Computer Overheating, Voltage Too High??

[Tag06]

This is my first post, and I'm not very knowledgeable about the intricate details of computer hardware, so please forgive any "newbie" questions I may be asking :)

I upgraded my comp to run Doom3 this past weekend. I bought a Radeon 9800 (it was an upgrade for me :) I had a ti4200...), a new sound card, and some new speakers (Logitech z680s). I put all of the stuff together, loaded Doom3, and...my computer rebooted. The same thing used to happen when I first started playing War3 because my motherboard (Asus A7v333) is set to reboot when it hits 72 degrees, which is really, really hot. I went out and bought a Thermaltake fan + heatsink at that time, but I figured I'd need to replace that stuff now.

I went to Fry's and bought the following:
-round cable kit for IDE cables and floppy
-$60 in fans (2 thermaltake smart fans + a thermaltake Silent cpu fan/heatsink combo)
-cpu thermal compound

I put 1 new fan in the front, 1 in the back with an old fan I already had, the new cpu cooler on (replaced the stock fan with a thermaltake smart fan that I found in a drawer) and booted my comp...57 degrees idle. My motherboard temp is at like 25 degrees, tho, so I'm confident that wind-tunnel case is getting enough air now :)

I've tried everything to cool it down, but the cpu (Athlon 2100) doesn't get cooler than 50 degrees while idle despite having a ton of fans moving air around in the case. The only "problem" I can identify is my +12v setting, as my Asus Monitor reports it at 13.8v and gives me an error message. Am I correct in assuming that this may be causing my heat problems? And how can I fix this?

[Crax]

Maybe time to start lookin for a new psu? What do you have right now?

[Tag06]

I'm not sure. I built the system 2 years ago and have just incrementally updated it since then. I think it's 350watts, but I could be wrong. Should I replace it with something more powerful? Asus probe has always reported my +12v setting as being too high; I just only realized it might be related to my overheating recently.

[therealwesty]

Welcome to PCStats Tag06!

As far as I know the 12v rail form the PSU is not used directly for the CPU's power. 13.4v is certainly way above what the voltage ought to be though so it may be contributing. What's the voltage going to the CPU (vCore)?

Can you list your complete system specs? Motherboard, power supply, model of that new CPU cooler especially... If we know more about your rig we may be able to spot something else.

[Tag06]

I dont have the exact voltage numbers with me right now because I'm at work, but I do know that the only one that Asus Probe reported as being out of range was the +12v.

The cpu cooler I bought is this one: http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/volcano/rs/a1889a.htm

Other than that, my comp is as such:
2 x WD 60gb in Raid array
Generic DVD drive, HP 9100+ CD-RW
AMD 2100XP
Radeon 9800 Pro
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard
512MB ram (not sure what speed or brand)
2 x Thermaltake Smart Fan (one in front, one in back)
Coolermax Case Fan (in back)
Thermaltake Silent Boost CPU cooler (Smart Fan replacing the stock fan)

[bluegreenshxt]

i'm assuming you have a palomino core...2100 was the last rating amd could squeeze out of it...so it does run very hot...that and along with the fact that asus mobos like to overvolt a lil bit...it doesnt suprise me your temps are so high my dad's palomino 1800 used to be at 60 degrees load...

heres a checklist of things to try...
- clean up the inside of the case ie. fold ide cables and tie up extra psu cables neatly to provide better airflow
- check and make sure the fans in the back is outtake (blowing air out of the case) and the fan in front is intake...
- monitor your vcore (cpu voltage) i think asus boards runs it at 1.81v or so (not positive)
- vacuum and clean out the dust bunnies
- check your room temperature
- the fan on the heatsink should be blowing air down on it
- run the fan on the cpu at full rpm (i dont know how loud a tt smart fan can get... :p)

if all else fails a thermalright heatsink and/or arctic silver 5 may be the cure

[Canadian-Guy]

Have you made sure you've seated the hsf properly? If there's a copper slug in the heatsink you may have set it backwards (common problem for aeroflow) and it'll cause your cpu to heat up very fast

[Doc Timbo]

XP reboots when blue-screening by default.... switch this off so you know its a heat problem. Also, applying thermal compound can be a fine art, but I doubt it will make more than a few degrees difference. Have you tried any other monitoring software for temp and voltage? Motherboard Monitor 5 comes to mind.. I also use SiSoft Sandra Mainboard info section.