Normal XP 3000+ temp?

DCMega1DCMega1
edited October 2004 in Hardware
Hey all, quickie question:

Athlon XP 3000+ Barton Core
SLK-900A Heatsink
Thermaltake Smartfan
Arctic Silver
Running stock speed (333 FSB)

CPU temp showing up as 45 C idle and 54 C under moderate load (Warcraft III)

Is that too hot? The SLK-900A + Arctic Silver + Smart fan... makes me wonder if I seated the heatsink right. Is 54 ok?

Comments

  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited October 2004
    54 is not overly hot. Its a little warm in my opinion for that HSF. What kinda cfm is the CPU fan supposed to be pushing?
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2004
    That's not too hot, but it's hotter than that HSF/Fan combo should be running unless you have the smartfan set for its lowest speed.

    What's your case cooling like?
  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    My 400FSB 3000+ is running at 45 full load right now with a 947, a 92mm fan and AS ceramique so I'm cooled a little better, but not 10 degrees better I'd guess. As the other guys said, what CFM is the fan rated for, what RPM is it running at? Also what kind of case cooling do you have?

    What I have personally found that can easily add 10 deg is where your case is located. No matter where it is, if your exhaust doesn't vent into a large open space your temps are going to be high. For example if you have your computer in a desk cubby. Most computer desks do not ventilate well and you are essentially rasing the ambient temp due to the fact the hot air can't go anywhere. I cut the back out of my desk and push my computer past the edge so it vents the hot air out the back of the desk and doesn't allow it to be trapped.
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    3000+/400 at 44c CPU and 27c SYS full load folding ...the ambient is cool and this is a bit warmer temps than I'm used to so it's time for a cleaning here.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    The smartfan is rated 21.6~72.5 CFM , depending on where I have it set. When it's running around 4000 rpm I have had the loaded temp around 55 or 56C . If I turn it up all the way (4800RPM) that's when it runs around 54C under load. Sounds like that's not good.

    Case cooling is actually pretty minimal, which could be part of the problem. I have one 92mm fan on the side (came stock with the case), but that's it. I'm trying to minimize noise here, but maybe a couple of quiet front/back fans?

    As for location, you almost hit the nail on the head. The computer is in a cubby of a desk, however I already cut out the back and slipped the computer through. Still, that side fan is probably pretty useless since it's about 1.5" from the wall of the cubby. Maybe try moving the computer out of there?

    sidenote: motherboard monitor says my case is about 7 or 8 degrees cooler than the CPU most of the time.
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited October 2004
    My 3000+ is running at 212x10.5, on the stock cooler. I idle around 43-44, and can sometimes approach 55 at load. Ambient temperatures are around 22. Considering that heavy duty hsf you have, I'd say those temps should be considerably lower, especially if you are not overclocking. You may want to re-seat your heatsink, and ensure that you have the correct amount of arctic silver on there. Sometimes that can make a big difference.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    Yea... I've only seated a heatsink 2 other times, and that was for someone else's computer (who didn't need to worry about heavy loads).

    I followed the instructions on artic's site, so I assume I'm ok... but I may have smeared it around a lot trying to get the SLK in place... it was a tough one to lock down. Any advice?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    I have one 92mm fan on the side (came stock with the case), but that's it.
    That's it? Is there an exhaust fan on the back of the case (apart from the power supply). It sound to me like hot air is not exhausting from the interior of your case. It doesn't matter how good a heatsink/fan is if the waste heat has nowhere to go.

    What's the brand and model of your case? Have a link to it?
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2004
    DCMega1 wrote:
    sidenote: motherboard monitor says my case is about 7 or 8 degrees cooler than the CPU most of the time.

    Therein lies the problem. You haven't got enough case cooling. Like Leo said, what model case do you have? :)
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1019583&Sku=DRG-MC-SL-300&SRCCODE=INKQUIGO&CMP=KNC-INKTOMI

