Tech Support

    Yeah the way your fans are working doesn't sound correct, I'm pretty sure the CPU and GPU fans are meant to be sucking air away from the components unless there's some new technology I've not heard of, lol. In my experience the main things that cause overheating from most to least:

    1. Dust inside the heatsink/fan (this is by far the most damaging factor, which is why I highly recommend a closed case with dust filters on the fans)
    2. Thermal paste needs reapplying because the cooler was connected badly and rubbed it off, or maybe it's just old
    3. Bad air flow

    I'd tackle those in order before worrying about anything else. The difference dust and thermal paste can make runs into the 10s of degrees Celsius.

    Oh OK, that's all right then. I'm still sure my (old) CPU does it the other way round but I'm totally not ripping everything open to check, lol. Both probably accomplish about the same anyway, because if you suck air away then cold air rushes in to replace it. I remember learning that when I built a HTPC with no existing fans and had to figure out a good layout. Cooling becomes serious business when there's so much power in such a tiny case!

    your local temperature (case temperature is abnormally high)...


    you said you have your case open.


    do not do so. it messes with the airflow in your case. you need to have great airflow inside your case..


    there iss so much i could tell ya! dont have the time


    .. but seriusly stop complaining about these temps! get a watercooling solution for your CPu and GPU.


    it will be some work but its all worth it

    Regarding air flow inside the case it's easier and mos effective to have one fan at the front (or more, some cases have brackets for two fans at the front in order to blow fresh air directly into the hard drives) pushing air into the case and one at the back pushing air out. This works well on most computers, there's usually no need for more than that. It can be a bit tricky to mount the front fans since this usually requires removing the front panel, but it's not that hard. You should have this setup regardless of what the power supply fan is doing (some push air into the case, some push air out, it depends), look at the PSU as a separate system.


    Like mentioned before it's also important to have air filters on the fans to avoid pushing dust inside the computer. It's usually enough to put the filters only on the fans that are pushing air into the case, in this case that would be the front fan. Even more important is to clean the dust regularly, but DON'T use a vacuum cleaner since they can generate static electricity and brake some of the components. If you've an air compressor use that, if not most computer stores will also sell compressed air cans, they're just spray cans that throw air instead of paint or whatever, you only have to be careful and not press on the cap for too long since the can starts to freeze if you do. If you can't find any of that just use a brush to clean the dust.


    Finally you should change the thermal paste as well. If you remove the heat sink there is usually a grey paste (it can also be white or an adhesive instead of a paste) between the heat sink and the component, that's thermal paste. It's used to create perfect contact between the heat sink and the component, since the metals used are not perfectly smooth (this is also a good way to check the quality of your heat sink, look at it's base and check how reflective it is, the smoother the surface of the metal the more reflective it will be meaning that the heat sink is of higher quality) there will be some small (microscopic) spots in which the heat sink doesn't touch the component making those spots hotter than the rest. The thermal paste will fill those spots so that the component heat is dissipated evenly along the component.

    To change the thermal paste first remove the old thermal paste using cotton swabs with alcohol (some of it may have turned solid by now, just try to take it out with your fingernail without scratching the metal), then apply the new thermal paste in a very thin layer on the surface of the component, not on the heat sink. It's easier to apply and to measure the quantity it if you buy the ones that use a brush (like the ones from Zalman http://www.zalman.co.kr/global/product…ead.php?Idx=221) instead of a syringe or a squirt. After changing the thermal paste and assembling everything turn on the computer and let it on for a few minutes (around half an hour) to let the thermal paste "cook", this means that it will take a couple of minutes for the paste to start acting and for the temperatures to drop.

    And that's it, it might sound hard but it's actually something fairly easy to do.


    Hope this helps

    Sorry for the delay! I was making sure to have all the "answers" before coming back.

    I have good and bad news:


    Good news:

    The problem was definitely with my video card.


    It had to be cleaned up. On the last times I removed the dust off of my computer hardware, I only used a brush on the GPU fan from the outside. I had never dismantled it, nor had I changed the thermal paste (bear in mind it was bought in 2010, so more than 3 years with the same ol' paste).

    So, I finally applied a new coat of thermal paste on that shiny GPU. Everything seemed to be going great. No dust, new paste... Wow, that must've been the problem all the time! Great. Now the temperature would obviously drop significantly!


    [Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/PwMXZ7B.jpg]


    Bad news:


    The problem was definitely with my video card (lol).


    After assembling all the parts back and turning on my computer, something happened (or not, in that case). The computer boot wouldn't pass the BIOS part and it wouldn't let me to press F2 to see wtf was going on. The screen would remain black, the computer screen led would keep flashing (as if it was in stand-by mode) while the computer would sound as if everything was working normally. But it wasn't. If I tried to force a reset, it would beep twice (and repeat it for another time). Damn. My research showed me that two beeps means that there's something wrong with the graphics.


    I took my computer to repair and the guy told me the prob was with my video card, because after changing it my computer would boot up normally. I did this test myself and I'm currently typing this message while using my brother's video card (nVidia GeForce 8600 GT). So yeah, apparently it was the time to say goodbye to my video card. But fuck! I can't afford a new fancy GPU right now. I have no idea how that broke. Shieeeeet!!1


    ---

    Anyway, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, guys!

    Seriously, I wasn't expecting so much support from you guys and information on how to solve that problem.

    Even with my video card dying in the end, it was obvious that what you all suggested was the right thing to do (removing the dust again, changing the thermal paste, making sure that my coolers were working correctly and on the right direction, closing the case etc).

    Love ya! <3


    I'll play some games to see if I'll find any problem remaining, but I doubt I'll see those glitches again.


    Chrome open with 15 tabs, spotify, steam also open: the CPU temp is still around 70ºC, but look at the GPU! Great, 49ºC

    [Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/bEagyJf.gif]


    Any suggestion on a video card? I'd like to try a Nvidia this time. It should be something that I'd only have to change in 4 years... Damn.

    Both my last GPU (AMD) and the one before that (NVIDIA) just died after a few years. I don't know if it's normal or what, but if I were you I'd get one from a manufacturer that offers long/lifetime warranty (BFG used to be one, was another too, might have begun with X). Those were high-end models too. I think in future I'll go for a bit more economical and just replace more often.

    That's a lot of dust!

    I can take a wild guess on why the gfx card broke. You see those black squares around the GPU? That's the card RAM, notice how no part of your GPU cooler touches them, meaning that there's no way for them do dissipate heat besides the air that is flowing inside the case. With that amount of dust restricting the fan and the air flow one of those puppies probably burned.


    For future reference there are passive coolers that make them less hot:

    http://www.zalman.co.kr/global/product…ead.php?Idx=136

    http://www.swiftech.com/mc800smccoolingkit.aspx

    They are fairly easy to install, they've an adhesive on the base so you basically just have to glue them to each RAM piece, and what they do is transfer the heat from the component to the metal that they're made of. Simple but effective.

    Yeah, indeed!

    When I was searching Youtube for reference on how to clean my video card, I saw some dudes applying thermal paste on the card RAMs. I decided to do the same, and then I noticed how that wouldn't matter as the cooler wouldn't touch anything.


    Well, lesson learned! Now I'll have many more important things to pay attention to when buying the next video card.

    Also, thanks for the reference on the passive coolers! I didn't know they existed.

    Quote from Thrik

    Both my last GPU (AMD) and the one before that (NVIDIA) just died after a few years. I don't know if it's normal or what [...]


    I only buy my computer stuff second hand, but I've been through so many gfx cards I've lost count. so to me that sounds pretty normal tbh...

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