Question:
Hi all,
Just been playing with everest.
My CPU temp is set to 63 degrees C at the moment.
I frequently experience the Blue Screen of Death when doing intense things with the PC.
Is 63 odd too hot? Seems like most people start complaing when it hits 50 odd!
Please inform
Thanks to be left accordingly
Answers:
Hmm, depends, but generally, yes that is too high.
What kind of CPU do you have?
And is that 63C under full load?
Have you checked the heatsink is properly mounted and the fan is spinning ok?
And also that your case has decent air flow / ventilation?
Answers:
It's an AMD Athlong XP 2200+
It's sitting at 58 now, but tends to peak up to 65 sometimes!! Not even under full load, just with a little music playing and a few firefox tabs!
Thanks for the answer.
I am going to take apart my system next week. Remove components, remove dust, insert new HDD, and then whilst at it, i'll check out my heatsink.
What is that grease that is to be applied - does that help in transitioning heat into the heat sink?
I may need to look at ventilation yes. I don't mind a slightly noisier PC, can I buy a faster fan to pump more air in?
Answers:
Hi matty
The grease is 'thermal compound'. It's made out of silicone. It is smeared between the CPU and the heatsink. It then allows good thermal contact between the two and lets the heat be passed efficiently from CPU to heatsink. You don't need to use much of it, just a thin layer.
edit You can get it from ebuyer :-
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I found this link in applying the thermal compound. Any good?
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I found this link in applying the thermal compound. Any good?
Hi
That looks like a thorough write-up.
I haven't any experience doing this with PC's.
I used to repair TV sets. This stuff was needed when replacing heatsink-mounted semiconductors (eg transistors and thyristors).
Answers:
Thanks!
Yeh, after a little reading I'm going to buy some Artic Silver thermal compound, clean my heatsink and processor, reapply, then see how much it cools down by.
What about fans though - can I get faster ones?
Thanks!
Matt.
Answers:
Go for bigger fans rather than faster ones if you can as they move more air without increasing noise..
Thanks
Gavin
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Thanks!
What about fans though - can I get faster ones?
Matt.
Yes, and you will have the first Athlon helicopter.
Answers:
Some folk dont do this at all but I sand down the heatsink and Processor backplate locked into a spare recepticle as not to damage the pins with some P800 wet and dry just slightly damp on a completely flat surface and the conduction is much superior because the aluminium heatsink has to may flaws otherwise and my temps are so to what they used to be, obviously this is my choice.
Paint Shop, MSN, Media Player, IE (3tabs) PC Wizard, AVG Scan and OE all running and PC now on for about 4hrs and a temp of 12c which is quite respectable.
Answers:
Some folk dont do this at all but I sand down the heatsink with some P800 wet and dry just slightly damp on a completely flat surface and the conduction is much superior because the aluminium heatsink has to may flaws otherwise and my temps are so to what they used to be, obviously this is my choice.
Paint Shop, MSN, Media Player, IE (3tabs) PC Wizard, AVG Scan and OE all running and PC now on for about 4hrs and a temp of 12c which is quite respectable.
Hmmm, I'd question that reading. If you're just cooling on air, your room temperature would need to be around 12C which is unlikely. Are you reading from the motherboard sensors? If so they aren't always the most accurate. Depending upon your cpu you can read directly from the core if you have the right software. This'll give you the most accurate reading.
Lapping is a good idea although you will still need a very minimal amount of thermal paste.
I've lapped both my heatsink and Core 2 Duo (which voids the warranty). On some Core 2 Duo's the heatspreader is sometimes slighly concave. I mainly lapped it so that the whole thing was flat and made a more consistent contact with the heatsink.
Answers:
Hmmm, I'd question that reading. If you're just cooling on air, your room temperature would need to be around 12C which is unlikely. Are you reading from the motherboard sensors? If so they aren't always the most accurate. Depending upon your cpu you can read directly from the core if you have the right software. This'll give you the most accurate reading.
PC Wizard shows 14c now but yeah its much better with a bit of smoothing of the heatsink as better conductivity is acheived, and no not from mobo only, Hard drive temp is 24c, its just about preperation and a better end result I couldnt believ the same when I read about smoothing/finishing the heatsink better and backplate but I thought what the heck so I gave it a whirl some years back and have never looked back.
Answers:
PC Wizard shows 14c now but yeah its much better with a bit of smoothing of the heatsink as better conductivity is acheived, and no not from mobo only, Hard drive temp is 24c.
Hmmm, I'd maybe try a different piece of software. Speedfan is very good.
If the air you're blowing on it is at room temperature (ie 20 something C), then I can't see how it can become cooler than the ambient temperature.
The hard drive sounds more realistic, although that's still incredibly cool for it to be spinning at maybe 7,200rpm and yet still not be any hotter than room temperature.
I'd maybe leave lapping the processor. Buy some thermal paste, and a decent heatsink/fan.
You can make it worse if you don't lap it properly. What you will need though if you do want to look into it is:
- A sheet of glass to do the lapping on. That'll give you a nice virtually perfectly flat base.
- Various grits (that's the rating) of sandpaper. I used 400 800 and 1200. You'll need to go somewhere a little more specialist based than B&Q for that.
- You can use water when doing the lap (wet sanding), but I've also heard of people buying other (can't remember what) liquids that stop the sand paper curling up (it does annoyingly happen with water).
- Patience. It takes time, and to be honest the difference may only be a degree or two.
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Hmmm, I'd maybe try a different piece of software. Speedfan is very good.
Speedfan reads the same as PC Wizard, so it just goes to show preperation leads to a marvellous outcome, and a frequent blow out of dust helps also.
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Hi Gavin.
Larger fans on the heatsink, or on the back of the case?
I can't fit larger ones I dont think to my case I don't think!?? Or can you usually do that?
Or do you mean on the heatsink? That would mean a larger heatsink or not?
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What is lapping lol?
Lapping on my 2200+ Athlon XP 32?
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What is lapping lol?
Lapping on my 2200+ Athlon XP 32?
Lapping is polishing or smoothing or refinishing.
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What things can I specifcally use to lap my processor??
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Oh really doh!
What heatsink & fan would you recommend? I heard a larger fan will provide more cooling without increase in sound levels. What is the selling point on the fan I should look for - RPM & size? What is the minimum spec you would recommend for each of the selling points? I can only buy certain sized fans right?
My budget is tight
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Can anyone say what the average CPU temp should be? My old one cooked itself just before Christmas and was running up to 65C when I checked, but it was too late then. I noticed in my new motherboard instruction manual, its shows a screen shot of the temperature screen and shows the temp as 51C as if that's normal and mine is now running at 37C