Liquid cooling?

[Hondaman]

I hope my computer does not randomly reboot while typing this. My main system is the AsRock 970A-G/3.1 motherboard with the AMD 8150 chip. I am experiencing FREQUENT and RANDOM reboots once the system is used for a couple of hours (sometimes it reboots before I even get to the Win7/Linux Mint dual-boot screen). The problem MIGHT be the DRAM controller chip (I recently upgraded to the maximum 64 GB RAM). It also might be the VRM chips. I am using a typical aftermarket CPU cooler, which does NOT blow air DOWN onto the VRM heat sink.

(After previous generation hardware [Gigabyte] didn't handle "maxing out" the VRM chips very well, I wanted something over-engineered, so I got this board, since it can handle the AMD 195W chip [9150 CPU?]) so my new VRM would be over-engineered.)

(Right now, moving from 64 GB to 32 GB SEEMS to have fixed the rebooting problem. We'll see. EDIT: No, it is still rebooting randomly. Win AND Lin. Many times it will reboot after less than 5 minutes.)

If this continues, well, I have two more NIB (new in box) motherboards of this same model (bought them years ago when you could get them new. Win7 piracy detection won't even see it as "new hardware"). Should I get liquid cooling for the CPU next time? If I did this, there would be no airflow from the CPU cooler to disturb the air getting to the VRM heat sink. The airflow onto the VRM would be a "blank slate". It would be zero, so I could rig up fans to blow VERY MUCH air onto the VRM chips and out the top of the case. Should I try liquid CPU cooling here? Even though everything is running at STOCK speeds, and always has been?

Also, is it possible for liquid VRM cooling, or is that too motherboard-specific?

[stj]

get a bootable image of memtest86+ and run it for a few hours
or install it in your linux partition and it will be added to the bootmenu

[Hondaman]

Posting from my Galaxy S10+. One of the wires to the speaker was loose on that old motherboard, but I don't think there would have been any BIOS beeps anyway. Not sure about temperature alarms.

I'm trying to install Ubuntu 24.04 or Mint 18.3 KDE on a spare AMD 5350 system (system on a chip, 17cm by 17cm board), they won't install for some reason. I need a "full featured" second system while I repair the first.

I can't find the factory AMD heat sink / fan for the 8150 chip, so I'm stuck, and I cannot really proceed. Unless I can shop for a down-blowing fan from my phone, or install Linux on a P5GC/MX1333 board from my basement and dig myself out of this mess.

I don't want to use the "BARAM" HS / fan (like a typical 120mm "upright fan" cooler) on the new board if I can avoid it.

[lti]

I would also recommend running Memtest86+ first.

If you think it's a heat problem, the quick way to check is to open the case and have some kind of house fan blowing into it. Almost all down-blowing heatsinks still in production are either extremely thin (1U height) or so large that they hang over the RAM slots, so finding a replacement won't be easy. Maybe you could remove the stupid lights from a Wraith Prism (it still uses the old-style clip, so it will fit on anything socket 754 or newer).

[Hondaman]

Well that was interesting. Crossover Office (under Mint 21.3) did not work with Office 97, but it did work with Office 03, which is all I needed. It turns out my case won't handle a 120mm radiator. I should probably get 2 of the Fractal Design Refine R5, since I still occasionally use an optical drive.

Posting from Windows 7, one of the AsRock 970A-G/3.1 boards I had in my basement. The eBay board I got a few weeks ago was junk, as I thought it would be. Never spend money on eBay that you cannot afford to lose.

For now, I can retire the AMD 5350 with Mint 21.3 that I was using as a backup computer.

When I move everything over to the Fractal Design case, I can shoot 80mm fans at the VRM and the bridge chips (it will look goofy, using the same wire as I use for 28-volt thermostat wire inside my walls or an old US land-line telephone, to hold the fans in place, but I will do it). And use Windows 7 as little as possible (DVD Decrypter, Media Monkey, CanoScan 8400 flatbed scanner).

It is possible that I damaged the bridge chips on the AsRock by suddenly going all the way to 64 GB of RAM. Many of those old Dell / Intel boards could handle 4 GB Ram, but Dell never equipped them with more than 2 GB, so the bridge chips would not get as hot. Well, that's what I read on the internet.

The second Fractal Design Refine R5 will be used for my new "main" Linux-only computer. In another thread, I discussed getting a Win10/11 computer for my mother. I might use hardware from that thread. Although for simple spreadsheets and e-mail, I will probably try to use my Radeon 7770. The fastest video card ever made that can still use completely passive cooling!

If you think it's a heat problem.....

It probably was a heat problem. Was it the VRM or the bridge chips? And how do I get enough air onto those specific heatsinks? Even with my new liquid-cooling setup, it might be quite difficult. I'll just use the AsRock 970A / Win7 hardware as little as possible, and my new modern Linux hardware 99% of the time (or if I wanted to, I could switch from the 125W AMD CPU down to 95W or even lower, but I might need a new Win7 key, which I bought last month). I have used Linux since 07-16-1998. I thought Mandriva 2010.2 worked well and had a great interface. Today's nice green interface of Mint is also pleasing.

Ironic that my plan now includes the fastest passive cooled video card (Radeon 7770) and either the second or third fastest (Radeon 6660 or 6670) which I have in the Win7 machine. The one that I am not using here (6660 or 6670) is in Cincinnati on my mother's Win7 machine. So I own all 3 of the fastest passive cooled cards!

No, the Fractal Design Define R5 WINDOW is not available anymore. But the regular Define R5 lets me open the hinge on the front of the tower and use the optical drive. It is a good enough solution. And there is no logo on the front. Just like the LACK of pinstriping or body side moulding on my 00-02 Saturn "S" series cars, the "plain" appearance of the front of the Define R5 is nice and elegant.

Thanks for all your help !

EDIT: I bought a KVM (keyboard / video / mouse) switch years ago, and it will be very useful here.

[stj]

how to get air to a heatsink? - hoses to direct from a remote fan on the front or side.
when i was running 32bit athlons i used to mount a fan on the side panel so when it was closed it was above the heatsink.