CPU Temperature

[Synxernal]

Is there anyway to cool down my CPU (It's like 55celsius) without actually buying a new fan or one of those thermal compounds?

[CCSDUDE]

Split your IDE cabling (google 'ide cable splitting' for info on doing it) as well as neatly tape wrapping all the PSU cables....putting up the left over psu plugs behind or crammed next to the PSU backside also keeps it less messy...

Basically clean the fuck out of it...get some nice big open space in there and then start playing with airflow. If you have the tools to cut the case or mod it...then get some cardboard and make up a dummy side panel....cut some holes in it...set up the fans ya got in a new way...keep making new dummy sides or just patch it and start over till you get a decent temp.

Some silver thermal and a few fans...maybe a new heatsink might help. Hell....cutting the cheap pressed steel fan holder thingies allows the fan to pull more air in without problem...but at the risk of hair an shit getting in there quicker.

In any case you'll probably want to spend at least 15 bucks to get your temps dropping. If it's sticking at 55c it'll probably make it down 2-3 degrees...tops with just cleaing.

[Synxernal]

Hm, I'll try organzing it...how should I clean the dust?

[CCSDUDE]

Hm, I'll try organzing it...how should I clean the dust?

Compressed air/your own blowing....deep breathin...lol

Q-tips 91% rubbing alcohol and plenty of papertowels will also help...

Also, if you do decide to clean the TIM pad or white grease off your cpu in exchange for some silver thermal compound....use a CC or something to scrape it down some alcohol and LINTLESS (any HQ camera/projector lens cleaning stuff will work) towelettes. Just scrape off what you can then go to town with the rubbing alcohol qtips and the towelettes...

Make sure ya finish off with the lint free wipe rather then a q-tip.. :)

[rainbowdemon]

Just out of curiousity, what is a good operating temp range for this proc?

CPU Properties
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP-A, 2166 MHz (6.5 x 333) 3000+
CPU Alias Barton
CPU Stepping A2
L1 Code Cache 64 KB
L1 Data Cache 64 KB
L2 Cache 512 KB (On-Die, Full-Speed)

CPU Physical Info
Package Type 453 Pin PGA
Package Size 4.95 cm x 4.95 cm
Transistors 54.3 million
Process Technology 6Mi, 0.13 um, CMOS, Cu
Die Size 101 mm2
Core Voltage 1.65 V
I/O Voltage 1.6 V
Typical Power 53.7 - 60.4 W (depending on clock speed)
Maximum Power 68.3 - 76.8 W (depending on clock speed)

CPU Manufacturer
Company Name Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Product Information http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118,00.html

CPU Utilization
CPU #1 0 %

[CCSDUDE]

Just out of curiousity, what is a good operating temp range for this proc?

CPU Properties
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP-A, 2166 MHz (6.5 x 333) 3000+
CPU Alias Barton
CPU Stepping A2
L1 Code Cache 64 KB
L1 Data Cache 64 KB
L2 Cache 512 KB (On-Die, Full-Speed)

CPU Physical Info
Package Type 453 Pin PGA
Package Size 4.95 cm x 4.95 cm
Transistors 54.3 million
Process Technology 6Mi, 0.13 um, CMOS, Cu
Die Size 101 mm2
Core Voltage 1.65 V
I/O Voltage 1.6 V
Typical Power 53.7 - 60.4 W (depending on clock speed)
Maximum Power 68.3 - 76.8 W (depending on clock speed)

CPU Manufacturer
Company Name Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Product Information http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118,00.html

CPU Utilization
CPU #1 0 %

Anything over 54c is stressing it imho... AMD states their XP series can actually handle breaking 70...but I wouldn't trust that at all.

I'm running an XP 2500+ at spec ATM and it's reading 34c ondie and 22c internal case temp. Note that it's a entry level server case with enough cooling to keep a P4 as cool about as cool as a p1...lol So you probably won't see temps that low any time of the year unless you got your AC blasting and fans sucking in air properly.

[rainbowdemon]

Thanks. Right now it's running at 62c. So I'm going to have to work on that!!