    That should take you to the case ... "Ultra Mini Dragon" Nothing special really, but it does the job. Well... aside from cooling. The case temp readings don't seem drastically high, but then again I don't know what a good temp is for the case. Should I put in an exhaust fan on the back and an intake on the front, or just start with the back and see how things go? Any suggestions on what type of fan (I'm looking for quiet to go with cooling). Thanks.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    Picked up a 92mm variable speed fan. Going to test it under load now. I put it in the back as an exhaust... the other fan slot on the case is a 92mm on the front. Should I get a fan for intake there?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    Should I put in an exhaust fan on the back and an intake on the front, or just start with the back and see how things go?
    Let us know what improvement you get with the case exhaust fan being installed. It may not be necessary to install an intake fan. Intake fans are necessary if the the inflow of cool (ambient) air is insufficient so as to allow too much negative pressure, preventing the hot air from escaping the case. In short, exhaust is the most important cooling factor.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    Ok... per motherboard monitor, I hover around 42C idle, and 50C under load. Definitely an improvement, at least of 4~5 degrees, so that's good. Still, 50 seems a bit high. The case temp seems to be around 35C (down from about 39 or 40) so obviously that's a factor. My comp is still in the cubby of the desk, so that might be a problem as well. The exhaust is fine, blowing out the removed back of the cubby, but that side fan intake might be better if I move the comp somewhere else. Thoughts?
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    Still running around 50C under load, so that's not awful. I'm going to do some surgery this weekend and re-seat the heatsink, see if that changes anything. Adding a single case fan really helped though. My new Radeon 9800 Pro and Gig of Mushkin PC3200 is due to arrive in the mail Thursday, so we'll see how they affect the temperatures when I juice the settings up a bit.

    I'm still considering a front intake fan, just to see how it would work.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    If I were you, I'd take the side fan off and put it in the front as an intake fan, so that you have a front and rear fan. Then see how your temps are, with no side fan.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    Actually, I could try that. Both the side fan slot and front fan slot are built for 92mm case fans, so I could easily move it. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for the idea. If I can get the temp sub 50C without re-seating the heatsink, it would save me some effort. Getting that SLK-900A heatsink clamped down was a huge pain. I have a feeling while seating it, I smeared the arctic silver around some. I have a feeling that may be the problem. If I do re-seat it... any advice on how to keep the heatsink in place while I get those pesky clips on? They really are difficult to lock down.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    There's no trick to the clips - just experience and skill thereby gained. Yeah, it can be a pain.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    Darn... no magic easy way huh? Such is the way of life right? Ok, when I install some more components in the next day or two, I guess I'll just plan on re-seating the sink then. My luck, I'll make things worse hah.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    Next time you reseat the heatsink, give it a few practice runs. Just take your jolly time though, so that you don't damage anything. Remember, the thermal paste interface must be have complete coverage but be ultra thin.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    But how do you avoid smearing it around while placing the heatsink? and as it presses down, doesn't it push the paste off the core some? I assume my second question doesn't really matter, but that first item, smearing it around, stinks. Do you just put it in place and do your best not to let it move as you clip?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    Your best measure against smearing the paste - minimal application of paste and precise mounting with minimal shift of heatsink. Ok, that's not easy until you become skilled. Until that skill arrives: apply an ultra-thin layer of paste to the bottom of the heatsink as well. That way, if you do shift the heatsink all around the CPU core during installation, you will still have an adequate contact patch of paste between the core and heatsink bottom.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2004
    Or you could just stop worrying about it since thermal paste is only good for a couple degrees c either way. :p
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    What an answer - coming from the cooling crusader himself.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2004
    *note* I didn't mean not worry about using thermal paste... you NEED the grease, but you don't need to be this anal-retentive about it.

    lol @ Leo... I can't be bothered to follow arctic silver's instructions, and it's better to have a bit too much thermal compound than too little. Just put a bit on the CPU core itself and spread it around with your finger until the layer is just thick enough to be opaque. Something like the size of a BB ought to be enough.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    Your HS doesn't look like this .... does it???



    attachment.php?attachmentid=3332&stc=1
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    wowzas mtgoat. haha.
  • DCMega1DCMega1
    edited October 2004
    dear god no!!! Hahaha. Well, technically the HS looks somewhat like that since it's an slk-900a... but it doesn't have that nice layer of what looks like belly-button lint on it =p

    I'll drop the grease discussion, since it sounds like it's not that big of a deal. Now that my basement (computer area) is quickly dropping in room temperature as winter approaches, I have less worries anyway... ahh, my woman loves when I keep the heat low for my computer's sake...
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    layer of what looks like belly-button lint on it
    Dang, Larry! We were trying to keep that a secret. Crap, secret's out now! :eek:
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