Cpu Et Al Cooling Question

[A_Traveller]

All,

Suggestions please, have a new{ish} 3 months Dual Core system, in a Gview case. CPU uses standard Intel cooling. Keeps running too hot 60+ Anyone have experience with the add-on cooling options, e.g. Asus Silent Square, Zalman, Water! etc. Welcome suggestions.

To answer the obvious replies, I prefer not to use the AC all the time and yes in this cool snap it's running at 49 as I type.

Regards

PS early on I found by decommissioning one of the three case fans I reduced the heat build up, looks like it interfered with the CPU fan.

[gharknes]

All,

Suggestions please, have a new{ish} 3 months Dual Core system, in a Gview case. CPU uses standard Intel cooling. Keeps running too hot 60+ Anyone have experience with the add-on cooling options, e.g. Asus Silent Square, Zalman, Water! etc. Welcome suggestions.

To answer the obvious replies, I prefer not to use the AC all the time and yes in this cool snap it's running at 49 as I type.

Regards

PS early on I found by decommissioning one of the three case fans I reduced the heat build up, looks like it interfered with the CPU fan.

anything below 70 is fine, if it starts to creep into the 70-80 area it will either speed up fans or if in the event you have thermal run away the cpu will start to reduce in speed, dual core are not going to be hotter as youy assume, it is a more efficient device and therefore uses less energy and produces less heat, your case fans should create a flow of air through the interior, so 1 or 2 should be extracting air out of the case and the other sucking air in, ambient air temp in your room is likely to be 70-90f, your cpu/gpu are running at 40-80c so moving air from your room through the unit will always have a cooling effect, switching one of your fans off and finding an improvement sounds to me like thay are not working the airflow correctly.

[A_Traveller]

Thanks for this. Was under the impression that over 60C was an issue. This is implied in the specification documents from Intel. I'm not under the impression that a duo core would run hotter per se, but the temperature monitor on the motherboard keeps warning me at 60C hence my question. After all it's a bit silly to buy a faster processor which then throttles itself back owing to heat.

On the third fan point, it was on the exit vent for the CPU 'tunnel' and interfered with the air flow from the CPU fan.

Regards

[solo siam]

What is the configuration of the fans? do they blow or suck? Also is the air vented from the CPU fan getting circulated properly?

I tend to try and run one fan sucking out air from the Video card area and the CPU area and one blowing in from another area (preferably front of case).

[opalhort]

All,

Suggestions please, have a new{ish} 3 months Dual Core system, in a Gview case. CPU uses standard Intel cooling. Keeps running too hot 60+ Anyone have experience with the add-on cooling options, e.g. Asus Silent Square, Zalman, Water! etc. Welcome suggestions.

To answer the obvious replies, I prefer not to use the AC all the time and yes in this cool snap it's running at 49 as I type.

Regards

PS early on I found by decommissioning one of the three case fans I reduced the heat build up, looks like it interfered with the CPU fan.

I also got a new DuoCore PC with a GView case last month and experience no heat problems even I rarely if ever use the AC but use room fans.

This is the case model I have:

http://www.shop4thai.com/en/product/?pid=15326

opalhort

[lingling]

Is this the temperature reported by the CPU or external sensors? If CPU temp, a common reason is that the heat pad/grease is not properly applied (usually too much). Then the core temp can go up just because the heat doesn't transfer to the heat sink properly. Also, make sure you are using a good quality thermal conductor, such as "arctic silver". There is lots of low quality stuff available that don't transfer the heat properly.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/

[A_Traveller]

Thanks all for the responses.

Initially temperatures were being reported using Asus P5B motherboard's own monitor software, subsequently using Core Temp but not both together.

The case I'm using is the same as opalhort's so I'm a little puzzled. Are you running a monitor program?

May well look at adding a tower cooler e.g. Asus Square or CNPS7700 anyway in which case I'll install it myself. The system was built for me this time.

Where can one be 100% sure of getting real Arctic Silver here {BKK}?

Regards

[monty]

Busitek in Bangkok will stock quite some cooling solutions, including arctic silver!

