Hello everyone :)

I have a problem with my Athlon XP 2400+ Overheating when it is clocked at 2GHz.

I originally made a post about how Win XP Pro wouldn't install in my XP 2400+ computer but i eventually figured out that it was my CPU overheating, so I changed the speed in the BIOS to a preset 1.5GHz and Win XP Pro installed and now works fine. So, as a test i decided to install Linux madrake 9.0 with the CPU set to 2GHz and that installed with no problems and ran perfectly.

Anyway, the point is an XP 2400+ is meant to run at 2GHz and not 1.5GHz, but it keeps turning my computer off. While the CPU is set to 2GHz the temperature is around 38c and stays like it while the system is idle or in DOS but as soon as i tried to install windows the temperature shot up. I can't tell you the exact temperature as it wouldn't let me turn my computer back on until the CPU had cooled down but I can say that it was extremely hot when i placed my hand near the HSF. I have checked thet my CPU is installed correctly.

My system specs are:

MOBO - ASUS A7V8X (flashed BIOS to REV 1012)
CPU - Athlon XP 2400+ 266MHz FSB
HSF - AKASA AK 824cu rated upto XP 2800+
RAM - 1 x 512Mb DDR333 (Corsair XMS)
GFX - Abit Siluro GF4 Ti4200-8X OTES
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 80Gb 7200rpm
CD-RW - Sony 52x24x52 CD-RW
DVD - Pioneer 16x40 DVD-ROM
PSU - Q-TEC 400W PSU Dual Fan
CASE - Coolermaster ATC-201b SXK Tower

Any ideas on the problem/cause/solution would be grately appreciated?

Thanx for your help :)

P.S. I originally made a post with the same title as this one but accidentally put it in the Windows XP forum. I got a lot of questions back about things so I have put as much info in this post as I could. The thing is that post has completely disappeared off this site without a trace and I have had to make this post. Does anyone know what hapened to my original post as it has completely baffled me?

A quick follow up.

I forgot to mension that i have 3 80mm case fans, a system exhaust fan, HS fan, GFX fan and 2 fans in my dual fan PSU. making 8 in total.

also, what are your recommendations on using compound like Arctic Silver 3?

Thanx again for your help :)

your first post was probably deleted since it was in the wrong forum. Sort of weird that it simply disappeared though with no explanation.

It sounds like your heatsink is not on properly. Any compound works well when applied correctly, but it can get messed up easily during the heatsink installation. Could be your sink is not on flat, is turned 180 degrees the wrong way, or the paste has been squeezed out during sink installation.

Try booting at 1.5ghz and running this program to drive up your temp:

http://www.geocities.com/btvillarin/Downloads/Toast.zip

and see what temp you lock up at. If you remain stable after 20 minutes, odds are against this being a temperature problem since windows boot at 2.0ghz is not as stressful as running toast for 20 minutes at 1.5ghz. You might also try running the program in safe mode at 2.0ghz if your system will at least boot to safe mode.

Hello LJR :)

OK you almost fried your CPU... lol. I'm really not surprised by what you're telling me. Linux isn't gonna put a load on the CPU. It will run on a 286! Any overclock will work with Linux.
Get a well-known brand of paste, arctic silver is good, and the most expensive and popular HSF you can buy. Or just settle for 1.5GHz.
Do also check out what Google brings up about your board and how well it overclocks, too. Follow any advice there - you might want to fit a fan to your northbridge, this often brings the overall temp down: http://pub65.ezboard.com/fk7s5amotherboardforumfrm5.showMessage?topicID=261.topic will tell u how to do it, I know your board isn't a K7S5A but it is the same procedure.

HTH
Jonathan

PS. I have the same PSU - nice one.

Firstly I would to thanx to johnoh & jonajsil for their replies, nice work :)

OK, so what would be the best HSF to buy out of this list to use on my XP2400+ running at 2GHz in your opinion?

Aerocool Phantom AMD Cooler XP2600+
Aerocool Hercules Universal Cooler XP2800+
Coolermaster Aero 7+ Socket A Cooler
GlobalWIN CAK488T Universal Cooler
Thermaltake Volcano 9 Coolmod Cooler
Vantec VA4-C7040 AMD Aeroflow cooler XP3000+

All the above are from www.overclock.co.uk

I already have an Akasa 824cu. This has a thermal pad on the bottom. Is it sufficient for my needs i.e. running my XP2400+ at what it is meant to run at? Should i take the thermal pad off and replace with compound?

Thanx again :)

Your existing akasa cooler should be fine if it came with a pad and is installed properly. What happened when you ran toast?

I like the aeroflow out of your options. Perhaps a better option yet is to spend 20 quid and get

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Thermalright_120.html

--> Thermalright SK-7 (HS-006-TR)

And take off one of those case fans and use it as the sk7 fan.

OK, i did the test with toast at 1.5GHz for 20 mins and it went fine. I then went into safe mode with CPU clocked at 2GHz and repeated the test, but yet again as with every other time i ran it at 2GHz it put my computer into suspension (it does this randomly between 1 & 5 mins) and the HSF was really hot to the touch.

I have this option in the BIOS to safeguard against excessive temperatures. I have tried it set to 70, 80 & 90 degrees celsius and the same thing happens.

When it went into suspension i turned my computer off almost instantly, then turned it back on when it would let me (about 10 secs after the initial shutdown), went into the BIOS and looked at the hardware monitor and it said 45 degrees.

