Another Computer question--apparent overheating

waynokakid · Apr 16, 2006

( What's the deal with 20, 20+4, and 24 pin? )

I have only helped build a couple of computers. <helped> So if I am wrong someone else chime in. But the pins is how you connect your hardware to the power supply.

Nasty135 · Apr 16, 2006

LMTC, ( If I need a new PS, is there any downside to going for a higher wattage? Should I get one with multiple fans? What's the deal with 20, 20+4, and 24 pin? (current PS is 380w, ) 

If it is the PS and you what/need to go for a larger wattage that would be fine , But from what I see you don't need it..

Multiple fans in a PS might be harder to find unless you go for large wattage..

The 20, 20+4 ,& 24 pin is the actual Power connector to the Mother board , 20 pin was the original standard for pentiums upto 3rd generation and athlons such as your 2200..
The 20+4 was the standard for pentium 4 MoBo's because the pentium 4's required separate power for the cpu by itself and the new 24 pin PS is for the new series Mobo's like athlon 64 and all new pentiums as well , The extra pins although I'm not really sure exactly what they provide (voltage stability for new DDR2 perhaps) ..These PS's shouldn't be used on older Pc's unless they have a connector like this in which you can remove the un-used 4 pins on the right side /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Nasty135 · Apr 16, 2006

Another thought about the heat build up... Athlons in there design run with a high heat potential due to the CPU's small design, If your heatsink and fan are not seated properly this can cause extra heat build up (big time) ... Have you ever removed the fan & heatsink from the CPU? If one of the clips that holds the HS & fan to there Mobo should break it would cause the HS & fan to be slightly cocked on the Mobo which would give very poor cooling .
The thermal paste between HS & fan should be replaced with a fine thin layer of a quality thermal paste like artic silver ( I believe its upto artic silver 5 now) or some good quality thermal paste.. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Also most thermal alarms are set in the BIOS and can be adjusted if needed but you don't want to go on the highside, Just wondering if anyone has ever been in your PC before adjusting thermal alarm thresholds?

JerryG · Apr 16, 2006

Athlons in there design run with a high heat potential due to the CPU's small design 
That's strange, I have always heard the opposite. That the Athlons run cooler.

Nasty135 · Apr 17, 2006

Jerry, The new Athlon 64's do run much cooler than the Older 13 micron Athlons. The 2200 is the older style that runs hotter.
Pentiums have always had more heat tolerance built in as they will slow dramatically until thermal shut-down, But they have never run as hot as the Athlons .The older Athlons will reach critical mass and Cook!(without a heat sink, should it fall off) They also have thermal shut-down as well should the fan on the CPU heatsink fail...

flwiii · Apr 17, 2006

A couple of questions.

Has the CPU Heatsink been removed and re-installed at anytime recently? Each time the heatsink is removed a new application of thermal paste needs to be applied to the CPU. Arctic Silver is one of the best of these type pastes.

Also, do you keep your virus scanner description files up to date and current? There are some viruses that can shutdown or force a reboot of the system as part of their payload.

As stated by others, brownout conditions will cause the CPU and your RAM to overheat. The best protection against this is an Uninteruptable Power Supply (UPS for short).

A simple way to see if it is overheating is to take the side access panel off and get a average home fan and let it blow into the opened case while you operate the system. Don't put the fan on or near the harddrives or case as the electomagnetic properties of the fan will interfere with the harddrive operations. Just have it within 2 to 3 feet of the PC and blowing directly inside the case. If it doesn't shutdown then it is possible that air flow is hampered through the case somehow and causing an overheat condition.

The best way to check the CPU temp though is to use the Temp information menu in CMOS. Most motherboard manufacturers have built in heat sensors and are accessable through CMOS. Most computers will show at startup a key sequence to enter setup. Ususally something like the F1 key or the Delete key. I wouldn't attempt to change anything from here as it can be detrimental if you change the wrong things. Just migrate through looking for a menu related to temp settings or Thermal information. It should display the temperature of the CPU and northbridge chip. Generally an AMD processor will run around 120 to 155 degrees Farenheit. Of course, this is dependent on the quality of the heat sink.

Soundguy · Apr 17, 2006

( Mister geek looking with at least 20 certificates on the wall. ..... I am still looking for a new tech that knows what he is doing. )

Where I work, we see the same thing. Guy comes in with lotsa degrees and no real work experience on his resume, and then we have to let him go as he does not know what he is doing, and then we hire a guy with only a couple pieces of paper and 5/10/+ years of experience and then don't have any problems..

Soundguy

flwiii · Apr 17, 2006

Forgot to mention the difference between 20 and 24 pin power supplies. Sorry!

All standard PC (those for home use) use a 20 pin power connector. The 24 pin connectors are for special high-end server motherboards. Some of the newer large Servers require extra power for more reliable uptimes etc. These newer Servers have be built around a 24 pin connector to give this extra power.

Unless you bought a Server (which isn't likely) you will not need these extra connections. A power supply that can do both means it has an adapter cable to fit these larger connectors.

LMTC · Apr 17, 2006

Had HD and DVD writer installed 4 months ago, don't believe processor or heat sink was out. Problem just started over the weekend. I do keep virus protection, etc. up to date, and am running SpeedFan now which has been telling me the processor temp has been between 51 and 58 celsius (or 123-136) so it seems in range. I did remove processor fan and got a small amount of dust out of heatsink. Have kept left side of case off since yesterday and it has not shut down. I have two large bays up front still open, thinking about knocking one out for air flow and still replacing PS...it is a RaidMax which I understand is an el cheapo.

Thanks to all for your input.

dieselsmoke1 · Apr 17, 2006

flwiii,

Well written diagnosis.

I'll just add that some PC board manufacturers, Asus for example, are changing some models to the 24 pin PS. Can't say about shelf systems.