System overheating and resulting in poor performance..

[Guest]

Ok, i have an Alienware desktop pc, 3Ghz with HT, 1GB ram, 128MB GeForce FX
5700 Ultra, 80GB HDD at 7200rpm, Creative Audigy 2 and a 17" LCD Monitor.
I know i should contact Alienware if i need help but yeah i already did and
to be honest there support is a bunch of rubbish who never responds.
Neway now, my computer is heating up a lot. I use Intel Desktop Control
Center & Intel Active Monitor and they keep alerting me off my pc going upto
83 degress celcius at the processor zone. My games have started playing at
poorer performance and my computer has started freezing a lot since this
'overheating' problem. Anyone know any solutions to this? Please help soon.

Thanks..

 

[Leythos]

Ok, i have an Alienware desktop pc, 3Ghz with HT, 1GB ram, 128MB GeForce FX
5700 Ultra, 80GB HDD at 7200rpm, Creative Audigy 2 and a 17" LCD Monitor.
I know i should contact Alienware if i need help but yeah i already did and
to be honest there support is a bunch of rubbish who never responds.
Neway now, my computer is heating up a lot. I use Intel Desktop Control
Center & Intel Active Monitor and they keep alerting me off my pc going upto
83 degress celcius at the processor zone. My games have started playing at
poorer performance and my computer has started freezing a lot since this
'overheating' problem. Anyone know any solutions to this? Please help soon.

I would suggest that you have a cooling fan problem:

1) Check all FANS - Power Supply, Case, etc.. Use compressed air (clean)
to remove any dust.

2) Check all case vent holes - clean with compressed air (clean air)

3) Check that all fans are actually spinning - fast, should not be
spinning slowly.

If this does not resolve the problem, what have you changed since this
started?

 

[Guest]

Well, according to the software my fan 3 is not spinning fast at all, it's
spinning at 2000rpm where as my CPU fan is spinning at 3377rpm. Does that
help clear out what the problem is? By changing anything do you mean hardware
of software?
Thanks for the fast reply.

 

[Mike Kolitz]

Well, somehow, you'll need to improve airflow in and around your PC. Make
sure that all the fans are running, especially the one on the processor. If
all the fans are running, and they're not gunked up with dust and grime, you
can stop by your local PC store and buy some extra fans to put in your case
(most cases have extra space for some fans, so they can be added later). If
you don't have extra fan-grates on your case, there are some fans that can
be put in the expansion-card slots.

 

[R. McCarty]

Another fairly common issue with heat is the processor fan & it's
contact with the CPU. Sometimes the fan heatsink (Aluminum or
Copper) isn't firmly attached to the CPU core or there isn't enough
Thermal paste to transfer the heat efficiently.

This is a tedious/delicate thing to deal with, best done by a local
PC shop or technician. Many factory CPU fans are smaller and
cannot move enough air. Sometimes cables lay over or beside the
CPU and restrict airflow around it. .

Personally, I recommend a Zalman CPU Fan - which is a much
larger fan, turning at a slower speed. It also has much larger fins to
help dissipate the heat off the CPU. An exhaust fan helps as many
cheaper PCs only rely on the Power Supply exhaust fan to vent
heat out of the computer.

 

[Leythos]

Well, according to the software my fan 3 is not spinning fast at all, it's
spinning at 2000rpm where as my CPU fan is spinning at 3377rpm. Does that
help clear out what the problem is? By changing anything do you mean hardware
of software?

Fan 3 - CPU fan, does your computer change the speed of the FAN to control
TEMP? Unless your BIOS is slowing down the fan my guess (since I don't
know the spec's on your fan) is that it should be spinning faster.

There are several things that effect temp - fans, fan speed, proper
heat-sink paste application, ambient temp around the computer case, and
air-flow through the case. Any one of these can cause HI-TEMP in the
computer/parts.

 

[Bill James]

In many situations, not all fans are monitored, which is why a physical inspection is important. The CPU fan can be turning at a normal speed, but the cooling fins have so much dust and crud in them that cooling is not happening regardless of fan speed -- same thing for the video card if it has it's own fan and heatsink. Also, the intake/exhaust vents on the case can be partially blocked by buildup of dust and debris. Along the same line, make sure there is open space on all sides of the case so airflow is not restricted. While the case is open, make sure cables are neatly positioned so they aren't blocking airflow.

--

Bill James
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User

Windows VBScript Utilities » www.billsway.com/vbspage/
Windows Tweaks & Tips » www.billsway.com/notes_public/

 

[Plato]

Well, according to the software my fan 3 is not spinning fast at all, it's
spinning at 2000rpm where as my CPU fan is spinning at 3377rpm. Does that

Fans spinning is not the entire issue. Heatsinks under the cpu fan may
be totally clogged with dust/grime thus rendering the fan almost usless,
even if running at specs.

