PC Suddenly a BBQ

I

Iratus

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 16, 2003
Messages
1,583
I have a rather strange problem with my PC, in the last few days it has suddenly got very very very hot.

Nothing has changed hardware wise except for the exhaust fan which is now 22cfm as opposed to the horrible 25cfm LCD Coolermaster one that came with.

All fans are working, none are dusty. None are obstructed.

My CPU max has gone from 55 under prime95 to >=65 playing X2 before shutting down at 70 degrees and while I don't know the GPU temp I can't touch the back of the card as it's too hot. The PSU is also very hot to touch and the rest of the case is getting warm from all the heat inside it.

Anyone have any idea what might be going on

Specs
P4 3.0@3525 - Default Voltage
2*512MB Corsair PC3500 CAS 2 Ram @ 2.9v
SLK900u with 92mm Papst fan
Abit IC7-Max3
Asus 9800XT @ 440/800
Soundblaster Audigy XS Professional
Zalman 430W PSU
2*160GB WD Drives
1 Sony DVD/R
Coolermaster Black Widow case.

All hooked up to a UPS so power should be conditioned.
 
what do you have setup for case fans? i've never seen a box heat up like that for no good reason, especially the CPU...something else gotta be wrong...
 
What are you using to monitor the temps? And have you backed off on your overclock to see if the temp drops?
 
Nothing fancy on the fans. All just plugged straight into the PSU. No resistors or Fanheads used. 2 Intake on the front, Exhaust on the backplate, top and PSU. All stock except for the backplate exhaust which is a very slightly slower but much quieter fan.

I've backed off the OC on the CPU to 3.3 and back to stock on the GPU but it's made no difference other than clearing the artifacts. Everything is still hot.

Monitoring is coming off the ABIT-EQ and the age old finger test. It says my Case temp is >45 degrees. wtf.

If I couldn't feel the difference in the case and when touching the components, I would put it down to a dodgy sensor.

I thing I'm going to try reinstalling everything down to the heatsink. Can't see how it would help but as I can't see what would cause this it's got to be worth a try.
 
- Check if the fans are working.

- Run Windows idle for a while and see if the temp rises to some unreasonable level.

- Run a CPU intensive test then check temp.

- Run a GPU intensive test then check temp.

It should narrow down your source of heat.
 
Fans are working. Not impeded or dusty.

Windows at Idle is about 50 degrees, so figure a little more than 40 bearing in mind the IC7 Thermistor being out. So is up about 10 degrees on what it used to run at using the same settings as before..

CPU Intensive shuts the PC down after a little while because it passes 70 degrees.

GPU Intensive causes a lot of artifacts even at default so seems to be running hotter as well. Can't test the actual temp as I don't have a probe.
 
Hmmm ok.

- Check your motherboard BIOS and update it if you can.

- Load Windows in Safe Mode then do CPU intensive test if you can.


This problem is boggling me as well... I think as a last resort, you might consider a detailed format (slow) as I suspect you're infected with some form of virus that fuxors w/ your CPU/vid card fans. (kind of unlikely, as there aren't any in existence..? or are there?)


My thinking is... your vid card and cpu are working as they should.. which means producing more and more heat as their workload increases. Stressing them would surely make their heat rise, so of course if their fans worked properly we wouldn't have this overheating problem.

Or an alternate problem could be overvolting. If you inject high amounts of electricity, the cpu/vid card is going to output more heat per operation than normal, making more heat than the fans could disperse... hmmmm
 
Or an alternate problem could be overvolting. If you inject high amounts of electricity, the cpu/vid card is going to output more heat per operation than normal, making more heat than the fans could disperse... hmmmm
Click to expand...

In which case it could be the power supply, maybe. Better not be or Zalman are going to have their asses kicked. I've got no way of testing it though as I don't have another power supply that would run this PC.

Would the PC even run though if it was getting more than 12v.


Ah nuts.
 
I had a problem like that a while ago with my old computer.

All the case fans were working but when I looked closely the PSU fan was dead, I hadnt though to check it and just noticed that I wasnt feeling air movement from it.

My fix was splicing in a new fan and mounting a fan to the front to improve airflow through it and get / keep it cool fast.

Havnt had a problem since.

Anyway if your fans are working sorry for making you repeat yourself.
 
You can check how much voltage your CPU, memory, AGP port, and assorted other places are getting through the BIOS.

I'm not sure what's a safe amount for a P4 CPU, but memory should be safe at 2.6v - 2.7v. AGP port on my Asus K8V Deluxe mobo is 1.5v.
 
All the voltages are normal. Nuts.
I think the PSU fan is working but it's the Zalman PSU so it's hard to be sure without pulling it apart.


In the words of MC Hammer. (Sort of)

Spanner Time.
 
This might be a dumb question, but did you make 100% sure that the new exhaust fan isn't installed backwards? It's an easy mistake to make.
 
Stupid question (but I've done this before...)...Did you install the new fan correctly (i.e. blowing in or out, just like the old one?)?

If you accidently turned it around so your exhaust fan is blowing in, you are, in effect, pressurizing your case and not having anywhere for the heat to go.... Just a thought, from someone who has accidentally installed a fan in the wrong direction before.........
 
fans arent the problem. Its something else. most computers should be able to get those temps with one 80mm exhaust fan. Airflow isnt your problem here. Something else is wrong
 
The new fan COULD be a problem if it's not exhausting but rather trying to take air into the system. If you have a system putting out considerable heat while the air isn't exhausting, you going to have a problem with elevated heat.
 
Have your ambient temperatures gone up recently? My computer room is warming up now that we have more sunlight and warmer temps, not sure if that would be a factor for you...
 
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