CPU overheating when playing games

[meltingplastic8]

Im having a problem with my cooling. I'm running a p4 at 3.2ghz not overclocked and using intergrated graphics so there is no heat coming from the graphics card. I have 1 intake fan in the front and 2 exhaust fans in the back, an intake on the side panel and 2 fans on the power suppy one mounted on the inner of the case and the other in the back if it like all standard PSU have. Is this enought. When ever i am playing NFSU or Vice City my intel alert system tells me the cpu is running to hot. the senor is set to tell me when it exceeds 154f. Is this normal or do i need more cooling and if i do what do you suggest.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions

 

[mechBgon]

Welcome to the Forums meltingplastic8 Here's a couple of questions:

• Is the case located where it can get cool air? It's not cooped up in a computer desk's cupboard or something, is it?
• Is the CPU's heatsink fan running, did you check it visually? Maybe a cable got snagged in the fan, or the fan is unplugged?
• Tell us more about your heatsink/fan unit. Is it the one that comes in the retail-boxed CPU kit, or is it aftermarket?
• Is there a thermal patch or a thin coat of thermal grease between the heatsink and the CPU itself? Vegetto has great tips and photos to look at here of his retail-boxed Pentium4 CPU and heatsink/fan unit, plus how to apply thermal grease too
• Is the heatsink completely latched into the receiver at both ends?

Hope that helps

 

[0roo0roo]

thats enough fan cooling. that is if its setup correctly. are your fans setup to freely access air? or is the case poorly designed with plastic/metal with pathetic tiny holes in the way? if so, slice and dice is the solution. ziptie all wires...route behind mb tray if possible,cable origami... and make sure ur cpu cooler has a very thin but good coat of decent thermal grease. use a razor to put it on.

 

[meltingplastic8]

Thanks for all your suggestions and to answer your questions,

mechBgon-
the case is on a floor nothing surrounds it
the heatsink fan is running
it is a retail intel, heatsink-fan combo
i used the standard thermal patch that came attached to the cpu. This was my first time installing it so i did not want to mess around. Althought i do have a tube of arctic silver if nessary.
also the heatsink is secured to the cpu

0roo0roo-
the fans are placed where little tiny holes are in the front and back, the side has a grill covering it. So i shall try and cut out the shape of the fan and add grills/filters too all of my fans. Also my cables are all ziptied and i rounded all of my ide cables.

also if you think it would help should i add an aftermarket heatsink/cooler to my cpu. please suggest what you think is good

 

[mechBgon]

Thanks for the additional info Like 0roo0roo said, your cooling arrangements sound quite satisfactory. The heatsink and the overall ventilation scheme sounds fine, although you could do a reality check by putting a thermometer inside your case for an hour, doing some gaming, then opening up the case and checking its temperature. You want it below 35°C at least.

Somehow it still sounds like the heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsink is messed up. What I'm wondering is if the frame around the CPU socket might've broken free from its hold on the motherboard at one end, or at one corner. It grips the motherboard with... these sorta things... and if they were to break, then that corner of the heatsink frame could lift away from the motherboard, and now your heatsink wouldn't want to sit flat anymore. So you might do a quick visual check to confirm/denly that possibility.

 

[meltingplastic8]

Thanks i shall try this, i am running the intel active monitor and right now it shows my cpu at 35c the cpu fan spinning at 2500rpm and the system 1 zone is 32c and the system 2 zone is 32c. but i will try it manually with a thermo.

Thanks i will let you know how it went tonight

 

[0roo0roo]

aftermarket heatsinks can help, but aren't worth the money unless your going for silence or overclocking... that is if your heatsinkis a stock intel and not some weenie one

 

[meltingplastic8]

yup its stock later im going to check it and see that everything is seated correctly

 

[peonyu]

Cutting the case's fan grills out will likely give you 5-15c lower temps, since the very small holes tend to bounce the hot air back into your HSF instead of blowing it of the case.