Recipie for CPU souffle'

[Michael Powell]

Ronald F. Guilmette wrote:

> 
> [[ Mostly, this posting is just a story.  But it does include one
>    question, towards the end.  See below. ]]
> 
> Well, I accidentally found what I believe is most likely the reason
> for the system halts I have been having recently, so I just thought
> that I would share that.  It _is_ a bit humorous.  (The mystery system
> shutdowns have _not_ been due to a power issue, it would appear.)
> 
> I just now experienced another episode in which the machine powered
> itself off, as I was working on it, for no apparently good reason.
> 
> Since it was down anyway, I decided that this would be a good time to
> pull out that *&^%$#@ bleedin' new USB 3.0 PCIe card I had recently
> installed... just in case that was causing the problem.
> 
> As I reached in to begin extracting the PCIe card, the tip of one of
> my fingers accidentally brushed up against my CPU heatsink.  I in-
> stinctively yanked it away immediately.  If I had not done so, I
> would probably have gotten a third degree burn.
> 
> I left the system off for a couple of minutes after that... to let it
> cool down a bit before doing anything else... and then I powered it
> back on, checked that the CPU fan was indeed turning (it was) and then
> I went immediately to the BIOS and the PC Heath Status.
> 
> The CPU temperature was listed as being 63c == 145f !!!  And this was
> _after_ I had allowed the system to be powered down for a couple of
> minutes to cool down!!!
> 
> So anyway, the fan turned and I watched the CPU temp slowly inch down
> to something more normal... like in the vicinity of 24c.
> 
> I don't know what to make of this, except to suspect that some loose
> wires inside my case got in the way of the CPU fan turning.  (I am
> not neat like some folks.  The inside of myu case _is_ really rather
> sloppy, so this could easly have happened.)
> 
> I've now installed mbmon and xmbmon and will be watching the CPU temp
> closely for awhile.
> 
> I really wish that one or the other of those tools allowed setting a
> threshold CPU temp, beyond which the tool would emit an ear piercing
> alarm via the motherboard speaker... you know.. in case the regular
> external stereo speakers are turned off.
> 
> <question>
> What *is* the best way to achieve the above effect, i.e. to arrange
> for the machine to scream for help in case it is getting too hot?
> 
> I don't want it to just die, like it is doing now.  I want it to scream
> so that I can rush over and at least try to do an orderly shutdown.
> </question>
> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> rfg
> 
> 
> P.S.  I am loading the system pretty heavily now, and have been for the
> last 20+ minutes, and xmbmon is showing me a nice constant 31c for the
> CPU temp.  So for the moment at least, all is well.
> 
> P.P.S.  I have a (relatively) monster sized heatsink in this system, and
> it sits atop a quite modest 2.7GHz single-core Athlon, so it is not at
> all surprising that the ``stable'' CPU temp is around 30c (86f).

Many old Athlons from the older generation used a thermal pad for heat 
transfer. It was what looked like a little piece of soft plastic almost 
something like a milimeter thick and an inch or so square that would have 
come preapplied to the OEM heat sink which accompanied the CPU in a retail 
box set.

With these processors you cannot just simply smear a lot of thermal grease 
in there as a replacement. Indeed, doing so (not using a thermal pad) voids 
the warranty. Thermal grease works best when it is applied as a very thin 
but evenly distributed  layer and the heat sink is then clamped down very 
tightly so it is in very close contact with the processor. Doing this (using 
just thermal grease in lieu of the pad) leaves a small void or gap through 
there will be little heat transfer.

You might want to confirm that your processor model requires a thermal pad 
and not grease. Then hunt some down and use it instead of thermal grease. I 
seem to recall they were somewhat difficult to locate a place from which to 
purchase. Also the backing paper was darn near impossible to get off without 
destroying it (why the OEM cooler had it pre-applied). So get a few of them 
so you can tear up a couple before you succeed.

-Mike