Mobo Heatsink overheating

[techguy475]

I got a major problem. I installed a new hardware monitoring program. It's reading that the passive heatsink on the motherboard is at 70C! I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I've got three fans in the case already (2 80mm intake, 1 120mm outtake) I'm not sure if it's normal or not. It's freakin' me out a little, I don't want something to fry itself without me knowing what's going on. Here are my specs:

Antec Case
Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI (Passive Heatsink)
AMD Anthlon 64 3200 (2.0GHz) pin: 939 (Using stock hsf)
WD SATA 120Gb Hard Drive
512Mb Rosewill RAM
GeForce 7800GT SLI Supported
Sound Blaster Audigy2 Value
470W SkyHawk ATX

[JLK03F150]

Which monitoring software are you using? What is the software's default name for the hot area? Does the northbridge heatsink feel hot to the touch?

Check the gigabyte site to see if there are any bios updates that may address incorrect temperature readings.

[vikeor]

try updating the bios... i had temp monitoring problems with the stock bios on a gigabyte board

[lazyman4444]

What hardware monitor program are you using?

[techguy475]

I'm using Speedfan. It reads as temp3. I updated the bios before I installed the Speedfan software, so the bios are up to date. And I think that would explain why my processor temps are above what they should be at idle. It sits at 40C idle, and 50-65 load. My guess it that the heat is going to whereever it can to get out, mainly, the processor. Anyway, I'm not sure what to do. Thanks for the advice so far though.

[stroyal]

Take the sides off your computer and place a window fan beside the case, this will be as cool as the case can get. If the temps go down, you need better case cooling, (faster, more ,or larger fans). If they don't go down, you need better heatsinks and/or better heatsink fans.

[Coolzer]

Clean all the dust out of your computer (inc heatsinks). Can of compressed air is always good.

[stroyal]

If it does turn out to be case cooling, and you have the fan grils with little holes or slots, they should be cut out and replaced with the wire kind. The front fans should have no grills. This will increase flow by at 50% or more.

[techguy475]

I've done that before. Turning on my window unit, and taking off the side panel. The CPU idle temp went down to about 32C from 40C. The FSB heatsink never changed. Should I be worried to turn my computer on? I don't want to fry anything.

[Coolzer]

I would be worried........but i worry alot

What cooling system do you currently have?

[techguy475]

All of my specs are in the first post...

[techguy475]

How do I remove the heatsink from the motherboard? There are two white, springy buttons on it, but I'm not sure how to remove it, without making a mistake and breaking something.

[yeadon563]

Perhaps you need better thermal compound. Try some artic silver compound. Try this place as it has free shipping:http://www.pcviper.net/


hths
Yeadon563

[JPMiller]

Most likely you have nothing to worry about, as software monitors are on average only correct less than 50% of the time...

IF you DO have a thermal problem, dont waste money on fancy thermal compound unless your into serious opverclocking...
Whats needed here is common sense basic cooling improvements...
cleaning the case and Heatsinks and fans...
adding fans if there arent enough...
making sure the airflow is correct...
and making sure the rooms ambient temp isnt too high...

Heres a few links to go through...
http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=230
http://www.tweak3d.net/tweak/airflowtweak/2.shtml
http://www.kpod.co.uk/ars/

[elroy]

Run the pc a while and touch the heatsink. How hot is it? Slightly above room temp, warm, very warm, kind of hot, so hot you must remove your finger after a couple seconds etc. Post back. You shouldn't have any problem leaving your finger on the heatsink indefinitly. I would categorize most heatsinks as warm.

[techguy475]

There's my problem. Last time I touched the passive heatsink it was by accident. I'm guessing that my finger was there for about 2 seconds. If I had held it much longer, I would probably have 1st degree burns. My guess is that the temperature sensors are correct, and are correct in saying that the temperatures are around 70C-72C. I have cleaned, and applied thermal compound (AS5, only enough to cover the contact points from the heatsink to the FSB) The temperatures remain the same.
In one of my erlier posts, I asked why my pocessor temps were so high. I think that the chipset my be what's causing it. The passive heatsink for this motherboard was designed to hold a certain amount of heat. It seems that when that threshold is broken, it transfers the heat to the closest exit...The processor heatsink. For the time being it seems that the CPU heatsink/fan can handle the extra heat, but since that the heat threshold on the chipset has already been broken, I'm worried that the chipset is going to fry itself, despite the heat that the heatsink can take. In time the chipset will burn itself out. Sorry about the technicality, but I'd rather explain it all and answer any unasked questions before-hand and get to the solution. Thanks again for the help.