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[Open Source]

Can anybody describehow to take a fan and heatsink off a CPU? Mine has these tabs that hold it steady and I can't figure out a way to dislodge it. Does it just depend on the type or do most attach the same way?

Depends on the type. Often, there's an arm that you can swing down to unlock it.

 

[chespace]

Since when does the CCC have fan control?

8.10 beta and now final.

Bonus bit of fun: The Powercolor 4870X2 has a no-refund policy. :lol I guess I can get it replaced to see if it's my card that's bad, but I'm stuck with this X2.

Wheeeee!

 

[godhandiscen]

8.10 beta and now final.

Bonus bit of fun: The Powercolor 4870X2 has a no-refund policy. :lol I guess I can get it replaced to see if it's my card that's bad, but I'm stuck with this X2.

Wheeeee!

I always recommend Asus, and Visiontek has a lifetime warranty I believe.

 

[bee]

8.10 beta and now final.

Bonus bit of fun: The Powercolor 4870X2 has a no-refund policy. :lol I guess I can get it replaced to see if it's my card that's bad, but I'm stuck with this X2.

Wheeeee!

damn thats harsh, in the UK we have the distance selling act you can return anything within 7 days for a full refund

 

[dasupremeone]

I have a very noobish question, if I have a 9800GT Card, does the size of the LCD matter? Is a 42 inlcd too big?

Thanks!

 

[prodystopian]

Can anybody describehow to take a fan and heatsink off a CPU? Mine has these tabs that hold it steady and I can't figure out a way to dislodge it. Does it just depend on the type or do most attach the same way?

I'm assuming you have a recent INtel CPU and you are talking about the push pins. If so, you have to twist the counter clockwise IIRC and pull them so they come up through the mobo. The after removing it, make sure to properly remove the thermal grease form the cooler and CPU. Rubbing alcohol and coffee filter (or lint free cloth if you have one) work great.

 

[godhandiscen]

dual gpu cards are almost always recommended by people who have no real world experience of them they just like the graphs on benchmark sites

return it and get a 4870 1gb or a gtx280, both great cards and without the hassles...mostly

Are you implying that people who recommend the dual GPU cards are people who haven't used these? I can only speak myself, and as I said, I do not recommend the 4870x2 because it has all this stupid power that you will never use. I made a previous post about this case. However, if you want the best, in my experience this is the card to get. The 4870x2 isn't exactly what I wanted when I factor it's cost right now, but if this card carries me until the release of Starcraft 2 with maximun settings, then it will have paid its price. My problem righ't now is that SC2 is starting to look like a late summer of 2009 game, and I know that by then I will be using a 5800 or GX300. Che, if you are dissapointed with your card, your best bet right now is to either sell your 4870x2 and get a GX280 or choose to wait for the refresh of the GX280.

I have a very noobish question, if I have a 9800GT Card, does the size of the LCD matter? Is a 42 inlcd too big?

Thanks!

Just play at 1900x1200 in mid/high settings and you will be fine.

 

[chespace]

Are you implying that people who recommend the dual GPU cards are people who haven't used these? I can only speak myself, and as I said, I do not recommend the 4870x2 because it has all this stupid power that you will never use. I made a previous post about this case. However, if you want the best, in my experience this is the card to get. The 4870x2 isn't exactly what I wanted when I factor it's cost right now, but if this card carries me until the release of Starcraft 2 with maximun settings, then it will have paid its price. My problem righ't now is that SC2 is starting to look like a late summer of 2009 game, and I know that by then I will be using a 5800 or GX300. Che, if you are dissapointed with your card, your best bet right now is to either sell your 4870x2 and get a GX280 or choose to wait for the refresh of the GX280.


Just play at 1900x1200 in mid/high settings and you will be fine.

So you're playing games right now with Catalyst A.I. enabled on your 4870x2?

What are your system specs?

 

[godhandiscen]

So you're playing games right now with Catalyst A.I. enabled on your 4870x2?

What are your system specs?

I had already answered this 2 pages ago, anyways, here is my post.

