8K3A+ Heating up!

[Uncle Bob]

I just installed a locked (factory 'stock') XP 1900 AGOGA in Mary Jo's box with an 8K3A+ board and Samsung PC 2700 memory. I start up and in no time the temp showing in the BIOS is heading over 80 C! The chip isn't really that hot, I've removed it several times and checked. It's cooled via a Thermalright AX-7 with a Thermal Smart Fan that does a fine job. I took out an XP 1600 that ran at about 42 C slightly overclocked. I'm at a loss. The machine won't stay running very long.

I've disabled temp shutdown but it BSOD's constantly.

I flashed the most current BIOS from the EPOX site.

Any other suggestions? I'm sure I'm missing something here. The obvious thing would be to put the old CPU in but I want to get this chip working!

[dod]

You know a lot more than I do so these are probably going to be way off.
What about the vcore? You havent accidentally set it too high?(Although the chip should actually be hot if this was the case I suppose)
Or what about the temp sensor itself. Has it somehow been damaged during the chip changeover?
If it is BSOD wouldnt that suggest that maybe there is a heat problem. Did you get it with both bios?

[mookydooky]

Perhaps you installed the AX-7 backwards? With the ledge facing the wrong way? Don't be embarrassed if you did, I did it a couple of weeks ago...

[Groltz]

Installing and removing a HSF can cause a burr to be raised on the heatsink bottom where it contacts the CPU core. Last time I had my Athlon out of the machine for bridge rework this happened. The burr was too small to be easily found by running a finger over the heatsink bottom, yet tall enough to cause incomplete mating of the CPU against the it.

I hand-lapped the heatsink bottom and it worked perfectly again.

(SLK800 heatsink)

[Uncle Bob]

Thanks, guys.

HS is lapped, I'm well aware of that. Lapped with 800 grit wet/dry. Smooth as a baby's behind!

HS is installed correctly. AX8 is darn near impossible to install backward due to position of capacitors.

BIOS settings are 'Fail Safe' or 'Optimized Defaults' and same results.

I should have mentioned more clearly:
This reading is an anomaly. I've taken the chip out directly after it read over 205 F and it wasn't even warm to the touch. The BIOS is reading something that just ain't happening!

[Uncle Bob]

OK, I put the old chip back in (I know when I'm licked, it's when Mary Jo says "LEAVE MY @#$@%#$@!%#$ COMPUTER ALONE!!!) but it still reads over 200 F in the BIOS! I was able to load windows and am running a repair right now. THis is awfully strange, guys!

Quick update:
Windows install was trashed, have to completely reinstall. At least it's going in, tho! The BIOS shows the chip at 242 F! Man this is one smokin chip, huh?

[mookydooky]

I think I would shut that machine off, like, RIGHT NOW! There's got to be something wrong. 242F is 116C which is obscenely high. Is your heatsink fan plugged in? I forgot to do that once too and was wondering why my temp kept rising until I opened the case.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally posted by mookydooky
I think I would shut that machine off, like, RIGHT NOW! There's got to be something wrong. 242F is 116C which is obscenely high. Is your heatsink fan plugged in? I forgot to do that once too and was wondering why my temp kept rising until I opened the case.

This reading is an anomaly

It ain't that high, that's the point. I can put my fingers on the heatsink and it's cool. I have a thermally controlled fan on the HS and it's hardly cranked up, further proof the BIOS is just plain goofy!

[Dagalidis]

A Cold Heatsink means nothing cause if not seat well she is cold and your CPU is like a VOLCANO......

Be sure that your heat-sink seat well and at the right position.....

If all that are ok then if its possible touch the end of the socket back of your main-board and feel the heat coming from your CPU....

Good Luck........

Dimitris...........