[The Hunter]

Joe this is a good site to bookmark, as it has a wealth of info.
http://www.cpuscorecard.com/

[CCSDUDE]

Thanks. Right now it's running at 62c. So I'm going to have to work on that!!

Without a doubt man! Get on it SOON...that's extremely far past the comfort zone.

At 62c in what I'll assume is summer for ya...all it takes is one fan dying or some stupid cable flopping down in the path of airflow....and your motherboard/cpu are cooked.

[nasrules]

My 2500+ runs at ~40C on-die, sometimes rises to 42C, sometimes drops to 36C, it depends on what I'm doing and what the weather's like ;)

That's with an Aero 7 Lite and a 120mm case fan. I wouldn't want any CPU of mine to go above 54C, so 62C doesn't sound very nice!

[rainbowdemon]

Thanks, Hunter. That's a very informative site!!

[rainbowdemon]

Blowing the dust out brought it down to 59c. Maybe running without the side cover will help.

[rainbowdemon]

Side cover is off. It's bouncing between 55 and 56c. I'm going to look into a better fan.

[rainbowdemon]

This is telling me that 85c is all right.

http://www.cpuscorecard.com/cpuprices/aaxp.htm

[CCSDUDE]

This is telling me that 85c is all right.

http://www.cpuscorecard.com/cpuprices/aaxp.htm

185f (85c) is very toasty considering the close contact between your cpu's die and the heatsink. If for whatever reason the heatsink decided to tilt or hang uneven on the clips (tower case?), that temp would soar past 90 fairly quickly in terms of how fast you notice the smell of burning silicone...lol

Keep it below 60 and you'll be using it for years to come. :)

Sure AMD's are cheap enough to replace...motherboards too..but what the hell, right? If ya can get 10 times more worth out of those cheap AMD chips...it's win win.

If it's still sticking way above the low 50's or upper 40's you could try underclocking it in the bios. Is it a store bought system or what? Know the motherboard model and make?

[rainbowdemon]

Mother board.

Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 11/14/2003-KM400-8235-6A6LYM4BC-00
Motherboard Name MSI KM4M-L (MS-6734) / MS-6786

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type DEC Alpha EV6
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 333 MHz
Bandwidth 2666 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties
Bus Type DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 333 MHz
Bandwidth 2666 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type VIA V-Link
Bus Width 8-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (ODR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 533 MB/s

Motherboard Physical Info
CPU Sockets/Slots 1
Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 AGP
RAM Slots 2 DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Video, LAN
Form Factor Micro ATX
Motherboard Chipset KM400

Motherboard Manufacturer
Company Name Micro-Star International
Product Information http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_list.php
BIOS Download http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_list.php


Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 11/14/2003-KM400-8235-6A6LYM4BC-00
Motherboard Name MSI KM4M-L (MS-6734) / MS-6786

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type DEC Alpha EV6
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 333 MHz
Bandwidth 2666 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties
Bus Type DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 333 MHz
Bandwidth 2666 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type VIA V-Link
Bus Width 8-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (ODR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 533 MB/s

Motherboard Physical Info
CPU Sockets/Slots 1
Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 AGP
RAM Slots 2 DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Video, LAN
Form Factor Micro ATX
Motherboard Chipset KM400

Motherboard Manufacturer
Company Name Micro-Star International
Product Information http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_list.php
BIOS Download http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_list.php

[Synxernal]

Yeah, I woud like to know how to unclock my processer for the summer (To keep it down, LAST NIGHT it was at 55 celcius and all my windows were open).

I downloaded a program this morning (CPUIdle Extreme) and it dropped my temperature down by 5-8 celcius. ^_^

Processer: Intel Pentium 4 3GHZ
Motherboard: ASUS P4P800S

Can anybody guide me on how to underclock my processer?

Oh and would unclocking void my warranty or something?

[Rally99]

To Synxernal: There should be a way to do that in the BIOS. You just change the multiplier down to something you want. I 'm not sure what it would be under but I have seen most up to date BIOS have this option, storeboughts may not though IE Dell, HP....


