Getting the kinks out of a new build

Well, I think I finally have the new build dialed in, but I'm left with a weird little issue that I've seen before with my old system.

I replaced a Foxconn A7DA-S and Phenom II 920 about a month ago. The new build is in my system specs, but I'll recap a little:

- ASUS M4A79XTD EVO Motherboard
- Phenom II 955BE @ stock speed
- 4 GB Mushkin DDR3 (2 x 2 GB)



I've had some issues since putting this together. The worst was the complete failure of both of my new OCZ RAM sticks after two weeks, but other than that, things seem to be ironed out now, except for one thing.

Considering the CPU cooler that I'm using, I think I should have a little better temp at idle than you see in the screen shot. Ambient is about 22 - 24C, and my machine at work has a 965 in it, but it's otherwise the same, runs about 32C for the same ambient on a stock Phenom cooler at 1.27V core voltage.

I've lowered the CPU voltage, bit by bit, but here's where the problem happens. At my current core voltage (1.32V), Windows doesn't always load everything into the system tray. It still loads the programs, because I can use them, but the icons and notifications don't always show. It's hit or miss, and a reboot will load some of the other ones, or all of them, or none. Raising the voltage helps sometimes, sometimes not. I ran Prime95 overnight the night before last, and memtest86+ the night before that. 9 hours of each and no failures at all, so I'm pretty confident that my voltage isn't the problem.

Could this be a Windows issue that I'm mistaking for a hardware problem? I've had no crashes or freeze ups since replacing the memory, so it isn't that. I'm planning on picking up an SSD in a couple of weeks, so I'm waiting to do a fresh install. Maybe that will help, I don't know.

Any ideas on what causes this? Or am I just worrying for nothing?

Thanks.

Mellon Head said:

Considering the CPU cooler that I'm using, I think I should have a little better temp at idle than you see in the screen shot. Ambient is about 22 - 24C, and my machine at work has a 965 in it, but it's otherwise the same, runs about 32C for the same ambient on a stock Phenom cooler at 1.27V core voltage.

Looking at your screenshots, it seems you run around 34C. I'm not sure I would do much to try to drop it by 2C since you are well within specs.

Thanks for the input. You're right about chasing a lower temp. I just find it weird since the cooler is practically bigger than my head, that the idle temp is so high.

After I posted that, I dropped the Vcore to 1.28 as an experiment, and ran Prime95 for two and a half hours. It was rock solid stable, and when I checked the system tray, everything that was supposed to be there was there. And ironically, my idle temp is 32C.

I'm really confused now. I'm thinking that this has to be Windows messing up, but I'm going to leave everything as is until I get my SSD and see what happens.

UPDATE:

I have corrected the problem, and in doing do, I have discovered that I am so stupid I have to concentrate to breathe.

I have put the Vcore back to 1.32V, and the system is booting reliably, and everything is fine now.

My heat "problem" was made worse by the stupid guy who built my PC, that's me! Basically, what I had done was mount the intake fans so that they were blowing out of the case, rather than in. All of my fans were blowing air out of the case, so no airflow. With this corrected, my CPU temp is now a balmy 29C as I type this.

I have put in my paperwork to be certified the Village Idiot.

Ha...well we have all made mistakes in the past. I'm most impressed with those who admit them and share them with the rest of us.