Overheating CPU =(

P

philman213

New Member
I think I know a fair bit about computers, hardware, and the like, but this one has really stumped me. I currently am running dual processors, two AMD Athlon MP 2.0GHz processors. I've had them for what must be a year or more now, and they have been working fine since I got them. However, now I am experiencing overheating issues.

Last night I had my first little scare, my computer must have overheated to the point of shutting off, or at least I thought. I checked inside and found that the power supply had died. I replaced it, but also checked the CPUs. The first one seemed fine, the second one however wasn't. There was a small black circle on the bottom of the CPU, it obviously had been running so hot that the poor thing had burned itself. I also took note at how little thermal grease was left on the CPUs. I'm now running the computer with the case open and a huge fan, bigger than the whole case itself blowing cool air into the computer.

I tried looking it, so in bootup I checked my PC health in the BIOS, and it said CPU #1 was running at about 45C, the second one running at 75-80C! I rebooted and went into windows and ran SiSoftware, and it found that CPU #1 was running at 37C, and CPU #2 was running at 47C.

After another reboot I see that my motherboard only detects one CPU running. I then take a look after windows loads at SiSoftware, and it doesnt detect a second processor either.

After some detailed looking at SiSoftware, it would appear the fan in CPU #2 no longer is running. SiSoftware only detected CPU #1's fan running and said nothing about CPU #2. This obviously would lead me to believe that the fan/heatsink combo on CPU #2 has died, and in the process I didnt realize it and ended up killing the second CPU.

Is my logic right? Did CPU #2 end up dieing, or did just the fan? How can I find out what really happened and how can I fix it?

I thought I should add that CPU #1 fan speed is running at 2900rpm, and the board temperature is at 27C. Is this a good speed for a CPU fan and is the temperature my motherboard is running at safe? I'd also of course like to know if 37C is a safe temperature for a CPU to run at.
 
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First off, what heatsink/fan are you using? I would be surprised if it died, 70C is the max you want a CPU to go. Past 70C they will die.
 
The first thing right off would be to replace the heat sink/fan combo on cpu #2 to see if it managed to survive. A freeware like SpeedFan is far better then SiSoftware's outdated program there. You can look that over at http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

If your board is only 27C you have nothing to worry about there. The speed of the fan depends on whether it is stock or an aftermarket model. But the real thing to look at here is the #2 cpu problem. Depending the operating system you are running you can often right click on the MyComputer icon to see what that says for cpu there. If only one is shown at 2ghz the #2 cpu obviously failed. If two are listed the second cpu is still working.
 
Ever since I bought the two CPUs and the motherboard, it has always had problems "detecting" a second CPU. For a while I wasnt even sure if it was running or if I was getting the full effect of both CPUs running. For all I know I've never even used the second CPU.

I took a look at the fans and the CPUs and messed around with them a little. I found out that both fans work, in both slots, so the problem is not one of the fans being dead, or one of the motherboard connectors being dead, they both work fine. I tried running CPU #1 alone in either slot, and my computer was not happy. I made constant beeping sounds and wouldnt boot. I did however apply fresh thermal grease to both CPUs. I used SiSoftware, said that both CPUs cooled down by 3C.

When I look at properties it doesnt seem to recognize both CPUs.

Here is a picture of what I mean:
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i178/philman213/hardware.jpg

However, it has always looked like that. My motherboard it would seem has never understood I have two CPUs, otherwise it would say something like Dual AMD Athlon MP processors at a total of 4.0GHz I would think.

I downloaded and installed SpeedFan, I dont exactly know how it works other than it monitors the temperatures.

Here is another picture showing SpeedFan running:
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i178/philman213/speedfan.jpg

From what I can gather, thats good, and things are running pretty cool.

Lastly, the Fan/Heatsink combo I use is Speeze brand, I cant remember the exact model or serial, and I couldnt find a lookalike on their website, but its pretty big and I think its a good fan.

Relooked and this looks similar to the two fans I have for my CPUs.
http://www.speeze.com/main/fcc_v2.asp?ProdID=130

About 5-10 minutes after windows finishes loading I notice that the temperatures on everything drop quite a bit, and I'm not doing anything. I'm afriad if I start up a game or something CPU intensive it'll get too hot.
 
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On SpeedFan go to the charts tab and put a check on the top items there. That should track both cpu temps. On a single cpu board the first two are applied to the cpu itself with the third for the board. The temps are seemingly contradictory while still being within the normal operating range.

One thing to note about running XP with dual cpu or dual cored cpus is a special fix for systems seeing performance problems that may help somewhat here since it was originally intended for multi processor boards. You can read over the MS artticle seen at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=896256
 
I tried looking it, so in bootup I checked my PC health in the BIOS, and it said CPU #1 was running at about 45C, the second one running at 75-80C! I rebooted and went into windows and ran SiSoftware, and it found that CPU #1 was running at 37C, and CPU #2 was running at 47C.
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Could be the mobo on its way out..... or at least the thermal diode...

