Planetarion Forums

sh@dow · 16 Jan 2003, 14:11

my cpu is running quite hot even when it isnt overclocked, I only have the standard fan/heatsink over the cpu affair but what else can I do to lower the temperature thats cost effective? I thought maybe thermal paste but I doubt it has much affect, there was also the possibility of adding another fan but where? and what good would it do? I think some of the temperature is due to the psu being quite close and quite hot, when I put my hand over the psu fan it feels hot anyway..not like my last comp

SyPh0n · 16 Jan 2003, 14:54

I suppose a bigger fan or something. What processor do you have, and what temp. is it actually running at?

Of course, introducing a bigger fan usually means more noise, as would adding an extra case fan to cool.

sh@dow · 16 Jan 2003, 15:40

well the fan only runs at around 2400rpm which I thought would be really slow but it says its suitable for up to 2800xp machines and mines is only 2400xp. I got that 1 cause it was quite quiet and very cheap - 26db. The temperature usually start around 35c then when I check it later on its went up to about 50c+! right now its about 55ish and if I remember correctly anything above 60 is very bad, I'd like it way below though

I also found thermal paste called artic silver 3 - is it any good?

Luckeh!!!! · 16 Jan 2003, 17:33

the retail AMD HSF will always keep the temps around 55-60C, it isn't meant for overclocking either.

If you want it cooler, that means bigger heatsink

sh@dow · 16 Jan 2003, 18:22

I dont have the retail fan and sink, I also want lower temperatures despite what the processor CAN work at

pablissimo · 16 Jan 2003, 18:44

Arctic Silver should shave a couple of degrees off your CPU temps. Action Plan 2 would be either to buy a new PSU with 2 fans in it (one placed underneath maybe), or a case fan (either put it in a place provided in the case or cut a blowhole in the top).

The most effective thing I managed was to cut a venting hole directly over the HSF in the side panel of the case, and got some ducting to get colder air from your room drawn over the heatsink.

meglamaniac · 16 Jan 2003, 18:55

I have an XP2000.
While you may well want to run at lower temperatures, these chips are fine up to 75C - mine can get up to 68C after playing games etc. This is partly to do with my silent (as in totally silent) heatsinnk + fan, as I prefere quiet over cool. By the time the chip burns out, I'll probably have upgraded it anyway so I'm not bothered.

If you must run cooler, you need to note two things.
1) CPU temperature is VERY dependant on case temperature. A rise of a single degree in the case temperature can cause a greater rise in CPU temperature as it becomes progressively harder to dissipate heat. For this reason, the temperature of the room is very influential over your results. In order to ensure the best results you need....
2) Airflow. Fans are not everything. Lets say you have your CPU fan, and the fan in your PSU. You decide to add another fan under the PSU at the rear of the case.
This can in fact make things worse. What is vital is good airflow over the CPU - if you put a fan blowing out below the CPU then you're depriving the CPU of some of it's airflow, and the air at the top of the case can quickly become very warm. If you are adding a single fan, the best place to put it is at the front. The more air you can get in, the more has to leave, so you increase airflow. Only once you have a front fan is it worth putting an extra fan at the rear too.
The other thing is to clear obstructions in the case. Get some wire ties or something, and tidy up the cabling - the less stuff in the way you have, the better the air can flow.

sh@dow · 16 Jan 2003, 20:13

ok thanks for the suggestions, I would put a fan on the front but I spent time making sure it looked good (cathrode tubes, clear side panel, spraypainted drives etc) and a fan on the front would kinda mess that effect. I was however considering putting a fan in as a replacement where 1 of the grills are on the back. pablissimo did you mean cut a hole at the side the motherboard is at? and did it really make a noticable difference? I'd prefer not to mess with the clear panel on the left or the front so maybe something like that would be useful. I am concerned about noise though, would it be just as quiet if I were to buy a 2nd fan thats quieter than the 1 I have or does that add to noise?

meglamaniac · 16 Jan 2003, 21:25

Putting a fan at the back is precisely what you don't want to do if you don't have one at the front.

If you look around you'll probably be able to find one that fits in. Your best bet is to buy a big one (80mm or above) if your case will take it, then buy a fan limiter to run it at a lower speed - this will draw in enough air without making a racket.
And yes, anything you add fanwise will add to the noise.

Luckeh!!!! · 16 Jan 2003, 21:48

Quote:

Originally posted by meglamaniac
Putting a fan at the back is precisely what you don't want to do if you don't have one at the front.

If you look around you'll probably be able to find one that fits in. Your best bet is to buy a big one (80mm or above) if your case will take it, then buy a fan limiter to run it at a lower speed - this will draw in enough air without making a racket.
And yes, anything you add fanwise will add to the noise.

Have you actually tried this yourself?

A system with only a PSU extracting fan and a CPU fan will ALWAYS be hotter than one with PSU + CPU and rear exhaust fan.

It *might* be depriving the CPU fan of airflow (negligable) but it is extracting all the hot air trapped inside the case that would otherwise be recycling round and round if there was only a CPU fan.

The PSU fan itself is meant to cool the PSU only, not help with air extraction (though dual fan PSUs can help somewhat).

sh@dow -
It would be up to you, if you had only one fan and I had to decide to either put it as rear extracting or front intake, I would definitely put it as rear exhaust. You may experiment, but the rear extraction will yield much better results.