To RainbowDemon:
If you haven't blown the dust out yet make sure to get inbetween the heatsink fins. Dust loves to clump up on them and degrade the usefulness of them. You can also open the side and stick a box fan next to the tower to increase airflow in the short term. More fans is a better bet though, and a better case if you can find one.

[CCSDUDE]

Rainbow, drop you're FSB speed down. It appears as if the motherboard you own doesn't allow for software FSB changes...

"This screen on the left was the real heartbreaker. On the overclockable versions of this board there is normally a third option in this screen that allows you to adjust the FSB. On the KM4M-L the only clock settings are jumpers on the motherboard, which allow you to select one of the stock FSB speeds – 100/133/166. This is also something to keep in mind when setting the board up to make sure that you do not end up underclocking your CPU."

- Taken from http://www.extrememhz.com/KM4ML-p3.shtml

Check your manual and find the onboard jumpers....dropping it down to 100 is probably the best bet till you rework the case.

Synx, your mobo is similar to my socket A Gigabyte board...I can step pretty much every thing up in 1mhz increments from PCI bus to AGP and cpu....voltage on everything as well. Nearly fried it by accident many a time...so just screw with FSB. :)

"AI Overclocking: ASUS P4P800S-E Deluxe offers robust overclocking options to maximize your system performance.
► Flexible CPU Core Voltage Adjustments in 0.025V increments over defaults
► SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) from 100MHz up to 400MHz at 1MHz increment
► Adjustable FSB/DDR ratio. Fixed AGP/PCI frequencies
► ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)"

http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/motherboards/asus/p4p800se/

[rainbowdemon]

Thanks CC!!

[shawners]

You never have to worry when you got a 399 dollar emachine =) and a square floor fan behind the desk =)

[Synxernal]

Synx, your mobo is similar to my socket A Gigabyte board...I can step pretty much every thing up in 1mhz increments from PCI bus to AGP and cpu....voltage on everything as well. Nearly fried it by accident many a time...so just screw with FSB. :)

I have no idea what you just said. o_o'

[Synxernal]

Ah, alright, I figured it out and underclocked it to around 2.1GHZ.

Now, I'm also wondering if I can lower my fan speed, it goes full blast at 5000 rpm and I can't bare it. 4000-4500 is what I'm looking for. I checked for options to lower it in the BIOS..but I found nothing. Is it possible to lower the power that's going to it or something?

[CCSDUDE]

Ah, alright, I figured it out and underclocked it to around 2.1GHZ.

Now, I'm also wondering if I can lower my fan speed, it goes full blast at 5000 rpm and I can't bare it. 4000-4500 is what I'm looking for. I checked for options to lower it in the BIOS..but I found nothing. Is it possible to lower the power that's going to it or something?


You'll need to install a rheostat in line (on the red 12v line coming off the PSU going to the fan - yellow = 5v line - don't hook your fan up to this by accident as you will probably fry your PSU unless the rheostat is allowing very little through) to slow it down. If it's being run from the motherboards cpu fan header then you'll need to strip the ground and hot wires coming off the fan...DO NOT CUT THE YELLOW ONE OR IT'S CLIP! Then strip the same wires on one of the psu's plugs, then solder it up...black to black red to red...in one side out da other. Once that's done you can place the remaining yellow wire back on the motherboard connector (making sure the 2 snipped bits from the power and ground are taped up) turn the rheostat all the way up, start the system, move knob down till you find the sweet spot between your preferred temp/noise ratio. Mark off where you like it...lol trust me...you'll go nuts trying to get it just right again and again when you gotta keep speeding up and slowing down based on the weather.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Articles/Rheostat/Rheostat.jpg

[LordNIkon]

Just for FYI, I have a AMD XP 2500+ running @ 41c Consistantly Motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-7VAXP Ultra.

