is my AthlonXP 2000+ overheating?

[C_olin]

I have had my AthlonXP 2000+ since X-Mas. It has been working fine but since it has been getting hotter this last week here in oregon it has been doing the folowing things:
Random restarts
if im playing a game it will give me an error and go to windows

and if i turn my comp off for a long time then use it, it lasts a lot longer and i dont get an error or restart for awhile longer...

i have figured out that whenever i run windows the cpu temp stays at around 63-68C, but running a game(normaly when it crashes) i get 68-75C... is that too hot?

the cooling that i am using is just the seven fans in the case im using...

please help

 

[devlish96]

63-68 C is quite hot. my pc runs at 40-43 C under full load,..games and all. but mine's a P4. Athlon's have a reputation of running quit hot at times but not as hot as yours. is your cpu fan running? do you have thermal grease between ur cpu and heatsink? try reseating your heatsink with a very small dab of thermal grease, i recommend arctic silver 2 or 3. just a small dab spead thinly over the cpu core.

 

[Martin]

70C (158F) is usually the reasonable maximum I would suggest for the processor... and having that many fans in the case would probably make the situation seem unbelievable. In this case, I would suggest getting some better thermal goo... a thin layer of Arctic Silver III will do. If problem persists, you may want to consider a better heatsink/fan solution.

 

[C_olin]

i looked and there is a thick layer of dust on the top of the heatsink under the fan...


i will try taking off the heatsink and get the dust off and put a bit of that grease crap on... but can you explain how to take the heatsink off?? i dont want to screw anything up.

 

[C_olin]

that was a freakin mother to get out

i got the mainboard out and took the heatsink and fan off, they used pink sticky stuff and its all melted on the chip... am i supposed to take it off?

there is a ton of dust in the heatsink

tomorow im going to fry's to get can-o'-air and some thermal grease... what kind should i get?

 

[Shakie]

i got the mainboard out and took the heatsink and fan off, they used pink sticky stuff and its all melted on the chip... am i supposed to take it off?

It's just a different type of thermal grease. I would suggest taking it off very carefully and put some fresh grease on there. Be very careful, if you bend one or two pins, you maybe able to staighten them, but if you break one, your out of a processor.

 

[C_olin]

ok, when i put the grease on, do i put it on the chip or the heatsink? if i put it on the chip, do i put it on the actual chip part or on the plastic part around it too?

 

[deadtoaster2]

just put a little bit on the center of the chip then put the heatsink on top of that. that should work

 

[devlish96]

if you're going to use arctic silver( so far the best thermal greaseas far as i'm concernd), go to http://www.arcticsilver.com/ this will give u every direction you shud need.

 

[C_olin]

at frys, they said arctic silver is terrible for an AMD Athlon, they get poeple coming it with fried shipd every day...and on AMD's website it says that it is not recomended to use arctic silver on an AMD


i got nte303 and now my comp is staying at around 50c

thbanks guys