calling Atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color."
Don Hirschberg

[Ext User(Diesel Damo)]

On Jul 12, 2:01 pm, Ron <dodo@hotmail> wrote:
> I had to take the small fan out and put a drop of oil in it.
> Fixed the problem, I guess they eventually run dry.

That could be what's gradually happening here. It's just I've never
seen a BIOS that tells you the fan speed before, so I've got nothing
to compare it to.

[Ext User(Diesel Damo)]

On Jul 12, 2:04 pm, "Klokmeester" <whowh...@andwhy.com> wrote:
> "Diesel Damo" <Diesel_...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
> > The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
> > friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens.
>
> That is about a lot higher then it should be and almost certainly causing
> the shutdown.

Yeah. Hotter than boiling water is a bit much. I seem to remember high
80s being the norm.

> > but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
> > they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>
> Not these days of overheat protection.

Good point. I'm thinking back in the days of 486s.

> Check the fan and security thereof and for dust and fluff blocking the
> heatsink and make sure that the CPU is making good contact with the heatsink
> and thermal compound is in place between the mating surfaces.
>
> Consider replacing it with something better.

Definitely no dust around (checked all that) and the fan and heat sink
arrangement all seems tight. Perhaps the fan is getting old and could
do with an upgrade then.

[Ext User(Poxy)]

Diesel Damo wrote:
> A local business has asked me to have a look at their computer
> (because apparently I'm a "computer bloke").
>
> Problem is it keeps turning itself off after a couple of minutes.
>
> The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
> friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens. That does seem a
> little hot, but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
> they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>
> Or would this be a dodgy power supply problem?
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated.

If the machine is 3-5 years old, it could be dodgy caps on the MB, which is
a kind of power supply problem, and, among other things, can cause CPU
overheating and reboots as they go bad.

Easy enough to check - look for bulges or leaks in the tops of the
capacitors around the CPU.

[Ext User()]

> Yeah. Hotter than boiling water is a bit much. I seem to remember high
> 80s being the norm.
For a desktop, you should be aiming at 45-60c. 100 is way too hot.

> Definitely no dust around (checked all that) and the fan and heat sink
> arrangement all seems tight. Perhaps the fan is getting old and could
> do with an upgrade then.

Thermaltake make great coolers. $60-odd should do it.
Pain in the arse to install, they come in kit format, but shouldn't take you
more than 15mins.
Used to have heat problems running anything when the temp went over 32, now
can run 3D games in 40-odd without issue. Installed an 80mm case fan at the
same time.

Have seen the blades warp on a cheap plastic fan, sounds fine but doesn't
flow. Similar symptoms - CPU hits temp cut, yet reports normal RPM.

-mark

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"Diesel Damo" <Diesel_4WD@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message

> Also, is that a typo on "master" or is it actually called "Cool Maser"?

Apologies. It is indeed "Cool Master".

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Diesel Damo)]

On Jul 12, 2:10 pm, "Atheist Chaplain" <a...@cia.gov> wrote:
> "Diesel Damo" <Diesel_...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
>
> news:1184211635.022160.155740@w3g2000hsg.googlegro ups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jul 12, 1:25 pm, "Noddy" <dg4163@(nospam)dodo.com.au> wrote:
> >> "Diesel Damo" <Diesel_...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
> >> > Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>
> >> I had a similar heat problem a few months ago, and on the advice I got
> >> from
> >> a few in here I purchased a better case. I ended up getting a "Cool
> >> Maser"
> >> brand thing, which wasn't elaborate or expensive in my opinion at well
> >> under
> >> a hundred bucks, but it made a *huge* difference to the internal
> >> temperatures.
>
> >> Prior to using this case you couldn't hold your hand on the top of the
> >> old
> >> case for long as the heat in the power supply area would be too hot, but
> >> after moving the internals over to the new case the temps are around 5
> >> degrees warmer than the ambient temp of the room.
>
> >> Best thing I ever did.
>
> > Yeah I might have to go that route. The girls in the office have
> > snakes blood, so cold Oberon winters mean they have the fucking place
> > like an oven.
>
> > I specialise in solutions that cost zero dollars. I usually use bits
> > and pieces I already have lying around and don't charge anything for
> > my time, because out here doing a favour for someone is far more
> > valuable than a few bucks in your pocket.
>
> > But yeah, I think they're going to have to spend some dosh this time.
>
> A few things to check for
> have you checked the fan in the Power supply, it is the easiest place to
> start and if a PS is overheating it will have a thermal cut off. easiest
> thing to do there is replace rather than repair (and cheaper)
> is the CPU fan/heat sink all blocked up with dust and crud, this will make a
> huge difference to thermal efficiency.
> is the Heatsink/Fan loose or not making a good contact.
> Remove the HS/Fan and see if the thermal paste/patch has dried up or gone
> crusty (it happens) regardless, clean the top of the CPU and base of the
> HS/Fan and apply a thin smear of new paste (Arctic Silver is a good brand)
> a replacement HS/Fan is often a good idea as well, and cooler master is a
> decent brand, I believe tricky Dickey has them and there is one in Bathurst
> or Orange so reasonably close.
> when the girls have the heaters on, do they blow directly at the computer,
> remember that the HS can only work by dumping heat to cooler air, the warmer
> the ambient temp the less efficient the HS will be.
>
> as to the system shutting down when hot, from the Pentium D onwards, Intel
> chips have had "Thermal Cut-out Protection" and that cut off temp should
> generally be able to be set in the BIOS somewhere. AMD chips have only
> caught up to Intel in that regard in the last few years.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll check around Bathurst tomorrow for the
cooler master stuff.

[Ext User(Dan---)]

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:55:12 -0700, Diesel Damo PCM code reading says:



> Thanks for all the tips. I'll check around Bathurst tomorrow for the
> cooler master stuff.

