Overheating Video Card

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
The reason I think it i probably the NB is that it took it awhile to overheat, which is probably due to the CPU fan cooling better than it was. The increased airflow at the NB from the CPU cooler helps keep the NB temps down a bit, but after awhile, well, it can only do so much.
 

wessunman

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2009
35
0
18,530
hey drew.. im not exactly sure of this "cap" you're referring to.. but if i remove it, are there potentially any negative consequences that may follow? if not i'll just pop that sucker off.. granted i have to find out exactly what your talking about first =)
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
Take a look at this thread here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34826

It seems with the research I have been doing that the P5B MB's do have some issues with the NB overheating. Anyway, about halfway down the page there is a picture of the NB chip with ASUS in blue on a gold cover (or cap). Just pop that sucker off there, it is really only for aesthetics, and it actually hinders the air flow through the heatsink fins. A post I read said it is kind of like a metal sticker, just peel it off.

Your MB may not have a NB temp sensor (some posts I read sounded like it does, but nothing definitive), in which case Everest will not have show a MCP or SPP sensor. If that is the case, you should run your computer with the side off, crank up L4D, ground yourself by touching the metal of your case with one hand, and place a finger on the NB heatsink. You should get the idea pretty quickly if the NB is running too hot! Now touch your CPU heatsink, and you will see what it should feel like - warm to the touch, and maybe a little warmer than that, but not painfully hot.
 

wessunman

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2009
35
0
18,530
Hey drew.. I was reading that other thread you linked me to...
i'm beginning to wonder, i run my pc with an open case as well, wondering if that messes up the air flow with all the fans im currently running...

also..is this the cap you are referring to?
Northbridge.jpg



 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
Yes, that is the cap I was referring to - since it covers the heatsink it is not allowing air to circulate through the fins. It might need active cooling to get the job done, a 40mm fan would do - usually it can be attached by screws that fit in between the fins.

With regards to running your computer with the case open, yes, it is impeding the air flow around things like the NB heatsink, but since you are adding a box fan, this is not a problem. It think it was said best by someone in another thread I was reading - Its hard to cool with hot air~!

I was thinking the stock fans for the case might need to be replaced or maybe just flipped around - depending on which way they are blowing. I usually exhaust out the back since its up towards the top of the case and heat rises. I like to pull in fresh air from the front and the side and exhaust out the back and the PSU since they are towards the top.

However, in your case the NB might need the extra flow from the rear fan, so I would have it blowing in, and the front blowing in, and the side blowing out. This is probably the configuration you already have.

You could always look at getting some higher CFM fans, sacrificing the silence of the 1200RPM fans the case comes with for higher airflow with more noise.
 

wessunman

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2009
35
0
18,530
sounds good i'll let you know the next chance i get to mess with my stinkin' pc :)
i'll try and put the sides back on and see what happens... my goal was to move away from using a room fan to cool my pc haha.
thanks again for your quick response.
 
G

Guest

Guest
hey i'm having a similar issue. I'm running an HP Pavilion a1510n with these specs:http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...23&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3184138&lang=en. I think the graphics card is the culprit.

The cpu will run at 100% constantly. Also, the computer will not always boot up / shut down correctly. Process Explorer sometimes says the System process (not System Idle) is at 100% cpu. Other times, it will say the active program (internet, etc.) is at 100% cpu. I've noticed that the problem manifests itself quickest when a game is showing onscreen. If it is minimized, the cpu will return to a normal usage rate.

I've run Core Temp with prime95 and the CPU only gets to 55C or so. I tried Everest, but no sensor readings showed up. I've tried everything from replacing the power supply to new HDD to new OS to new graphics card to no avail. Please help!
 

wessunman

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2009
35
0
18,530
@ Drew.
Very weird, i never received notification of your response... Normally i do.

Everything is working fine in my system!

Thanks for your help!
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
hey i'm having a similar issue. I'm running an HP Pavilion a1510n with these specs:http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...23&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3184138&lang=en. I think the graphics card is the culprit.

The cpu will run at 100% constantly. Also, the computer will not always boot up / shut down correctly. Process Explorer sometimes says the System process (not System Idle) is at 100% cpu. Other times, it will say the active program (internet, etc.) is at 100% cpu. I've noticed that the problem manifests itself quickest when a game is showing onscreen. If it is minimized, the cpu will return to a normal usage rate.

I've run Core Temp with prime95 and the CPU only gets to 55C or so. I tried Everest, but no sensor readings showed up. I've tried everything from replacing the power supply to new HDD to new OS to new graphics card to no avail. Please help!


Hmmmmmm . . . let me think on that one for a bit - I'll get back to you!

Drew
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
I'll have to have you post some things on Sunday or Monday, Spectre. My thoughts are it could be a program running in the background, but with the OS reinstall, it might not be unless it is a usual program that you install with the OS installation. Otherwise, it could be a finicky pci bus, which we'll approach after I see a couple of things about your system. I'll be out of town until Sunday sometime, but I'll try to get a list together of things you can post for me to give me more of an idea of what's going on.

Until Sunday then - night all!

Drew
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
I don't have anything going on tomorrow after work, so I'll get some ideas together so we can solve this Spectre (or anonymous as it says now). Sorry, been really busy lately.
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
Alright, lets try to solve this

go to Task Manager --> Ctrl + alt + del --> Task Manager

go to the Processes Tab and click on the top bar so it sorts by CPU usage

What process is using the most %? Edit: read your post again . . . the SYSTEM process . . . got another idea . . . I'll post it after dinner.

System Idle Process is essentially the % you have free, and what ever is underneath that is using the most CPU cycles. How much is being used?