You find the link in this post

[Firefoxx]

The Gview case, as I've pointed out earlier, is one of the stupidest cases out there with regards to fan design. The case's CPU fan, which is located right above the CPU, is set to draw air OUT of the case. Now, with the fan on the CPU itself drawing air ONTO the CPU, you have a conundrum. Each fan is drawing air in the opposite direction.

Get RID of the the case's CPU fan (and the idiotic funnel that came with it). Change the airflow direction of the other case fans so that they're working in the right direction (air coming in the front, going out the back). Reduce clutter in the case, and perhaps get a better CPU fan.

[opalhort]

Thanks all for the responses.

Initially temperatures were being reported using Asus P5B motherboard's own monitor software, subsequently using Core Temp but not both together.

The case I'm using is the same as opalhort's so I'm a little puzzled. Are you running a monitor program?

May well look at adding a tower cooler e.g. Asus Square or CNPS7700 anyway in which case I'll install it myself. The system was built for me this time.

Where can one be 100% sure of getting real Arctic Silver here {BKK}?

Regards

I'm only using the Asus P5B MB monitoring software. right now the CPU temp is 45ºC with room temp at 26ºC.

I still can't figure out how to get a CPU temp reading from within windows only, is there such a possibility? I know I can get a reading in the BIOS but this is only on Boot-up when the CPU is not under heavy load.

As to Firefoxxs' comments about airflow of the case's fans:

I have two identical Gview cases (the new one and an older one for a Pentium4 CPU) and both suck the air in towards the CPU through what they call the "Air Duct for Intel".

Could it be your Air Duct fan is not installed properly?

Even if you remove/disable the fan, I suggest to keep the funnel because it directs cooler outside air towards the CPU. Without the funnel the CPU will be cooled by the already warmer air inside the case.

opalhort

[wpcoe]

I still can't figure out how to get a CPU temp reading from within windows only, is there such a possibility?

SpeedFan (free): http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Works well in WinXP, and worked well when I took a peek at the Vista RC1.

The software is a bit baffling to set up since you don't know which fan and temp sensor is which, but by trial and error I got it working fine.

[penguin]

SpeedFan is very good. Asus Probe that comes with an Asus motherboard always seems to agree with SpeedFan anyway but l like how SpeedFan can sit in the system tray. Another good feature is you can check your hard disk condition using S.M.A.R.T.

Core2Duo temps of up to 20c above room temperature are common. I have a Zalman 9700 heatsink and fan, works well but it is BIG! Think if l had to buy another heatsink l would settle for the 9500 as it is a little smaller. Unless you have a large case the 9700 is a very tight fit and you will need to check if your motherboard is suitable, if you have an air duct you will need to remove it. Busitek sell Arctic Silver and also the Zalman version which is easier to apply, just brush it on. I replaced the grease on my old computer with the Zalman version and the temp dropped about 7c without any other changes.

[A_Traveller]

Thought I would complete the thread.

Added a Asus Silent Square Pro cooler, and replaced the fans in the Gview case with Thermaltake 16db ones which I connected to the motherboard, as opposed to the original 'direct power' configuration.

Presently using the BIOS fan management, as noted speedfan agrees with it. I haven't added the Asus program which is designed to allow changing of settings from within Windows at this time.

Results:

A noticeable drop in CPU temps {as well as a much quicker return from any spikes}

A dramatic drop in noise from the unit.

Total expenditure @ 2300 THB

Regards

edit for spelling

Edited February 12, 2007 by A_Traveller

[h90]

Thought I would complete the thread.

Added a Asus Silent Square Pro cooler, and replaced the fans in the Gview case with Thermaltake 16db ones which I connected to the motherboard, as opposed to the original 'direct power' configuration.

Presently using the BIOS fan management, as noted speedfan agrees with it. I haven't added the Asus program which is designed to allow changing of settings from within Windows at this time.

Results:

A noticeable drop in CPU temps {as well as a much quicker return from any spikes}

A dramatic drop in noise from the unit.

Total expenditure @ 2300 THB

Regards

edit for spelling

beside the CPU, worry for the HD, some get really hot and than they don't live long. So either consider a HD fan and make frequently backups.