 

[Guest]

Hi guys....i checked my computer from inside as well and according to ME all
the fans are working fine, they all seem to be spinning fast but........since
i cant see the power supply fan i put my hand in front of the fan (at tha
back of pc) to see whether that fan was any slower and to me it seems that it
is spinning slower..anyone know how to change it to spin fast if there's a
setting that i need to make...i have a Intel D875PBZ motherboard...
thanks

 

[Leythos]

Hi guys....i checked my computer from inside as well and according to ME all
the fans are working fine, they all seem to be spinning fast but........since
i cant see the power supply fan i put my hand in front of the fan (at tha
back of pc) to see whether that fan was any slower and to me it seems that it
is spinning slower..anyone know how to change it to spin fast if there's a
setting that i need to make...i have a Intel D875PBZ motherboard...
thanks

There is no way to change the speed of a PSU fan from the motherboard. PSU
Fans are controlled inside the PSU - some PSU's are what they call "Quiet"
and that means the PSU will slow the fans speed until a set temperature is
reached - the speed will modulate to maintain the temp.

Keep in mind one other thing - if you installed the CPU in the
motherboard, too much heat-sink paste will act as an thermal insulator,
it's designed to ONLY fill the micro-gaps between the two surfaces, not to
be a thick layer between them (if you used a HS Pad included with the CPU
that's another story).

It could also be that you've got restricted air-flow IN the case - so that
there is no cool air being drawn into the case, or not enough to allow the
CPU FAN to cool it. I always have at least one 80mm case fan in addition
to the PSU fan(s).

 

[Malke]

Hi guys....i checked my computer from inside as well and according to
ME all the fans are working fine, they all seem to be spinning fast
but........since i cant see the power supply fan i put my hand in
front of the fan (at tha back of pc) to see whether that fan was any
slower and to me it seems that it is spinning slower..anyone know how
to change it to spin fast if there's a setting that i need to make...i
have a Intel D875PBZ motherboard... thanks

Unless you have a special power supply that provides controls for its
fan, there's nothing you can do except replace it. You really should
contact Alienware if there are hardware problems with the new pc you
got from them. It is still under warranty, I'm sure.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Is it possible that the power supply wire that goes into my computer is not
fitting in properly cause i just checked and it is kind of loose. I had
bought a UPS and so i had to use the original wire i got with my machine to
connect power supply to UPS and the UPS supplied wire to connect the monitor
& cpu to the UPS. Is there a way of checking whether this is the cause & also
could you please tell me what should be the CPU voltage. I am quite blank
about this and use a software called "Aida32" to see this so maybe if you
could relate it to that i would find it easier to understand.

Thanks..

 

[Leythos]

Is it possible that the power supply wire that goes into my computer is not
fitting in properly cause i just checked and it is kind of loose. I had
bought a UPS and so i had to use the original wire i got with my machine to
connect power supply to UPS and the UPS supplied wire to connect the monitor
& cpu to the UPS. Is there a way of checking whether this is the cause & also

If the cord works and you didn't have to modify it, then it should be
fine. Cords are standard type items for the most part.

could you please tell me what should be the CPU voltage. I am quite
blank about this and use a software called "Aida32" to see this so maybe
if you could relate it to that i would find it easier to understand.

Sorry, I don't have a clue as to what your CPU Voltage should be - did you
use the default settings when you built it? Most motherboards today
auto-set most of the voltages and such.

Now that you've mentioned this - are you Over-Clocking your CPU? If so,
stop, there is no reason to over-clock a CPU.

 

[Guest]

That's ok about the voltage but you didn't quite answer my other question
which was that is it possible that the power supply wire that goes into my
computer is not fitting in properly and this be the cause of my cpu heating
up. Also could you tell me what speed should the power supply fan be spinning
at?
To answer your question, i have no idea about whether it's overclocking or
not cause i bought it from Alienware and i believe that they do set the video
card to overclock but i am not sure about the CPU and no i have not changed
any such settings since i received my machine.

Thanks..

 

[Leythos]

That's ok about the voltage but you didn't quite answer my other question
which was that is it possible that the power supply wire that goes into my
computer is not fitting in properly and this be the cause of my cpu heating

If the computer is running then the PSU is getting proper AC power - this
means the cord is most likely seated firmly enough to make good contact.
If you have doubts, replace the cord - they cost about $5.

up. Also could you tell me what speed should the power supply fan be
spinning at?

Nope, I can't and neither can anyone else. Fans run at different speeds
and some will change with the CPU temp. Only the vendor can tell you what
it should be doing.

To answer your question, i have no idea about whether it's overclocking
or not cause i bought it from Alienware and i believe that they do set
the video card to overclock but i am not sure about the CPU and no i
have not changed any such settings since i received my machine.

Was this computer overheating when you bought it? If not, then you have a
problem of some type, if it was, then you may have just got a bad sensor
or the CPU Fan/HS was installed improperly.

At this point you are going to have to call the vendor.