Vista 64
Phenom 9850BE 2.5 GHzx4 (I OC it on air from 2.6 to 2.8)
Cooler
ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi
2x CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Asus Radeon 4870x2
2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb

BTW, what I mean't by same specs, I meant in computing power, but I went the AMD route.

Also, all this time I have been playing with AI enabled, but in the "Standard" setting opposed to "Advanced" which was recommended by Kagari. Also, my fps in Crysis are good, I could lower everything to High and never drop below 30fps I assume, but I prefer Very High with V-sync and AAx2 so sometimes I drop down to 20fps, which I believe is due to my processor. People with processors OC'd over 3.2Ghz get a way better fps than me at 1600x1050 which is my res.

 

[bee]

Are you implying that people who recommend the dual GPU cards are people who haven't used these? I can only speak myself, and as I said, I do not recommend the 4870x2 because it has all this stupid power that you will never use. I made a previous post about this case. However, if you want the best, in my experience this is the card to get. The 4870x2 isn't exactly what I wanted when I factor it's cost right now, but if this card carries me until the release of Starcraft 2 with maximun settings, then it will have paid its price. My problem righ't now is that SC2 is starting to look like a late summer of 2009 game, and I know that by then I will be using a 5800 or GX300.

i know you had a 3870x2 before that, i am implying though that a fair amount of people in this thread are students with no actual experience of the parts they are recommending they just recommend them because their favourite benchmark site tells them to with the aid of pretty graphs

if you bought a 4870x2 for starcraft 2 then you don't know blizzard, i'm pretty sure you'll be able to max out that game at 1920x1200 with a 8800gt/4850

 

[godhandiscen]

i know you had a 3870x2 before that, i am implying though that a fair amount of people in this thread are students with no actual experience of the parts they are recommending they just recommend them because their favourite benchmark site tells them to with the aid of pretty graphs

if you bought a 4870x2 for starcraft 2 then you don't know blizzard, i'm pretty sure you'll be able to max out that game at 1920x1200 with a 8800gt/4850

My last memory of Blizzard is Warcraft 3, and I remember being able to play it maxed on a machine that was old by the standards. Hopefully SC2 is the same in terms of requirements.

edit: Also, has anybody OC'd the 4870x2? What are your experiences?

 

[Mr.City]

I've been toying around with the idea of upgrading my PC. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it's better to just start from scratch. I'm not sure if my current pc will have compatibility issues with issues with new gpu, ram, and cpu.

Here are the stats for my current desktop. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c01075997&dlc=en

 

[Chiggs]

8.10 beta and now final.

Bonus bit of fun: The Powercolor 4870X2 has a no-refund policy. :lol I guess I can get it replaced to see if it's my card that's bad, but I'm stuck with this X2.

Wheeeee!

Sweet Jesus, Che, that freaking sucks. We all wanted the best for you and your build and instead you get all this crap. So freaking lame. I hope this doesn't turn you off from pc gaming in the future.

 

[SapientWolf]

I've been toying around with the idea of upgrading my PC. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it's better to just start from scratch. I'm not sure if my current pc will have compatibility issues with issues with new gpu, ram, and cpu.

Here are the stats for my current desktop. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c01075997&dlc=en

You should be able to put a new video card in there, at least. Just make sure to disable integrated graphics.

 

[Waikis]

Very interesting, but I'm afraid the news still isn't good.

So it appears the instability with my OS went away when I replaced the wifi adapter.

However, I was unable to get Catalyst A.I. turned on and working with ANY game (Crysis, Trackmania) on either standard or advanced. Meaning, I can't use my 2nd core.

In Vista 64, I can turn off Cat AI and play Trackmania. However, when I try running Crysis, I get a black screen on boot and I have to ctrl-alt-del to the task manager to kill the process. This is without Cat AI, mind you. If I turn on Cat AI in Vista 64 and try Trackmania, I get a blue screen saying the graphics driver is in an infinite loop or something to that effect, and then it resets. Turning on Cat AI and running Crysis doesn't give me a blue screen but I get the same black screen on boot, same as without Cat AI.

