cpu overheating

i've got a major problem, my computer shuts down less than 5 minutes after starting due to overheating. on startup, i open up speedfan, and can watch the temperature of the cpu rise from 35 degrees C to over 70 degrees c in less than 5 minutes, while all my other temps are fine, the cpu is an AMD 3800+ X2, with an AMD heat sink and fan, at first i thought that maybe i had fried the cpu, so i swapped in an AMD 3500 single core, same thing, overheats till shut down!!!!! for me that rules out a cpu failure.......currently, i have the 80mm fan on the cpu heat sink, a 120 mm fan on back of case, a 120 mm fan on side of case, an expansion bay fan blowing out the back of case, 2 fans on my hdd, a thermaltake northbridge heatsink/fan, and a fan on my video card.......i think thats plenty of air moving around in my case, especially as all my other temps according to speedfan are ok, never going above 40 degrees C. my computer is an NZXT Apollo case, ultra Xconnect 550v power supply, msi K8N Neo 4 motherboard, geforce 8800gt 512mb video card, ultra 2 gb ram(2x 1gb dual channel), seagate 250 gb sata hdd, tsst lightscribe dvd burner, optiarc dvd burner, vantec media card reader..............could any of these things be causing my cpu overheat problem, and if so, how do i rule out what is ok and what is causing my problem, seeing as i cant stay on computer long enough to check

thanks for any help

 

oops.......i should have also mentioned that i have never overclocked the cpu

 

Seems like CPU Cooler is not cooling your CPU at all.
Make Sure it is attached properly and that the thermal Grease or thermal pad is on properly.
If all fails and you are 100% sure that the CPU its self is not faulty (Test it with another cooler somewhere) then i would recomend you to look at an aftermarket cooler if you dont overclock anything will pretty much do but if you plan to in future OC or want something silent look at something like Tuniq Tower 120 or Thermalright 120 or the Noctua Heatsinks.
But if you just plan to use CPU at stock speed go with something cheaper like arctic Freezer Pro 7.

 

i've tried a different cooler, cleaned off all the past and reapplied.........no difference

 

hmm so other cooler dosent make difference?, this sounds very much like a faulty CPU i would return it if you just got it because its producing way too much heat and its going to kill its self :S.

 

dont think its the cpu........i am running the same cpu in my 2 1/2 year old compaq right now......no problems.......and am running the 3500 out of the compaq in my nzxt, on the msi board, and its still overheating to shutdown.......it has to be something else.........is the RAM gone?? is the motherboard faulty?? i dont know how to check all that, seeing as i cant run the nzxt longer than 5 minutes........

 

reset bios to default settings
check the heatsink is definately seated correctly (may have to remove board from case to check)
does it need a bios update to run the chip?
check you've removed the plastic cover from the heatsink
......well i forgot once lol

 

i have tried resetting the bios.......i cant get computer to stay running long enough to do a bios update........i have checked that heat sink is seated properly.......have cleaned and reapplied thermal paste........have tried different heat sinks and fans.........all to no effect........fan speed is running at approx 5000 rpm......and i can watch the temp climb fast while i am in bios........motherboard is a K8N-Neo4F, and i have a query into msi about the board..........but i am starting to think i may have a bum power supply, as i tested my 2 RAM sticks in my other computer, and they are fine, have also tested my geforce in other computer and it is fine.......BTW, how i tested everything was, put my 3800+X2 cpu, 2x1gb ram sticks, and video card into other computer and ran superpi to 32million digits, then did a stress test with pc-doctor.....everthing is ok.......so.......i am down to either the mainboard or the power supply

 

This is what i meant by my last post.
You said you tried another cooler and nothing changed which leads to say that your CPU is likely to be faulty now,I have read cases where CPU's new work 10c above their normal range and that overclocking is not an option even with aftermarket cooling so that is why iam saying that this could be wrong with your dosent have to be like it from the start.
Try the CPU in a different motherboard if same thing happends consider getting a new CPU or get an aftermarket cooler to try to control the temps but you would still be looking at around 60c with aftermarket which is way too high for a stock CPU idle.
After trying all of this if nothing works a new CPU is the way to go something to replace a 3800+x2 isnt alot seeing the 3800x2 is slower then a E2180 and there pretty cheap ATM.

 

its not the cpu......i am running that cpu in another motherboard with no problems......and tried another cpu in the msi motherboard.......it overheats

 

If thats the case you need a new motherboard i guess thats problem solved.

 

I had that problem once, may not be what you have but just making sure.
When I built my first PC I forgot to add those little screws that keep the back of the motherboard from touching the case, which caused the CPU to heat up dramatically (or just cause the motherboard to think that, I am not sure). So just make sure your motherboard is fixed to the case properly and that nothing on the back of it comes to contact with the case.
If everything seems fine then I'm going to have to also say that your motherboard may be broken, never heard of a CPU heating up that fast even with a really bad heat sink.

 

A couple of things to check.
- Check for dust in the heatsink under/on the fan. Use a vacumm or canned air to blow out the outsink and fan assembly
- make sure that the rear fans are blowing out the case not in. (arrow on the fan)
Make sure the side fan blows cool air in.
- reset the BIOS to safe defaults.
- check the PS voltages are within spec and do not have any AC ripple.
- check that you have a clean surface from the CPU die to the heatsink and that you have thermal paste on the CPU/heatsink and that the heatsink is firmly mounted on the CPU die as per install instructions. (not lobsided)
The heatsink must make firm level contact on the CPU die.
It is unlikely that the drives etc are causing overheating of the CPU since as you say the case inside never gets over 40.
Try running with the side off and see if you get a longer run time.

 

Sounds like the cpu socket on the mb may have some foreign matter shorting 2 or more of the cpu pins when you insert it.Grab a magnifying glass and carefully check the socket from both sides.If you can't see anything use a soft toothbrush dipped in acetone and gently brush over the motherboard side of the socket.
Regards,crowy.

 

thanks for all the responses everyone........i got it working good again. i replaced the heat sink with an asus silent knight 2 and used ocz freeze thermal paste, works great now, hasnt gone over 50 degrees at full load, idles at 37 degrees without the fan turning untill around 45