whoah.... is this too hot??

[reebz]

Hi,

im running an AMD Athlon XP 1800+ cpu on a MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU motherboard.

I dont know what heatsink/fan I am using... its just the one from the shop that built my computer.... so I *assume* it is craptastic.....

anyway.... right now my computer has an idle temp of 44 deg Celsius on the CPU and 39 deg Celsius system/chipset temp.

these temperatures are effected somewhat by the heating in my house too.... if I open the window next to the PC and put on like 3 jumpers (lol...)... the temp on the CPU goes down to low 40s or high 30s.

After playing some games for a while, the most it gets to is around 51 deg Celsius on the CPU. I havent seen it over 51 or 52.... and thats after a while of playing games (like hours...).

Are the temperatures too hot??

should I invest in a new heatsink/fan?? or should I get more case fans?? -- i dont know what is better....

I have heard good things about the Volcano 7+ from some friends, and its a reasonable price.... is it worth getting?? or as I said before, get one or two more case fans??

[Wiggo]

Well ya temps arn't to bad (especially considerin' the unusual heat we're gettin' atm) but you'll probably find that ya just have an AMD retail HSF and the Volcano7+ will certainly out perform them by some margin. To test your case take the side off and see if the temps drop, if they do by a few degrees then ya could do with some extra airflow. :thumb:
<center>:cheers:</center>

[reebz]

I think you hit the nail on the head with that post....

I took the side of my case off and now my PC is idling at 35 or 36 deg Celsius on the CPU and 32 or 33 deg Celsius System/Chipset temp.... its almost a whopping 10 degrees lower!!!


so what should I do to improve my case temperature??
I dont think I need the volcano 7+ if it is idling at 35 deg.... but I just need more airflow in the case....

some of my friends say I need to get me a dremel and start cutting holes in my case and put in like 3 or 4 extra fans.... but I dont want to get that drastic... any ideas *without* cutting and hacking into the case???

[Wiggo]

Probably considerin' that ya friends have seen ya case and we havn't I can't really say how much ya'll need. If ya can post a link to the case or a pic then we maybe better able to advise. Usually a side panel intake fan over the video/PCI cards and a blowhole in the top panel will improve airflow. Most cases have a low down front intake fan and hopefully a rear exhaust one as well as the PSU's, does your's have these or are there positions available to add more? :?:
<center>:cheers:</center>

[reebz]

I cant find a pic of my case... but ill try to explain it...

its basically a normal tower size (mid tower?) but its got all this plastic junk around it (that I dont know how to take off) so its curved on the sides and the front.... im pretty sure its a piece of junk and I plan on getting a new case soon.... but anyways....

there is a rear exhaust higher up near the PSU
there is a front intake lower down below the HDD
thats all I can see for fan openings...

the rear exhaust has a fan on it, the front doesnt.

im going to buy two fans (one for front and upgrade the back)...
so should I have the front fan blowing IN to the case and the back fan should be blowing OUT right?

[E^vol]

Can you supply us with the name of the case (if you know) ?
Also, your system specs might also help with this matter.
I have a Volcano 7+ (as many of us do) :thumb: and I only have great things to say about it.
Are you using any thermal compound ? ie: Arctic Silver 3 (it's great stuff)
If the case / case fans are your problem, then upgrading to a higher quality case would be a good investment (you can keep it during future upgrades)

BUT ! Bottom line is... The more money you put into a system, the better (most of the time).
However not everyone has an unlimited supply of cash (I know that I don't) :cry:, so finding your "balance point" is the key ingredient to having a system that you are happy with, while still being functional & stable.

[reebz]

I dont know what the name or brand of the case is...like i said i think its junk stuff...

I think i probably have the standard HSF on my Athlon, I have not modified it since I bought it (the system) from the store.... I assume it has the thermal paste/tape that comes in the retail box....

the only reason i thought it would be a good idea to do case fans is because:

1: cheaper.
2: easier.

i think I could do a HSF swap myself, but im not that confident after I have read storeies of crushed athlon cores when people make mistakes...

I also *dont* have unlimited cash :thumb:

anyway.... heres my system:

300w psu
athlon 1800xp
msi kt3-ultra-ARU (kt333 chipset w/ raid)
256mb pc2700 ddr ram
Maxtor D740X ata133 7200rpm 40gb
SB Audigy Platinum
MSI GF4 Ti4600 128mb
sony 16x DVD
yamaha 20x10x40 cdrw
a bunch of other stuff....flopppy, network/scsi cards...blah...blah

[E^vol]

Yeah, I was worried about crushing my CPU when I built my new system in Sept., but it went ok-no probs- just be careful and it'll be ok.
As for the AS3, use a thin coat ! Case fans can be cheaper (depending on which fans / how many fans will be used), and if that's your prob (sounds like it), then go for it.
See my specs in my sig. I used some "old" parts from last system (video/audio/hdd1/dvd/monitor), so the upgrade $$ wasn't so bad ($1500 cdn.)
Right now I have 5 case fans, soon to be 6 w/window, and soon I'll be getting a 6 port dual voltage baybus to control the noise.
Long story short, remember that the more fans you have, the more noise you'll have too !

[reebz]

cool....i guess its time for some new case fans...

no need to worry about the noise, I cant be anylouder than my CPU fan right now which whines SOOO bad I wear headphones and crank my MP3s up whenever I can....i guess that fan will be replaced since im doing the rest too :afro:

[Wiggo]

I was so glad when the Volcano 7+ came out just to get away from those types of fans (though it's a little like that on high speed but who uses that except in extremes). :D

But ya will have to improve the case airflow first before ya'll find out the benefits of a better cooler anyway (I've seen 7+'s actually get warmer on high speed w/ bad case airflow). ;)

As for how to add the fans to ya case then take a couple of pics and u/l them here and we'll have a look at the probs and see how they can be over come (havn't found one yet that couldn't be overcome somehow). :devil win
<center>:cheers:</center>