Overheat issue -- 1.1T-bird.. HELP!!!!!

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I asked AMD about my processor which seems to easily reach temperatures as high as 130 degrees ferinheit (54 degrees celcius). What did they have to say?

"Thank you for contacting AMD.
The temperature range for the cache enhanced Athlon is 0 to 90c or 194f"

That's complete BS. My Thunderbird overheats (basically locks-up or computer restarts itself) by the time it gets to 140 degrees ferinheit (60 degrees celcius). I'm using an AMD-approved fan too (Thermaltake Chrome Orb DU0462). I used to use a CoolerMaster DP5-6H51. Especially after playing a game such as Rogue Spear or HalfLife for an hour or so, my computer's temperatures soar to the 130 (54) range.

Now, AMD refuses to reply to my E-mail after their response. They're probably not going to replace my chip either, even though I still have a good 10-11 months left on the warranty (decided to not pay the extra cash for the 2 more years warranty).
 

flavio321

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try cooling your case first. put in a 80mm fan blowing in from the bottom or blowing out from top.
what kind of mobo you got. it's you mobo that turns off the computer...download some software to moniter your temps and set the alarm to 65 or 70 degrees so that it won't shut down. 54-60 is kinda hot but managable. also did you use thermal paste before you put the heatsink? if you put too much and in overflowed to the ceramic, that might be another reason for the high temp.

If you can't beat 'em kill 'em
athlon "SLOTA" thunderbird 700@1050mhz
 
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Sorry, neglected to mention some things:
1.) My motherboard is an Abit KT7-RAID (wish I waited about 2 weeks for the KT7A)
2.) The thermal paste came macine-imprinted on both fan/heatsink assemblies.
3.) My case is completely opened due to lack of intake/exhaust fans.
4.) My power supply doesn't have the bottom-exhaust-fan. :(
 

AmdMELTDOWN

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you need to seriously cool your case w/exhaust fans and intake fans, for every 2 intake fans put 3 exhaust fans.

it will also help if you redo the thermo paste dressing.

that bird will live a hard life without extraordinary cooling measures.
 
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I'll try that.. Also, my stupid-ass power supply doesn't have an exhaust fan on the bottom (Grr!). I need to get a new power supply too..

*sigh* Looks like i'll be needing more than I thought.
 

phsstpok

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The easiest way to check for overheating issues is just leave the case open. This should reduce average CPU temperatures by quite a bit, probably 7-10 degrees. Check for stability. If it runs without crashes (and I mean like a whole day) then it was heat. If it still crashes then it is probably something else causing the problem.

If your system is not overclocked then I doubt heat is the problem. Your temperature is pretty average for such a system. I would lean toward a power supply problem. On the otherhand, the above test doesn't cost anything.
 
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Well, what do you mean runs? Under normal circumstances? Also, my case has BEEN open for a while. As for power supply issues, what kinda issues would it cause? It's an AMD-approved power supply too.

And my heat builds up REALLY quickly. Especially when playing games like Rogue Spear or HalfLife. It can overheat (lock-up) after about 30 minutes to an hour of playing.
 

BlackWyvern3

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Granoblastic.. I am having the same problems.. this is the current question I have posted: Ok, to most of you I am the thorn in your side! I come on here and ask, seemingly, asinine questions. I am by no means a technically inclined person, but I do enjoy dabbling with it and seeing what I can come up with. My newest project was to build a computer... I have a KT7 Raid mobo, 1.1 ghz athlon, 256 megs of PC 133 ram(which is good ram because I took it out and tested it with a friends ram and I still have the same problem), GE Force 2 MX card and an old 8 gig harddrive. My problem is that mysystem is very unstable. I was lead to believe that the KT7 VIA chipset was the problem in all my instablilty issues, adn perhaps it is, but I want to eliminate every possibility. I once heard a friend talking about increasing or decreasing voltage values can yield a more stable machine. I checked my BIOS and under the CPU settings, the voltage settings there are
Core Voltage= 1.750 v
I/O Voltage= 3.30 v
and then I checked the PC health status screen and these are the voltage values I got form there..
Core Voltage= 1.82v
3.3V = 3.35v
5v = 5.02v
12v = 12.00v


My question is what do you guys think I should do? what is the deal with voltage, and remember you are speaking to a relative newbie with this whole deal... My system freezing at times for no reason... I have checked a lot of things and I am trying to eliminate everything before I look into buying new parts and stuff..

Any help is greatly appreciated






As an aside when I am not using processor intensive applications, my system runs fine for hours or even days... the minute I fire up a chess program or a 3D game, I can expect about an hours worth of gaming time before it locks up and I have to wait a few mins for it to cool down and power it back up.... The problem is getting way out of hand
 

phsstpok

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Dec 31, 2007
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Alright, I think I have the picture. I missed some details from other posts when I responded before.

What I meant by normal is that many non-overclocked thunderbirds run with CPU temperatures in the 50's even 60's. Those are the temperatures that I have seen posted for chrome orbs and AMD factory coolers alike. Those temps are considered very common for a non-overclocked Athlon

Overclockers cringe at temperatures like that because most of us have to keep are CPUs in the 40's for stability. That's why you hear about a lot of people worrying about temperatures.

That said, it does not mean that you do not have a heat problem. You might well have but it could also be something else.

This possibility is worth checking before you change or add hardware.

Prime on the list, make sure you have the latest Via 4-in-1 drivers. Many have complained of unstable systems until they install these. I think version 4.25a is the latest. You can find them at www.abit-usa.com.

