[sandman01086]

About 6-8 months ago I built a computer, however within the last 3 months or so whenever I have been playing games it overheats, gives me blue screen of death and restarts. My temporary solution is taking the side of the case off and putting my desk fan there. I have no problems when my pc is just sitting at the desktop. All suggestions appreciated


Cheers, Jim

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What type of cooling have you got in it? Chuck some more fans in it or something, or if your case supports it, go all out and get liquid cooling

[Seltox]

What type of cooling have you got in it? Chuck some more fans in it or something, or if your case supports it, go all out and get liquid cooling

[fenzodahl512]

Hi, perhaps you might want to clean your computer component from dust? If so, please use brushes, and not clothes.

[sandman01086]

In my case I have 2x80mm fans in the front, 1x80mm in the top and 1x80mm in the back. I also have a 90mm fan on my heatsink and 120mm on my PSU. Oh and I have copper heatspreaders on my RAM sticks

[james_8970]

Try remounting the CPU. This will involve cleaning off the thermal paste and reapplying some new thermal paste.
James

[strikermed]

I would suggest you get a better air flow. Start from the front of the case at the bottom (cooler air) and exit the back of the case, toward the top of the case (hotter air rises). Generally a case is set up for you to put fans in those positions. Next also make sure your CPU fan is spinning, and if your video card has one check that also. Then, if you are able to. an additional fan on teh side panel might help if it is capable. And to get the best air flow, adjust your cable and hide them so the airflow isn't blocked.

i would like to add that from my experiences, blue screens, usually result form memory problems (RAM). So you might want to check on that also. Generally, well in my cases, you get the computer to restart, or shut down due to overheating. The BIOS automatically does this to prevent damage to components.

But hey, I'm having computer problems too... think I'm gonna put 200 bucks into my machine to get it up and running again, and fully operatable... (Hint: check out COMPUSA for fans, 20% off last I checked for going out of business)

[sandman01086]

would it be worth replacing my fans as some of them are over 2 years old? i was also starting to suspect my RAM and when it blue screened me i touched the heatspreaders and they were too hot to touch, possibly because I bought Ebuyer value RAM, due to a tight budget, but I will NEVER buy it again

[Doby]

Could you list your full system specs, please include the psu.

List your temps and voltages

[sandman01086]

AMD Athlon X2 4200+
2GB (2x1gb) PC-3200 DDR 184pin RAM
500W PSU
ASUS A8V-VM SE motherboard
BFG 8600 GTS GDDR3 gfx card
1TB (2x500gb) SATA HDD 16MB buffer

here is what I found on the BIOS:

CPU temp: 30.5C/86.5F
CPU fan speed: 1500RPM

VCORE V: 1.400V
3.3V: 3.248V
5V 5.304V
12V: 11.774V

[Doby]

Your cpu temp is very good, the +12v is a bit low for a cumputer at idle but still within spec.

Look around in bios and see what your ram voltage could be called vdimm, this should be around 2.6V if its higher it could be causing your ram to overheat.

Could you give us a link to the ram and psu?

[sandman01086]

RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/63128

PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126928

i couldn't find any voltages around 2.6V in my BIOS, all it says about memory is 2048MB it doesn't show any voltages

[Doby]

I just got hold of your manual, the ram voltage is under the advanced tab, DDR Referance voltage, there are only 3 settings, Auto,2.6,2.5,

Set it to 2.6 instead of auto and see if the ram still gets hot.

Before making changes in bios know how to clear the cmos in case you make a mistake!

This I can tell you, both the ram and the psu are not very good indicated by the lack of specs, you really should be using better parts especially in a gaming computer

[strikermed]

Any suggestions on where to order a Socket 939 mobo, with 3 pci slots, pci express, dual channel ram DDR1, and IDE connections? I prefer Asus!

[sandman01086]

i really wish i could use better parts mate, but they're so expensive

[Doby]

Did you try the changes in bios? Did it make any differance?