Newbie needs advice on cooling!

dagerousdave

dagerousdave

dagerousdave

Associate
Joined
13 Jan 2006
Posts
1
Hello people,

I've been having problems with cooling. Although i'm not an overclocker i would be interested in learning how to do it properly. I know there are risks involved and i wouldn't be comfortable trying it unless i was 100% confident.

Anyhow, my problem is with a system that isn't even overclocked!
idle temp= 62c, load temp= 70c+,

i don't use the system for gaming. Mainly for browsing and burning movies.
its when im burning movies i get temps of 70c+. Blue screened a couple of times and rebooted on its own while encoding movies. That is what got me worried. I know now that 70c+ is not a safe temp.

I have taken one of the panels off in an attempt to help cool. Also bought compressed air in a can and cleaned out all the fans but still only a slight change. I know that if i go into the bios and drop the FSB to the lowest it will help, but then im sacraficing performance.

What i need is a simple and inexpensive way to cool the CPU.
(Take into consideration that im a virtual beginner and can just about fit a grapghics/pci card on my own.)

Some info on my (humble)sytem below -


CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 1733 MHz (13 x 133)
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-7N400-L
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400
System Memory 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT (128 MB)
Disk Drive ST3120022A (120 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Optical Drive JLMS XJ-HD166S (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
Optical Drive PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D
benchmarks:
CPU Clock Motherboard Memory
1733 MHz Gigabyte GA-7N400-L PC3200 DDR SDRAM
Read Speed
1832 MB/s
write speed
733 MB/s
latency
158.6 ns
 
Hi there :)

First of all i dont think you should even think about overclocking yet :p As for cooling, what's your case like? Does it have sufficiant fans? Tidying up the case inside can also imrove airflow.
What CPU fan do you have? If its a fairly good one then maybe you could try re-seating it and make sure it has good contact. Or you could look into buying a new cooler.

Edit: If you have intake fans and exhausts, i think that if you take the side off your case you can actually increase temps because dust gets in and airflow is destroyed because the cooler air just comes out the sides
 
62 c @ idle is HOT

( My AMD 64 3200+ ( @ stock ) idles around 33 c / 40 c @ load. )

Whilst cable tidying and cleaning fans will help , maybe a couple of degrees .

I would agree with post above and check that your current heatsink is making proper contact with your CPU.

I would try and check your temps manually to make sure that your PC is reporting correctly , a BIOS change can also change temperature results.


IMHO I would not even consider o'cing until you can idle @ 40 C


Cheers.
 
What cooler are you using? As said make sure contact is being made (take off the CPU cooler and look at how the thermal paste is spread, if it is even all over then it's making good contact). Is the fan spinning properly (dust build up can cause a problem with fan spinning).
Also make sure that there is sufficient airflow in the case (at least one rear fan and preferably a front one aswell), clear the path that the air will flow, here is a pic of the inside of mine, completely clear path for airflow: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/suicidle_tramp/Modding pics/inside of case.JPG .
Do you by any chance have the hard drives in front of the intake fan? You say you are doing video encoding, wouldn't this use lots of accessing to hard drives, they can get hot (up to 60c) if they are constantly busy. What case do you have by the way?
Sorry for the hundred questions, there are quite a few reasons why it would be this hot.
 
errm...i don't think he is using a hsf :confused: Not with those temps on that cpu surely? Maybe a hsf with a broken fan?
 
Dirk said:
errm...i don't think he is using a hsf :confused: Not with those temps on that cpu surely? Maybe a hsf with a broken fan?
Click to expand...
ROFL ... he is. I have a PC with a XP 2200+ which idles at 59C and can't even run a program such as SuperPi, as loaded it will go to 85C, at which point the mobo switches it off :eek:! Admittedly, there are no case fans or anything on it. As I don't use it often, I have only just realised that it actually does this, so I am replacing the heatsink on Mon.

Advice to dangerousdave ... check out the Akasa AK-827BL here, for only £11 its a good cooler. Honestly, replacing a heatsink isn't too hard at all - have a browse on the web. Replacing ribbon cables with round ones can make a difference but also making sure the case cooling is up to scratch. Exhaust fans are more efficient for cooling than intake ones generally.
 
My P4 were doing those kind of temps until I realised the heatsink was clogged with dust! Could check if yours is filled with dust, if it is give it a quick blast with some canned air.
 
A.N.Other said:
Advice to dangerousdave ... check out the Akasa AK-827BL here, for only £11 its a good cooler. Honestly, replacing a heatsink isn't too hard at all - have a browse on the web. Replacing ribbon cables with round ones can make a difference but also making sure the case cooling is up to scratch. Exhaust fans are more efficient for cooling than intake ones generally.
Click to expand...

I would go with the "carnival" one, purely because it costs the same, has a copper base and a variable speed fan. get the best ratio of noise/performance
 
aphex said:
My P4 were doing those kind of temps until I realised the heatsink was clogged with dust! Could check if yours is filled with dust, if it is give it a quick blast with some canned air.
Click to expand...

dagerousdave said:
... I have taken one of the panels off in an attempt to help cool. Also bought compressed air in a can and cleaned out all the fans but still only a slight change ...
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

:p
 
Raikiri said:
I would go with the "carnival" one, purely because it costs the same, has a copper base and a variable speed fan. get the best ratio of noise/performance
Click to expand...
Yes it is a better cooler but he doesn't need it rated up to XP 2400+, also at those high speeds, it sounds like a wind tunnel!
 
A.N.Other said:
Yes it is a better cooler but he doesn't need it rated up to XP 2400+, also at those high speeds, it sounds like a wind tunnel!
Click to expand...
2000 rpm, slower than the one you suggested... but you have the choice to put it up to 4000 if needed.
Not that it bothers me i would get one of the zalmans :p (not really practical here)
 
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