Is my logic right? Did CPU #2 end up dieing, or did just the fan? How can I find out what really happened and how can I fix it?
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Swap the CPUs around and boot 'er up agian :)

I'd also of course like to know if 37C is a safe temperature for a CPU to run at
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Ya thats plenty cold for those chips

Lastly, the Fan/Heatsink combo I use is Speeze brand, I cant remember the exact model or serial, and I couldnt find a lookalike on their website, but its pretty big and I think its a good fan.
Relooked and this looks similar to the two fans I have for my CPUs.
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Well do a visual inspection .. ARE they spinning?
 
Praetor said:
Could be the mobo on its way out..... or at least the thermal diode...


Swap the CPUs around and boot 'er up agian :)


Ya thats plenty cold for those chips


Well do a visual inspection .. ARE they spinning?
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Yes, they are both spinning, I dont understand why one is much hotter than the other.

I also dont understand why my computer only recognizes one CPU as well.
 
the thermal pad might not be doing too well with the heat transfer,maybe clean up the heatsink and cpu and reapply some good thermal paste.
 
Yes, they are both spinning, I dont understand why one is much hotter than the other.

I also dont understand why my computer only recognizes one CPU as well
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- Definitely try swapping the thermal paste around
- Also seriously consider getting current generation coolers -- regardless of the status of yours -- current generation heatpipe based coolers will run circles around those oldschool heatsinks
- Seriously -- swap the CPUs (i.e., CPU1 --> CPU2 socket, CPU2-->CPU1 socket)... do you still have the same detection issues
 
I dont know what I ended up doing but whatever I try I cant get the computer to boot anymore. I ended up buying a new motherboard and processor, but I experience almost the same thing. I think everything is good to go but when I turn the computer on, it boots up and nothing will show up on the monitor.

I think I'll make a new thread in the correct forum. Im going to bring the computer into a repair shop and hope they can figure out whats wrong.
 
I had an AMD Atholon XP3200 cpu cooking at 85C and it was still going a month later when the board decided to take a vacation. That happened when something other then the stock HSF went on permanent vacation first. A 37C temp is a good temp to be seeing while not being the ideal for idle. 47C is the higher mid range for the newer model AMD cpus. Your board temps being down to 27C is something to grateful about.
 
{LSK} Otacon said:
Thats not true. I had my P4 past 72c before. Though it crashed windows, it didnt die, just got stronger!
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P4s (and PDs) throttle usually around 70-80C. My Pentium D 820 got to 85C before and it just throttled, and didn't crash.
However, I don't think AMDs throttle, they just die....
 
Jet said:
P4s (and PDs) throttle usually around 70-80C. My Pentium D 820 got to 85C before and it just throttled, and didn't crash.
However, I don't think AMDs throttle, they just die....
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Don't think for a moment that you can't cook an Intel fast. :eek: !!! :rolleyes: One of the main problems seen with the P4s is the higher temps. Why you do thing people are buying 3rd party coolers and not running stock HSFs to keep the temps down on them. And that is not even OCing there.
 
There is no problem with P4s, and you don't need an aftermarket cooler for them either :rolleyes: P4s are designed to run at higher temperatures than the A64, and they have excellent built in protection. If they overheat they throttle down to about 30% of full capacity, but they will run like that forever.

Pretty much the only time a P4 overheats and fails is if the thermal protection fails. A far superior protection to it's competitor, the Athlon XP (and why I hated that POS processor so much). It was the Athlon XP piece of shit that had overheating problems and you needed to have a really good cooler on them. Grrrrf :mad: Did I say how much I hated those CPUs? I was glad to see them replace with the A64.
 
SirKenin said:
There is no problem with P4s, and you don't need an aftermarket cooler for them either :rolleyes: P4s are designed to run at higher temperatures than the A64, and they have excellent built in protection. If they overheat they throttle down to about 30% of full capacity, but they will run like that forever.

Pretty much the only time a P4 overheats and fails is if the thermal protection fails. A far superior protection to it's competitor, the Athlon XP (and why I hated that POS processor so much). It was the Athlon XP piece of shit that had overheating problems and you needed to have a really good cooler on them. Grrrrf :mad: Did I say how much I hated those CPUs? I was glad to see them replace with the A64.
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Any cpu can run hot when you step up the voltage. What happened on the Atholon XP3200 here was about the same where 85C saw a sudden freeze of Windows a month later right at the desktop. At first the board was assumed to have been weakened but both cpu and board are now set aside until they can be tried separately.

That happened with a 3rd party cooler crapping out. The point is they run hotter then Socket As, 754s, and 939s as well as the new line of Core 2s. Intel got that mess straightened out fast there.
 
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