CPU has gone up in flames..almost

[buzznut]

Hey guys,
I was writing a rather long winded detailed tale of woe as my CPU just failed on me. I will try again, but keep it shorter.
I have been running an AMD X4 940 CPU for the last 3 years. It has performed very well and I've been quite pleased with my purchase.
I was running this under a TRU in push-pull which also performed great. I read reviews about the Spire Thermax II, still rated #1 for AMD at Frostytech. I decided to get it, as I needed the TRU for another build.
It was hate at first sight. Stupid mounting hardware and the most idiotic and useless fan retention system I've ever seen. I decided to give it a go anyway. My temps were a bit higher (from 33 idle to 45ish load to 38 idle and 50 load), but I figured it may be because I only used the one fan. I lowered my OC from 3.6 to 3.4 so I wouldn't have to worry about temps.
About a week ago, I noticed my temps rising. I was running about 40's idle and loads in the 50's. The other day it got worse, with idling temps soaring.
I decided I needed to inspect things and clear out the dust bunnies. Without too much detail, I tested everything and cleaned it all out and check the TIM (which was fine) cleaned the heatsink and reseated. All of a sudden I couldn't keep the machine on for more than 5 minutes without it shutting down from reaching 60C at idle. This was after adding a second fan in pull position and turning the exhaust fan to high speed.
I ran some more tests and determined it was the CPU that suddenly had out of control thermals. I wanted to share this because it is not something I've encountered before and I've not seen this on the forums. Although I've heard people claim their CPU is non-functional and had out of control thermals, there always seemed to be a root cause for this. I now have a Sempy 140 2.7 Ghz single core that idles near room temp and gets to a measly 32C maxed out. Which doesn't take much!! 🙁

I am very sad now and have retired my 940, RIP. Mostly I am sad that I gave away all my dual cores! With no money to replace now, I am gaming with no joy.

I am hoping that someone will have similar experiences to share. I can only guess that after 3 years of running hard it just finally spiraled out of control. As far as I can tell, the CPU itself is still operational but I can imagine what might have happened had I not set a 60C limit in the BIOS for shutdown.

 

[buzznut]

Slacker 😛

Good luck with the tests let us know how it goes.

Hey guys,
After several tortuous weeks with a single core Sempy I finally was able to purchase an X3 720BE. I paid $70 on newegg, and it was a great investment. The cpu installed without a hitch and I put the Spire Thermax eclipse II on top.

The CPU is currently running all 3 cores at 3.5 Ghz at 1.375V and is steady at 28C core. I stress tested the CPU for a few minutes last night and it never went above 39C fully loaded. However I am not ready to burn up my motherboard yet. I still need my money to come in August before more flame torture tests. Hopefully by mid August bulldozer will be out. I've got my eye on a FX8130p, can't wait!

One point I have been wondering about, do you think its possible that a CPU pin being damaged could cause out of control thermals? Yes, I know its not supposed to. Anyway I have had issues with a couple of AM2/AM3 processors that would come off with the removal of the heatsink. I've always thought the locking mechanism on the socket was there to prevent this exact thing from happening, but my friends have also experienced this sort of thing as well. Invariably when this happens, a few pins will get bent. I've even lost a pin on a X4 9850, but it didn't seem to be essential as it continues to run great today!

Anyway, damaged pins could have occurred with this particular CPU simply from all the different cooling options and installing and reinstalling.

So to summarize, I have an AMD X4 940 AM2+ CPU that has out of control thermals. I have tried several different heatsinks, mounting and remounting, different fans, etc and nothing helps. Within 30 seconds of booting, the system will shutdown because the CPU has already reached 60C. I have not removed the BIOS threshold yet as I still need the motherboard for another month or so. When I am able and have another PC ready, I plan to remove any temperature threshold and see how hot I can actually get the CPU in the hopes of seeing fireworks of some sort. I will be documenting this for posterity, since some folks are skeptical and yet would love to see such a thing!

I have also tested several different CPU's in hopes that the motherboard has some kind of issue. I am using the computer in my sig, but I'll list the components at the end of this post. I have used the same Biostar motherboard for 3 years and its been a dandy of a board. I have used a AM3 Sempron single core at 2.8Ghz for the last 3 weeks with the oem heatsink and it has been running cool (28-30C) and problem free. Even stressed it did not have any troubles.

Currently I am running a 95W CPU at 3.5 Ghz that is also performing well and staying cool even under stress. I have not changed any other hardware, still have the same lights, fans, etc. I'd enjoy any speculation regarding the CPU-please understand that I have tested thoroughly and I am not a noob. I do realize this is unusual and not how its supposed to work, that is exactly why I have posted to share my experience. Well, here's the rig:

AMD X3 720 BE @ 3.5Ghz at 1.375V idle 28C load 39C
Biostar TA790GX A2+
OCZ Reaper DDR2 1066Mhz ram, 4 gigs
Spire Thermax Eclipse II HSF
ASUS HD4850 Top 512MB
Intel 40GB boot drive
Samsung F3 500GB HD
2 optical drives
Antec 650 Blue
Antec 900
various fans and lighting

 

[warmon6]

Hey guys,
After several tortuous weeks with a single core Sempy I finally was able to purchase an X3 720BE. I paid $70 on newegg, and it was a great investment. The cpu installed without a hitch and I put the Spire Thermax eclipse II on top.

