Dell Optiplex 330 with overheating northbridge

[Jamie_125]

Hi guys,

I have an old Dell Optiplex 330 lying around that I have used on and off for a few years. Recently it has started to randomly switch off. I have checked CPU and HDD temperatures and they are fine. I stress tested the CPU and again it was fine. After talking to a friend he said try the northbridge. I can't find a way to measure this temperature but can inform you that the heatsink on top of it is getting very hot. So presuming that is the issue what should I do about it. I have replaced the heat pad with a small amount of thermal paste I had lying around and the problem persists. Thanks in advance 😉

 

[Lutfij]

Mind if I ask which form factor of the Dell OptiPlex 330 you have? An SKU would help narrow down what your internal specs are and what OS you're on.

 

[Jamie_125]

Mind if I ask which form factor of the Dell OptiPlex 330 you have? An SKU would help narrow down what your internal specs are and what OS you're on.

It is the small form factor version and has an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200, 4GB of DDR2 ram with a 320GB hard drive. I am running Ubuntu 16.04 currently. The system has had a fair few upgrades and changes so won't be original.

 

[william p]

They get pretty hot normally. What's hot for your fingers isn't that much for a chip.If you could get a cheap laser remote thermometer you migh thave a better idea whats going on.
The discount "freight" tool companies have them.
The fact that the heatsink is getting hot means it's doing it's job. if it was cold then you would have a problem.

 

[Jamie_125]

They get pretty hot normally. What's hot for your fingers isn't that much for a chip.If you could get a cheap laser remote thermometer you might have a better idea whats going on.
The discount "freight" tool companies have them.
The fact that the heatsink is getting hot means it's doing it's job. if it was cold then you would have a problem.

Yes, so what else could be the problem with the PC randomly switching off and I see what you're saying. So the CPU and HDD aren't even getting close to hot and the northbridge is supposed to get pretty hot. I have since tested both sticks of memory and they are both fine so my only other options that I know of are a dodgy power supply or dodgy capacitors. I did read somewhere that the capacitors were pretty crap on old Dell desktops anyway.

 

[william p]

Look for swollen tops, or staining down in the grooves on the top. There was a bad batch of capacitors back then. It affected a lot of MB suppliers, but since Dell sold more computers it became known as a Dell problem. They did get sued for continuing to sell computers with bad caps.
Someone stole a "secret" electrolyte formula and sold it. The secret was the formula was no good.

 

[Jamie_125]

Look for swollen tops, or staining down in the grooves on the top. There was a bad batch of capacitors back then. It affected a lot of MB suppliers, but since Dell sold more computers it became known as a Dell problem. They did get sued for continuing to sell computers with bad caps.
Someone stole a "secret" electrolyte formula and sold it. The secret was the formula was no good.

Okay thanks, I'll have a look soon. Thanks for all the advice here from everyone