This is really confusing as to what could be the problem, it has no problem running at 1.5GHz.

What do you think?

it doesn't sound like a heat problem if the cpu is 45C just a few seconds after a freeze.

Is your ram still set to ddr333?..maybe it went up when your turned your cpu up to 2ghz.it could be running higher then it's supposed to and could cause it to crash??

I agree, I don't think it would be a heat issue. I have the same CPU w/ a MSI KT3V mobo. I am set up at 2.0GHz and ran it for 48 hours straight never getting over 45* Celcius. How are your BIOS settings?

A little update.

I decided to install ASUS PC probe and then run toast in Windows (in normal mode) while the CPU was clocked at 2GHz to see what would happen and at what temperature it would cut out.

The very millisecond i ran toast at 2GHz it put my comp into suspension, therefore this problem has nothing to do with temperature as PC probe says 40c and the BIOS says 40c too (sorry).

So, this only happens at 2GHz. There is no problem at all at 1.5GHz (toast ran perfectly)and it has nothing to do with temperature. I am now at a complete loss about this?????

Might it have something to do with memory or CPU speeds and voltages. I don't have a clue how they work or if it could really cause a problem like this (i'me not an expert) :S

What do you think?

"The very millisecond i ran toast at 2GHz it put my comp into suspension"

This makes me think its a power problem. Toast causes an immediate sharp rise in the power consumed by the cpu. A 0.05V or 0.1V increase to the cpu vcore voltage may help - not because the cpu is bad but because the motherboard or power supply is not delivering constant power. Hopefully your bios allows vcore adjustment.

If you have a p4 power connector on your motherboard and power supply make sure you're using it. Its the top connector in this pic..

http://www.hw.by/images/P4/ATX12V.jpg

You might also try mbm from livewire.com which can make a log file of your voltages so you can see how they change when toast starts. You may need to do this at 1.5g if it locks up too quickly at 2.0g.

I tried changing the Vcore like you said and the higher i put it the sooner it would turn my comp off. by the time i got to 1.750v it wouldn't even get into windows before it turned off.

So here are my BIOS settings, hope they can help? :

CPU Speed - 2000Mhz
CPU Frequency - 15.0x
CPU Extended frequency (MHz)- 133/33
Memory Frequency (MHz) - Auto
CPU Vcore Setting - Auto
CPU Vcore - 1.650v
AGP Voltage - Auto
DRAM Voltage - Auto
System Performance - Optimal
CPU Level 1 Cache - Enabled
CPU Level 2 Cache - Enabled

SDRAM Configuration - By SPD
SDRAM CAS Latency - 2.5T (DDR)
SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay - 3T
SDRAM RAS Precharge Delay - 3T
SDRAM Active Precharge Delay - 7T
SDRAM 1T Command Contol - Auto
SDRAM Bank Interleave - Auto
Graphics Apeture Size - 64MB
AGP Capability - 8x Mode
AGP Performance Control - Disabled
AGP Fast Write Control - Disabled
Video Memory Cache Mode - UC
PCI Delay Transaction - Disabled
Onboard PCI IDE - Both
DRAM Burst Length 8QW - Disabled
S2K Bus Driving Strength - Auto

Power Management - User Defined
Video Off Option - Suspend -> Off
Video Off Method - PPMS OFF
HDD Powerdown - Disabled
ACPI Suspend to RAM - Disabled
Suspend Mode - Disabled
Power Button 4 Secs - Soft Off
Over Shutdown Setting - Manual
Over Shutdown Temperature - 70c

Can you tell anything this list?

If you need anything extra just ask :)

Oh, and i don't have a P4 power connection on my Mobo.

Nothing in your list shows a problem.

So the more cpu power consumption the quicker the system fails, which means the power supply (1st guess) or the mobo (2nd guess) is not supplying power to the other components because its giving it all to the cpu.

Power supplies of any brand can perform irregularly so even though its a 400w psu that doesn't mean its not the problem.

Your cpu might run fine at 1.6v or 1.55v vcore, so try that too if the bios allows it.

Make sure the mobo power connector is in there snugly. All power plug connections are imperfect to some degree which creates resistance which creates a voltage drop.

I'd grab a new power supply from a local place and take it back if it doesn't fix the problem, or better yet swap out yours for another one you have in the house if you have one that's 300w or higher.

CHEERS :D

I stuck my 300W PSU from my other comp in here and ran the CPU at 2GHz, straight into windows and then ran Toast. It went for 30 mins without any problems.

I am now an exremely happy man and a bit wiser too thanx to you lot.

Thankyou to everybody for your patience and guidance in this matter, and special thanx to johnoh for his final suggestion which led to the conclusion of this 3 day ordeal (thats how long I have been trying to figure this out).

Regards, LJR :D

Isn't his ram speed going to go up if he tries to put it at 2ghz...ram is set on by spd, not manual so i would imagine if you turn the fsb up the ram would go up too.. no?

I was thinking it could be the psu when i first read this post..i was like Q-TEC 400W PSU Dual Fan never heard of that brand(must be a piece of sh*t, that's probably the problem i said to myself. but i didn't mention it.

the spd chip on the memory stick will tell the bios to run the memory at 166 whether the fsb is set to 100, 133, 166. But if he made an increase to a different fsb setting, like went from 133 to 140, I believe that board then raises the memory to 173, whether he used spd or had it manually set to 166. One more reason to set memory manually in sync with fsb.