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Question

Presumably, overheating problem, but not as simple as it see

by Dec 1, 2012 8:54PM PST

So my PC randomly turns itself off as if it had overheated and I have not slightest idea why. Now yesterday I was playing graphic intense game and my PC turned itself off, I presumed that CPU or GPU had overheated and turned itself off for safety reasons, I was right because heatsink of my CPU was blocked by thick layer of dust, which I should have cleaned at least a month ago it was also rather hot, obviosly. So I cleaned the dust off heatsink and fans and because it was already late I went to sleep.

So today I turned on my PC logged into Win 7 desktop and after opening few Explorer windows my PC turned off, I tried it again and the same damn thing happened, I wanted to open tool to measure the temperature, but the damn PC shut off again.I thought it was OS problem and booted ubuntu, everything seemed to work fine for about 50 mintues and I was able to copy most of my important files on my external HDD.

Now I decided it was hardware problem so I went to BIOS few times and tried to find the damn place where temperature was shown, being illiterate computer ignoramus I wasn't able to find it and my PC shut off few times while I was in BIOS. The fans were working and the heatsink after my PC turned off in BIOS wasn't even lukewarm it was cool.

I honestly don't have any ideas what the problem is. Damaged CPU? Damaged temperature sensor? The heatsink wasn't moved, the fans were moving, dust was cleaned off and I was able to work in Ubuntu desktop for about hour without any problems or hiccups.

Hardware is

i7 clocked at 2.66Ghz
6 GB of ram
P6T motherboard
Nvidia GTS 250

Thanks for the help in advance.

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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Clarification Request
Extra info from OP.
by AnronX Dec 1, 2012 9:35PM PST

Also, I just managed to get to BIOS to check temperature and the temperature from 55 Celsius went up to 75 Celsius in just a few seconds. So I guess I have some serious cooling problem or the temperature sensor is extremely imprecise. Any ideas what has caused this and how I can fix it?

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Shut downs
by pgc3 Dec 1, 2012 11:19PM PST

And what are you using for a PSU? Have you tried pulling off a side cover(s) to see if there is any effect, as in lack of cooling capacity? Suspects, PSU insufficient to the task, lack of cooling and if applicable, overclocking which can tax system hardware, etc.

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Sounds like the CPU Heatsink is NOT making good contact the
by VAPCMD Dec 1, 2012 11:20PM PST

CPU and or the CPU HS Fan is NOT working.

Suggest checking both soon. Sometimes moving or relocating the PC (system unit/tower/etc.,) can cause the CPU HS Fan to dislodge or to lose full contact with the CPU. Without full contact and the fan, the CPU temp rises quickly.

Let us know how it works out.

VAPCMD

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Answer
Possible areas to check...
by Dec 1, 2012 11:43PM PST

When it gets hot the cpu can cause the "heat compound" to sputter. It moves a bit(bubbles) or starts expelling itself under extreme conditions. The best action, would be to remove the old compound, re-apply(Artric Silver). Before application clean the heck out of it and then apply. Be sure the fan works good too. You may want to upgrade the heatsink setup to a better more efficient one that really gets the job done. Further you want the case to exhaust all heat build-up so prepare that well, more fans, better fans, or extra vents/holes, etc. Since, NOW you're experiencing a problem the cpu itself could be stressed out and acceptable to lesser heat range and kick-in the overtemp shutdown. All this for the cpu ALSO!!! effects the gpu(video side) of things. If you haven't cleaned the video card, do so. If you OC, return to default levels. The damage may already been done, the weakest link has been tipped, you need to find it. You may want to open case for the time being and see how that reacts.

tada -----Willy Happy

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