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Verrrrryy odd pc problem..

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  • 11-02-2009 12:13am
    #1
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭


    Hey Guys,

    Hope someone from here as has some bright ideas as to what might be wrong.

    I recently upgraded my system, it now contains..

    Core 2 extreme qx9750 processor
    xfx nforce 680islt motherboard.
    2 gb ddr2 dram 667mhz
    jeantech 700w storm power supply.
    2 Radeon X1650 Sapphire graphics cards running in crossfire mode.
    4 sata hd's,
    usual bits and pieces..

    In the recen upgrad I changed just the motherboard and processor, everything else remains the same.

    Problem I have is that now the pc shuts itself off whenever I sit it upright.
    If I leave it laying flat on its side it will run a lot longer, sometimes for hours before resetting itself, but as soon as I sit it upright it will reset itself every few minutes.

    There's no Blue Screen of death, no noted errors on windows, it always just restarts without issue.

    A warning comes up on the BIOS saying that the system is now in safe mode, but apart from that, no notable signs of a problem(unless you count me pulling my remaining hair out)

    I thought it could be the cables, so ive tried 'jiggling' them a little while its powered on, didnt do anything.
    Unplugged all but the main hard drive and it makes no difference.

    Ive checked all the capacitors, they all appear fine..

    Any ideas?

    Head is wrecked with it now..

    Al


Comments

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    #2
    Ghost Train
    Registered Users Posts: 30,269 ✭✭✭✭Ghost Train


    does the PC get the same amount of cooling in both positions, is the processor seated properly

    can think of anything specific that would cause that


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    #3
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    I didnt actually check that the processor was seated properly, I just assumed that because it runs fine while lying down that it must be.
    It gets the same level of cooling in all positions.
    Funny thing is when its laying down and working fine, as i lift it up to the upright position, it will restart itself before i even get to upright with it, so it doesnt have time to overheat.

    Thanks for the suggestions, I've just had a look at the processor and it seems to be seated properly. I did notice that there is none of that cement stuff between the chip and heatsink, do you think that could be a problem? the heatsink is quite big and heavy, but it's bolted to the board, dunno if you think thats relevant.


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    #4
    Gary ITR
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,801 ✭✭✭✭Gary ITR


    A processor can overheat in seconds. Make sure it's seated properly and you put a nice thin layer of thermal paste on the heatsink.


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    #5
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    nice one, thanks, I'm gonna get some thermal paste tomorrow and put it in place. I just realised that I may not have tightened the heatsink bolts enough too as I was wary of screwing the bolt into the top of the mobo capacitors.

    I'll try the paste solution tomorrow, thanks for the help.


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    #6
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    Also, how are you running Crossfire on a 680i, and secondly, why an earth would you disgrace that build by throwing 2 ancient, slow cards into it?? :)


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    #7
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    Haha.. was wondering when someone was gonna ask that. Have the cards from my previous system, when I get this bloody problem sorted im gonna upgrade them.
    Running crossfire from the ati software. actually have crossfire disabled at the minute as im running 2 monitors off it for photo editing.
    While on the subject, any suggestions of a good upgrade for the graphics cards?


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    #8
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,079 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    al_ wrote: »
    Haha.. was wondering when someone was gonna ask that. Have the cards from my previous system, when I get this bloody problem sorted im gonna upgrade them.
    Running crossfire from the ati software. actually have crossfire disabled at the minute as im running 2 monitors off it for photo editing.
    While on the subject, any suggestions of a good upgrade for the graphics cards?
    Depends what you're budget is. You should look at upgrading to 4GBs of ram as well seeing how cheap ram is now a days.


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    #9
    DanGerMus
    Registered Users Posts: 1,525 ✭✭✭DanGerMus


    al_ wrote: »
    I did notice that there is none of that cement stuff between the chip and heatsink, do you think that could be a problem?

    Well this is definately A problem. There should be some thermal paste of some kind. What heatsink are you using some come with paste preapplied some don't.

    Did you assemble the PC yourself?

    It sounds like your on the right track with the heatsink not being seated correctly. When lying down the contact will be better and so you're getting more time out of it. When on the side the heatsink would tend to hang away from the cpu so you will get little or no contact. Either way you need paste and it needs to be tightened properly.


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    #10
    Anti
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,401 ✭✭✭✭Anti


    im amazed that cpu hasn't burn't out with no thermal paste. Its good that intel idiot proof their cpu's with the thermal shutdown.


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    #11
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    Depends what you're budget is. You should look at upgrading to 4GBs of ram as well seeing how cheap ram is now a days.