In Vista 32, I can turn off Cat AI and play Crysis but obviously the game is slower since I'm only using 1 GPU core. But it's still not all that stable. Crashed once on me. If I turn on Cat AI and run Crysis, I get a BSoD. Same with Trackmania. If I turn on Cat AI in Vista 32, I get a BSoD. So basically, I can't play any games with my 2nd core.

Any ideas why?? I've tried this with 8.9 and 8.10 as well.

Stumped.

Heh ,for some reason I have never noticed that this thread exists,I was wondering why Che never bumped the crysis thread : p .

I think I had a similar problem as yours (black screen boot on crysis). This can be caused by the powerplay feature with ATI cards which changes the clock from 2d ->3d . Sometimes the card can't cope with the constant switches and it will stop working.

Here's a good read.

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=260&threadid=100973

I think Sapphire actually acknowledge this problem and provide a bios fix.

Edit:Just noticed that you guys were talking about CCC AI. Here's a good benchmark that compares AI on and off.

 

[Mr.City]

8.10 beta and now final.

Bonus bit of fun: The Powercolor 4870X2 has a no-refund policy. :lol I guess I can get it replaced to see if it's my card that's bad, but I'm stuck with this X2.

Wheeeee!

That sucks, man

 

[careful]

Holy shit, I'm finding out I can push my 260 GTX past 280 superclocked models!
So far stable at 666 core / 1433 shader / 2214 memory. Hot damn..
Crysis Vanilla High NoAA DX9 1080p: 51fps
Crysis Vanilla Very High NoAA DX9 1080p: 29fps
Crysis Vanilla Very High NoAA DX9 720p: 48fps

running with E8400 on stock and 4gb ram seen as 3.5 in XP

Now I'm starting to reconsider whether I should stick with XP or move on to Vista 64.. I'm getting these ridiculous framerates at max settings 1080p.
COH max with 16xQ AA 60fps
World in Conflict very high 48fps

Would the jump to DX10 be that visually noticeable for the hit in fps? Hmmm..

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

What would be better to update, my cpu or graphics card?

I have an Athlon X2 64 5000+ Black Edition, and a 8800GT?

Im thinking of getting a 4870 1GB, but was wondering if that would make a bigger difference that getting a quad core.

Also, Ive tried to overclock my cpu a few times, but it only takes on a few bootups before it says it failed. Ive researched it and found that I should be able to overclock to 3.0Ghz with no voltage change.

 

[lachesis]

What would be better to update, my cpu or graphics card?

I have an Athlon X2 64 5000+ Black Edition, and a 8800GT?

Im thinking of getting a 4870 1GB, but was wondering if that would make a bigger difference that getting a quad core.

Also, Ive tried to overclock my cpu a few times, but it only takes on a few bootups before it says it failed. Ive researched it and found that I should be able to overclock to 3.0Ghz with no voltage change.

For gaming, GPU. For work and other general purposes - CPU... but I think your set-up should hold up fine for another year or so for most games.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Sweet Jesus, Che, that freaking sucks. We all wanted the best for you and your build and instead you get all this crap. So freaking lame. I hope this doesn't turn you off from pc gaming in the future.

It doens't matter if it does; he's apparently stuck with it :lol

That really does suck though.

 

[godhandiscen]

Holy shit, I'm finding out I can push my 260 GTX past 280 superclocked models!
So far stable at 666 core / 1433 shader / 2214 memory. Hot damn..
Crysis Vanilla High NoAA DX9 1080p: 51fps
Crysis Vanilla Very High NoAA DX9 1080p: 29fps
Crysis Vanilla Very High NoAA DX9 720p: 48fps

running with E8400 on stock and 4gb ram seen as 3.5 in XP

Now I'm starting to reconsider whether I should stick with XP or move on to Vista 64.. I'm getting these ridiculous framerates at max settings 1080p.
COH max with 16xQ AA 60fps
World in Conflict very high 48fps

Would the jump to DX10 be that visually noticeable for the hit in fps? Hmmm..

