i need some help..

[vain7]

Ok, so I've had this new computer for a couple of months or so.. here are the specs:
AMD XP 1800+
EpoX 8K3A+
256mb 2700 DDR 333 ram
blah blah i think thats all that's relevant to this..
anyway, with the standard fan and heatsink, it seemed to be running too hot.. idle it was like 63 degrees or something and under load it went up to about 70.. this is with the case temp about 35
so i went out and bought a Volcano 9, and installed it... at first it seemed to lower the temps quite a lot.. it would be below 50 and occasionally it would go above. Now, a few days on, it seems to be getting hotter, around 55 degrees idle and up to 63 (eek) under load.. i run the fan on i guess medium.. about 3400rpm i think.. if i crank it up it brings the temps down a few degrees but its just too loud
now ive also added in a few case fans, and thats brought the case temps down to 30 or so..
why is my cpu running so hot? i haven't overclocked or anything
btw, when i first boot up my computer in the morning the cpu is about 35-40 degrees according to the sensor thing
i wasn't sure whether to trust the bios sensor, so i download motherboard monitor.. i set it up, and the case temp sensor seems to work fine, it says 30c, but when i enable the second sensor, the one for the cpu, and apply it, my whole computer SHUTS DOWN, and when i restart and turn on mbmonitor it just does it again
i've reinstalled it and it's done the same thing

I'd really appreciate some help here guys... did i not put on enough thermal paste or something?

[bigjackusa]

You only need a thin flim of thermal paste on the cpu, so I doubt you didn't put enough in on it. It does seem odd that the temps rose after a few days. ATM I can't think of why that happened. If you bought this computer already assembled, have you checked that the cpu is really an 1800+ and not a slower one already oc'ed? Is the heatsink correctly oriented on the socket? Yes, the mobo sensor can be inaccurate. And anytime you talk about a problem with software, the os you are using is relevent too.

[vain7]

nah i assembled the system myself and the cpu was still in the original packaging when i bought it

sorry, i forgot to mention i'm running windows xp home.. my system hardly ever freezes if thats relevant

how do i check if the heatsink is correctly aligned?

[Raven]

Originally posted by vain7

[B]how do i check if the heatsink is correctly aligned?

If you look at the bottom of the heatsink, there will be a slight lip on one side. That side should be over the white socket lip on the CPU socket.

If the heatsink lip is on the other side it'll separate the heatsink from the CPU core causing increased temps, or at the worst case, a cooked processor.

Mike Wright's review of the Volcano 9 has some good pics as well as performance info.

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=310

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I've got a similar setup to yours (see info in my sig). Using the Volcano 9, my EPoX 8KHA+ runs at 40C, and the SOYO SY-KT400 runs at 44C. I'm not quite sure why the temps were so different with the two motherboards. No other items were changed but the mobo's, and the room temps stayed the same. My case temps sits right at 30C.

[saidin]

I am not sure if this is true for the 9, but I know it is for the valcano 7+. If you look though the grille of the 7+, you will see the v shaped connector. When you are snaping on the heatsink to the mobo, you want to make sure the point of the v is over the core of the processor. This will result is good contact. Also, you might want to invest in some artic silver. It is pretty cheap and will help with cooling problems. Well good luck, and I hope this will help...... :thumb:

[FLaCo]

Well, i dunno what type of cooler you have...but to give you an idea on what they mean to align the heatsink with the socket i posted a pic below. Make sure that part i circled is on the elevated part of the socket.:)

[vain7]

You only need a thin flim of thermal paste on the cpu, so I doubt you didn't put enough in on it.

could it then be that maybe i put too much on it? i only put it on the die though, not all over the cpu of course

[Wiggo]

It can be possible to put to much on, it only needs to be put on as think as a sheet of paper. ;)
<center>:cheers:</center>

[ferrol]

I have similar setup and with the orig. amd cooler got the dreaded 70'+ reading aswell.
Mind you this was with MBM 5.2 and it reads the diode inside the cpu aswell as the m/b diode set under the cpu.
Before I used MBM I thought the 53+ temps using the m/b diode were reasonable with a room temp of 32'.
Now is the temp in the cpu a new spot to measure?
Most of the reviews I have seen use a theral probe taped to the top of the cpu next to the heat tranfer plate.I have one there and it reads 42' when MBM reads the cpu core at 59'
Where is the most accurate reading to be taken as the bios only reads the m/b diode?