Second on the list would be making sure one has an AMD approved power supply (for high speed Athlons). You already have this.

There are a lot of other things that can cause problems. Read about them at Paul's Unofficial KT7 FAQ,

http://www.icrontic.com/faqs/kt7faq/kt7faq.htm

Look in the Instability section.

The above site is by far the most comprehensive resource I have seen for the KT7 family of motherboards.

It is very likely that the tips you read will solve your problem. If they don't then you can address cooling issues. Others have suggested lots of cooling fans. This never hurts but a closed case with case fans is seldom cooler for the CPU than an open case. If it turns out that YOUR CPU needs to be cooler then a better heatsink and fan is called for. From what I have read in these forums the GlobalWin FOP38-1 ranks among the best.

Read about it here:
http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/heatsinks/globalwin_fop38/index.htm

I hope something I mentioned or something I pointed you to helps.


Phsstpok
Duron 600 @900, @1008 with case open. (I too have heat issues).
 

Lowlypawn

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First off “Athlon Approved power supply” means at least 300 watts.
Your temps are not that high and my 900 Tbird will run at over 60c no prob.
The only time temperature becomes a problem is when I OC it to 1 gig.
You say that the problem happens when u play 3d games, could be a AGP problem.
Try lowering the AGP to x2 or new video card drivers.
Until u find a repeatable problem (lockup) your going to have a hard time finding the exact cause.
Also if u do get some case fans u want more air blowing in then sucking out. Reason, if your case has a negative pressure air will get sucked in form your floppy drive and CD rom causing them to collect more dust then normal. It’s not a big deal but something to keep in mind.

Good luck
 

jlbigguy

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If your power supply was AMD approved, it would have vents (fan) on the bottom. Check out the AMD power supply specs at amd.com.

Check your 5v. It should be over 5v, not under. Mine runs at 5.15, and I have never had stability problems (T-Bird 900 and ABIT KT7-RAID) after the initial testing and driver setup. Be sure to use a 300w supply.

4 in 1 drivers are vital. With version 4.24, I locked up under heavy load (Unreal Fly By) after 30 - 60 minutes, max temp 51 degrees Celsius. Using the 4.26 drivers (in turbo mode), the flyby ran 3 consecutive days with no problems. I have an ABIT Gforce2 MX.

My T-Bird 900 under full load all day maxes out at 51, and under non graphic (business) averages about 38. Your temp at 54 does not seem high, considering the 1.1ghz.

Air circulation is essential. I have an intake fan, rear exhaust fan (only 2 inches square, not enough), and the power supply fan. However, due to the physical construction of my case, and the placement of the ribbon cables (I can't seem to get them out of the way), circulation of air to the processor is weak. The processor, KT7 regulators, and video card all generate a considerable amount of heat which is "saddled" around the processor. You can't cool the processor with hot air! I will be adding another fan, either on top as an exhaust, or on the side as an intake. Not sure yet. However, the 51 degree temperature has not caused me any stability probems. I don't think it is the cause of your problems.

Other things to check:

Interrupts: I had a USB problem with my HP 3300 scanner. It would scan ONCE, then lock up for any more scans. HP blames the VIA chipset (not the HP drivers. I think it's the drivers!). But when I enabled the RAID controller (which reassigned the USB and some other interrupts) the USB and scanning issues all cleared up.

Memory Timing: Check your memory timing in the BIOS. Start with the 8-10, and see if stability improves. Perhaps you are using a timing that is too aggressive for your memory.

My machine is rock stable, in real use since Jan 1st, as a business machine during the day, and a gaming machine all evening by my kids. It is running 18 hours per day, and it has NEVER frozen. Neither has my older Celeron 400 (for the Intel folks out there).

For what it's worth, I don't think your problems are heat related.
 
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I use a similar setup, and those temps you are getting are fine. They do run hotter than Intel chips, but Thunderbirds threshold is higher at 90C, compared with 70C for Intel P3 chips.My CPU hits 60C, but i am not having any crashes. What i found a problem with VIA based mothereboards, is that they seem fussy about the ram they are given. Plus get the latest VIA 4-in-1 drivers, they help alot. But i am using Asus A7V rather than the Abit board.
If your ram is in a 2 x 128 mb dimms, one of the dimms may not be compatible, i had this problem myself. The PC would boot up fine, but when i started up geames and stuff the would bomb out. VIA doesn't like crap, cheap ram.
If you are looking for some good cooling for your CPU, try www.computernerds.com and www.swiftnets.com. They have some great products.
 
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Well, as for drivers, I have the newest of everything. (It's actually been a habit of mine to update drivers/etc as often as possible).
I have a Creative Labs Annihilator 2 Ultra with Creative's FastTrax 6.34 drivers. I've checked again and again for newer VIA 4in1 drivers (I even dowload the latest one "just to be sure"), but I still have the problem. I contacted the retailer (Lynncomp.com) and they're willing to test my CPU, but that'll mean weeks of waiting 'till they send it back (and trust me, computers don't tend to work well without CPU's).
 
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Oh, wow.. Stupid-point to me.. I just realized I had been installing the BIOS updates incorrectly.. .. Ooh, wow... Alright, well, I haven't played any games (got projects to do). I'll keep y'all informed. Thanks thus far, bye.
 
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Is there a place in the case for an extra fan on the back panel just below the power supply? If so, a fan there would pull air across the CPU area.