You can run the games on DX9 mode if you want to in Vista. Also, looking at DX10 will spoil things for you. IMO you should stick to your high fps and the quality you are satisfied with.

 

[brain_stew]

8.10 beta and now final.

Bonus bit of fun: The Powercolor 4870X2 has a no-refund policy. :lol I guess I can get it replaced to see if it's my card that's bad, but I'm stuck with this X2.

Wheeeee!

There aint no way that's legal in any developed economy. If the card is indeed faulty, you'll get a replacement no problem. Nothing like the distance selling act in the US?

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

For gaming, GPU. For work and other general purposes - CPU... but I think your set-up should hold up fine for another year or so for most games.

I figured that, but do to me always needing the best toys, and everybody saying how great it is, im probably going to be ordering it tomorrow.

 

[prodystopian]

What would be better to update, my cpu or graphics card?

I have an Athlon X2 64 5000+ Black Edition, and a 8800GT?

Im thinking of getting a 4870 1GB, but was wondering if that would make a bigger difference that getting a quad core.

Also, Ive tried to overclock my cpu a few times, but it only takes on a few bootups before it says it failed. Ive researched it and found that I should be able to overclock to 3.0Ghz with no voltage change.

Does your mobo support Phenom? If not, then I think the only upgrade you could do with your CPU is to a 6000+ which wouldn't be much of a jump, especially if you OC the 5000+.

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

Does your mobo support Phenom? If not, then I think the only upgrade you could do with your CPU is to a 6000+ which wouldn't be much of a jump, especially if you OC the 5000+.

I found out it does, but only on a limited basis, not really taking full advantage of the Phenom.

 

[chespace]

I was thinking about this today...

Is it possible that I accidentally installed 32-bit drivers for 8.10 for my 64 bit OS?

The install package I used was the one that was linked early in this thread for 8.10 final at megauplaod or something. It looked like a joint package for both 32 and 64 bit drivers. The install shield didn't ask me what version I wanted to install so I just assumed it installs the correct version.

Could it be that I'm using the wrong drivers and hence getting BSoD when I turn on Cat AI?

 

[bee]

I was thinking about this today...

Is it possible that I accidentally installed 32-bit drivers for 8.10 for my 64 bit OS?

The install package I used was the one that was linked early in this thread for 8.10 final at megauplaod or something. It looked like a joint package for both 32 and 64 bit drivers. The install shield didn't ask me what version I wanted to install so I just assumed it installs the correct version.

Could it be that I'm using the wrong drivers and hence getting BSoD when I turn on Cat AI?

no, your right in thinking its a joint package and it auto detects your os and installs the right ones

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/125601/8-10_vista32-64_dd_ccc_wdm_69566.exe

did you ever try 8.8?

 

[suaveric]

Shitballs. I finished my build yesterday and I've run in to a huge problem. The computer is not booting correctly and after a short period of time it shuts itself off. I figured the shut off might be a safety feature for the CPU, maybe motherboard sensed it over heating and then would shut down to prevent damage. During one of my boot attempts I finally did see an error message that said something about the CPU's temp briefly before it shut down again.

So what could be the problem? I can come up with three options-

1. I installed the heat sink wrong and now the CPU is over heating almost as soon as the computer starts booting up.

2. There is something wrong with the motherboard's heat sensor.

3. There is something wrong with the CPU and/or heat sink.

Am I overlooking anything? I double checked the CPU heat sink/fan and It seemed to be on there pretty snug. Can I take it off and look at it or will that screw up the thermal paste?

 

[garath]

Shitballs. I finished my build yesterday and I've run in to a huge problem. The computer is not booting correctly and after a short period of time it shuts itself off. I figured the shut off might be a safety feature for the CPU, maybe motherboard sensed it over heating and then would shut down to prevent damage. During one of my boot attempts I finally did see an error message that said something about the CPU's temp briefly before it shut down again.

