HWMonitor readings on my old machine - advice

alex_ncfc

alex_ncfc

alex_ncfc

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Joined
31 Jul 2013
Posts
51
Location
Norwich, UK
Hi all,

I am new here with a query about an ollllddd system, which is still my primary machine as it still handles any task I throw at it.

I have an AMD Athlon X2 based machine, 4200+ CPU, 3GB DDR400 RAM, running on an Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Nforce4 board. It has an GeForce 8800GT based graphics card.

The system always runs fine, but I am starting to think my temperatures may be too high, whereas I thought they were normal/OK and was wondering if anybody could take a look at my HWMonitor screenshot to offer some advice.

The CPU is generally 50-65 degrees, not seen it go over that apart from running Prime95 when it goes into the 70s. I had noticed my PC was a bit noisy, but because it had been like it for a few years, I just got used to it. I always kept the internals of the case cleared out from dust etc, but last week for the first time in who-knows how long, I took the CPU fan off and the dust underneath over the heatsink was unbelievable. I cleared it out and realised the noise from the past few years had been caused by my CPU fan going mental, obviously because of the dust. I haven't seen a great improvement in temperature though, if anything it seems the same - so I was wondering if the RPM is of the CPU fan looks normal to you guys for this sort of setup? (It is the stock AMD Athlon fan)

I also am wondering if my air-flow overall could be better, some of those temperatures under the "Temperature" heading seem quite high, but I don't know what each one refers to. I have a fan at the lower front of my case, and one on the mid back, which I believe is blowing out the back and the one on the front of the case is blowing into the case - is this correct? I also have a fan on the side-plate of my case in the centre of the plastic window.

Last but not least, can anybody in the know check the voltages at the top of the HWMonitor screenshot and let me know if there's anything untoward going on? Like I say, the system seems fine, so probably not, but I don't really understand the electrical side with the voltages and what-not so it would be good for an expert to let me know if they look fine :)

Screenshot below:

HWmonitor-OC_zps74f9e605.jpg


Thanks for any advice,

Alex
 
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Are them temps under full load or just idle temps ?
Edit: my bad i was skip reading lol.
Have you tried putting fresh thermal paste on ?

The other temps look fine.

Tmpin0 is NB i think
Tmpin1 is your cpu socket
Tmpin2 is SB i think.
Maybe somone will correct me if im wrong.

I cant help with the voltages as im not clued up on them either.
 
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Sorry forgot to mention these are idle. Wasn't doing anything when I took the screenshot, there are tabs running in my web browser but nothing which would be classed as too intensive.
 
Did you re paste the cpu when cleaning? chances are your thermal paste has dried out over time and is no longer efficiently conducting the heat to your heatsink (this can also make your fan go nuts) most people change their thermal paste once every year or so.
 
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scotsdragon said:
Did you re paste the cpu when cleaning?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies. In answer to both, I didn't put fresh paste on the CPU as I only removed the fan from the heatsink, not the heatsink from the CPU itself. So I have no idea if it would need re-pasting, would you recommend it? I do have some thermal paste laying about from when I had my old laptop, I am not sure if it's good for the job though, maybe you guys can help:

It is called Nano Diamond Thermal Compound by Jetart Ltd, CK4800. I believe this is it:

http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/Images/reviews/jetart-nano-diamond/resize/tn_jetart-diamond3.JPG

I don't have much left, but then I wouldn't need much would I? Would TIM Cleaner be OK to remove the old thermal paste?

Thanks

Edit: Youtube video of thermal paste on AMD CPU

Just watched this, as I haven't done thermal paste on a CPU in ages, is this video correct? I thought you were supposed to put a dollop in the middle and the heatsink would even it out, rather than spreading the paste all around the CPU?
 
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GOD no shes using far to much lol you only need a grain of rice size (as you have said) in the middle of the cpu. When was the last tim e you changed the thermal paste? if its been over a year or more then YES try it. that paste should be fine just remember to clean off the old paste on both the cpu and heat sink with your TIM cleaner.
 
Some people spread it and some people let the heatsink do it.

Personally I let I the heatsink do it so there is less chance of bubbles.
 
scotsdragon said:
+ 1 let the weight of the heat sink do it Air is bad lol
Click to expand...

Thanks everybody. So you just put the small size of paste onto the CPU in the middle and the heatsink should do the rest, without any spreading? (as the paste I have came with a small spreading tool) I might have to give this a go, I am thinking I haven't re-pasted the CPU since I installed it back in 2008 *oops*
 
alex_ncfc said:
Thanks everybody. So you just put the small size of paste onto the CPU in the middle and the heatsink should do the rest, without any spreading? (as the paste I have came with a small spreading tool) I might have to give this a go, I am thinking I haven't re-pasted the CPU since I installed it back in 2008 *oops*
Click to expand...

