Computer people please help with overheating issue
 

I have a 3.2Ghz CPU, 2GB RAM, Asus P5B mobo...

4 days ago I heard a huge POP sound, didn't know what it was but since then my computer was always shutting off by itself... installed some monitoring tools, and learned that everything was overheating... (Hard Disks, CPU)

after some deliberation, the culprit was my PSU, now that I changed it the hard disks are nominal, but my CPU keeps going from 61-74 degrees Celsius which I believe is nowhere normal...

I replaced my fan, and I still get the same result...

so my question going forward is, do I have a faulty motherboard or CPU? how can i diagnose further to find the problem once and for all?

thanks

PS: The pop came from 2 capacitors blowing on my video card, I only found that out today after replacing the power supply...

Time for a new computer? Maybe the overheating just fried the temp diodes on the cpu. I say run it till it really fries, then replace.

I won't be much help...but recently my computer began overheating...the mother board specifically...and was causing shutdowns and lockups. I still have not identified why...as according to the software...everything is fine other than the overheating of the motherboard. What I did is buy a small desk fan and placed it behind my computer and this brought the temperature down but not enough to satisfy me...so I removed the case and this caused the temperature to go way down and I have been good to go ever since.

That's a dumb idea.

Anyhow, how did you decide the PSU was the problem?

What kind of computer is it? This might be solved with something as simple as a new exhaust fan.

If your CPU is running hot you can take the heatsink and fan off the cpu, clean whatever thermal paste may still be on the cpu (a bit of rubbing alcohol), reapply some thermal paste and reseat the heatsink and fan on the cpu. Make sure that it;s on securely and tight enough.

Start up your pc and see if the temp dropped and or is still continuing to run hot.

He said he already tried a new fan.

I guess I should have read more carefully.

CPUID is a good program to leave open to monitor your temps. RealTemp also does a good job.

Assuming you've replaced your video card, try using aftermarket cooling on it. Usually the stock coolers these days are loud and quite inefficient. You can pick up a decent one like an Accelero for $35 or so.

For CPU cooling you can look into more passive cooling like a Tuniq tower or Ninja2.

Once you have a stable PSU, look to the airflow. Make sure hot air is pushing out the right vents and cold air is pulling in through the front to flow over your drives and cards and out the back. Hold a kleenex in front of the vents to be sure.

Hope that helps!

What kind of CPU is it? If it's a Pentium D (basically a dual core P4) then those sorts of temps wouldn't be unheard of.

I am going to buy some Extra fans for my Main PC which is also overheating (Quad core cpu) ....Looks like I'll have to make some holes on the case tho .. I'll use this kit I found here (not my site btw):

http://www.directron.com/winkitgreen.html

They seem to have nice fans and mods and all those goodies....

Lights and plexi windows don't make a computer cooler.... fyi :)

If your CPU runs at 3.2ghz, its *probably* a Pentium D - they run hot.

I would advise (if not done already), making sure you use Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (NOT "THERMAL ADHESIVE - they look almost identical). I have used it on literally hundreds of servers, and it always outperforms cheaper thermal compounds.

Also, you need to be sure you're mounting your CPU fan correctly (not to sound insulting). By that I mean making its not at all loose or otherwise improperly or imcompletely making contact with your CPU. Any fault here will result in astronomical CPU temps.

Then, do a little cable cleanup and make sure your case is as tidy as possible inside, to promote good airflow throughout the case, expelling otherwise stagnant hot air from your system.

Finally, install a system hardware monitoring app (there are tons of free ones out there), and observe your system temps both in the BIOS and in your OS, at idle and under load, and attempt to deduce when the heat issues might take place.

If all this fails, visit www.newegg.com :)

Thanks a lot for the tips, the good news is that it didn't shut down over night now :)
I will try and work on airflow

Pentium D's are power hungry foot warmers. I used to run one in my 24/7 video security capture server... now that I've replaced it with a Celeron E1400 I can afford to go out again. :D

that sucks, i am on an air induction imac.