Effective Cooling

Bloodrayne · 17 Jul 2006 at 19:58

Hi all,

My specs are:
Asus A7N8X-E
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 'Barton Core' (standard heatsink/fan)
2 Gig RAM
Geforce FX5900 Ultra
Windows XP Home
and a rather nice Lian-Li case (2 fans at the front, one at the top and another at the back)

My problem is that in this weather my PC keeps resetting, and it's ruining my gaming fun - is there anything quick, easy and cheap that I can do to cool my system down? or should I just wait until I do a 64-bit upgrade and then add more cooling things?

Not overclocking anything, and the PC has plenty of room to breathe.

Thanks

w3bbo · 17 Jul 2006 at 20:17

Quick and easy fix is to remove the side panel of your pc for decent temp drops.

bitslice · 17 Jul 2006 at 20:26

odd, 'tis not far off my spec, except I've turned off the case fans.

check the (case+GPU+CPU) fans are actually running (...sorry)
check the bios isn't set to turn off the CPU at 50 degrees

is this really a heat problem ? ...post your CPU temperature reading

.

Bloodrayne · 18 Jul 2006 at 19:05

Asus probe (which I think is lying) says my CPU is currently 65c - this is whilst surfing the t'internet and listening to music.

All fans are turning.

Wouldn't leaving the side of the case effect air flow?

Any suggestions welcome!

bitslice · 19 Jul 2006 at 09:26

what's the bios setting for heat auto shutdown ?

65c is high, but as you say, you can't trust it.
My similar rig would be 37c-40c (and that's with sound insulation, but pre heat wave)

does the CPU heatsink feel too hot to touch ?

check the processor is making good contact with it's heatsink.
- take it off, clean the mating parts, add v.thin layer thermal paste, reconnect.

(you could double check by re-inspecting the surface and checking the paste has been squished)

Yes, taking the side of the case will affect air flow.
If your CPU temperature drops (a lot), then it's an indication that you have insufficent airflow with the case closed.

Are your fans at full speed ?
do you have mounting holes for more ?

.

silentphoenix · 19 Jul 2006 at 10:08

If yout want to upgrdae your cooler, try for a multi-socket solution so that even if you upgrade ure comp, you can just transfer over the cooler.

I would suggest the ThermalTake Typhoon (i think its this one - multiple heatphipe and 120mm fan) which is compatible with every socket type bar AM2.

EDIT - and taking the side off helps know off a few degree (hot air can leave easily)