[Uncle Bob]

Y'all just a gonna have to believe me on this I guess! I certainly know what a hot CPU feels like!!! I've Observed these temps and pulled the heatsink right off and felt the core, it's NOT 200F, nor was it a few seconds prior. I've seen over temps and felt the heatsink, even when improperly seated, some heat does transfer. Even reading 116F I couldn't hold the sink on another installation just a few days ago. Lapping that sink solved the problem.
I'm stressing the word anomaly here!
As a matter of fact, I'm typing from the PC now. If the temp really was 217F on the core, it would not even work! The chip would fry!

Here is a screenshot from a second ago.

[WinXP]

Have you checked your temps in bios as the mbm I believe you have set to checking wrong chip. It should be set for winbond 2 diode for cpu temp.

[Switch]

What about trying that same 1900 in a different mobo to see if you get the same readings?

[MasterPooBaa]

Wellcome to the world of the 8k3a+. The board uses the internal CPU sensor for temp readings.

As the official epox guy said the temperatures reported may be way out as NEITHER the internal CPU sensor NOR the motherboards reading of it is calibrated.

And i have the same experience as you.
My old (now retired) XP1800+ 'AGOIA' ran full load at 50-60C (122-140F), even with a cold room and the core voltage was only 1.625v under a MCX-462 ubercooler.

Now ive recently replaced it with a Tbred 1700+, and am now running very stable at 1833Mhz @ 1.7v
and the reported temps are even higher.
Full load is usually 65-75C (149-167F) depending on room temp, and on one disgustingly hot day early last week the room temp got up to 29.5C (85F), and i decided to max out the cpu and got the core up to a blistering 86C (187F).

And guess what, for over an hour it sat at 86C, chugging happily away running TOAST at high priority, with nary a complaint.
I also cracked open the case and touched the copper block of my MCX-462. It was warm, as befitting a hot day, but nowhere near blisteringly hot.

And later when i got my multimeter with thermistor probe i measured the copper block. With the cpu on 75C the copper block was a cool 38C.

So the simple message is:
Reported CPU temps are not Gospel.
Touch the heatsink at the base:
If its stone cold or very cool, you have cpu-HSF contact problems.
If its warm, its working properly and the reported temps are just wrong.
If its burning hot, then you really do need better cooling.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally posted by Switch
What about trying that same 1900 in a different mobo to see if you get the same readings?

No, it's running at a healthy 105 F at 1750 MHz in an ASUS A7N8X.

[MasterPooBaa]

YEAH! screw dem all! run at 105! be happy!

[doctoromeo]

uncle bob, I swapped hsf from 8k3a and cpu into 8rda+ and saw a 35c decrease in reported temps.
but like you I thought hsf felt cool to touch,so I ignored the reported temps!.
I mean reseated three times with hardly any difference in temps told me I had not installed it wrong.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally posted by doctoromeo
uncle bob, I swapped hsf from 8k3a and cpu into 8rda+ and saw a 35c decrease in reported temps.
but like you I thought hsf felt cool to touch,so I ignored the reported temps!.
I mean reseated three times with hardly any difference in temps told me I had not installed it wrong.

There you go!

[Uncle Bob]

Test

[alikishi]

Have the same problem with you. Before I had my 8k3a RMA'ed for a leaking capacitor problem, the temp readings were normal (45~55c) However, after getting the board back (dont know if the capacitor was replaced or a new board was given to me), installed my 1600+ and saw the temperature rising to 74c on boot up. I reinstalled the HSF, applied AS3 but the temps are still high so i decided to boot up. Luckily everything was stable. no bsod's no hangups. Then I decided to overclock to 9.5x172 ~ 1900+. The temp readings went up to 88c now but the damn thing was still stable so I thought the board only had a faulty temp sensor. Oh by the way, sandra and bios also underestimates my vcore. Currently I have set it to 1.80v but sandra and the bios shows it at 1.73.

[WooferWrecker]

Hi Gang,

Got something along the same lines...

Was running an XP 2000 on an 8K3A+ at 40 degrees celsius, under full load, with bios 2312...

H