Bad CPU day

[mkorpal]

I am running a 2.8 GHz P4 Northwood on a crappy $10, 2 year old Soyo Motherboard with stock cooling. I usually run between 44-48C idle and 60-64C under load. I'm not happy with the temps and that is one of the reasons why I have not overclocked at all, but at least they are not dangerous. But the other day, I checked my CPU temps because of very bad prefromance on my computer and they were at 69C. I was not pushing it even close to the max. All I was doing was surfing the internet. The outside temps were about avarage, definitly not much hotter than normal. I was wondering what on earth would cause my CPU to suddenly get so hot when I wasn't doing much. I'm going to add two 80mm fans to my case to help a little and I'm going to clean my case and try to take the heatsink off and make sure I didn't screw anything up 2 years ago. But any ideas about what happened would be nice. Thanks.

Matt

[Macaholic]

Check the fan on the heatsink. Nothing lasts forever and you can lose RPMs on that fan due to a bad bearing. More case fans will help. Did you have a stock thermal pad or Arctic Silver applied to the heatsink? Stock thermal pads have a tendency to dry, crack, and lose thermal conductivity over time. Remove the old thermal pad and add some Arctic Silver. Be sure the fins of the heatsink are clear of dust as well.

[mkorpal]

Well, the fan is still working fine. I've been trying to figure out how to remove the danm heatsink, but it seems a little hard. The documentaion that came with the cpu is really bad. I'm not sure how I was able to get it in in the first place. And all I can find on the internet is stuff about another model of heatsink. The heatsink is a little dusty, so I plan of blowing it out as soon as I can get it off.

[Macaholic]

I've been trying to figure out how to remove the danm heatsink, but it seems a little hard. The documentaion that came with the cpu is really bad. I'm not sure how I was able to get it in in the first place.

Stock Intel P4 Northwood HSF, correct? If so, then there are 2 levers you must flip in the opposite direction to disengage the heatsink. Run the system for 5 minutes before you attempt to remove the heatsink. The heat will prevent the paste or thermal pad from sticking to the CPU. Be careful when you lift the heatsink, and lift it straight up. Reason being, sometimes the CPU will sit "glued" to the heatsink plate and you risk bending or breaking pins. That's why it's a good idea to warm up the heatsink, before you remove it. But it is still no guarantee, that the CPU will not come loose as well.

[itshondo]

make sure the fins of the heatsink are not clogged with dust- as they get dirtier, they get hotter.

[mkorpal]

Stock Intel P4 Northwood HSF, correct? If so, then there are 2 levers you must flip in the opposite direction to disengage the heatsink. Run the system for 5 minutes before you attempt to remove the heatsink. The heat will prevent the paste or thermal pad from sticking to the CPU. Be careful when you lift the heatsink, and lift it straight up. Reason being, sometimes the CPU will sit "glued" to the heatsink plate and you risk bending or breaking pins. That's why it's a good idea to warm up the heatsink, before you remove it. But it is still no guarantee, that the CPU will not come loose as well.

I could have sworn my heatsink was stock, but it seems like it's not. Oh well, I will figure it out another day. My laptop is being a pain, so I will wait to work on my desktop untill I fix my laptop.

*Edit* These are the clips that are holding my heatsink on.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.asp?Image=35%2D166%2D051%2D02%2Ejpg%2C35 %2D166%2D051%2D03%2Ejpg%2C35%2D166%2D051%2D04%2Ejp g%2C35%2D166%2D051%2D05%2Ejpg%2C35%2D166%2D051%2D0 6%2Ejpg&CurImage=35%2D166%2D051%2D02%2Ejpg&Description=Spire+SP414S8%2DH+70mm+Sleeve+CPU+Cool ing+Fan%2FHeatsink+%2D+Retail

[orionlion82]

lift up on the tabs after depressing the HSF. then, aim for the trash.:p

absolutely not a stock cooler. matter of fact looks allmost worse.
i dont see any surprise at all that your temps are high and things arent working out as you had hoped.
its summer, and youre overclocking (or at least using) a moderately hot chip without the right hardware for the job.
im betting you would be much much happier with a quality replacement such as an XP-90 with a good fan or something along those lines. dont forget the AS5 or ceramique either...
for sure though, get those temps down.
my old northwood would go haywire at those temps, and you must be a pretty unhappy camper.
and if you can add two (2) more fans to your case then i suggest you make them moderately powerful ones.
as youre finding out, you really cant neglect the cooling while having your cake and eating it too...
Good Luck.:thup:

[mkorpal]

Well, I finally got the heatsink off, cleaned the old thermal paste off with 70% alcohol wipes, and applied AS5. My temps are already down a few degrees and they will probibly drop more. I also get two 120mm case fans that push 42cfm each. I think this will help quite a bit. Thanks for all your help.

Matt