So what could be the problem? I can come up with three options-

1. I installed the heat sink wrong and now the CPU is over heating almost as soon as the computer starts booting up.

2. There is something wrong with the motherboard's heat sensor.

3. There is something wrong with the CPU and/or heat sink.

Am I overlooking anything? I double checked the CPU heat sink/fan and It seemed to be on there pretty snug. Can I take it off and look at it or will that screw up the thermal paste?

Immediately jump into the bios after booting the (cool) machine. There should be a page for system status where it will display the CPU's temp. If you see that climbing rapidly and reach the threshold where it will shut itself off, you know you have a temp problem. Verify the CPU fan is running (just have the case open when you turn it on to check the bios), that would be my first guess at the problem. Second thing to try is to pull off the heatsink and reattach it. Yes, it'll mess up the paste, just clean it off with some isopropyl alcohol and reapply.

 

[chespace]

no, your right in thinking its a joint package and it auto detects your os and installs the right ones

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/125601/8-10_vista32-64_dd_ccc_wdm_69566.exe

did you ever try 8.8?

Have not tried 8.8.

Why should that help?

 

[suaveric]

Immediately jump into the bios after booting the (cool) machine. There should be a page for system status where it will display the CPU's temp. If you see that climbing rapidly and reach the threshold where it will shut itself off, you know you have a temp problem. Verify the CPU fan is running (just have the case open when you turn it on to check the bios), that would be my first guess at the problem. Second thing to try is to pull off the heatsink and reattach it. Yes, it'll mess up the paste, just clean it off with some isopropyl alcohol and reapply.

That sucks about the thermal paste... I'm using the stock fan which came with paste already applied to it. I don't have any extra laying around.

How long does it take for the CPU to cool down enough for me to start the computer up again?

 

[suaveric]

One other question, is all this potential over heating killing this CPU? Or dis the power cut off feature saving it from any serious damage?

 

[Big Takeover]

Have not tried 8.8.

Why should that help?

I'd also recommend trying the 8.8s too.

You've been through everything at this point. It's really down to the drivers, or the card itself. You'd think that each iteration of drivers would just improve upon the previous version, but it doesn't always work like that. It's not uncommon at all for things to get broken along the way. Of course there are other 4870x2 owners that are able to use newer drivers, but who knows, maybe it's the just the Powercolor x2, or something else about your system that isn't jiving with 8.9s, or 8.10s.

It's absolutely worth a shot.

 

[prodystopian]

One other question, is all this potential over heating killing this CPU? Or dis the power cut off feature saving it from any serious damage?

I'm pretty sure newer CPUs should be fine. I just replaced my processor and messed up putting on the HS. I even tried gaming on it for a few minutes and had no problems thanks to my mobo underclocking the processor in order to not overheat. I replaced the HS and everything is great now.

 

[Hazaro]

One other question, is all this potential over heating killing this CPU? Or dis the power cut off feature saving it from any serious damage?

They are hardy little buggers. I wouldn't sweat it.

If you don't have any thermal paste around you can use toothpaste instead. Seriously. Only a few degrees difference, but make sure to change it in a few days. There are other substances you can use as well.

 

[lachesis]

That sucks about the thermal paste... I'm using the stock fan which came with paste already applied to it. I don't have any extra laying around.

How long does it take for the CPU to cool down enough for me to start the computer up again?

Well, my guess is also with the HSF not running, or not making any contact with the CPU. Perhaps instead of a stock HSF - 3rd party one might be a good idea. Also, make sure CPU fan's connected, and running too.

I'm sure in about 10 min (to be safe) your cpu should be cool enough to boot again. Leave your computer cover open and see how it goes.

Another thing to check upon might be your CPU voltage in bios, and hopefully it's not something too overpowering. Maybe your MB doesn't recognize the CPU (happens to the older MB, where the bios doesn't recognize new 45nm chips) - so if there's any MB bios update, I'd update that too.

CPU turns itself off when it reacheas certain temperature - and unless you are constantly running above such high degree - I'd say it's probably okay. Just make sure to fix them problem soon.