Lol 5 years of old paste!
Just put a pea size blob in the middlr. Put heat sink on and give it a little push them clip it in.
Job done :)

Post back your load temps once you have done it.
 
Have just given it a go. Currently writing from my mobile as the PC case is open and I am leaving it idle for a while. The CPU and heatsink paste looked in a very bad way, so I cleaned it all up and applied the new blob of paste to the CPU and reattached the HSF. There doesn't seem to have been much change in temperatures, core 0 is hovering around the early 50s and core 1 around the high 40s. Both cores have reached a Max of 60 and 56 respectively. Now seems to have settled on mid 40s for core 0 and early 40s for core 1 as I write this. This is with me doing literally nothing on the PC apart from watching the screen. Will it take a while for the new paste to 'bed in' as such?? For some reason I was expecting to see it in the low 30s (as it was in the BIOS just a moment ago) but I may be way out.

Sorry if there are any grammatical errors in this post, my phone likes to change words randomly!
 
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scotsdragon said:
It will take alittle time to settle as you've noticed, but on a stock cooler around 50-60 under load while gaming is fine :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the mega quick responses guys (and girls?!) - top forum.

It does seem to be settling more now. One thing I've noticed since performing the removal and reattachment of the HSF is I seem to have acquired a somewhat annoying sound. It's very hard to explain in writing but it's almost like a buzz from the fan, not a rattling as such. A sort of constant noise. Maybe it will go away when I put the side of my tower back on and stand it up, but it's pretty annoying right now. Any way I can pinpoint it?
 
alex_ncfc said:
Thanks for the mega quick responses guys (and girls?!) - top forum.

It does seem to be settling more now. One thing I've noticed since performing the removal and reattachment of the HSF is I seem to have acquired a somewhat annoying sound. It's very hard to explain in writing but it's almost like a buzz from the fan, not a rattling as such. A sort of constant noise. Maybe it will go away when I put the side of my tower back on and stand it up, but it's pretty annoying right now. Any way I can pinpoint it?
Click to expand...

Is there a cable being caught when the fan is spinning?

Could just be wear and tear, the noise could be because of play in the bearings. It might seem worse when horizontal rather than vertical. It is possible to lubricate most fans with 3in1 oil (do NOT use WD40), you peel back the sticker and remove the rubber stopper to add a drop or two of oil.
 
honosuseri said:
Is there a cable being caught when the fan is spinning?

Could just be wear and tear, the noise could be because of play in the bearings. It might seem worse when horizontal rather than vertical. It is possible to lubricate most fans with 3in1 oil (do NOT use WD40), you peel back the sticker and remove the rubber stopper to add a drop or two of oil.
Click to expand...

No cable caught that I can see, but it seems to have calmed down a lot since I put the machine into sleep and woke it up again. Thanks for the advice, I will bear it in mind should the fan start playing up.

I will post a screenshot if temps soon but still experimenting with idle-ness. I have just rebooted and am sitting idle in the BIOS on the hardware info screen. It is at 42°c, which seems quite high. Would you recommend having options such as q-fan and cool'n'quiet enabled or disabled? I have enabled q-fan to kick in with full fan operation at 51°, the lowest I can set, but it doesn't seem to up the fan speed much.

P.S - been in BIOS for 5-6 minutes now and the CPU is still at 42°
 
I am back in Windows now with the tower side panel on. Quite worried that I've gone wrong somewhere! Temperatures not what I expected, seem round about the same:

Afterpaste_zps5946e7b9.jpg


Just for reference this is what the CPU looked like when I first removed HSF and before cleaning:

DSC_1206_zps08d0a72f.jpg


Here is how I have the back part of my case (by the CPU) configured. If anyone can spot anything that could be causing the CPU to warm up more, that I may have done wrong, please let me know (obviously the blue fan is usually connected ;))

DSC_1209_zps8d2d63a3.jpg


Starting to wonder if I need to paste again?! Remember all these temps are idle, and I am gathering they are quite high. What's not helping my cause is that it is 30 degrees outside and that may be playing a part?!
 
If you cleaned the old paste off the CPU and only applied a rice like grain of TIM then you did it right, some stuff needs a little while to cure though. The heatsink fins look clear of dust so that's as good as you'll get it really.

