Several themes after installing new CPU, cooling, etc. in my PC [arctic cooling freezer 64] [arctic cooling freezer]


Re:Just as an update……….. I left my computer running all through the night (just as further information, the apps running on it are mIRC and Azareus, downloading stuff…….. this was the situation during the previous reboots, except for the first one)………. the last reboot had been prior to 6 PM EST, at least (when I had gotten home yesterday to find the PC rebooted).

When I woke up this morning I fully expected to find it rebooted again, but it was actually still running fine where I left off. So as off now it's at least been running since 6 PM EST yesterday to 8 AM EST today with no reboots.

So I'm not sure what exactly it is. I left my computer running when I left, so I will see if it rebooted when I get back home.


Re:K, thanks, I'll try that.

The only thing I can really pinpoint is that I never had these random reboot issues prior to the upgrades I made, so the specific changes would seem to be the new PSU and the new CPU.

Is it possible a random reboot could be caused by overheating or something? Even if my CPU isn't showing at hotter than 51 degrees or so, I am thinking that it could be a problem that I didn't put more thermal compound on it (I just put some thermal compound in a pea-sized amount in the center and then put the Freezer 64 on it).

I'm still not sure how to get a thin even spread of thermal compound over the whole CPU…… the things I've tried have ended up more of a mess than anything else.


Re:It's not easy to troubleshoot intermittent or random problems, but one of the trends is for people to slap together a rig with "botique" memory and never think twice about whether they're giving the memory the voltage it's designed for, so that's why I asked. You might want to give it a little more voltage, say 2.7 volts, and see how that goes. Unstable memory can manifest itself in BSODs and reboots.

Good hunting :)


Re:From looking at MSI CoreCenter, it says Memory voltage is at 2.60V.

I haven't ever made any changes to that, before or after I originally installed the memory (I built this computer originally back in April of last year).


Re:What voltage do you have the RAM at?

Re:Thanks:

MB: MSI K8T Neo FISR2
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 1M cache (this CPU replaced my damaged Athlon 64 3200+)….. I bought this here on the forums
CPU Cooler: 64
Memory: 2 512MB Kingston HyperX DIMMs
PSU: Antec NeoPower 480w (replaced an Antec SmartPower 350w)
Video card: PNY GeForce 6800GT with Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5

Optical Drives: Plextor PX-708A and Sony 52x DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive
Hard Drives: 80GB Maxtor and 120GB Western Digital IDE drives

Case: Antec SLK3700BQE


Re:You could help us out by posting your full specs, including brand & models of the memory modules and power supply. edit: I see you mentioned your PSU is a Neopower 480W, that helps. What's the rest?

Re:I have an update on this.

Although I haven't experienced any of the immediate reboots, I've now experienced two additional mysterious reboots. The first seems to have occurred sometime last night, early this morning. My PC had definitely been up and online as of around 1 AM EST, but this morning when I checked it around 9 AM, it had rebooted (the system was sitting at the login screen, and when I logged in, Windows gave me the same general error message that a device driver had caused the reboot but it couldn't tell me more.

Then, I left the house around 1 PM EST, and when I got home at just before 6 PM EST, it had rebooted again, same issue.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I haven't noticed anything really unusual. The CPU cooling still isn't what I'd like (seems to hover around 48-51 degrees, so I think I'll need to reapply the thermal compound), but I haven't seen it get dramatically hot. The only hardware difference is the new Athlon 64 3400+ instead of the 3200+, and the new cooler on that and the NV Silencer on the 6800GT, and the new PSU (the Antec NeoPower 480w).

-guy


Re:my bad, :o

I'd read the section about shipping with MX-1 compound and curing etc, but now I realise it doesn't actually state it's applied to the heatsink.


Re:Hrmm, are you positive? I didn't see anything like that on the Freezer 64. The bottom of the heatsink didn't have any sort of thermal pad on it…….. it was just copper on the bottom.

From looking at http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=10&disc= it does mention the Arctic Cooling MX-1 thermal compound that came with it, but it was in a separate tube, not already applied.


Re:Heatsinks usually come with thermal pads or paste factory applied, according the website the Freezer 64 certainly does……..

Re:Thanks, yeah. I'm just relieved to at least know what the problem was, and that it was in fact the CPU.

So far the PC hasn't rebooted again since that first time, so I guess it was just something temporary (maybe the system was confused because the CPU had gone from an A64 3200+ to a 3400+?

Regarding the stock thermal compound, there wasn't anything on the Freezer 64 already. And the Athlon 64 3400+ was already clean.

When you said you wouldn't have bothered with the AS5, what did you mean? Are you saying I should have just put the Freezer 64 on without any thermal compound at all, or that I should use something else?

Re: the video card……… yeah, it's certainly at least quieter (actually, my whole system is quieter, which I'm happy about, as that's the whole reason I replaced the stock cooling on my CPU and video card and added in the Antec SmartCool and Vantec Stealth 120mm case fans to my 3700SLKBQE, along with the NeoPower 480w, which also seems to be quieter.

-guy


Re:Hello again

I see that you got sorted in the end! ;)

On the reboot issue, I wouldn't be too concerned unless it becomes a regular thing.

On the temps you're getting, they're OK (not fantastic but OK). Question though, when you installed the CPU cooler did you remove the stock thermal compound from the cooler before you used the AS5 ?
(Personally, I wouldn't have bothered with the AS5)

Can't comment on the temps on the video card but I would imagine that if it's quieter than the stock cooling but maintaining the same temps then that's a result.


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