AMD FX 6300 overheating and shutdown

[Twistcraze]

Hi! I don't usually write on forums, so I hope I start a new thread in the right place. I recently bought an AMD FX 6300 CPU and couldn't get it to work for more than 3 hours without the system shutting down. I run it on stock cooler with a 550 w psu and a HD7870 gpu. Used the thermal paste that came with the heatsink and intalled it properly, done it before, never had problems. I have to say, every piece of hardware is brand new, except the video card which I used on an older machine and it worked perfectly. My HDD is kinda' outdated, just an ol' SATA2. At the first run, the temps on the CPU were somewhere between 42 and 48 c, but when started to play League of Legends, the cooler became noisy and it kept on going so, but I was aware of that before buying, so I didn't freak out. Well, after a game or two and some other background browsing, system just shut down. I rapidly turned back on and check the temps and rpm: 65 and around 5000. Bought another PSU, a newer branded model that fills all the requirements, but still the same. 65 degrees, as I read, is pretty safe. I uncheck the motherboard, not cause I'm ignorant, it just doesn't seem to be the problem. It reads the default specs I saw on the site I purchased the CPU from. I think it might just be the cooler, but before I buy a new one, I must know, how stable this whole play around is? Computer already turned off several times and after an exhausting efford decided to just remove the plugs and stare. After half an hour decided to give it another shot with a new thermal paste, but this time I forgot about the 4 pin cpu power plug and the cpu fan plug. Realised it only after a few seconds while staring at a non booting image on the display. Now, I worry that I just heavily shortened my cpu's life with this lack of attention. I know it's safe to start without the 4 pin connector, but without the fan too? Dunno! Tomorrow I'll just try a new fan and if that doesn't work, I'm giving up on AMD for good.

 

[GhislainG]

You've left out important info. What motherboard and cooler? The stock cooler may be noisy, but it should do the job if you're not overclocking and the ambient temperature is comfortable.

 

[Twistcraze]

You've left out important info. What motherboard and cooler? The stock cooler may be noisy, but it should do the job if you're not overclocking and the ambient temperature is comfortable.

It's a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P. No high-end tech here, but as long as I don't intend to OC anything, I should be within the safe margins, right?

 

[kwa-e]

The CPU is designed to shut down right before it breaches its safe operating temperature, which is integrated by AMD to protect the processor. You should be fine.

Does your case have adequate airflow?
What method did you use to apply the paste?

 

[GhislainG]

You've left out important info. What motherboard and cooler? The stock cooler may be noisy, but it should do the job if you're not overclocking and the ambient temperature is comfortable.

It's a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P. No high-end tech here, but as long as I don't intend to OC anything, I should be within the safe margins, right?

You have a very good motherboard. Use AMD Overdrive to monitor thermal margins while running Prime95 Small FFTs and report back your findings. If the thermal margin is 0°C on any core or the CPU throttles, then overheating is an issue. You bought another PSU, but are both good quality?

 

[Twistcraze]

The CPU is designed to shut down right before it breaches its safe operating temperature, which is integrated by AMD to protect the processor. You should be fine.

Does your case have adequate airflow?
What method did you use to apply the paste?

I removed both sides of the case, didn't invest in that. I know it's important, but my room temperature is below 23 degrees C. Will do it as soon as possible. As for the thermal paste, I used the pea method. Next time I'll go with the X, for a better coverage.

 

[Twistcraze]

You've left out important info. What motherboard and cooler? The stock cooler may be noisy, but it should do the job if you're not overclocking and the ambient temperature is comfortable.

It's a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P. No high-end tech here, but as long as I don't intend to OC anything, I should be within the safe margins, right?

You have a very good motherboard. Use AMD Overdrive to monitor thermal margins while running Prime95 Small FFTs and report back your findings. If the thermal margin is 0°C on any core or the CPU throttles, then overheating is an issue. You bought another PSU, but are both good quality?

The PSU is new, got in the box, can return it any time, but I understand it's from an older manufacturer. It's a CWT PSC550R-E. It's SLI/Crossfire compatible, so it has both 6 PCIe power connectors. The amperage is 22 at the 12 V output on all four ends. At 3.3 and 5 V, it says 30 and 28 A. Will try the Prime95 and report back. Thank you!

 

[GhislainG]

The CWT PSC550R-E delivers 44A total on the 12V rails, not 22A x 4. It definitely is powerful enough for your system and probably isn't the source of your issue, but I'd definitely try a better PSU to make sure.

 

[Twistcraze]

The CWT PSC550R-E delivers 44A total on the 12V rails, not 22A x 4. It definitely is powerful enough for your system and probably isn't the source of your issue, but I'd definitely try a better PSU to make sure.

I just read the info on the PSU, which was split into 4 sections. Didn't need the this kind of info till now, but will certainly dig into it. Anyway, got a new cooler today for the CPU and the temps have decreased significantly, 45 to 50 in games. It's not a fancy one, but it does the job. No shut down till now, so I guess it's solved. Thank you so much for your advices.

Actually, as an update, I finally figured it out. It wasn't the CPU fan. It was the PSU. It was heating up like hell. Guess the fan of the CPU just gave me false hopes, trying to keep up with the heating source. I'm such an idiot. I saw that the temps were running extremely high very fast when idle, but as a newbie, I have an excuse. Will return it back and hopefully a new one will allow me to finally enjoy my PC. In the end, can you please explain the reason the PSU heats up like that, so that next time I'll know what to buy? Thanks again!

 

[GhislainG]

Buy a quality and efficient (80% Bronze or better) PSU and you won't have issues. It will cost more, but it's worth it.