The CPU is currently running all 3 cores at 3.5 Ghz at 1.375V and is steady at 28C core. I stress tested the CPU for a few minutes last night and it never went above 39C fully loaded. However I am not ready to burn up my motherboard yet. I still need my money to come in August before more flame torture tests. Hopefully by mid August bulldozer will be out. I've got my eye on a FX8130p, can't wait!

One point I have been wondering about, do you think its possible that a CPU pin being damaged could cause out of control thermals? Yes, I know its not supposed to. Anyway I have had issues with a couple of AM2/AM3 processors that would come off with the removal of the heatsink. I've always thought the locking mechanism on the socket was there to prevent this exact thing from happening, but my friends have also experienced this sort of thing as well. Invariably when this happens, a few pins will get bent. I've even lost a pin on a X4 9850, but it didn't seem to be essential as it continues to run great today!

Anyway, damaged pins could have occurred with this particular CPU simply from all the different cooling options and installing and reinstalling.

So to summarize, I have an AMD X4 940 AM2+ CPU that has out of control thermals. I have tried several different heatsinks, mounting and remounting, different fans, etc and nothing helps. Within 30 seconds of booting, the system will shutdown because the CPU has already reached 60C. I have not removed the BIOS threshold yet as I still need the motherboard for another month or so. When I am able and have another PC ready, I plan to remove any temperature threshold and see how hot I can actually get the CPU in the hopes of seeing fireworks of some sort. I will be documenting this for posterity, since some folks are skeptical and yet would love to see such a thing!

I have also tested several different CPU's in hopes that the motherboard has some kind of issue. I am using the computer in my sig, but I'll list the components at the end of this post. I have used the same Biostar motherboard for 3 years and its been a dandy of a board. I have used a AM3 Sempron single core at 2.8Ghz for the last 3 weeks with the oem heatsink and it has been running cool (28-30C) and problem free. Even stressed it did not have any troubles.

Currently I am running a 95W CPU at 3.5 Ghz that is also performing well and staying cool even under stress. I have not changed any other hardware, still have the same lights, fans, etc. I'd enjoy any speculation regarding the CPU-please understand that I have tested thoroughly and I am not a noob. I do realize this is unusual and not how its supposed to work, that is exactly why I have posted to share my experience. Well, here's the rig:

AMD X3 720 BE @ 3.5Ghz at 1.375V idle 28C load 39C
Biostar TA790GX A2+
OCZ Reaper DDR2 1066Mhz ram, 4 gigs
Spire Thermax Eclipse II HSF
ASUS HD4850 Top 512MB
Intel 40GB boot drive
Samsung F3 500GB HD
2 optical drives
Antec 650 Blue
Antec 900
various fans and lighting

One point I have been wondering about, do you think its possible that a CPU pin being damaged could cause out of control thermals? Yes, I know its not supposed to.

Unlikely.... but possible. Although i would think if a broken/damaged pen caused your issues, i would of thought the cpu would of shown sooner.



Another unlikely idea but not impossible..... maybe the thermal paste between the die and the intergrated heat spreader on the cpu going bad..... Never heard of this happening before but possible. (at least i think there paste in-between the 2. if not, there something else)



If your felling adventurous and can figure out how to do it, you could try to pop off the heat spreader to expose the die. (note it will void your warranty for anyone else reading this).

Although if the chip gets more damaged in the process that what it already is then it will ruin other peoples fun see a cpu catching fire.

As for if it's possible, seam there a chance from what im seeing on other forums. http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316267

Although the chance of cracking the cpu from removing the spreader or putting on the heat sink too tight is high.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cdHmhBxA6E&feature=channel_video_title

Just a random fun experiment if you wanted to do too it. 😀


____________________________________________________________________________________________


Last thing i can think of it your cpu got tired of working for you can found a way to got on strike. :lol: (jk)




anyways..... Yes, it's very strange issue you got there indeed.

 

[warmon6]

:lol: i just found a video you should show to your 'cpu' what you will do to it if it doesn't start working.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kBh_Ppuz7Q

(find video number 3 and you will see a flaming board from them. XD )

 

[buzznut]

Yeah, I voided my warranty first thing when I lapped my CPU. In fact I love voiding my warranty, my favorite pastime actually!! Pretty sure those things only come with a 1 year anyway. Then I would have further voided it by overclocking..

Anyway I have now eliminated all the other aspects I can think of and its definitely the CPU.

You should see what I did to my phantom as soon as I got it home. Painting is coming along slowly but I hope to be finished with my mod by sometime in August!

 

[buzznut]

I've used AS5 religiously for 10 years. The thermal paste looked fine when I originally thought I should reseat the heatsink on the 940. But I removed it and started fresh.
Again, when I seated the Spire HSF on this new CPU I used AS5. Although i ran out, and had to finish with a small bit of the Spire TIM. As you can see from my current temps, I am quite happy with the results.

 

[buzznut]

Best answer selected by buzznut.

 

[warmon6]

Best answer selected by buzznut.

n
nWell kinda unexpected, but thank you for the best answer
n
n(thought this was a discussion thread :lol: )