You have to stop pretending its a V8 supercar in Bathurst then it should
stop overheating. ;-)


--
Regards
Dan

[Ext User(Ron)]

Diesel Damo <Diesel_4WD@yahoo.com.au> wrote in
news:1184214007.094839.320400@r34g2000hsd.googlegr oups.com:

> On Jul 12, 2:01 pm, Ron <dodo@hotmail> wrote:
>> I had to take the small fan out and put a drop of oil in it.
>> Fixed the problem, I guess they eventually run dry.
>
> That could be what's gradually happening here. It's just I've never
> seen a BIOS that tells you the fan speed before, so I've got nothing
> to compare it to.
>
>

Well, mine says:

CPU 56 degrees C
Main board 36 deg

[Ext User(jonz)]

"Poxy" <pox@poxymail.com> wrote in message
news:4695ac78$0$51692$c30e37c6@pit-reader.telstra.net...
> Diesel Damo wrote:
>> A local business has asked me to have a look at their computer
>> (because apparently I'm a "computer bloke").
>>
>> Problem is it keeps turning itself off after a couple of minutes.
>>
>> The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
>> friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens. That does seem a
>> little hot, but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
>> they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>>
>> Or would this be a dodgy power supply problem?
>>
>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>
> If the machine is 3-5 years old, it could be dodgy caps on the MB, which
> is a kind of power supply problem, and, among other things, can cause CPU
> overheating and reboots as they go bad.
>
> Easy enough to check - look for bulges or leaks in the tops of the
> capacitors around the CPU.

hmmmm, your probly getting out of the comfort zone for the *xperts* `round
here, however could be some interesting verbiage..........coz the only cap
they know about is on a dissy..........
>
>
>

[Ext User(a t e c 7 7)]

Diesel Damo wrote:
> A local business has asked me to have a look at their computer
> (because apparently I'm a "computer bloke").
>
> Problem is it keeps turning itself off after a couple of minutes.
>
> The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
> friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens. That does seem a
> little hot, but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
> they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>
> Or would this be a dodgy power supply problem?
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>
De-dust the box . p

pull the heat sink and replace the thermal paste then remove the fan and
make sure the fins are well cleaned , check the power supply is dust
free , if it is not then unplug and make sure it is discharged before
you try to open and clean it , the caps in there can end your day , once
cleaned see if it continues to run ok with a side panel removed , if it
continues to die or reboot then you may need a better cooler but
normally de-dusting twice a year works wonders.

[Ext User(a t e c 7 7)]

Diesel Damo wrote:
> On Jul 12, 2:04 pm, "Klokmeester" <whowh...@andwhy.com> wrote:
>> "Diesel Damo" <Diesel_...@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
>>> The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
>>> friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens.
>> That is about a lot higher then it should be and almost certainly causing
>> the shutdown.
>
> Yeah. Hotter than boiling water is a bit much. I seem to remember high
> 80s being the norm.
>
>>> but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
>>> they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>> Not these days of overheat protection.
>
> Good point. I'm thinking back in the days of 486s.
>
>> Check the fan and security thereof and for dust and fluff blocking the
>> heatsink and make sure that the CPU is making good contact with the heatsink
>> and thermal compound is in place between the mating surfaces.
>>
>> Consider replacing it with something better.
>
> Definitely no dust around (checked all that) and the fan and heat sink
> arrangement all seems tight. Perhaps the fan is getting old and could
> do with an upgrade then.
>
If the fans are falling over it will get worse , either replace the fans
as oiling works only for a few months or replace the board ( might not
be an option)

[Ext User(a t e c 7 7)]

jonz wrote:
> "a t e c 7 7" <"atec 77 at hotmail dot com"> wrote in message
> news:4695f28b@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
>> Diesel Damo wrote:
>>> A local business has asked me to have a look at their computer
>>> (because apparently I'm a "computer bloke").
>>>
>>> Problem is it keeps turning itself off after a couple of minutes.
>>>
>>> The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
>>> friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens. That does seem a
>>> little hot, but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
>>> they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>>>
>>> Or would this be a dodgy power supply problem?
>>>
>>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>>
>> De-dust the box . p
>>
>> pull the heat sink and replace the thermal paste then remove the fan and
>> make sure the fins are well cleaned , check the power supply is dust free
>> , if it is not then unplug and make sure it is discharged before you try
>> to open and clean it , the caps in there can end your day , once cleaned
>> see if it continues to run ok with a side panel removed , if it continues
>> to die or reboot then you may need a better cooler but normally de-dusting
>> twice a year works wonders.
>
> hehehe
>
>
AH you read it carefully :)

[Ext User(jonz)]

"a t e c 7 7" <"atec 77 at hotmail dot com"> wrote in message
news:4695f28b@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
> Diesel Damo wrote:
>> A local business has asked me to have a look at their computer
>> (because apparently I'm a "computer bloke").
>>
>> Problem is it keeps turning itself off after a couple of minutes.
>>
>> The CPU fan speed is around 2600RPM and the CPU temp is 104C (the very
>> friendly BIOS tells me) just before it happens. That does seem a
>> little hot, but my experience with computers getting too hot is that
>> they hang rather than turn themselves off.
>>
>> Or would this be a dodgy power supply problem?
>>
>> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>>
> De-dust the box . p
>
> pull the heat sink and replace the thermal paste then remove the fan and
> make sure the fins are well cleaned , check the power supply is dust free
> , if it is not then unplug and make sure it is discharged before you try
> to open and clean it , the caps in there can end your day , once cleaned
> see if it continues to run ok with a side panel removed , if it continues
> to die or reboot then you may need a better cooler but normally de-dusting
> twice a year works wonders.

hehehe