A n00b and his overheating E2160

Inquisitor M · 15 Jul 2009 at 00:45

Ok, so my very tired E2160, still running at it's spec 1.8GHz was starting to look /really/ tired and my 8600GT is starting to feel archaic and not just old. I can't afford an upgrade yet, so I figured I'd see if I could drag a bit of extra power out of it and see how long I could make it last, so I read up lots of stuff, downloaded utilities and generally learned what I could to do it right and not melt the thing.

In doing so I have discovered that my poor core 2 is overheating constantly when playing any kind of games, or anthing else that puts the CPU somewhere in the 80% use margin. So, all you smarter, more learned overclockers, exactly how screwed is this system to be running at thermal throttling while not even overclocked?

I mean, the fan is a cheap basic thing that came with a barebones system, but I was rather shocked at this revelation. Is it worth splashing out on a big heat sink or is it likely something is just very wrong indeed?

Cheers for any help,

Scottage.

PhoenixUK · 15 Jul 2009 at 01:03

Welcome to forums,

Overheating doesn't tell us much, some more info like idle/load/room temps would be more helpful.

How old is the PC, when did you last open the case and clean the heatsinks/fans?

Mattus · 15 Jul 2009 at 02:07

Hey Inquisitor,

The E2160 is a very cool-running CPU. If it's overheating that easily then the heatsink/fan is either very poor or just not fitted correctly.

First step is to download CoreTemp. Post your CPU temps at idle and under load and we'll have a look.

mame · 15 Jul 2009 at 02:15

I ran my e2180 at 3.2ghz on the intel HSF for ages with no problems. Maybe the HSF needs re-seating?

Inquisitor M · 15 Jul 2009 at 10:46

PhoenixUK said:
How old is the PC, when did you last open the case and clean the heatsinks/fans?

February actually, although I didn't know there was a problem at the time. It's amazing how much better you clean it when you know there IS a problem...

Mattus said:
First step is to download CoreTemp. Post your CPU temps at idle and under load and we'll have a look.

Was running CoreTemp already after reading suggestions of various forums, including this one, that's how I discovered I had a problem. 43c idle, but if I load it and let it cool, it never really got below 50 again. Under load with intel burn test it was capped out at 83-85 (throttling) before the first cycke was completed.

mame said:
I ran my e2180 at 3.2ghz on the intel HSF for ages with no problems. Maybe the HSF needs re-seating?

That's what I'd read in every report on the E2160 when I started my investigations.

No, subsequently, I've spent the morning giving the whole thing a serious clean. Like I said, it's amazing how much more attention to detail you give it when you know something is wrong, or, let's be honest, when you know you're about too look like a muppet when someone asks the most obvious question in the world...

Now, first up, closer inspection revealed that the system fan was screwed, one of the connector pins was dislodged and clearly over time it has corroded the joint. Rescued an old one from a scrap PC for now, and the difference in air movement is noticeable.

Room temp is 25c, system temp now appears to be 29 but I need to test over a longer period to have worthwhile measurement. Also this is after really blitzing the whole case of the slightest spec of dust.

Testing, will post results shortly.

Inquisitor M · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:11

HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF...

Ok, I hold my hands up, clearly I'm just a lazy ass who didn't clean his PC properly.

After this morning's thorough scrub, (cleaning out every individual fin and generally removing every spec of dust that dared to invade my PC case) the difference is...monsterous. Idle temp is 30 after a stress test, IntelBurnTest couldn't push it past 47. So yeah, I'm standing in the corner with my dunce cap on.

Still, chalk me up as one less fool who won't give due dilligence to cleaning his PC anymore.

EDIT: In my defence, when I said I last cleaned it in February, I didn't mean to imply that I hadn't already cleaned it since starting the investigation, it was just half-assed in hindsight.

Ducky Spud · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:19

Haha, glad you got it sorted! Getting a fan there that actually worked is going to of made quite a difference, as it was you just had heat building up in your case (I guess thats why your CPU never dropped back below 50 after stress testing). Anyway, nice work

Inquisitor M · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:25

Is there software that will report the system temperature in real time? My BIOS seems to be the only place I can read it, and that seems to vary rather a lot, plus I can only get to it with a shutdown, which seems to be at opps to monitoring under CPU stress

And Ducky, if you saw how much crap came out from the middle of the heatsink you'd know that probably made a lot more difference...

PhoenixUK · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:28

Inquisitor M said:
HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF...

Ok, I hold my hands up, clearly I'm just a lazy ass who didn't clean his PC properly.

After this morning's thorough scrub, (cleaning out every individual fin and generally removing every spec of dust that dared to invade my PC case) the difference is...monsterous. Idle temp is 30 after a stress test, IntelBurnTest couldn't push it past 47. So yeah, I'm standing in the corner with my dunce cap on.

Still, chalk me up as one less fool who won't give due dilligence to cleaning his PC anymore.

EDIT: In my defence, when I said I last cleaned it in February, I didn't mean to imply that I hadn't already cleaned it since starting the investigation, it was just half-assed in hindsight.

Just my short advice, depending on what your case is , I would clean up PC at least every month - don't need to disassemble it, just blow some compressed air or use vacuum near the GPU/CPU heatsink, back of PSU/GPU output and the front fans if you have any.

Ducky Spud · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:34

Inquisitor M said:
Is there software that will report the system temperature in real time? My BIOS seems to be the only place I can read it, and that seems to vary rather a lot, plus I can only get to it with a shutdown, which seems to be at opps to monitoring under CPU stress

Real Temp or Core Temp will do this... I thought thats what you were already using to get the temps youve said?

Inquisitor M · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:35

Yes, having a compressed air cannister to hand did quickly show itself as a must. I used to 'aquire' the odd one from where I worked, bit that was some 10 years ago now...will have to add it to my shopping list now.

Thanks for chipping in, it's much appreciated.

DM · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:51

PhoenixUK said:
Just my short advice, depending on what your case is , I would clean up PC at least every month - don't need to disassemble it, just blow some compressed air or use vacuum near the GPU/CPU heatsink, back of PSU/GPU output and the front fans if you have any.

I had a very bad experience with a hoover and a pc

varkanoid · 15 Jul 2009 at 17:10

DiamondMark said:
I had a very bad experience with a hoover and a pc

Yeah watch all your jumpers disappear into the vacuum.......