[Synxernal]

You'll need to install a rheostat in line (on the red 12v line coming off the PSU going to the fan - yellow = 5v line - don't hook your fan up to this by accident as you will probably fry your PSU unless the rheostat is allowing very little through) to slow it down. If it's being run from the motherboards cpu fan header then you'll need to strip the ground and hot wires coming off the fan...DO NOT CUT THE YELLOW ONE OR IT'S CLIP! Then strip the same wires on one of the psu's plugs, then solder it up...black to black red to red...in one side out da other. Once that's done you can place the remaining yellow wire back on the motherboard connector (making sure the 2 snipped bits from the power and ground are taped up) turn the rheostat all the way up, start the system, move knob down till you find the sweet spot between your preferred temp/noise ratio. Mark off where you like it...lol trust me...you'll go nuts trying to get it just right again and again when you gotta keep speeding up and slowing down based on the weather.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Articles/Rheostat/Rheostat.jpg

O_O;;

Is there an easier way?!

[CCSDUDE]

O_O;;

Is there an easier way?!

They sell 'em pre-made. ;)

Either something simple like that - you plug two things in and it's done, or you can go the stylish route and buy one of those drive bay mounted ones usually with 4 rheostats built in and speaker terminal like hook ups. Very easy to install and use...

The also sell electronic voltage limiters that work in much the same fashion. What this does is Morse code's the shit out of the current flowing to each fan (think of a line of 10101010101010101 with 1 being actual current and 0 being the null this device creates - over all the line isn't as long as it originally was). It does pretty much the same thing as the rheostat, except it's easier on the fans overall, and theres less of a chance the fans will fail to spin up upon booting. It's also a plus based on the rheostats nature...they get really freakin' hot when you limit it below 6v......

lol blah blah blah...anywho I don't have any pre-built links on hand...so someone help 'em with that.

If you do decide to go the fun route...
http://www.jameco.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/jameco/searchResult.d2w/report?sort=BPA&search=140513&Go.x=43&Go.y=1

And a guide to follow as you do it..
http://www.7volts.com/rheostats.htm

[Synxernal]

Decided to lower clock speed of the CPU some more to 1.5GHZ. I wanna mess with Vcore, what's should be an apprioiate Vcore setting for it?

[CCSDUDE]

Don't play with any of the voltages...

Only overvolt when the system is overclocked as far as it will go and you wish to push it farther...

Ya don't overvolt past spec when you have it underclocked...that's just asking for it. =OP

[Kilgore!!!!]

I have to say-- thanks for the beta on soldering the rheostat in the line. That's pretty cool!

I would like to point out one more thing though. The larger the fan-- ususally-- the lower the dbs (noise). I took an 80 mm fan and stuck it to a frosting can with a hole (roughly the size of a 60mm fan) cut in the bottom. I attached the hole side of the can to the heat sink. The fan pumps the air into the can and pressures it through the hole-- into the fins of the heatsink. If you have one of those fans with a funny little light on it, it looks pretty cool too. Make sure you don't get too heavy though as the added leverage of the can length can cause the heatsink to pry down, off the processor. Keep it small and light weight. This also overcomes the problem with a fan attached directly to the heatsink with a zero air-flow over the center due to the fan center. Positive Pressure= Cool!

[mountain_rage]

For one amds usually run warmer then intels chips. Less in the new chips but older chips run warmer. Also if you bought a cheapo system dont expect it to run real cool, I had a old athlon xp 1200 and it was running 45-55 all the time. It was just a cheap ass factory overclock system so it ran hot. My new machine rarely goes over 35 and usually stays around 30. Its a amd 64 3000+ 939 pin. Its a more expensive machine. But as others said You can clean the dust out and do a few casse mods. But basically the best bet is to spend the extra little cash if you can for new fans. Rounded cables are nice as well and as someone mentioned previously you can build them yourself.

For all those wanting a silent system get a antec tower and antec true power power supply they run amazingly silent and have built in fan controllers. My casse fans and power fans usually run 1000rpms as for cpu fan around 3000.

If anyone wants to answer me this I dont think theres any hazard here. I stripped my 3pin mobo connector fan and connected it to a molex to get my truepower fan controller working on it. Is that ok to do or will it fry something. I just left the yellow cable free???