Cpu wears out?

My xp1700 system used to crash a lot. No rhyme, no reason. I clocked down to
xp1500 and it's been working fine. My guess is that my cpu's getting worn
out. Fact?

What was the temperature the CPU was operating @ with 1700 setting? Is it a
Palamino core?


"\o/ Billy" wrote in message
. ..
My xp1700 system used to crash a lot. No rhyme, no reason. I clocked down
to
xp1500 and it's been working fine. My guess is that my cpu's getting worn
out. Fact?

Although 50-55c should not cause problems for this processor, the temp. does
seem high considering that your Thermaltake Volcano 9 is running @ 4800rpm!
Is there any dust caught in the HS? Have you tried reseating the HS? For
reseating, I strongly recommend Arctic Silver thermal paste! How many fans
do you have in the case ( intake and output )? What's room temp?

"\o/ Billy" wrote in message
. ..
I should have been more specific.

It's a thoroughbred "A". It ran around 50-55c at 1700. Now at 1500 I'm
showing 42-45. I'm using volcano 9 heatsink with fan full blast.

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:40:43 -0500, "\\o/ Billy"
wrote:

My xp1700 system used to crash a lot. No rhyme, no reason. I clocked down to
xp1500 and it's been working fine. My guess is that my cpu's getting worn
out. Fact?


Fiction (mostly). In theory, it's possible that semiconductors will
screw up over time due to a process called "electron drift" but it
takes a very long time for that to happen under home PC conditions.
10+ years is one estimate, so that'd be longer than what most people
would keep their computers. It's sort of true that overclocking a CPU
will increase the odds of it happening spontaneously, but it's still
pretty rare.

If your system is crashing a lot and it wasn't before, I'd look to
more mundane reasons. As the old saying goes, if you hear gallops,
think horses, not zebras. It's possible, but there are many much more
likely reasons. One thing you can look at is cooling. The cooling
fins in many heatsinks can get clogged up with dust and other crap
over time and it can cause your CPU to overheat under load. You can
remove the cooler, unscrew the fan, and carefully rinse out the
heatsink.

If you're at the point where you're looking for an excuse to justify
replacing your machine... never mind.
---------------------------------------------

MCheu

Reading 50-55C, if the motherboard is using a sensor under the cpu on the
board rather than the one in the cpu itself, the cpu could have been going
over the magic 60C border to instability.

Also be sure to have a case fan.

You can test the accuracy of your cpu using the free prime95, set for
torture test. If it runs ok overnight, it should be ok, though some say 24
hours.
--
Ed Light

Smiley :-/
MS Smiley :-\

Send spam to the FTC at

Thanks, robots.

"MCheu" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:40:43 -0500, "\\o/ Billy"
wrote:

My xp1700 system used to crash a lot. No rhyme, no reason. I clocked down
to
xp1500 and it's been working fine. My guess is that my cpu's getting worn
out. Fact?


Fiction (mostly). In theory, it's possible that semiconductors will
screw up over time due to a process called "electron drift" but it
takes a very long time for that to happen under home PC conditions.
10+ years is one estimate, so that'd be longer than what most people
would keep their computers. It's sort of true that overclocking a CPU
will increase the odds of it happening spontaneously, but it's still
pretty rare.

If your system is crashing a lot and it wasn't before, I'd look to
more mundane reasons. As the old saying goes, if you hear gallops,
think horses, not zebras. It's possible, but there are many much more
likely reasons. One thing you can look at is cooling. The cooling
fins in many heatsinks can get clogged up with dust and other crap
over time and it can cause your CPU to overheat under load. You can
remove the cooler, unscrew the fan, and carefully rinse out the
heatsink.

If you're at the point where you're looking for an excuse to justify
replacing your machine... never mind.
---------------------------------------------

MCheu

No, I can't afford another system.

Before I clocked down, I had everything out of the case and cleaned. Fresh
thermal paste (generic), HS oriented right, cards contacts cleaned and
seated, just like rebuilding. Also a fresh install of windows. Clocking down
has settled everything. Go figure.

"chris" wrote in message
...
Although 50-55c should not cause problems for this processor, the temp.
does
seem high considering that your Thermaltake Volcano 9 is running @
4800rpm!
Is there any dust caught in the HS? Have you tried reseating the HS? For
reseating, I strongly recommend Arctic Silver thermal paste! How many
fans
do you have in the case ( intake and output )? What's room temp?

"\o/ Billy" wrote in message
. ..
I should have been more specific.

It's a thoroughbred "A". It ran around 50-55c at 1700. Now at 1500 I'm
showing 42-45. I'm using volcano 9 heatsink with fan full blast.





5500 rpms more like it.

I have one case fan blowing in from the front. PS suck it out.

Might try the case fan on the back instead.

Also might try the cpu fan blowing up.
--
Ed Light

Smiley :-/
MS Smiley :-\

Send spam to the FTC at

Thanks, robots.

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 15:25:04 -0500, \o/ Billy wrote:

Before I clocked down, I had everything out of the case and cleaned. Fresh
thermal paste (generic), HS oriented right, cards contacts cleaned and
seated, just like rebuilding. Also a fresh install of windows. Clocking down
has settled everything. Go figure.

A long time ago I had a 486SX20 overclocked to 33MHz for a couple of
years. It started crashing first slowly, then a lot more often. Finally
clocked it back down to 20MHz and it ran fine there. So yes, they do fail.
OTOH, had a pentium that I had to clock down because some of the caps
around the cpu were bad and it would run ok underclocked, but not at
normal speed *in that board*. Ran fine in others, so it could be a power
problem.

--
KT133 MB, CPU @2400MHz (24x100): SIS755 MB CPU @2330MHz (10x233)
Need good help? Provide all system info with question.
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
Verizon server http://mysite.verizon.net/res0exft/cpu.htm

"Wes Newell" wrote in message
A long time ago I had a 486SX20 overclocked to 33MHz for a couple of
years. It started crashing first slowly, then a lot more often. Finally
clocked it back down to 20MHz and it ran fine there. So yes, they do fail.

Second that. My unlocked Barton XP 2500 will take 200 as a FSB and run
stable forever after 2 years of anywhere between 201 and 223 rock solid.
Same symptoms as you describe. Core never over 50, susually 38-42 degrees.
RAM is fine.
I'm sad; but realize those were the good old days, and live with 200, as
it's still faster than the core is rated at. (Also have a couple mobile
2500's if I ever REALLY get bored.)

Once in a while I keep hoping the AMD fairy will have sprinkled some dust on
it, but when ever I try an kick it up, it just sits and stares back or
reboots itself ad infinitum.

Mark