CPU Cooling Problem

[EricJP65]

I'm in the process of taking a stock HP (from bestbuy) computer and transfering it to a new Motherboard, Case, and PSU, and in the process of installing it, discovered the CPU, a AMD Athlon 64 3700+ is running hot, when I first put on the old stock Heatsink and started it up, the Bios reported it at 43c and climbed to 48c before I shut it down. I then bought some Arctic silver 5 and a Thermaltake Venus 7 fan. I put on the Venus 7 and Arctic Silver 5, and got temps in the 46c-50c range which I found out was my overapplication of the AS5. I switched back to the larger and faster Stock Heatsink/fan, and some trial and error, got a proper amount of AS5 on it, and are now getting temps at 38c on start up, but it climbs to about 45c and stays roughtly around 44c-46c on average.

I'm wondering what could I do to bring that temp down a bit, what kind of heatsink/fan works best, preferably from people's actual experiance rather then numbers and such. I don't have the money or skill to install a watercooling set up, and I'm looking for something reasonably sized, similar footprint as a standard Heatsink/fan. Any adivce or comments would be most helpful

 

[NokiaDude]

Try "painting" the cpu core with AS5. Clean off the core with some rubbing alcohol, put a grain of rice on some waxed paper. Put on a latex glove and dab your index finger in the AS5. Then "paint" the core with your finger, dabbing all over the CPU core until you have a very thin layer of AS5. You want it to be as thin as possible. You don't want it looking like frosting on a cake.

If that doesn't bring down temps a few degrees C, then your motherboard must be reporting inaccurate temps. Which is not uncommon.

 

[EricJP65]

I've done the Rubbing alcohol (91%, best I can find anywhere other than scented Acetone). And the rice amount. I know it's several degrees cooler, since when it was in the stock HP case, along with a ATI 9800 pro 256MB, I got heatcrashes before I took the side off (one of the reasons I wanted a new case), so in the case, it was running close to the 55c-60c autoshutoff temp, and now it's about 10c-15c cooler in the new case (5 case fans set for optimal airflow and an adaquate PSU). I hear stories of people getting CPU temps in the mid 30's, but I'd be happy just to stay below 40c. (The case temps report at 25c on start up, getting to 28-32c after running for a bit, and it's about 25-27c in the house ambient)

 

[NokiaDude]

I'm running a Winchester 3200+ on the stock cooler and I get 33C Idle and 44C Load. I really don't understand why some people on AT say their A64 CPUs are idling 40-50C. My old Barton 2500+ ran at 45C idle and 55C load.

 

[EricJP65]

Just to follow up, I finally got my Windows installed and after loading the ITE Smart Guardian that came with the DFI Lanparty UT nf3 250gb board, the bios still reports ~45c but the utility is reporting CPU at 38-40c. Guess the Lanparty boards overestimate the temp sensors.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Mebbe an XP-90 and a low or medium panaflo?

 

[shock311]

the temps are fine, my a64 2800+ idles at 50 and 56 under load, then again its a newcaste and oc'ed to 2.4ghz, but comparing it to other cores its about right, I wouldn't worry too much. I have the same board as well.

 

[Dyloot]

Originally posted by: EricJP65
Just to follow up, I finally got my Windows installed and after loading the ITE Smart Guardian that came with the DFI Lanparty UT nf3 250gb board, the bios still reports ~45c but the utility is reporting CPU at 38-40c. Guess the Lanparty boards overestimate the temp sensors.

Man, I came here thinking I might post how my DFI NF3 250GB board is reporting high temps on my Athlon 64 3400 (50c), and I came across your post. I'm getting no crashes in games or anything, and I've read that some of these NF3 boards have a hard time reporting accurate CPU temps, but it's still annoying.

I flashed my bios with the newest version because I read that it may fix a possible temp mis-read, but the results were the same. I'm using AS5 with an Arctic Cooling HSF (simple, $20 variety, not the freezer), and I may pull it off tomorrow and reapply the AS or try the compound that came with the HSF.

Dyloot

 

[imported_rod]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
I'm running a Winchester 3200+ on the stock cooler and I get 33C Idle and 44C Load. I really don't understand why some people on AT say their A64 CPUs are idling 40-50C.

Yeah, same here. With Cool 'n Quiet activated, my idle temps will often drop below 30C at night. And even full speed under load, Ive never seen my temps exceed 44C.

Im using the stock cooler. I am thinking of replacing it, but thats because of the noise, not the temps.

RoD