PC just stops (im thinking HD problems)

i tried:
SIW build 2008-12-16 Freeware Version.
log: http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj175/nsalamoun/0f77c4e8.jpg

Everest 2.20.405
log: http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj175/nsalamoun/b6711612.jpg

HWMonitor v1.13.0 (driver version 131)
log: http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj175/nsalamoun/dd5f8683.jpg

i haven't tinkered with PCs in a long time but i think i remember getting temp readings and such in BIOS (or am I mistaken)

i decided to take a look at the heatsink to see how dirty it might be (and unless idk what a heatsink is, and its not the golden shining thing in that picture, id say its clean almost too clean)


and when i put my hand in there roughly where that yellow dot is in mid air between the heat sink and that gfx card i felt crazy heat generating from it.

picture of the culprit:


the only other part that is generating any heat is the PSU but its not half as hot as the GFX

edit: getting there.
i just figured out what the heat sink is i took it out, i did some cleaning but i noticed something odd (if i didnt know better id say its "calcaire ", i think limestone is the word in english):

 

were do you see that W8? i looked on the list you linked to and i noticed lots of VIA chips listed, i cant verify on my side cause the PC is dismantled on the kitchen table.

from the pictures i posted (i figure then again this is new territory for me) that i need a whole new case with better ventilation, and i take it i need a new PSU as well (those should be easy to find, as for the thermal paste Im waiting for hardware shops to call me back if they can get me some)

the only place where i can get paste is at http://www.pcandparts.com/must.htm as long as i get a new CPU fan im looking at the list and i cant see the difference between "apples and oranges ". (items in question are about 60% down the page)

 

as far as free slots go:
GFX is taking in slot # 1
then modem in slot # 2
then network card (i can remove that cause i have one built in the MB)
then a TV tuner which i don't even use so i could remove that as well.

I checked arctic silver's website they have no dealer or retailer listed in Lebanon.

gfx looks fine except for the excess dust on the back and what looks like oil residue (marked in yellow) arround the pins that hold he "passive cooler "

im not even going to bother searching around for a paste remover, i did noticed it cleans off rather easily when i rubbed it gently with my fingers im thinking rubbing alcohol should do the job.

as far as thermal paste goes i have the option of waiting 10 days to get arctic silver or buy a CPU fan and hope what ever paste comes with it is good what do you guys recommend (1/2 the shops i contacted today tried to convince me that paste isn't very important which i find hard to belive)

 

What's that saying? One picture is worth a thousand words?

Excellent photos and follow-up there braindead. That really gives us something to work with. Now, the SIW info you posted a day or so ago can be disregarded - there is enough other information which contradicts some of those voltage readings and i'm pretty confident that the one obscene temperature is an on die measurement and that doesn't concern me much. In answer to one of your questions, I posted that W8 information because the machine I was on, an older FX53, had a couple of Winbond chips listed along with the processor itself and their prefix was W8 - you're right the board has a VIA chipset.

Re: thermal paste - I'd wait for Artic Silver as its going to give you at least 5° C better cooling based on my experiences. You can clean your cpu with rubbing alcohol but the caked on crud might be a little tough to remove. I do not recommend the following as it can damage the processor but I will say that if one is very careful, a Q-Tip dipped with acetone used on the top surface only will make short work of that crud. If you do what I don't recommend, follow that with an alcohol dipped Q-Tip and a dry Q-Tip.

Re: Graphics card - don't worry about those circled yellow areas. Those are just the plastic compression fittings holding the heatsink to the PCB. The capacitors on the card itself look fine. The network card in PCI #1 is blocking that heatsink somewhat and also look at the ribbon cables in front of the card which are blocking air movement. If you replace those IDE and that floppy ribbon cable with round cables, you will greatly improve the movement of air through your case. Be careful, some retail outlets charge $20+ for round cables that can be had for $2-3.

Re: Other PCI cards. Normally, if one populates the AGP slot, then the first PCI slot should not be used. This is because they share interrupts and can cause IRQ problems. Now, XP handles this much better than 9x but if you don't need that extra ethernet card, go ahead and do yourself a favor - remove it and give your grapjics card more breathing room. I'd also say that if your side ported fan is in close proximity to that graphics card you can experiment with the direction of that side fan. Aweson was correct in that side ported fans are usually intakes but this is where I'm going to re-emphasize - It All Depends. Try it both ways and for the sake of your local tech's perspective, try it with no fan too.

Re: TV Card. I'm not going to tell you to remove that but if you do keep it, leave it in one of those lower PCI slots. I think Pete mentioned a slot cooler which you could also try if it becomes necessary. that's simply a slot fan like a turbine that can be fitted next to your graphics card and will exhaust air out its own rear port. I don't think this is necessary but again - it all depends. (old adage - talk is cheap, it takes money to buy whiskey)

You may also get some comments about replacing the passive heatsink on your graphics card with a surface mounted heatsink/fan but I would hold off on that for the time being too. Lets wait and see if this is necessary.

Lastly, in addition to my comments about round cables, you can neaten up the wiring inside your case to improve air flow. On my high end builds, I often wind up taking part of the case apart and cutting holes as necessary to route wires between the drive bays and the right side of the case so there is little if any restriction to air flow from the front case fans. I'll then bring the wires back out to the drives so one sees only the connector and a couple inches of wire. Similarly, if the wires aren't wrapped, plastic wire loom is a great alternative.

Thanks for those pictures braindead - it really helps. Let us know how you are making out.

Regards,

 

i was asking bout VIA is cause my board is VIA or at least the built in Lan in VIA

ok sounds good, but that meens ill have to reassemble the PC with its old paste till she gets back (go figure sis goes to Brazil and i ask her to bring me a tube of Arctic Silver 5)

extra Lan card its a dlink and when i got it (for a dif PC it was the best think available on the market) i felt it was a shame not to use it. As far as TV tuner lets put it this way i don't have the drivers for it and im not even sure what brand it is only thing its been doing for passed 2 or 3 years is collecting Dust.

You may also get some comments about replacing the passive heatsink on your graphics card with a surface mounted heatsink/fan but I would hold off on that for the time being too. Lets wait and see if this is necessary.

id rather not dismantle it, if need be ill just add a fan next to the GFX card.

as for cables ill do my best to re-organize those, and ill see about getting round cables.

thats the least i can do you guys (the whole lot tyvm for all the insight you provided even if it was confusing at times) are my brains here so i figured i might as well be the eyes.

 

No, thats not even an option. You must clean the CPU and apply a new layer of some kind of thermal paste. Trying to use your old paste will most likely lead to certain failure. Again - this is not an option.

 

its going to be 10 hard days.

 

i took out the PSU to clean it properly, and while i was connecting everything back i noticed a cable was cut.

cut power cables

im pretty sure the power differences aren't due to that, but i felt i should mention it.