...then suddenly, HEAT SPIKES EVERYWHERE

[Rlad78]

Some really funky stuff has been going down in my computer lately. Completely out of the blue, I get a warning in bios saying my CPU is 103C.

What.

I let it cool down for about 3hrs before turning it back on, and it returned to a stable-ish, but-not-really-ish, 66C. Thinking it just needed more time to cool down, I ran some simple programs to check it, Chrome, Firefox, CCleaner, etc., and then suddenly, HEAT SPIKES EVERYWHERE. It would literally jump from 77C to 82C in a matter of a second. And no, it didn't just stop there. It would continue on a pattern of down 2C, up 7C until it reached around 97C, which is when I turned off my computer.

Now, I've tested it many times, and I know my motherboard is detecting the right heat because my programs become pretty damn slow. Thermal paste was applied on installation (I think it came pre-applied), and here's some pics, just in case it isn't applied right or something:

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc292/ChipzMaster/2011-07-08180355.jpg
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc292/ChipzMaster/2011-07-08180426.jpg


My theory, although I'm not exactly sure how this happened now and was not a problem before, is that my heatsink and my cpu aren't getting good enough connection to each other. The pins all lock in completely, but it still feels like there's a tiny space between the heatsink and cpu. I'm not really sure how to test that though, so that's pretty much why I've come here.

Oh, and this is my CPU: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42771

Also, I've been having a lot of power flickers and outages lately, due to some strong storms rolling in lately. The main reason I've come to ask this question is because I'm buying a new quad core processor, and I don't want to go through all the trouble of buying it if it won't get good connection to the heatsink because the motherboard is bent or something like that.

 

[johnb35]

A Celeron CPU should not get hot unless the heatsink isn't attached to it properly. Or you don't have the thermal paste applied right. Also whenever you remove the heatsink, new paste should be applied.

Power outages and spikes can also cause major problems in computers.

First you need to make sure heatsink and paste is applied correctly. Then move on to diagnosing individual parts to see if damage has occured.

 

[StrangleHold]

Like johnb35 said. Reapply the compound. Put a amount the size of a grain of rice. Let the heatsink spread out.

Have you took the side off to see if the CPU fan is even running. Sound about what a Celeron would do with just a heatsink and no fan. lol

 

[Rlad78]

Like johnb35 said. Reapply the compound. Put a amount the size of a grain of rice. Let the heatsink spread out.

Have you took the side off to see if the CPU fan is even running. Sound about what a Celeron would do with just a heatsink and no fan. lol

Lol yeah, I've taken off the side lol.

Just about to start removing the old thermal compound now. 70% rubbing alcohol pads should do the trick, right?

 

[johnb35]

Yeah, you'll be fine.

 

[StrangleHold]

70% rubbing alcohol pads will work fine.

 

[Rlad78]

Ok, it's done. I used the "put on a dab the size of a grain of rice, then smush it with the heatsink" method. Do I need to, ya know, wait or do anything special before turning it back on?

 

[StrangleHold]

Depending on what kind of compound you used. You might have a burn in time. But yes, you can boot it up.

 

[Rlad78]

Depending on what kind of compound you used. You might have a burn in time. But yes, you can boot it up.

K thanks. Antec Formula 5 is what I used btw.

Edit:...it soared like a mofo. 66C to 100C in just under a minute, and just by using the bios hardware monitor.

...now what...

 

[wolfeking]

100C should shut it off. My lappy shuts off at 80C.

is the fan on your heatsink turning?

 

[StrangleHold]

Make sure the CPU heatsink pins are locked in place good.

 

[Okedokey]

i would also suggest reseting the bios to default settings. Sounds like you have some internal cpu malfunctions. really shouldn't do that. you sure the fan is spinning? clear of dust?

 

[Rlad78]

100C should shut it off. My lappy shuts off at 80C.

is the fan on your heatsink turning?

Yes, I made sure it was. And it does shut off at 100C when I'm in Windows.

Make sure the CPU heatsink pins are locked in place good.

Did that as soon as I put it on.

i would also suggest reseting the bios to default settings. Sounds like you have some internal cpu malfunctions. really shouldn't do that. you sure the fan is spinning? clear of dust?

The fan is spinning and I used compressed air to blow out any dust. But I'll try resetting the bios to default settings. Shouldn't be a problem, since I don't do any overclocking or anything like that.

Btw, I have a video on my phone of how fast the temp rises, but it's having problems connecting to my YouTube account and the only computer with drivers for the phone is the one that's broken >__>

EDIT: The only thing I could find before the CPU got too hot was "Load Default Setup Settings." Is that it? Because it didn't do anything...

EDIT2: Great, I figured out that my theory was right. The heatsink isn't actually making full contact with the CPU. The pins are all in, but the actual part that holds the fan isn't going down as far as the pins are.

The white part of the pin shows up, unlike the other side, on which they don't. The two pins are fully in, but they aren't pulling the heatsink all the way down.

So, is there a way to know if it's the motherboard that's causing the problem, or if it's the heatsink causing the problem, without actually having to remove the heatsink, put in a new one, and remove and re-apply thermal paste?

 

[Okedokey]

Remove, clean the dust, remove any thermal paste, reapply thermal paste, re-install heatsink and fan, test. Thats the job you need to do.

 

[Rlad78]

It's fixed now!

Ok, so there may be a problem with the motherboard holes. Like I said before, two of the pins were showing. This was even the case with the new heatsink. After about 4 time of trying to get it to fit, I finally just went a little rambo and pressed down as hard as I could on all of the four pins at the same time. I tried to lift up and push down on the heatsink and, to my pleasant supprise, it wouldn't budge! So what if one of the pins wasn't even in at all (lol), IT STILL WORKS! I am at a comfortably cool 38C right now as I am typing this

Thanks guys, for all your help!