[Andrew J]

Hi all,

I have a Gigabyte GA-MA61PME-S2P MB and have just installed a new AMD Phenom II 955 3.20ghz CPU. Initially the computer booted up fine but after being on for anything up to 15 minutes would just switch off with no warning, as if someone turned off the power.

After looking through various option I discovered that the onboard GPU (Nvidia 6100), was getting VERY hot and after cooling it down with a stream of cold air, the computer would be able to be turned on again and work until the GPU got hot when it would switch off again.

I tried reinstalling Windows XP and the computer would stay on for the entire install process and then shut down as soon as I started to install any drivers.

That's problem number one!

I have tried several options and now have new problem, the computer boots, loads the BIOS settings, which I can change, but then sits at a blank screen and will not load Windows. No cursor, nothing! I've tried the "Load Defaults" option in the BIOS as well as trying to boot from CD to reinstall Windows but alas, nothing works.

The only hint I can find is that the Gigabyte CPU Support List (http://www.gigabyte....p.aspx?pid=3262) as a listing for the Phenom II 955 CPU I have but only has a recommended BIOS for the 95w version, not the 125W version I have installed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

For what it's worth I also have an GEForce 6600 graphics card installed in the PCI Express slot but remove this and trying to start the machine without it makes no difference.

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And what CPU did you have in there before? I would probably put that back in and make sure all works. Did you apply a proper layer of TIM.

[Digerati]

And what CPU did you have in there before? I would probably put that back in and make sure all works. Did you apply a proper layer of TIM.

[Andrew J]

Hi and thanks for the reply.

Yes, I have tried reinstalling the original processor and still have the same problem. There is plenty of paste on the processor and it's not getting hot, only the onboard graphics processor heats up. I've also tried to disable the GPU in BIOS but this makes no difference, I've also tried removing my Graphics card and again no change.

[Digerati]

There is plenty of paste on the processor

"Plenty" of paste? Did you read that TIM sticky? "Plenty" sounds like 10 times too much to me. As little as necessary is all you want. Any extra is in the way and counterproductive to the heat transfer process. Were you careful about ESD control?

I've also tried to disable the GPU in BIOS but this makes no difference, I've also tried removing my Graphics card and again no change.

Unless you are using both GPUs in a multi-monitor setup, the on-board should have already been disabled when the card was installed. What is the GPU temp? GPUs typically run quite a bit warmer than CPUs.

I always want to know I have good power, so I would swap in a known good PSU, or take yours to get tested.

[Andrew J]

Sorry, should have been more specific, plenty = an appropriate amount. PSU has been checked and swapped and make no change unfortunately. It ran fine for about 15 minutes when I first installed the new processor so I had ruled out ESD damage, and i took appropriate measures to insure against this also.

The GPU was running too hot to touch so I am worried that I might have fried it however I am not sure how or where I could get it tested and i don't have another one to trial in the PC.

[Digerati]

If you mean integrated GPU, no you cannot have it tested. You still should be able to disable it in the BIOS and use a card.

[Andrew J]

Yes, integrated GPU. Ive checked the bios and it's set to "disable if external PEG detected" which appears to be the correct setting as there's no option to disable it completely. I've also tried removing the Graphics card and plugging my monitor into the onboard port, but that's no better.

[Digerati]

Then it appears your only option is to ensure your case provides plenty of front-to-back air flow through the case.