I don't know what it's like where you are but it's scorching here! Close to 60 degrees is NOT good when it's just idling. That exhaust fan looks pitiful (no offense intended), the stock socket 939 heatsinks have teeny tiny fans too. It's hard to tell but I don't think that case even takes 120mm fans. Buying fans probably isn't cost effective, I consider a new budget case that has atleast a couple of 120mm fans and cable management options. Newer cases have moved the PSU to the bottom of the case which keeps it away from the warm air that rests at the top of the case.

What is worrying is that you have cool'n'quiet enabled. When idling it should throttle the CPU speed right back. You can download CPU-Z which will show you the clockspeed and other info to confirm this.

To put it in perspective it's boiling here. I'm on my HTPC which has a AMD dual core 555BE @4Ghz. It has a large tower air cooler with a 120mm fan attached and my Zalman Z9 case has X2 140mm fans and X3 120mm fans. Ample cooling right? Cool'n'quiet isn't on as I've overclocked but even just sat here with the browser open my temp is 40-41 degrees, it's usually 33. I can still play games etc it won't go past 50 but that's largely down to the cooling I have. In "normal" weather it sits around 40 when gaming.

If you don't want to spend cash the only "ghetto mod" you can try is to remove the side panel and put a fan next to the case if you have one. It's not ideal leaving the panel off as it will let in more dust but I can't see what else you can do till the weather returns to normal.

P.S Sorry for waffling so much, I hope it's helped.
 
No waffling there, all good advice.

It is also scorching here in Norwich.

I see, it must be too high then - that certainly does put it into perspective, with yours at 33c. The exhaust fan is bad, no offense taken, but I think the case does take 120MM fans at the back. I had no idea that modern cases have moved the PSU - how long has this been going on for?

It must be the AMD heatsink and fan causing the temp to be so high. Trouble is I am in a position where I don't know if it is cost effective throwing money at this machine. What is an ideal (yet cheap-ish) CPU fan and heatsink I can put on this CPU?
 
It was waffle as you have misunderstood me a little bit....brace yourself for more waffle lol

My Z9 case has a digital temp display at the front which works off a sensor you can locate anywhere in the case. Right now it's telling me that inside the bottom of the case it's 34 degrees (I know that's warmer than norm). The CPU temp is currently 41 and all i'm doing is using Firefox. I have the windows open in the house but there is next to no breeze at all which doesn't help matters.

In normal cooler weather the digital temp display will be in the mid 20s. The CPU sits at 31-33 degrees and when I play a game or watch HD movies etc it just touches 40. So yes the current weather is hurting me and it will be even worse for your setup.

Cases made that PSU change quite a while ago, it's the standard now. I appreciate you don't want to waste cash and yes the rig is rather old. Thing is you can keep a good case and just upgrade the internals. I'm a fan of the Zalman Z9 chassis as it's relatively cheap but very well spec'd. The Z9 plus has 4 120mm fans, the U3 has 3 120mm but a proper side window and USB3 ports. You also get an extension for the PSU aux power cable and that digital temp display, so as you see you get a fair bit of kit for the cash :)

It's hard to recommend a heatsink as I don't know the max height your case allows. Couple that with just finding a heatsink that is compatible with the mobos 939 socket makes it tricky. If the aftermarket heatsink is AM2/3 compatible and still uses the clips to secure it, then it should be compatible with 939 (dont quote me on it though). However most heatsinks now require you to remove that stock AMD clip system and put on a backplate, this allows them to cover a number of sockets (intel aswell as AMD) but I don't think many will cover yours.

I think your best bet would be a better case now which should help slightly with the larger fans and get you ready for when you want to upgrade the rig. When you are looking for new parts come back to us and we can help you out with that.
 
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Thanks for the above. I may indeed get a 120mm fan to put at the back and a decent CPU heatsink and fan combo to keep me going. I would then hope to see lower temps.

I had one question about that big fan in the bottom of my PSU - is that in an OK position as pictured?

Also I am starting to wonder if there is something more untoward going on, maybe a dodgy temp sensor on my CPU or a bit of software keeping Windows from idling, but looking through task manager, there doesn't seem to be anything hogging the CPU. It's reasonably low at 5% when I sit and watch it, and that's with Chrome open with multiple tabs, Windows Live Mail and Core Temp monitor. The reason I am wondering about this is because when looking at the temperature in Core Temp or HWMonitor, it just seems to fluctuate so quickly, say from 41 to 50 within a second or so. Is there anything on a boot-CD I can try to monitor temperatures whilst idle? I have the Ultimate Boot CD downloaded and burnt to CD-ROM but I don't recall anything on there modern enough to monitor temperatures. Any ideas? Just anything other than being in Windows basically.
 
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