Overheating CPU is not hot?

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SkeletonMan4

Commendable
Sep 29, 2016
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I have recently purchased and installed a new heatsink to fix an overheating problem I had, however, the PC still shuts off because it is overheating. The issue is, it isn't actually overheating. I've tried what I can, but it fails before the monitor even shows the startup screen.
 
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Ok, what system do you have and what cooler did you buy that doesn't come with a fan?
If the fan isn't attached to the cooler the at minimum there should be a shroud between the nearest fan and the cooler itself. I would remove this shroud and check the fan, its responsible for moving the hot air out of the system.
 
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If the CPU is hot then blow the dust out of the heatsink and see if that helps. An older PC can have a totally blocked heatsink. Use a can of compressed air: $7 https://www.amazon.com/Dust-off-Compressed-Gas-Duster-Single/dp/B004E2RG34/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1481414010&sr=1-4&keywords=compressed+air

If the CPU is still hot and the heatsink is clear and cool then the thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink is not working.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9zZg2neBRE around 2:30 you can see the CPU with the thermal paste. Clean off the old paste from the heat sink and CPU with rubbing alcohol and coffee filters (coffee filters have no lint at all, that's why you use them, I use 4 cup filters, they are smaller.) Then around 3:45 you see the new thermal paste applied. I like "ARTIC SILVER 5" $7 at amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-AS5-3-5G-Thermal-Paste/dp/B0087X728K/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1481414351&sr=1-1&keywords=artic+silver+thermal+paste Follow the directions on the artic silver page about 'tinting' and then about not too much or too little.

Do clean the dust out of the heatsink when you have it off the CPU.

Good luck.

Update: I did not watch the entire video or listen to it, I just played it at speed to see that is showed how to open the case and remove the HSF. You might want to look at a few more if anything in the video raises questions. There are also MANY generic videos showing how to apply artic silver or how to install an aftermarket cooler. You do *not* want an aftermarket cooler in that case, but those videos do a good job showing how to apply thermal paste.
 
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Heatsink is brand new and clean, thermal paste has been reapplied multiple times, and nothing has worked. I will try the paste again, and see what happens.

Update: Well, that didn't work.
 
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Ohhh. Interesting.

Can you use HWMonitor (google it, free download, CPUID is the maker) to see how IDLE temps change over time. Do they keep rising or stabilize ? Does the heatsink feel hot as the CPU goes above 50C ? Does the temp get close to 65°C before it thermals ?

CPUs and MB do fail. Error codes are not always accurate.

If the "yet again paste change" does not help again, try updating the bios, and verify the CPU fan is spinning (but I think Dell checks this in the BIOS). If you are still overheating the CPU then the MB voltage regulation is bad, the power supply is bad or the CPU has failed. I don't know how to tell which is bad. Maybe try a cheap used EBAY CPU, maybe upgrading to one of the better CPUs in that MB's supported CPU list. A new i3-6100 based workstation is $300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883285561&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Desktop+PC-_-N82E16883285561&gclid=CPXWkdzt6tACFZ6EswodS_YB3A&gclsrc=aw.ds and a used Dell Precision 390 is $70 including shipping so I would not do anything exceptional to get your PC working.

Aside: This may help if you look for parts. Your PC shipped with quite a mix of MB chipsets all under the same model #: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19422431
 
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Cool. Pull the memory and video card. See if gives you a no memory post code (good) or fails to post (bad). Could be you got something not seated correctly while you were in there swapping the HSF. Some days are like that. If you can't get a 'no memory' post code then pull more stuff and remove the CPU from the socket and check for thermal paste shorting the socket and for bent pins. Also read the "no boot, no video" sticky for ideas on what might be keeping it from posting.

If you can't get it to post with just CPU+HSF, PSU and MB then you know one of these is bad.

 
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My bad, I'd assumed if you knew how to apply new thermal paste on a CPU that you had background.

Let's reset.

1. When you checked the thermal paste you did clean off the old paste and add new paste. Thermal paste can only be used once, and needs to be replaced each time you remove the heatsink/fan from the CPU. IF you have been pulling the Heatsink and fan off without redoing the paste then stop, use the rubbing alcohol and filters to clean things, then get artic silver 5 and apply new paste. That would explain the overheating/thermalling.

2. Your motherboard looks like this: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-DN075-Precision-390-Motherboard/dp/B00272HCFA

3. In the picture of the Motherboard above the Memory fits in the black slots in the lower right of the picture. This is what memory looks like (this may not be the correct memory for your PC, I just grabbed a picture of memory) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545&cm_re=ddr3-_-20-148-545-_-Product

4. You remove memory by pressing down the white handles on both sides of the memory slot. You do not need to touch the memory, pressing down on the handles pops the memory up. Look on YouTube for videos of installing memory. To reinstall memory you put the white handles in the low position, insert the memory the correct direction for the slots on the bottom and press straight down on the memroy without touching the handles. The memory will lock into position on its own as you press straight down.

I am shutting down now for a few days, and do not want to leave you in the middle of something. Its rare for people to jump into a thread like this one in the middle. Suggest you read the sticky on 'no boot, no video' http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems then open a new question asking for next steps. Link them back to this thread if you want to.
 
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Removing the memory and video causes POST to alert me, and it doesn't shut down. Putting them back in caused it to do what it's been doing. So, I can conclude the issue is something with video/memory

It's the memory
 
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Maybe, maybe not. Glad you were able to do the test.

Do you have ONE memory dimm or two ?

If you have two then put in only one and see if the PC works. Then try the other one and see if it works.

If you have only one dimm, then remove the dimm and let the PC tell you you are missing memory and then let the PC sit. Does it thermal after a few mins of sitting there ?

To get the correct memory look at the memory in the PC. Does the label say something like "DDR2-667 UDIMM" or "DDR2 PC2-5300 " and have some numbers on it like "CL=5 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 256Meg x 64 •" If so post, this is the right memory for your PC.
 
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Do you mean when you have one stick of memory in that the PC works in windows, and that windows runs correctly?
When you try with just the other memory stick you get the "overheat" failure code ?

That would mean you have a bad memory stick, and when you replace it your PC should be good. That would also give you the chance to install a 2GB dimm instead of a 1 GB dimm which would make your PC much faster for many workloads.
 
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You are checking the right thing. Your PC can have either "error correcting" memory which is called ECC or non-error correcting memory. Having ECC is good.
 
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