Temperature problem? Or something more serious?

[StigOfTheTrack]

I'm not sure if my problem is simply overheating, or if I have a component needing replacing before it fails completely. Some of the symptoms point to temperature being the problem, others don't.

My PC is locking up rapidly (generally before its even booted). Symptoms are a frozen screen and no response to anything except holding the power button for several seconds to turn it off.

I've had occasional lock-ups for a few days when the system has been running for a while, but it has gradually gotten worse and has now reached the point of total usability. This has coincided with unusually warm and rising temperatures here in the UK. I can still make the PC boot if I take the extreme measure of removing the side panel and placing a portable air-con unit next to the PC, though obviously this isn't a long-term solution (particularly since the vent for the air-con won't reach the window when next to the PC, so I'm seriously warming up the room to cool the PC).

So far this sounds like a cooling system which isn't coping with the weather. However reported CPU and motherboard temperatures are fairly low:

As I type this my CPU is at 32C and the motherboard at 31C (measured using PC Probe II - supplied with motherboard). If I was to switch of the air-con unit the temperatures would rise to around 40C (exact number varies) before locking up a minute later.

These don't seem like particularly high temperatures. Certainly the CPU can go higher - I tried running Prime95 to warm it up (with the air-con unit on) and got to a CPU temp of 55C (Motherboard still in low 30s) without problems.

So if its a temperature problem then the obvious remaining candidate would be the graphics card. I've tried swapping this for a borrowed card (something much smaller and lower powered than my usual one) and still have the same problem, so I doubt its that. I did actually expect this to work, since I have in the past had problems where I've had to manually increase the GPU fan speed to run certain games (otherwise I got a frozen screen lockup). I'm actually wondering if when that worked in the past the GPU fan was actually increasing airflow over some other component? Unfortunately I can't try increasing GPU fan speed at the moment, since catalyst control center won't currently start.

Given the above I can see two possible problems:

• 
  ■ Something is overheating at way lower temperatures than it should and needs replacing before it fails completely. I'm not sure how to work out what though and would really rather not replace everything if I don't have to.
  ■ Something I've not been able to measure the temperature of is not getting enough airflow and is reaching high temperatures. Again I'm unsure what, the only thing that feels particularly hot is the graphics card, and I've tried replacing that already. After that there's a blue component on the motherboard under the graphics card (see picture below) which feels warm, but not hot.

The one other things I've tried are:

• 
  ■ Running with only one RAM module to eliminate the possibility of a failed module (no change in symptoms). All three tried separately.
  ■ Disconnecting the hard drives and using the splashtop web browser in the BIOS. This also locks up rapidly, so its not a Windows driver issue.

Finally a picture of my system:

Arrows show the direction fans are blowing in:

• 
  ■Top 2x120mm fans, blowing in. As supplied with the case.
  ■Back 2x80?mm fans, blowing out. As supplied with the case.
  ■120mm fan, blowing back on CPU cooler (Titan Fenrir).
  ■Graphics card fan - on bottom of card, exhaust through rear.
  ■Front 1x120mm fan mounted in drive bays (actually an empty hard-drive rack). Doesn't seem to shift much air.

Fans without arrows:

• 
  ■Power supply (1KW Enermax - probably overspecified for the components its running).
  ■2x120mm fans behind hard disks (at the bottom), blowing from far side of the case across the drives. As supplied with the case.

Case is a Silverstone TJ-07. Inside I have:

• 
  ■ASUS PT6 deluxe motherboard
  ■6GB Corsair domminator ram (1600Mhz DDR3)
  ■Core i7-960 CPU 3.2GHz (not over-clocked)
  ■Sapphire ATI 5870 graphics card

Any trouble-shooting hints to identify the problem component and/or improve cooling (I'd rather avoid water-cooling) will be much appreciated. The most obvious change I can think of is a better fan in the drive bays, since the graphics card and lower part of the motherboard seem to be the parts with least air-flow at the moment.

 

[ur6beersaway]

Time to purchase a reliable psu.
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Modular-Bronze-CX600M/dp/B00ALYOPSS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374233734&sr=8-2&keywords=cx600+power+supply

 

[StigOfTheTrack]

Time to purchase a reliable psu.
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Modular-Bronze-CX600M/dp/B00ALYOPSS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374233734&sr=8-2&keywords=cx600+power+supply

I'm curious how you decided its the power supply? I'm aware they can fail, but don't understand how a power supply would cause the symptoms I'm seeing. When I've had problems with them before its been very obvious: Exploded capacitor or cut-out due to overload.