One more thing - what driver are you using for the graphics card? Right click on My Computer --> Properties --> click the Hardware Tab -->click Device Manager --> Click the plus sign next to Display Adapters --> right click the name of the graphics card that just appeared --> click Properties --> click the Driver Tab --> tell me what it says next to Driver Version:_____________

could be a driver compatibility thing, or it could be an finicky pci bus.

Answer the questions and we'll go from there! cool . . . sorry this took so long to get back to you, my parent's computer exploded the other night, and we're going to need to buy a new CPU for it. Core 0 was showing sustained temps of 69-70C and probably had been running like that for months . . . took the heatsink off and the chip was stuck to the heatsink which means it had gotten REALLY hot at some point. Unstuck the CPU finally, applied new thermal compound, booted it and still had the high temp. Undervolted the CPU by 1 step, still had the heat problem. Undervolted the CPU by 2 steps in the bios. Still had the problem. Then the ethernet connection started switching between connected/not connected fairly rapidly and the machine shut itself off. It wouldn't boot after that, not even a post. Power supply is good, could be the motherboard, but apparently the board they have doesn't like to post if the CPU is bad . . . so, new CPU it is.

Drew
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
So, you should go get this tool - Process Explorer

From here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

run the program and in the left hand column you should have System Idle process at the top --> hit the + sign to drop down what's below

Now you should see Interrupts, DPCs and SYSTEM

Hit the + sign next to SYSTEM. Then keep hitting + signs below SYSTEM until you can see just what is running the CPU usage up to 100%.

Tell me what that process is . . . and THAT will give me something to troubleshoot :)

Drew
 

Spectre6

Distinguished
Aug 24, 2009
16
0
18,510
Well it's really strange. It is not always the same program taking up the CPU. When I play a game, it'll take up 98-100%. If I use Google Chrome, it will be the process that takes up 98-100%.

I thought I had made a breakthrough a few days ago when I was running XP. I did not have any programs open and the CPU was still at 100%. I saw that ACPI.sys was using 99% (double-clicked on SYSTEM in Process Explorer, went to the Threads tab, and saw it). I used Process Explorer to suspend that process and it quieted down for a while. Eventually, though, the CPU goes back to 100% if I try playing a game.

When I was running Vista, the ACPI process was unable to be suspended, and it was not even taking up any of the CPU. It would always be the "active application" (like Google Chrome or a game). The weird thing is, as soon as I open a game, all I have to do is minimize it and the CPU usage goes back down. If I play the game long enough, the 100% CPU usage switches to SYSTEM once I close the game.

As for the graphics card, I am using the GeForce 6150LE. I believe that the driver is the beta version of the 182.08 release. I will be able to confirm this for you tomorrow (Friday).

That's all I have for now. Sorry for the long post.

 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
No worries on the long posts . . . I tend to want to let people know every detail so my posts are long as well. But, longer posts tend to give more info about what has already been tried, so it is easier to suggest things that HAVE NOT been tried.

I need to think about this some more, but I'll post later . . .

Drew
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
Do you have anything plugged in via USB ports? Like an external hard drive or mouse and keyboard? The USB driver could be causing issues.

If you have a USB mouse and keyboard, try using the USB to PS/2 converter, if you have a couple converters. Unplug anything else that is USB.

When did this start happening? Did you add anything to the system around the time you started to notice the computer lagging from increased CPU usage? Did you change / start using any new drivers around that time?

I'm just throwing ideas out here . . .

You could also try booting to your bios to see if there is a manual setting for the PCIe frequency. You could lower it or raise it one or two steps to see how it affects the cpu usage. I know my overclock settings work MUCH better when I have my PCIe frequency set to 111 instead of 100. This is a pretty extreme change, but through trial and error I found that I get 4.0GHz out of my e8400 without bluescreens if and only if I have my PCIe frequency set to 111MHz.

I would not recommend changing yours, if you even can, much more than +/- 3MHz to test whether that is causing the problem.

Drew
 

Spectre6

Distinguished
Aug 24, 2009
16
0
18,510
The problem began at the end of May. My brother tried printing a document. It wouldn't print, and ever since then, we've been having the issue. We did not add any new programs or update any drivers.

This is the driver version for my graphics card: 7.15.11.8208

I hope at least some of this information will be of use to you.

I will try the disconnecting USB devices and changing the PCIe frequency if necessary.

Thanks!
 

Spectre6

Distinguished
Aug 24, 2009
16
0
18,510
Just to clarify, my graphics card is integrated into the motherboard. I'm not sure, but I do not think I can change the PCIe frequency.

I unplugged the external hard drive from a USB port. Both the mouse and keyboard use a PS/2 connection already.

Still no luck!
 

drewp29

Distinguished
Jan 7, 2009
66
0
18,630
Did you reboot after unplugging the external drive?

We are most likely looking at a driver conflict , we just need to figure out where.

One other possibility is a program/ system utility that is starting on boot. Even though the actual program isn't running up CPU usage, it might be causing the other programs to freak out.

Go to Start --> Run --> type msconfig

When the window pops up, in the general tab, click selective startup, and deselect load startup items.

Reboot. A lot of things will probably not work correctly, but see if it fixes the CPU usage issue. If it does, then you can run msconfig again, click on normal startup, then go to the startup tab and deselect all the items, and enable them one by one (reboot inbetween) to see where the problem lies. This will take some time, but if disabling the startup items really solves it you'll definitely want to spend the time figuring out which item is causing this.

You can also click on the diagnostic startup in the general tab for msconfig, and that could give you different results on reboot.

Just to check, you're running XP Pro or Home?