Question New 3900x build shut down...

timg65

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Nov 17, 2012
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Looks like I'm yet another 3900x user with heat problems.

My complete build is here:

Mid-Budget Ryzen Productivity Monster

Had no issues at all for the first couple weeks. I haven't been doing a huge amount of office work, but I've run Photoshop, Illustrator, the usual suspects with no hint of a problem. And I always have a bunch of apps open etc.

Tonight I was just doing a casual render of an extremely simple 3D scene (Poser 11) just to see what it would do and was browsing the Internet. My machine powered down, and every time I tried to start it back up, it would power down a few seconds into the reboot attempt. I was thinking, crap — bad motherboard or maybe power supply. But I finally got into the BIOS and saw that the temps were 100+ and climbing by the second. I just got a look at it for about 5 seconds before the machine powered off again.

At the moment, I'm just letting it cool, but obviously I'm concerned. I'm not overclocking or doing anything unusual, and I've got a very well reviewed CPU cooler (Arctic Freezer 34 eSports Duo). Granted, I just stuck with the stock case fans, but I'm not pushing the machine at all, and it's very cool in my office too boot.

Any thoughts?
 

timg65

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Something is definitely abnormal here. I just rebooted into BIOS for about two minutes. She started off in the mid-60s and was already at 100 degrees when I shut it down again. Even if I had no fans running, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't see those temps with no load whatsoever.
 

Xtergo

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It looks like even though you have a really nice cooler (and hopefully a decent power supply)..

The cooler's base isn't making the right contact with the CPU. What you can do is
  • Change the thermal paste once again
  • Check if the CPU fans are spinning
  • If the cooler is seated correctly and screws fastened
 
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timg65

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EPIC — the cooler came with thermal paste.

Xtergo, good catch. I opened up my case and discovered that the 34 was physically loose. I now remember that I wasn't sure about the Arctic Freezer's standoffs when I put everything together. It appeared that there were three different sets of standoffs, and the set I thought I should use only had two, while the others had four. I ended up using the longest ones, and I now realize things didn't get snug against the back plate. I suppose I was fooled by the initial stickiness of the thermal paste to think I had everything good.

I'm trying to re-research the standoffs at the moment, but the other set of four that I didn't use is shorter than the one I did, so perhaps that one will work. I'm not sure why one set only has two.

I'm hoping my leftover thermal paste is still good.
 

timg65

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After doing more double-checking, it definitely looks like the AM4 standoffs are the ones I only received two. The threads on the other short set are not compatible with the back plate. :\
 

timg65

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So I managed to reinstall pretty snugly with the proper two standoffs installed diagonally from one another. I requested a proper set from Arctic, so it would probably do until then.

Except that now my system is not recognizing the CPU fan at all. I think I may have damaged a prong or something during the replacement process.

Sometimes you just can't win.

EDIT: Never mind. Brain cramp, probably because I'm doing this in the middle of the night. Bottom line, it's always helpful to have the thing plugged in correctly. :)
 
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