Computer problem I just can't figure out.... (SOLVED!)

[ChadTower]

That's why we're trying for the first level off the floor, as close to those front rows as possible.

Judging from the crowd shots on TV that's where all the fake Vin Diesels sit.   

[Ginsu Victim]

Finally figured out my problem and fixed it!

My BIOS doesn't allow me to change the voltage or CPU frequency, and after searching for the right program, I found one that let me do it in Vista.

So I reduced the multiplier from 15.5x down to 15x (running at 3.0Ghz instead of 3.1Ghz), and dropped the voltage from 1.4 to 1.2 (acceptable range for this CPU), and now my problems are gone. The heat dropped substantially.

I also went ahead and changed the thermal paste on the northbridge to OCZ Silver 5 and that seems to have helped as well.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS!

[SirPeale]

So lowering your heat and voltage made your device problems go away?  No kidding.

Sounds like your power supply is inadequate.

[Ginsu Victim]

I dunno, cuz it happened with the last PSU as well. This motherboard didn't even support the CPU until a BIOS update came out, so maybe it just wasn't set up to handle it correctly. All I know is I'm playing games now and the temp is playing nice.

[ChadTower]

Sounds like he's running the mobo at the edge of its capability and it's just not a good match with the CPU.

[Ginsu Victim]

Sounds like he's running the mobo at the edge of its capability and it's just not a good match with the CPU.

Yep, that's how it seems.

[Ginsu Victim]

Well, though I found a way to fix this myself, I found a forum post that appears to have located the culprit: overheating voltage regulators.
http://forums.amd.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=22&threadid=95179&enterthread=y

I will add a fan like the pics show, but I will continue to slightly underclock, as well.

Performance has been great. It's nice to be able to enjoy PC games again.