Currently, I use an AX-7 heatsink on my AXP2000+, it uses a 3kRPM 80mm YSTech fan.

I have a rear extracting and front intake 80mm fans spinning @ 2800rpm. My PSU has 2 fans extracting (1 80mm, 1 92mm). My ambient room temp is 22C, my temps while websurfing are 40C CPU and 25C mobo, after gaming, my temps are 46C CPU and 28C mobo.

Without my front intake, my mobo temps increase around 3C, CPU stays the same. Without either front intake or rear exhaust, my temps will spike to 56C after gaming.

PS - I also removed a large amount of the fan grill on the back of my case, it reduced my temps by 3-4C.

EDIT - I just tested, with just CPU and front intake fan, temps fully loaded were 52C CPU and 32C mobo.

sh@dow · 16 Jan 2003, 23:35

ok thanks Luckeh very useful, I think I'll stick a casefan over 1 of the grills on the back and see if the case temp and cpu temp drop any. I have 2 grills on the back though, are you saying its a good idea to remove the other 1 competly? I dunno if that would increase the amount of dust and if that would end up making things hotter. I'll also get artic silver 3 thermal paste, with that and the casefan I except I'll be a good bit cooler

oh btw I found a link to the fan I bought Akasa AK824cu Copper Base CPU Cooler - Blue LED (Socket A) (HS-004-AK) - apparently it does for up to the 2800xp so I dont see what the problem is, even without case cooling I wouldve thought I should be ok

meglamaniac · 17 Jan 2003, 00:20

Quote:

Originally posted by Luckeh!!!!
Have you actually tried this yourself?

Yes. I had a rear extractor that went in the top PCI slot and blew out of the back. It created great airflow along the bottom, nicely killing the airflow that went from the front at the bottom to the back at the top, caused by the dual fan PSU, and making the processor hotter. Hot air rises.

Quote:

Originally posted by Luckeh!!!!
A system with only a PSU extracting fan and a CPU fan will ALWAYS be hotter than one with PSU + CPU and rear exhaust fan.

Nope. See above.

Quote:

Originally posted by Luckeh!!!!
It *might* be depriving the CPU fan of airflow (negligable) but it is extracting all the hot air trapped inside the case that would otherwise be recycling round and round if there was only a CPU fan.

No, it extracts the cooler air from lower down and leaves the hotter air pretty much where it is.

sh@dow · 17 Jan 2003, 00:35

argh now I'm confused for what to do again

Luckeh!!!! · 17 Jan 2003, 00:46

Quote:

Originally posted by sh@dow
argh now I'm confused for what to do again

Megla, I wasn't talking about PCI mounted extracting fans, those things are absolutely crap for cooling the actual case (more to help cool GFX cards that are only cooled passively).

I was talking about the case mounted ones located at the back.

sh@dow, on the rear of your case, there should be some sort of grilling and 4 holes that looks like something square can be mounted on it i.e. a fan, measure it, it should be 80mm, but just incase.

then mount a fan on it on the inside of the case, and make sure it blows air out, not sucking in.

sh@dow · 17 Jan 2003, 00:52

yep I saw that before, I just wasnt sure to do it since meglamaniac is saying not to put 1 on the back. Btw what about the other grill? I can leave it as it is, take it out or put a fan on that 1 too. I take it I should use the grill furthest from the cp fan 1st?

Luckeh!!!! · 17 Jan 2003, 01:07

Quote:

Originally posted by sh@dow
yep I saw that before, I just wasnt sure to do it since meglamaniac is saying not to put 1 on the back. Btw what about the other grill? I can leave it as it is, take it out or put a fan on that 1 too. I take it I should use the grill furthest from the cp fan 1st?

He was talking about a PCI fan extracting card thingy, I was tlkaing about something else.

Do you have a pic of your case, it would help lots.

What do you mean "other" grill? can you mount two fans on the rear of the case?

sh@dow · 17 Jan 2003, 01:39

ok here is a pic of the case I got, soemthing similar anyway, mines is from another source with a 350w psu -case

I was acually thinking over overclocking once I got the temp down but it seems this motherboard (a7n8x deluxe) doesnt let you increment the fsb, you can only set it to 100, 133, and 166 ugh! well even without overclocking I'd like it to be as cool as possible.

meglamaniac · 17 Jan 2003, 02:18

It's Asus - there'll be an option somewhere.
You probably just have to flick a dip-switch on the motherboard; Check the manual.

sh@dow · 17 Jan 2003, 02:29

yer it says you can in the manual in the exact place I checked but doesnt seem to let me, doesnt say anything about a dip switch..I didnt think motherboards still had them cause I havent seen 1 lately. anyway I see a pic in the manual of it being 102 but when I increment it, it just goes to 133. Could have something to do with the bios version or cpu...anyway I'll sort that out myself not really on topic

JammyJim · 17 Jan 2003, 19:02

shadow :

set everything to 'user defined' and you can squeze a few extra mhz out. if it buggers up and wont restart open the case and take out the cmos battery and use the reset jumpe. itll set it back to factory defaults.

you have to know what your doing tho. id go use google to see if people know how to do it.

as for fans etc the quietiest config ive found was 1 exhaust and cutting the standard AMD HSF down to 3000 rpm from 4500.

that keeeps the temp at a cosntant 50 degrees (55 when under stress over long period of time). THe exhaust is positioned pretty much just above and to the side of the cpu so it drags all the heat that rises away. no intake fan because i dont need one.