 

[garath]

That sucks about the thermal paste... I'm using the stock fan which came with paste already applied to it. I don't have any extra laying around.

How long does it take for the CPU to cool down enough for me to start the computer up again?

You can grab some thermal paste at Best Buy or something.

It should only take 10 minutes or so to cool down. But definitely check that the CPU fan is running. You won't have to take the heatsink off to fix it and it's the likeliest culprit imo.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm sure in about 10 min (to be safe) your cpu should be cool enough to boot again. Leave your computer cover open and see how it goes.

I'd personally give it 30 seconds tops :lol

Better safe than sorry though. Also if you happen to have a thermometer you can hold it against the core of the sink to give you some sort of idea.
I know it's not the most accurate, but for example when I held one against the Northbridge sink and saw the temperature go past 160F I thought I should get a fan on it. Especially since I got a slight burn on my finger.

 

[suaveric]

ok, just tried it again and went straight in to the bios for a temp reading. It was already at 80 C and rising quickly. When it hit 85 C (about a minute or so after I booted up) I turned the computer off. I'm under the impression that the CPU should be much lower than that temp.

The heat sink fan was running. The motherbaord did recognize the CPU and I haven't messed with any settings in the bios.

The CPU in question is the Q6600 and the mobo is the ASUS P5Q Pro. Everything is stock, I'm using just the heat sink that came with the CPU and whatever the paste was that was already applied to the heat sink.

So what's my next move, go out and buy some thermal paste and try again?

 

[Hazaro]

ok, just tried it again and went straight in to the bios for a temp reading. It was already at 80 C and rising quickly. When it hit 85 C (about a minute or so after I booted up) I turned the computer off. I'm under the impression that the CPU should be much lower than that temp.

The heat sink fan was running. The motherbaord did recognize the CPU and I haven't messed with any settings in the bios.

The CPU in question is the Q6600 and the mobo is the ASUS P5Q Pro. Everything is stock, I'm using just the heat sink that came with the CPU and whatever the paste was that was already applied to the heat sink.

So what's my next move, go out and buy some thermal paste and try again?

Way way way too hot for idle. It should be <50C even with the crappy stock heatsink.

It is obviously not making contact with the CPU. Make sure you have jammed in all 4 pins into the motherboard. If possible lower the CPU voltage to 1.20V

*Another stupid possibility, you did remove that plastic on the heatsink right?
At this point if it's seated correctly you might as well reseat the heatsink like I said and use toothpaste. (If you have vaseline add that in a 75/25% toothpaste/vaseline mixture)

 

[garath]

ok, just tried it again and went straight in to the bios for a temp reading. It was already at 80 C and rising quickly. When it hit 85 C (about a minute or so after I booted up) I turned the computer off. I'm under the impression that the CPU should be much lower than that temp.

The heat sink fan was running. The motherbaord did recognize the CPU and I haven't messed with any settings in the bios.

The CPU in question is the Q6600 and the mobo is the ASUS P5Q Pro. Everything is stock, I'm using just the heat sink that came with the CPU and whatever the paste was that was already applied to the heat sink.

So what's my next move, go out and buy some thermal paste and try again?

80C is not a good temp. That is your problem for sure.

Since the CPU fan was running then it's not seated properly. The newer ones have little posts that need to be pushed in securely, it is very easy to not get it right. First try to push those posts in better before pulling it off and re-seating. Re-read the instructions to make sure you got it in there right.

Next step is pulling it off and re-seating it with some fresh paste.

 

[Woffls]

Are 9800GTX's any good still?

I have an 8800GT but it doesn't render in Maya as fast as I need, So I want a new card possibly. Also I'd be able to use the 8800GT as a PPU, meaning I can hang onto my E6600 for a while longer. Might be wirth running 2 8800GT's in SLi but my mobo onlyt does 2x6 rather than 2x12 =(

 

[lachesis]

Are 9800GTX's any good still?

