Computer constantly overheating

I made a post here a few weeks ago regarding upgrading my computer. I added 2 sticks of ram and a 700 gig hard drive; and the general concern was that my power supply wasn't enough to handle the upgrades. I decided to just go along with the upgrade and see what happens.



Ever since, the computer speaker makes a siren noise under the slightest bit of stress (something that told me to add thermal paste last year, which resolved it). Can this siren mean anything else other than overheating? Can it have anything to do with my power supply? What's the solution? Faster fans? I know nothing about cooling.



Thanks in advance.

it depends on what beeping it is.

from what i can remember i think my bios issues 1 continuous beep when my cpu reaches above 60 degrees.
what does your beeping sound like?

It's a siren. Same sound it made last year when it was a definite overheating problem. I wasn't aware that there are different sounds for different problems, so since I'm positive that it's the same sound it made when thermal paste was the problem, does that mean it's definitely a heating issue?

My friend has a PC that has a siren that bleeps 24/7 when in windows, i think its overheating but i haevnt looked at it yet

Typically, a siren is a siren is a siren. Beeps, though, vary depending on different problems.



Did you apply the Thermal Paste properly?

Is your CPU fan spinning?

Are you case fans spinning?

Do you know what your CPU temp is? (Download SpeedFan to see. Depending on your CPU, it won't detect it and just give a general 'Temp' listing. Open a few programs and see what temp spikes the quickest--that's the CPU.)

When is the last time you cleaned dust from your case/components?

Is your case near a heater vent?

Can your CPU run/is it running SpeedStep to cut back it's clock speed when not in use?

If your CPU runs warm to begin with, but still in safe temp ranges, can you raise/disable the high temp warning in BIOS?

I did apply the paste properly, that solved it the first time (about a year ago - before the upgrades). It was fine up until the day after I made the upgrades, at which point I reapplied it again, but the siren was still there. The fans are spinning, the case fans are loud enough to hear (always have been), and I've seen the cpu fan spinning. I don't know the temp, I'll cehck that once I get home - but usually the siren starts when I have objectdock, konfabulator, winamp, and full screen youtube running (all of which never used to be a problem - it's always been a daily activity).



I blast the dust with compressed air about once a month and constantly clean the vents. I've never heard of speedstep. Would I want to disable the high temp warning? Isn't it necessary? I'd assume it runs warm to begin with (it's a huge Area 51 with case fans that have always made a racket), but isn't the siren telling me it's too warm?

When applying the thermal paste, you want to make sure that there are no air bubbles in between the processor and the heatsink. Also, check BIOS to see if any temperature alarms are set abnormally low. I had this happen on an old K6 back in the day. It was just one steady beep, until the temp would go down.

Speedstep is used on newer CPUs (started a few years back depending on the model). In BIOS, look for EIST (Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology. basically, it will only run your CPU at full speed when it's under load. When it's Idle, it will 'throttle back' so-to-speak and run it at a lower speed. This: A-keeps temps lower; and B-uses less power.

Depending on what the Temp Warnings are set at, then yes, you may want to raise them a bit. We'd need to know your CPU model though to determine what temps are hot (but safe) and when they get too high.

as for your case, I'm not familiar with it, but how many case fans are there and what kind are they? 2 120mm's will keep a system much cooler than 1 80mm. Case fan placement also plays a factor, but we'll get to that after we figure out the problem at hand.

If nothing works Put in a water cooling system. And try to find out which program sets it off. To me it sounds like your fans arn't good enough, are they the default ones? If they are since you upgraded they are non able to keep up with the computer.

Water cooling will not be needed. It will be very costly and unless you OC the piss out of your system, it's a moot point.