    Budget would be aruond €600 for the 2. could stretch it if required...

    Definitely gonna upgrade the ram to 4gb, just wanted to wait til this problem was sorted out. a pc that turns itself off with 4gb of ram is as useless as one that turns itself off with 2gb ram!

    would you reckon i should upgrade all the ram? the stuff thats in it is 667mhz...

    Thanks again


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    #12
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    Dangermus,
    Thanks for your input, I did assemble it myself, there was a very thin smear of thermal paste on the heatsink when I put it in but Im thinking it probably wasnt enough.

    What you said
    "When lying down the contact will be better and so you're getting more time out of it. When on the side the heatsink would tend to hang away from the cpu so you will get little or no contact"
    does make sense, and I didnt think anything about the problem made sense upto now..

    Thanks again


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    #13
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    Have been trying a few things with it this morning.
    Just installed a ups from belkin and the problem seems to have gone away*fingers crossed*, I can pretty much stand the pc any way Id like now and it stays on. thinking it could be power cable related now...
    I'm gonna put some more thermal paste on the heatsink later just to be sure that there is no problem that way.
    Thanks for all the help.


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    #14
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    al_ wrote: »
    Haha.. was wondering when someone was gonna ask that. Have the cards from my previous system, when I get this bloody problem sorted im gonna upgrade them.
    Running crossfire from the ati software. actually have crossfire disabled at the minute as im running 2 monitors off it for photo editing.
    While on the subject, any suggestions of a good upgrade for the graphics cards?

    Crossfire doesn't work anyway on Sli boards, unless you're using hacked drivers which always tend to be quite old and outdated...

    What sort of games do you play and what resolution monitor?

    Make sure if you're applying more paste that you clean the old stuff off the heatsink and cpu thoroughly, otherwise you'll make it worse. The layer that comes with any heatsink is perfectly adequate, it might not be optimal but it would never be in danger of overheating. What probably happened is that the clips weren't in properly/plates weren't secure. I made this mistake once, the cooler appeared to be on but one of the retention clips wasn't in properly. So on booting, I was hitting over 70c.

    Not sure what it might be regarding the UPS, that's a strange one. PSU is definitely capable of powering double what you've got running, so its not inherently a problem with your spec's or anything. As for the ram, if you've got 2x1gb of 667, just get another 2x1gb kit of 667. 800Mhz might be better if you're going to be doing a decent bit of overclocking, if not there's no real point. 4GB kits of decent 800mhz stuff are so cheap these days though it wouldn't be the worst thing you could do anyway.


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    #15
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    Terror,
    Thanks for that, very helpful.

    I dont play many games to be honest, Im a photographer and 99% of my pc usage is for editing pics and video. I wasnt aware that crossfire wouldnt work on an sli board, you learn something new everyday! I have it disabled anyhow cos im running 2 monitors on it. 1 regular at 1024*768 and 1 widescreen at 1680*1050
    Anytime I do play a game its world of warcraft and i play it on the widescreen monitor, but thats quite rare.

    I might just get 2gb's of 667 ram and throw them in, I most likely wouldnt be overclocking it.

    regarding the ups, Im thinkin there must be a fault in the power cable that i had plugged into the pc, maybe a break in it or something, only thing I can think of that makes sense... having said that, not much about this problem has made sense.

    any good suggestions for graphics cards?


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    #16
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    Going from what you've said there, to be honest I'd just stick with the X1650Pro. It's an OK card for those sort of games, if you really feel like you want an upgrade (I'm not a WOW Player, but I do understand it can get bogged down in some areas with lots of stuff going on?) then this is absolutely as much as you need to spend, it's about 3-4x faster then the X1650 and is the top budget card available. You could also sell the spare X1650 for cash, it would fetch about 20 euro - so that's 40 euro between them if you opt for a new card, which recoups a fair deal of what you'd spend! It's a pity you bought the 680i if you're not a gamer, you would have been fine with a much cheaper board and saved a good deal of money, and a non-gamer/non-overclocker won't gain anything from using it at all (personally I'm using a 50 euro motherboard in my main single-card gaming machine, and I even overclock a bit)....but no point really lamenting over it now. :)


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    #17
    al_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 64 ✭✭al_


    Terror, thanks a million for your help.
    Between the thermal grease and ups the problem has been fixed, pc has been running perfectly ever since.
    Upgraded the ram to 4gb of 800mhz and I'm gonna look into the video card.
    Shocked at how fast those video cards went outta date, upgrade on the horizon methinks.
    Thanks again


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