I have an 8800GT but it doesn't render in Maya as fast as I need, So I want a new card possibly. Also I'd be able to use the 8800GT as a PPU, meaning I can hang onto my E6600 for a while longer. Might be wirth running 2 8800GT's in SLi but my mobo onlyt does 2x6 rather than 2x12 =(

As per Maya rendering, I thought CPU was more important factor than GPU...?

Anyhow, I hear 9800GTX2 is very good for the price/performance...

 

[suaveric]

Way way way too hot for idle. It should be <50C even with the crappy stock heatsink.

It is obviously not making contact with the CPU. Make sure you have jammed in all 4 pins into the motherboard. If possible lower the CPU voltage to 1.20V

*Another stupid possibility, you did remove that plastic on the heatsink right?
At this point if it's seated correctly you might as well reseat the heatsink like I said and use toothpaste. (If you have vaseline add that in a 75/25% toothpaste/vaseline mixture)

I don't believe I removed anything from the heatsink. What I removed was a piece of plasitc on the bottom of the CPU and one on the mobo that was covering the contact point for the cpu.

The posts for the heatsink seem to be on there very tightly, I put a lot of pressure on them again after the trouble started this morning with the first boot up. They look tight, how eles can I tell where the problem is?

If I take the heatsink off to check to make sure there's no plastic on it and to retry seating it again on the motherboard, but I don't reapply any more thermal paste, will the temps come down if it gets seated correctly on the second try? Or do I have to redo the paste to see any improvement?

 

[lachesis]

I don't believe I removed anything from the heatsink. What I removed was a piece of plasitc on the bottom of the CPU and one on the mobo that was covering the contact point for the cpu.

The posts for the heatsink seem to be on there very tightly, I put a lot of pressure on them again after the trouble started this morning with the first boot up. They look tight, how eles can I tell where the problem is?

If I take the heatsink off to check to make sure there's no plastic on it and to retry seating it again on the motherboard, but I don't reapply any more thermal paste, will the temps come down if it gets seated correctly on the second try? Or do I have to redo the paste to see any improvement?

As long as you have a good contact with nothing but paste between, you will see the improvements. However I advise to redo the paste. You don't have to see the improvement, but the pressure from the first seating probably smeared everything all over, making a mess out of whole thing. You are re-seating HSF no matter what, so why not? I don't think AC5 paste is too expensive. I got mine from newegg for about 5 bucks or so.

 

[suaveric]

As long as you have a good contact with nothing but paste between, you will see the improvements. However I advise to redo the paste. You don't have to see the improvement, but the pressure from the first seating probably smeared everything all over, making a mess out of whole thing. You are re-seating HSF no matter what, so why not? I don't think AC5 paste is too expensive. I got mine from newegg for about 5 bucks or so.

if there's something wrong with the way the HSF is attaching to the mobo and I have to buy a new one, i'd rather buy my paste then. but if i absolutly must get new paste first, i was thinking about running over to my best buy. is this stuff any good?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...paste&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1075583463530

 

[godhandiscen]

I was thinking about this today...

Is it possible that I accidentally installed 32-bit drivers for 8.10 for my 64 bit OS?

The install package I used was the one that was linked early in this thread for 8.10 final at megauplaod or something. It looked like a joint package for both 32 and 64 bit drivers. The install shield didn't ask me what version I wanted to install so I just assumed it installs the correct version.

Could it be that I'm using the wrong drivers and hence getting BSoD when I turn on Cat AI?

No, I am using the same drivers Bee linked to and they are doing wonders for me. I was using the beta previously.
I would have done the RMA yesterday.

 

[Hazaro]

Not for $11, just use toothpaste + vaseline when you try to reseat it.

Good and bad are within 4C of each other and idling at 85C it's not going to amtter much what you use.

 

[captive]

Is thermal paste really that big of a deal I have only put it on one of my computers and never had any problems.

 

[chespace]

Welp, my new Powercolor 4870x2 should arrive tomorrow so we'll see whether the problem was with GPU or not. Either way, it should be very interesting and I'll be swapping in the new GPU to replace the old one just for the heck of it and returning the old one.