Cooling/temp advice needed

[fdiskboy]

Tbird 850 with std heatsink idles at about 28C according to Via Hardware mon. (on a KT7-RAID)

Running RC5 it jumps up to about 45C --that's the highest I've seen it anyway (even gaming). Is this too big of a jump? Should I consider a better heatsink/fan? Any suggestions in that regard?

Thanks in advance

 

[Mikewarrior2]

First off, the Thermistor in the kt7 is highly inaccurate(the same goes for pretty much every socket A mb).

Secondly, you should not be getting that huge a jump between idle/full load on a kt7, due ot how it measures cpu temp. You should see a 5-7C difference.

Check if your heatsink is mounted properly. Did you remove the blue tab off the existing thermal compound?

IF you aren't using the original PCTC(phase change thermal compound), what are you using in its place?


Mike

 

[fdiskboy]

Hmmm. I did remove the tab and am using the original compound. I've also got two 90mm case fans, one blowing in and the other out.

I'm fairly sure the heatsink is mounted properly, as the first time I mounted it the temps were even higher because I did it improperly.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Hmm, what is your current heatsink?


Mike

 

[fdiskboy]

It's a generic one...came with the processor.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

that may well be why your chip is hitting that high at full load...

if it runs fine for you, i wouldn't worry about it, but you may want to consider a cheap taisol unit, which performs very nicely for the price.


MIke

 

[idgaf13]

Where can I get a more accurate thermistor with display abilities.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

you can get by with one of the LCD thermistor display units, and put the tip of the thermistor contacting the edge of the cpu core(must touch core). it'll definately be more accurate than the in-socket thermistor, but it still won't give the true cpu core temp(5-12% error).


Mike

 

[Edman]

Hey Mike, I need your advice also, I currently have an Athlon Tbird 800MHz and an MK33 AOPen Mobo whit 2 extra fans (one in front of the case blows air, and the other exactly in a side of the processor socket (over the voltage regulator transistors), and at least the PS Fan this one takes of the hot air from the case) ,so the problem is that I have a overheating problem (my system usually frezes in 3D games after an hour or so), even that my Mobo don't have any thermal monitor, (only have 2 JP Connector, for a future thermocouple installation), so I don't have any Idea about the real temp, but it almost burn your fingers when you touch the CPU heat sink, so I have done some research about my cooler (Cooler Master DP5-6H51, Link ) and I found that even whe it cames without thermal compund or pad, the manufacturer of this one highly recomends using a thermal compound before installing it, so I can get only a generic electronic thermal grease (silicone based) (I live in Chihuahua Mexico) and put some over the processor core, and even some over the GPU core (betwen the core and the heatsink).

So:
1.- Did I do the right thing (about using silicone thermal compound).
2.- Did U Know where can I get the thermocouples for monitoring my system temp.
3.- If not where can I buy some electronic thermometer or something (cheap of course).
4.- Like somebody else I have a core dent in my CPU core, should I try to return the chip my supplier??.


Thanks for your advice.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Thermistor's can be purchased from places like plycon or millisec.com but I dont' know for how much.

Thermocouples aren't cheap, as far as I know.(as in, i believe they are very expensive).

You can get an electronic thermometer from plycon, like the digital doc, but they aren't very cheap.

The core dent may not have effected the actual cpu core, but it may effect your cooling. For example, the heat now much pass over an area that was, maybe 95% of the area it was before.

I think the biggest thing is that your heatsink may not be up to the task, combined with the need for more case exhaust for you. Also, silicon based compounds have a nasty tendancy to dry up in socket A chips, because of the high heat concentrated on a small area. If you do get a new heatsink(the cheap taisol units are highly recommended), the PCTC(thermal pad) existing on socket A approved heatsinks actually outperforms silicon based greases(by a fair margin, as well).

Good Luck.

Mike

 

[Siamskunk]

or an easy alternative is to get one at Radioshack, it's similar to those that many online shops sell......and accurate reading too.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

the RS one probably wont' fit in between cpu and heatsink(especially if it is the old fat one).


Mike

 

[Siamskunk]

Here is from CaseEtc that is also sold at RS, pretty good size on the LCD but not sure if the thermistor is small enough for CPU temp.....any idea Mike?

 

[Mikewarrior2]

That one would work, but youd have to use a dremel to trim away hte excess plastic around the temp probe.



Mike

 

[Losty]

i didn't know that having such a great jump wasn't good...my cpu runs idle 28C and max load 45 also...

if i jump the fsb...does anyone know if this should increase cpu temp? it goes up like 2C on max load...

 

[RabeaticSquirrel]

So I take it that my Asus A7V may not be a trust source for the "actual" operating temp of my T'Bird 800. Ready for this? My T'Bird operates, while idle, at 51 C. At least that's what ASUS Probe reports to me. Even when I run "CPU torchure," play an MP3 using Winamp, and run Half-Life all in conjunction, the temp only reaches 55 C. Never have I seen it get higher than that. Even running CPU torchure for a full 57 minutes, it only hits 55 C. I am using a GlobalWin FOP32 (not the best in the world, but until they come out with a better peltier/water solution, I refuse to cool with another conventional). Even when I touch the HS, it feels relatively cool, not hot to the touch. So here's the question, should I trust ASUS probe or go out and buy another means of temp monitoring? What is the max safe operating temp for the T'Birds?

 

[Mikewarrior2]

The problem is, you can't trust any Socket A mb temp measurement.

At best, the temps are compensated, and therefore give a fairly good "assumption" of what cpu peak core temp would be. At worst, they are sometimes 12-15C off(i've seen it off almost 30C before).

If they were measuring cpu core temp, the change between idle and full load should be anywhere from 10-15C. Part of the problem is, even with compensated readings, socket A boards don't show the full range of cpu temp movement.

I think this brings up the only time one should be really concerned about cpu temps w/socket a setups. If the temp change from idle to full load is too high(ie over 20C), it may be one indication that something is wrong.

Losty, Something may not be wrong. But normally, kt7's especially, do not show that high a jump between idle and full load.

RabeaticSquirrel, What kind of heatsink are you using? And what a7v bios are you using?


MIke

 

[Losty]

mike....thanks for the response...
RabeaticSquirrel...try using winamp writing mp3 to wav..for an hour...it got my system to 46 once...1C higher than running any other program...