PIII 800e @ 1008 loseing stabilty...HELP!

[Dazedncnfz]

I'm back with another problem I'll give my specs and temps....
Asus p3v4x
256mb pc 133 (generic)
PIII 800e @1008 (126fsb) 1.85
alpha 3125s w/ys tech fans
80mm case fan
exhaust blower (video card)
geforce2 mx 32mb
3com 56k
linksys e-fast nic
sb live x-gamer
pcmcia adapter (on isa bus)
When I first put in the alpha the temps were at... no load 27c/84f and full load at 42c/107f. In the past 4 days the temps are up to no load 32c/89f and full load 50c/122f. Now I have been getting occasional lockups just surfing the web. Now when I put the HS in the processor did snap into place but I can move it side to side pretty easily. Is that ok because of the weight of it? Just doesn't seem right to me. I did run ( first night I got the alpha) sisoft burn in for 13 hours straight after gaming on all day, and got no lockups.Is that enough of burning in, I do game on it every day for hours at a time. Please help I don't want to burn this thing up!! If you need any more info let me know Thanks

 

[RedDeathDrinker]

The heatsink should NOT move.......

If it's locking up, you need to back it down a notch, 'till it runs stable.

 

[batboy]

I've had similar problems in the past. Those heavy sinks will move around a bit if the clip has side to side play. This squeezes the thermal paste out. Your temps are too high if you're reaching up close to 50 degrees. You need to remove the cooler, clean it up, reapply the thermal paste, and then reinstall the cooler again. I wrapped a little piece of duct tape around center of the hold-down clip so it fit tighter in the groove. This seemed to help. Try to refrain from moving the sink around.

 

[Yodums]

You better reinstall that.. because its just spreading the thermal paste .. Try re-installin it then if it keeps moving try an elastic band or tape.

 

[Dazedncnfz]

The clip is tight . I dont mean that the heatsink is loose from the cpu. I mean the whole thing as one can move side to side.Im not in there wiggling the thing back and forth, dont get wrong I'm just saying the whole thing a one piece has movement if i touch it.I will take it back out and reapply some new compound. This time I will use the radio shack stuff i have and not the stuff that came with the alpha.What should be the max temp under load that i should hit? 45c?

 

[batboy]

Yes, I knew what you meant, both my Alpha PAL6035 and GlobalWin FOP will move from side to side a little bit. As I mentioned, I used a bit of duct tape wrapped around the hold-down clip so it fits tighter in the heatsink groove in order to reduce the side to side movement. Any movement will push the thermal paste off to the side of the core. It's just the nature of the beast with those big heavy coolers. The P-4 CPUs have a more positive locking method of holding the sink down and some AMDs actually bolt the sink to the motherboard so there can't be any movement. When overclocking those coppermines, I prefer stay at 40 degrees or less. Low 40's at the most. When overclocked many of those processors start getting unstable at about the mid to upper 40 degrees.

 

[Dazedncnfz]

Ok Batboy i got what you mean now too. I guess it goes just as the saying does.."if duct tape dont fix it nothing will" or "nothing that duct tape and wd40 cant fix"! Another question i have is this . Would reversing my fans on the alpha to blow onto the heat sink give me better temps, or is it better to leave them sucking air off the heatsink?

 

[batboy]

The ol' sucking vs. blowing debate. Generally the Alphas seem to like the fan sucking air off the heatsink, but it depends on the system and the other cooling mods (like case fans, etc.). I think it really depends on the air circulation inside your case. My advice is to try it both ways and monitor your temps. With my system, sucking lowered the CPU temp by a degree or two compared to blowing, but raised my system (mobo) temps higher than I liked. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Dazedncnfz]

Well i do have on 80mm case fan down in front and one exhaust blower under my video card. i just ordered another 80mm fan to put in..my next question is this ..should I cut this fan into the top of my case and have it suck out air or cut it into the bottom of my power supply and make it suck out? Which would you recomend? With outting this fan in either way would it then be better to reverse the fans to blow onto the heat sink since they would be better air circulation in the case?

 

[CrystalMethod]

I wouldn't have a fan from a power supply blowing onto my HSF. It would be feeding the HSF hot air from the power supply. Just my $0.02.

 

[Dazedncnfz]

I didnt say blowing onto the heatsink....i said sucking up from it into the power suppy and out the back of the PS with its other fan located in the back of it.just to clarify! Anyway I have decided to cut the fan into the top the case blowing out NOT in. I think that would work better anyway, but im going to have to get a bigger PS i thinking 350watt. Any opions? 300 watt good enough or just go for the 350?

 

[Dazedncnfz]

To add I also just reversed the fans on the alpha to blow onto the heatsink seems to be holding me a little cooler at idle 29-30c but i rise up at one point to 52 cunderload and droped quickly to 46c. I ran star trek SF command for about a hour and it averaged 46c ( this is when it hit the 52c high on). So is a average of 46c good enough with these fans reversed? Im hopeing that with this extra case fan (80mm) im putting in it will be.

 

[Dazedncnfz]

Update.....I just put the fans back to the way they came, it not running good with them reversed! Also I reapllyed heat compound and cleaned the the HS with rubbing alcohol and got a nice thin layer of compound on the chip.This thime i didnt cnake down on the screw either instead i stopped when then tightened up (prob could get another 1/2 to full turn tops of them). Just ran quake 3 loops for about 15 min and it didnt get hotter then 48c and has idle as low as 29c but now after the loops seems to be sitting at 32c. I'll prob put the case fan in the top later today.If anyone got any other advice let me know before i go cut my case up! Thanks

 

[batboy]

Those temps still seem a bit high to me. I'm not exactly sure what you can do. After installing your case fans (a blow hole in the top exhausting air is probably a good idea) if the temps are still high, you might consider getting a different CPU cooler or adapting a 80mm fan to the cooler. If you want to stay with a 60mm fan, maybe try one that has more CFM like a Delta (if you can put up with the noise). Alternatively, maybe a blowhole in the side intaking air in directly towards the CPU (assuming the CPU cooler fan is blowing into the heatsink).

As for power supply, nowadays I consider a 300 watt minimum. Certainly a 350 or even a 400 watt unit would be better, especially if you're adding lots of fans. If you already have a 300 watt PS, you're probably ok for now. If you decide to buy another PS, then Enermax and some Antec models now have two fans, an intake and an exhaust that are often thermister controlled. In order words the more heat there is, the faster the fans spin.