Hi,

I have recently built myself a new PC and seem to be experiencing high temps, can anyone shed any light on this. My system is:

AMD XP 2400+ with standard AMD fan that was supplied with processor
Chaintech 7VJL Deluxe motherboard
Kustom PC case includes 2 side fans (blowing out) & 1 rear fan (blowing in).

My CPU temp is in the high 50deg C's with a fan speed of ~4500RPM
My system temp is in the medium to high 40deg C's

This appears to be quite hot and these temps are only at low usage.

The processor heatsink had one of the small thermal tabs on but I have only ever used the thermal paste before. There was some thermal paste supplied with the motherboard, should I take the heatsink off and use this paste instead of relying on the pad?

Thanks, any suggestions are gratefully received as I am scared to do any high usage tasks at the mo!

Gareth

[Edited by Da Booga - 6/18/2003 7:14:07 PM]

That is quite high but it is hot at the mo, mine went up to early 50's c so I cleaned it all out (full of crud) and fitted a coolermaster HAC V81 cooler, noisy but it runs in the forties now and I can crank the fan up via the knob on the front to cool it further but it sounds like its on final approach !

Is the processor running at the correct speed? I have an XP2400 and it runs at 2.06GHZ. The only other option would be to fit a larger capacity HSK+Fan cos the ones they supply sometimes are on the edge. Do you have the make and model number for the HSK+Fan you are currently using?

The heatsink & fan came with the processor in the official AMD pack. Other than that I don't know.

I'm looking into a larger cooler at the moment. I may be making a purchase shortly :)

Yes, the processor is running at the correct speed.

Thanks

[Edited by Da Booga - 6/16/2003 9:41:58 PM]

If your system temp is in the 40's then it's no wonder the CPU is in the 50's..

I'd suggest looking at getting more airflow through the case before shelling out on a copper/alu cooler....

[Edited by DominicA - 6/17/2003 10:44:51 AM]

Agree with Dominica, sys temps seem a bit high and should really be as close to ambient temps as poss, my Lian-li case with an XP 2400 has a sys temp of < 30. I dont think that is your whole problem though.

Your case, why the wierd fan setup? Usually I would have the rear fans, PSU etc taking all the hot air out and any others (especially side fans) bringing cool air in to blow over the mobo/cpu etc. Could you further describe or give a link to the case specs? The best air cooled cases have two fans at the bottom front of the case bringing cool air in and another two or even three fans expelling air. Cases with negative pressure seem to work best, i.e. more air being expelled than is being brought in.

Where are you getting your temp readings from, is it the mobo? Most mobos take diode readings which are a good bit higher than core, a diode temp of high 50's while a bit hot is acceptable, this usually translates to a chip temp a good few degrees lower.

Deffo use thermal paste with the CPU. I think this is your main problem, make sure its decent stuff such as Arctic Silver III and spread it as thinly as poss using a credit card or similar. Unless they are Akasa ShinEtsu ones, thermal pads are a complete waste of time.

Is the heatsink connecting correctly with the core, make sure its not sitting on the socket ridge slightly.

TBH though you will be hard pushed to get your cpu temps that much lower without resorting to noisy heatsink/fan combos or watercooling.

[Edited by Jye - 6/17/2003 11:34:19 AM]

I have got a AMD XP2500+ Barton with a SLK 800 heatsink

My cpu temp is 35C idle and rises to about 38C under load.

I have got a temp probe under my chip which relays the info to a control panel on the front of my case. I can get the temp down to about 32C if I have all 7 fans blowing at full speed :D

The case fans are as they came supplied, I haven't touched them.

A link to the case and specs is here http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/product.p...cad7443b67bda5

I have a Nexus fan controller with temperature readouts but it isn't connected yet as I didn't have enough power connectors on my power supply although I have just got hold of a splitter so will be powering that up tonight to see what temps that gives me.

Thanks,

Gareth

I don't wanna hijack this thread, but which is a more accurate temp sensor, Asus Probe or SiSoft Sandra?

Darren

Asus Probe is a bit wonky, I'd use MBM. Never use them both though as MBM freaks out Probe :D

Regarding your case Da Booga, I'd deffo have the two side fans sucking cool air in towards the mobo etc, and if you have room fit another 80 mm fan expelling hot air at the rear or cut a blowhole in the top. I'd also recommend buying Papst fans as they are very quiet.

i reckon you are worring about nothing
50+ is no problem
so what if you get the temp down to 30or 40.
Will you notice any diff, i doubt it
you can still run lots of 3d apps
My friend cpu runs at 70. its no problem as it can cope with this

Cheers Kamikaze that's a little reassuring :)

tbh though i'm not looking to cool it to gain any speed just to hopefully make the processor last longer and be a bit more stable as it is used for running my internet business so any downtime is money lost :(

I can only go on what I have read on the internet and most people seem to be running their CPU in the 30's or 40's which is what I am aiming for.

Regards,

Gareth

I think the CPU fan and heatsink is working fine - you should expect the CPU to be 10 degrees or so above the case temp. It's the case temp you should worry about.

Make sure your case fans are set up to pull in from the front and push out air from the front. But the best strategy is to have one fan blowing in form the side (if you have a hole of the side of the case).

This'll get the cool air in and cool everything down

Above 55 degrees C the failure rate for an AMD chip increases by FOUR. Might like to bear that in mind! Also i agree 2 fans in, one out is the wrong way round. I personally would be considering AS3 paste on the chip for a 1st attempt, if not a Vantec Aeroflow heatsink/cooler combo. Dont leave it running above 55 whatever you do!

I think you mean the other way P1 m8, he has a case with 2 side fans (blowing out) & 1 rear fan (blowing in).

I alway have more fans blowing in than out - and I get lower temps this way. My theory being that the air will always find a way out (loads of gaps in cases). Also has the side effect that dust doesn't get sucked through CD drives and cause them to fail

my cpu temp is around 55 odd.
i run all the latest games on my computer in high resolutions
MY cpu has been fine for 18 months now(xp1700)
Do I worry about cpu failure . NO.
I just get on with playing games and surfing the net.

OK thanks for the tips guys.

I had a feel around in the case last night and have decided to disconnect the blue neon that came in the case as it was too hot to touch and so must have obviously been contributing to the high case temps!

I also found that all fans are blowing into the case so will flip the rear one around so that it is blowing out.

After running it for 20 minutes this evening so far the case temps are now in the very low 40deg's so removing the neon has obviously helped! the CPU is now in the low 50's too.

I will see what difference flipping the rear fan has too :)

Cheers,

Gareth