[lingyai]

I have a computer that is a couple years old I use for testing different things on (currently has CentOS).

It has an AMD Athlon 2ghz chip with 256mb of ram. It has been giving me problems lately. It will freeze on start up or even in the bios setup screen. I believe that it is the chip overheating. The thing is the case has 2 fans, the chip has a fan on it of a decent size, and the power supply has a fan and all the fans work. It is being operated in a room with no aircon running. Even though there are enough fans could this be the problem that the room is just to hot? It seems others have had this problem reading this thread.

My question is I have turned off the computer for a good 2 hours then tried again but still has the same problem, freezes quickly. Does it really get that hot that fast?

[penguin]

As far as l know AMD cpus are more likely to shut down than Intel cpus if they are overheating to save then from damage. Intel chips throttle back and run very slowly and reduce the temperature that way. It's possible that the cpu is being detected as overheating in only a few seconds. If you've checked to see the fans are all running then you would have noticed if there was any dust clogging up the works. Do you know the temperatures being reported?

I don't have any air conditioning and manage okay, up to 40c at times here One old comp (celeron) has a 80mm exhaust fan and the standard Intel cpu fan, runs at idle about 8 degrees above ambient, maybe +12 to +15 under load. The other, Intel E6400 has 2x120mm fans and a huge Zalman heatsink, 10-15c+ at idle, never more than +22c above ambient under sustained load.

Things you could try would be:

see if there is a limit set in BIOS that is causing your comp to shut down, what is the setting?

leave open the side of the case and aim a household fan running full bore at the motherboard

apply new thermal paste to the cpu heatsink (if it's an AMD you may have to remove the thermal pad), clean (read about how to do this), and replace with Arctic Silver, Zalman grease or some other upmarket solution, it made a difference when l did so with my Celeron

install a bigger heatsink/faster fan

There is also the possibility that everything is shutting down due to a faulty psu or faulty RAM. Try swapping from another comp you know to be working okay.

One other possibility could be dodgy or incorrect graphics drivers. Have you installed a new graphics card recently?

[opalhort]

Recently I had a problem with a Pentium4 in a GVIEW case.

It started with funny behaviour (not retain desktop settings, shut down programs etc.) and finally the boot didn't work.

Took it to our computer shop and watched what they did:

One case fan, although it was working, was very tight (with power off it was difficult to turn by hand - dirty bearings I was told) which resulted in it drawing to much power, overheating the power-supply and causing this to shut down.

After replacing the fan, boot was OK but other problems persisted. They cleaned the MB and RAM cards with an airblaster and the RAM with a toothbrush.

Now all is working OK.

Dust was what caused all the problems!

opalhort

[Firefoxx]

Get a good case, and it will have dust filters at the air intake points... I've left my computer on 24/7 for nearly a year, and there's hardly any dust in it. It will also have decent ball-bearing fans. Non-ball bearing fans (including the ones in that el-cheapo power supply) can fail within a year (I've seen it happen too often, resulting in a failed PSU). These niceties *will* cost you, but in the long run you get a reliable computer, and components that actually last well beyond the warranty period.

Again, Gview computer cases are at the lowest tier in terms of cases. Don't expect anything from them, other than being a metal box. With extensive modifications (new PSU, new fans, new openings, etc) you could make it into a decent case, but it's not something for the novice to try.

A *good* case will:

1. Not come with a power supply (so you can choose)

2. Have very good workmanship, with very few sharp edges

3. Have well-planned airflow, and good fans

4. Have at least some tool-less design aspects

5. Make your computer last

6. Be *quite* a bit more expensive than your typical Pantip case.

[opalhort]

I agree that GVIEW cases may be problematic.

What cases with dust filters, readily available in BKK, would you suggest if price is not a problem?

I recently got a dust-filter (see photo) made of very fine aluminium mesh, seems to work fine if I vacuum it once a week.

opalhort

[lingyai]

I checked out the CPU temperature and it was steady at 34/35 C so was the mother board temperature (this seems not to hot right?).

After reading the problems dirty fans and dusty ram can give one I am now going to clean those more and see if that solves the problem.