cooling problems with amd athlon 64

J

jb007za

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Hi

Some advice, please.

I've got an AMD Athlon 64 CPU (socket 939) which has been having cooling issues recently. When I use my e-mail package, web browser, etc. then there's no problem.

As soon as graphics rendering kicks in (e.g. the visuals on Windows Media Player), the CPU temperature spikes to 70 degrees plus and the machine auto shuts down. This is according to the motherboard monitoring software.

Do you think that replacing the fan (120mm, I think) would fix this problem? Am I forced to buy a heatsink and fan combo?

The machine is generally quite sluggish at the moment... do you think damage has already been done to the processor?

Thanks a mil!

J
 
howzit. don't think there will be any damage at this stage. Shutting down will protect the CPU from damage. Can you confirm that the heatsink and fan is seated properly? Also, if you've taken it off recently, did you add more thermal compound? I've found that a new lick of thermal compound makes the CPU happy and it works fine for some time afterwards.

Failing that, get a Zalman 9700 LED cooler. It's the shiznit!
 
Thanx so much for the advice! Nope, haven't fiddled with it recently... has worked fine for over a year. Glad to hear that there probably isn't any 'damage'.

I hear good things about Zalman... just a little pricey ;-)
 
It sounds to me like the heat conductivity between the CPU and heatsink has been compromised in some way. I think it's best if you remove the heatsink from the CPU, clean it, apply some fresh thermal conductive paste and install the heatsink again. Should do the trick. :)
 
jb007za said:
Thanx so much for the advice! Nope, haven't fiddled with it recently... has worked fine for over a year. Glad to hear that there probably isn't any 'damage'.

I hear good things about Zalman... just a little pricey ;-)
Click to expand...

...No cost is too great for the heart of the system :D


Agree with the others -- sounds like the Fan and heatsink need a good clean and re-seat - a lot of crud can build up on both, particularly the heatsink fins, so regular cleaning will ensure that the the airflow is doing it's job - the 939's do heat up, but should be idling around 28-34C and rise to 52-58C under full load (boxed fan and heatsink & depends on your model and if it's a dula core or not).
 
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If u gonna keep the chip get a Zalman 9700 and oc it man. Let the chip die quick and fast...then go get yr C2Q...
 
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