pc shutting down

[Barndog]

Hi, my pc has started shutting down the last few weeks when im playing games, i can play for sometimes between 10-20 mins before it will shut down, theres no error message when it reboots also, i took it at the weekend to a repair shop and got a new fan installed and the guy also applied thermal paste on the heatsink, he then phoned me and said the system was still overheating when he did stress tests.He asked me how long i had my graphics card and i told him just over a month which is a 9600gt card, he thinks my motherboard is not suited for this card? the thing is if i open my side case and leave it of when im gaming i can play no problem, the guy said i could do damage to my system if i continue using this card, i thought upgrading my card could help me since this so called system i bought was advertised as a gaming system, i have installed speedfan and at the bottom of my desktop it says gpu 35c when im just browsing the net, anyone any ideas why this is overheating....thanks

[Simon]

Where is the tower placed?  Is there enough room around it for air to circulate?  The repair shop should have done so, but have you checked that the fan on the graphics card is working?

[Rik]

It does sound like an airflow problem, Barndog.

[pctech]

Definitely some kind of tempoerature issue.


Any chance you could take some pictures of your system and upload them so that we can see what kind of ventilation it has? (I'm assuming its ok to do this admins)

[Rik]

It is, Mitch. Up to to 512k pics per post.

[Steve]

Do you know whether its gpu or cpu temps that's causing the issue? Removing the sides is not always a good idea as it disrupts the airflow  direction. Have you got any fans pulling air into the case as well as pushing it out.

[DorsetBoy]

There is either something wrong with the card or you have a very poor airflow through the machine.

Try running this >> HARDWARE MONITOR which will show you system tempreatures.

[Niall]

Depending on the motherboard, it could be a range of things. Some boards have safety features, shutting the system down when a certain temperature is reached. I've had that on a couple of board relating to the CPU. I know software can warn you with the graphics cards, but I've never seen a PC just shut down when the card is overheating, in fact I've had 2 cards die on my for that very reason.

If the card is overheating, you'd generally see artifacts on screen, or it'll just go black with the PC still running unless the card completely fails.

[pctech]

It sounds like it could be the motherboard itself overheating which may cause a thermal protection shutdown to take place as Naill says.

I wonder if the card is generating too much heat when operating in 3D mode and is heating up the board which causes the thermal shutdown.

If the PC runs Windows ok and will run with the side off I definitely think its that.

[DorsetBoy]

It would be good to know which motherboard /maker it is.

My systems have audible temp alarms which sound off to warn of fan/temperature errors.

[Steve]

The other issue apart from temps is the amount of power this card can consume  and thats got to come from one rail.

[Baz]

Ive had the same problem before that has been mentioned about the heat and it did improve when I ran it with the side off and a table fan blowing at the tower  that was a very hot summer though. also had a few years ago a similar shut down problem and tracked it down to a loose connector on the HD inside

[zappaDPJ]

It's not clear form your post (unless I've miss something) what is overheating, CPU, mobo support chip set or the graphics card?

Assuming it is the CPU and the CPU is at 35 deg C while idle but overheating when stressed then the cooling on the CPU is either inadequate, incorrectly fitted or there's no airflow through you case.

If I'm reading things correctly it sounds like you've upgraded the graphics card and it's pumping out additional heat into the case. Was the replacement card bigger? It's not credible that the card and mobo are incompatible and if the PC repair shop is saying that then the chances are they wouldn't know how to refit a heat sink correctly.

My best guess is you need to get a better heat sink properly fitted with something like http://www.arcticsilver.com/

[Barndog]

Thanks for all the replys once again, my last card i had was an 8600 gt, which i had no problems with before, i just upgraded to be able to play 1 particular game, i dont really know the ins and outs of a pc, but the guy in the shop told me my cpu was reaching near boiling point when he tested it, also when i put my hand at the back of the case where my psu is it gets really hot after a while when gaming, i have a 600w psu and the guy never indicated there was a problem with that, my motherboard is gigabyte also, looks like i might have to bite the bullet and downgrade to my old card which is a shame as the 9600 is a desent card

[Steve]

I don't know which cpu cooler you've got but there are many relatively cheap upgrades from the usual stock coolers

[Barndog]

Thanks a lot, i will get a new cpu cooler

[Glenn]

I don't know which cpu cooler you've got but there are many relatively cheap upgrades from the usual stock coolers

I changed my stock i7 cooler for a Zalman heatsink/fan, it dropped the temps by around 25c

[Barndog]

Would that work on my pc Glenn, its amd athlon if thats any help and would you have a link for it, thanks

[Glenn]

This is the Zalman cooler that I brought, it has most socket types listed, but check that yours is listed before ordering.

[Niall]

Zalman coolers are great. I used to use them for CPU, etc, a few years back. I also used to mod my graphics cards with the arctic coolers too, they were great. Not really needed now with Nvidia cards as they kind of have their own

[Rik]

I have a Zalman on this machine too - highly recommended.

[Barndog]

Thanks again guys, just one last thing, will this cooler work on my system, i saw 1 on e bay and am going to buy if its ok.....

Field   Value
CPU Properties   
CPU Type   DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2600 MHz (13 x 200) 5000+
CPU Alias   Brisbane
CPU Stepping   BH-G2
Instruction Set   x86, x86-64, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Original Clock   2600 MHz
Min / Max CPU Multiplier   4x / 13x
Engineering Sample   No
L1 Code Cache   64 KB per core  (Parity)
L1 Data Cache   64 KB per core  (ECC)
L2 Cache   512 KB per core  (On-Die, ECC, Full-Speed)
   
Multi CPU   
Motherboard ID   OEM00000 PROD00000000
CPU #1   AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+, 2611 MHz
CPU #2   AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+, 2611 MHz
   
CPU Physical Info   
Package Type   940 Pin uOPGA
Package Size   4.00 cm x 4.00 cm
Transistors   154 million
Process Technology   10Mi, 65 nm, CMOS, Cu, DSL SOI
Die Size   126 mm2
Core Voltage   1.100 - 1.375 V
I/O Voltage   1.2 V + 2.5 V
Maximum Power   65 - 76 W  (depending on clock speed)
   
CPU Manufacturer   
Company Name   Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Product Information   http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118,00.html
   
CPU Utilization   
CPU #1 / Core #1   0 %
CPU #1 / Core #2   1 %

[Steve]

You need a cooler for a AM2 socket cpu, which according to Glenn's link any of those will do.

[Barndog]

Sorry a bit confused, so if i get this will it definatly fit ok, would hate to spaend the money and not?

[Steve]

Sorry Barn Dog your processor has what is known as an AM2 socket so any  cooler that fits an AM2 socket will do. The link that Glenn quoted for the Zalman showed the variety of sockets that it would fit.The other issues I can think are you'll need some paste unless it comes with any, you may need to remove the motherboard if a locating bracket for the cooler has to be placed behind it and sometimes there is a cone on the side of the case to direct airflow for the cpu cooler which you'll likely have to remove due to the size of the replacement sink.

The Zalman site has instructions to view and you can see that the backing plate fits behind the motherboard.

http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=378