Edit: I'm not saying you're wrong, I'd just like to understand. Power supply would be preferable to a new motherboard, cpu and ram... (though a little frustrating having bought an expensive one after problems with cheap ones in the past).

 

[D_Hedgehog]

Hi Stig, i'm in the UK too and i've recently made a similar thread to yours, with the increase in temp my pc has been freezing up randomly, the difference between my problem and yours though is that switching to a less powerful gpu (namely the onboard one) has stopped it from freezing, obviously i'm stuck with a crappy performing pc though at the moment.

This left me believing it was my GPU but as ur6beersaway said it could be the PSU, with the hot summer we are having here our PC's will be trying harder to keep cool and with a decent graphics card pulling on it as well it would be fair to say that it is exposing an otherwise ignored faulty/underperforming PSU.

Obviously we don't want to be buying parts we don't need but I think i'll try and shell out on the cheaper option of the PSU and go from there.

 

[StigOfTheTrack]

Hi Stig, i'm in the UK too and i've recently made a similar thread to yours, with the increase in temp my pc has been freezing up randomly, the difference between my problem and yours though is that switching to a less powerful gpu (namely the onboard one) has stopped it from freezing, obviously i'm stuck with a crappy performing pc though at the moment.

This left me believing it was my GPU but as ur6beersaway said it could be the PSU, with the hot summer we are having here our PC's will be trying harder to keep cool and with a decent graphics card pulling on it as well it would be fair to say that it is exposing an otherwise ignored faulty/underperforming PSU.

Obviously we don't want to be buying parts we don't need but I think i'll try and shell out on the cheaper option of the PSU and go from there.

Do you have a link to your topic? I suspect it may be worth me having a read...

Edit: Never mind, found it...

 

[coozie7]

Exactly how far into the boot process does it get before locking up?
Does it give any beep codes?
Could be a failing hard drive as well, if possible run some checks on it.

 

[D_Hedgehog]

Here you go http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1738079/hangs-freezes-random.html

Although i've had no replies to it as of yet, obviously i've absorbed more information reading on here since posting it as well, i've noticed it is quicker to freeze at the hotter more humid times of the day, i'm 50/50 as to this being my pc trying harder to cool down and ultimately the PSU struggling under the extra load and the GPU suffering because of this.

 

[StigOfTheTrack]

Exactly how far into the boot process does it get before locking up?
Does it give any beep codes?
Could be a failing hard drive as well, if possible run some checks on it.

How far it gets varies. Generally somewhere during "Starting Windows". Sometimes at one of the BIOS screens, very occasionally gets to the logon screen. No idea if I'm getting beep codes - my case has nowhere for an internal speaker. I don't think I'll be getting any though, since it gets beyond the POST stage.

I don't think it can be the hard drives, since I've had it lock up in the BIOS screens with the hard disks disconnected (power and data). Perhaps I should try disconnecting the blu-ray and floppy drives too?

 

[coozie7]

Curiouser and curiouser.
Looks like you've already done all the common things.
Is it possible to try either: A different PSU in your rig OR putting your PSU into another?
Can you swap the CPU cooler back to the stock one? Perhaps that big Fenrir is distorting the motherboard or causing the CPU to slip out of alignment in its socket.

 

[StigOfTheTrack]

Curiouser and curiouser.
Looks like you've already done all the common things.
Is it possible to try either: A different PSU in your rig OR putting your PSU into another?

Possibly. I'll probably need to ask around to see if anyone I know has a spare. The only other system I have is an ancient 1.2Ghz Athlon with a no-brand power supply that is itself failing and doesn't have all the connectors needed for a more up to date system. I could put the PSU from my current system into the old one, but I'm not sure how much that would actually tell me, given the difference in age of the systems.

Can you swap the CPU cooler back to the stock one? Perhaps that big Fenrir is distorting the motherboard or causing the CPU to slip out of alignment in its socket.

I don't have (never had) the stock cooler. I got the CPU without a cooler, the price of that plus the Fenrir was pretty much the same as the kit with the stock cooler.

I have however tried lying the system on its side, which I'd expect to take most of the strain off the cooler mounting (also removed and re-socketed the CPU).