MCP overheating, please help

[haveron]

I built my PC around a month and a half ago and I only checked the typical temps using HWmonitor. But I was getting some wierd artifacts in TF2, such as random purple sqaures appearing and random holes in walls. So I downloaded everest to check my temps and they were fine, except my MCP, which is normally around 70 degrees celcius. This probably doesn't have anything to do with the artifacts, but this isn't normal is it? I din't know what an MCP was, so I researched it and found out that it was my chipset. Is this right? What should I do? Also I was thiking about RMA my gpu too, but I don't know if it is the game or the gpu. I was going to leave it a while, but then I had a red line go through the screen on WOW, so that is making me think that it is the GPU again. Any help with these issues? Thanks

Specs:
HDD: 500 GB western digital 7200 rpm 32mb cache

Case: HAF 932

CPU: Phenom 940 @3.0 Ghz

GPU: ATI 4890 1GBGPU saphire pre overclocked @ 900mhz

PSU: 750 watt corsair

Motherboard: Asus M3N78 PRO

RAM: 4GB DDR2 800

[sadbuttrue]

The symptoms are almost certainly gpu related. Chipsets tend to run quite hot anyway. Why not try gaming at stock gpu speeds for a while to see if that solves the problem? A 50mhz overclock isn't giving you a huge increase in fps, but it could easily cause instability if the voltage isn't high enough.

[haveron]

Sorry, I didn't put enough detail in. The card came pre overclocked @ 900 mhz

[Agent]

Agree with sadbuttrue - issues like this are rarely anything but GPU related.

Try underclocking it and see if you still get issues. It just sounds like a case of the graphics card being at fault.

[haveron]

If I underclock the gpu, will I have voided the warranty and are my MCP temps fine then, or is there a problem there too? Thanks

[shaithis]

Underclocking the GPU will not void your warranty.

I think the GPU is more likely the culprit then the MCP....the MCP is basically the south-bridge on your motherboard which controls all the various devices connected......from integrated disk controllers to your PCI-E cards. The MCP doesn't really get stressed too heavily though and I can't remember ever seeing a motherboard with a dodgy south-bridge.

[haveron]

So a high MCP temp won't cause any problems? It just seems a little wierd though that the temps are so high even with good cooling. I guess I'll leave it a few weeks and if the problems still there I'll RMA the gpu. Thanks

[watercooled]

Don't know if it will help but the northbridge (I know it's your southbridge but just for comparison) on my AMD 780V system can reach 65C, or even 70C when it was hot a week or two back. I emailed Sapphire, my motherboard MFR, to see if this was normal and was told it's OK - running up to 75C is normal. It's fairly normal for chipsets and GPUs to run hot so I doubt that's the problem.
However, as already mentioned, artefacts are commonly a GPU problem so if it continues you should try RMAing. Does it happen when idle or just under load?
On a side note - my friend started getting tearing and artefacts on his 360, followed by 1 red light and an E74 error...

[haveron]

Don't know if it will help but the northbridge (I know it's your southbridge but just for comparison) on my AMD 780V system can reach 65C, or even 70C when it was hot a week or two back. I emailed Sapphire, my motherboard MFR, to see if this was normal and was told it's OK - running up to 75C is normal. It's fairly normal for chipsets and GPUs to run hot so I doubt that's the problem.
However, as already mentioned, artefacts are commonly a GPU problem so if it continues you should try RMAing. Does it happen when idle or just under load?
On a side note - my friend started getting tearing and artefacts on his 360, followed by 1 red light and an E74 error...

Ok thanks