Computer Restarting without warning, need advice please

donkey ruler · 01-26-2007, 01:30 AM

Hey dudes, my first thread :)
I recently got a new pc with a P4M800P7MA(Foxconn) Pentium 4 3.66 Ghz - 1Gb ddr2 ram - Radeon 9550 (256mb memory) I have a fan in the front of the pc blowing air, 1 in the back blowing air (to cool down video card), 1 on the top of pc sucking the air inside the pc, and also the standard fan and heatsync that came with the motherboard.
I have had no technincal issues with my computer at all except for the fact that is gets REALLY hot! at first i thought it was a normal thing with the system and CPU running at 50c+ until it finally overheated and the power box and motherboard completely died.
after getting a new motherboard and powerbox with the warrenty i was under i got really freakd about my pc overheating so i moved the pc into the living room near the air con.
things seemed to be going fine although the pc overheated atleast 5 times but sdtill managed to work again LOL :P

now computer runs really cool no heat is radiating from the pc at all, althought within 5 minutes of gameplay with games such as oblivon, quake 4 and doom 3 the comp just shuts down.

lol sorry for a loooooong story but im really confused as to what is going on, and i dont have the money buy any other computer

jim_jam (donkeyruler)

Rebellion88 · 01-26-2007, 01:40 AM

Make sure you have a new layer of good thermal paste on the cpu, then take the side cover off your case and get a fan blowing directly inside. This may take some heat off things. Download speed fan and let us know the exact tempretures, then download prime 95 and put your pc under a stress test and see if it restarts. You could invest in better cooling, such as a pci fan to go below the video card, hard drive caddy cooler, for the hard drive and a better heat sink and fan for the cpu with an exhaust system.

MaverickUK · 01-26-2007, 06:29 AM

Hi, what power supply do you have?

**Barry_R** · 01-26-2007, 04:10 PM

If you are running the stock Intel heatsink and fan it is likely to have a thermal pad between the heatsink and the CPU. This is not the best conductor of heat and the stock fan and heatsink are marginal for a P4 running at 3.6 mhz.

At a minimum I would remove the heatsink and cleaning the old paste or thermal pad goo off the CPU and the heatsink and get a tube of Arctic Silver 5. Apply that according to the AS5 website instruction page. There are other heatsinks available that will fit the P4 chip that are much more efficient.

01-26-2007, 01:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
donkey ruler Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1 OS: xp	Computer Restarting without warning, need advice please Hey dudes, my first thread :) I recently got a new pc with a P4M800P7MA(Foxconn) Pentium 4 3.66 Ghz - 1Gb ddr2 ram - Radeon 9550 (256mb memory) I have a fan in the front of the pc blowing air, 1 in the back blowing air (to cool down video card), 1 on the top of pc sucking the air inside the pc, and also the standard fan and heatsync that came with the motherboard. I have had no technincal issues with my computer at all except for the fact that is gets REALLY hot! at first i thought it was a normal thing with the system and CPU running at 50c+ until it finally overheated and the power box and motherboard completely died. after getting a new motherboard and powerbox with the warrenty i was under i got really freakd about my pc overheating so i moved the pc into the living room near the air con. things seemed to be going fine although the pc overheated atleast 5 times but sdtill managed to work again LOL :P now computer runs really cool no heat is radiating from the pc at all, althought within 5 minutes of gameplay with games such as oblivon, quake 4 and doom 3 the comp just shuts down. lol sorry for a loooooong story but im really confused as to what is going on, and i dont have the money buy any other computer jim_jam (donkeyruler) Last edited by donkey ruler; 01-26-2007 at 01:39 AM.

01-26-2007, 01:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
Rebellion88 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: London, UK Posts: 442 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit My System	Make sure you have a new layer of good thermal paste on the cpu, then take the side cover off your case and get a fan blowing directly inside. This may take some heat off things. Download speed fan and let us know the exact tempretures, then download prime 95 and put your pc under a stress test and see if it restarts. You could invest in better cooling, such as a pci fan to go below the video card, hard drive caddy cooler, for the hard drive and a better heat sink and fan for the cpu with an exhaust system. __________________ - Dean National Diploma Software Development National Diploma Hardware Route

01-26-2007, 06:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
MaverickUK Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cheshire, England. Posts: 861 OS: XP Home My System	Hi, what power supply do you have? __________________ Currently studying: CompTIA A+ CompTIA N+ Cisco Certified Network Associate

01-26-2007, 04:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
Barry_R TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: California Posts: 700 OS: Win XP Home, Linux Mint My System	If you are running the stock Intel heatsink and fan it is likely to have a thermal pad between the heatsink and the CPU. This is not the best conductor of heat and the stock fan and heatsink are marginal for a P4 running at 3.6 mhz. At a minimum I would remove the heatsink and cleaning the old paste or thermal pad goo off the CPU and the heatsink and get a tube of Arctic Silver 5. Apply that according to the AS5 website instruction page. There are other heatsinks available that will fit the P4 chip that are much more efficient. Last edited by Barry_R; 01-26-2007 at 04:11 PM.