CPU still seems a bit warm, even with added fans...

[Hurricane Andrew]

Just for a refresher, here is my dilemma:

I'm running a Chaintech VNF3-250, Athlon 64 3000+ (OEM), with a Coolmax 450 PSU in a Soyo case (the one here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...6067&Sku=S450-4010 )

No overclocking here, everything is stock. I run in the mid 40's, but when I ran Prime95's torture test, I got up to the mid 50's in relatively short order ( 4 minutes or so). Things are better (low 40's, and low 50's) when I switch the PSU fan from auto to high, but I'm 1) a bit leary of running the PSU with the fan on high all the time and 2) wondering why I should have to since I haven't overclocked and got what I thought as a decent Speeze HS/Fan for a stock CPU.

I have the latest BIOS since I know the early ones for this board did report the temp incorrectly. Shutdown temp in the BIOS is set at 65, which is the mid setting, just in case all heck breaks loose.

What I've done so far is add an 80mm Arctic Cool exhause fan and a 120mm Vantec Stealth in front. Temps are a bit lower (mid-high 40's when running some benchmark progs), but still higher than most I've seen others post here.

I think the case is partly the problem. It has a rectangular opening that would provide nice ventilation, but it's on the bottom of the case, and when its sitting on my carpet, I know it's not getting much flow through what holes and slits are on the front of the case. I plan on raising the case on a small platform 1"-2" so that might help. The heatsink is the Speeze/Masscool one shown here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...=935091&CatId=1187

Should I get a better HS? Mod the case somehow? Should I even worry if I stay at 50 degrees or below?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[najames]

Some ideas.....

I have a 3 yr old system with an AMD 1600+ that started acting goofy recently. I found the temps were runing about 52c.

I took the side case cover off and problems disappeared. The side case fan over the CPU has a foam filter that was full of crap. I removed the filter for now. I also found a fair amount of dirt and debris on the PCU Speeze heatsink, so I used a high pressure air can and blew it out while simultaneously running a fairly strong vacuum about 3" above the CPU. This dropped the temps to about 50c.

Next, I added a spare 80mm exhaust fan in the rear. Now the side fan blows in on the CPU and both the power supply and the fan blow out the back derawing more cool air in the front likely too (no fans). The temps dropped to 44-45c normal and 47c max. I have a fan on a stand about 10' away and when I turn it on the temps will start to drop almost immediately on Motherboard Monitor too. Even though there is an opening under the desk near the wall, there still is not much airflow. This was proved when I turn on the household fan.

Do some experimenting and you'll be surprised what you can find out.

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

I have the PC now up on a 2 inch platform so that the front air intake gets some sort of air flow. System seems to run 43-46 consistently, though a full NAV scan took the temp up to 52-53. As soon as the scan stopped, the temp went back down to 43-44 within a couple of minutes. Should I look at replacing the HS, or is this OK. The fact that most of you guys (many of whom overclock) have temps far lower concerns me, especially since I'm not OC'ing at all.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The link in your post for the Soyo case doesn't work, so I logged onto TigerDirect and this is the only Soyo case I think they have -- a Midtower ATX with 350W PSU.

You are right to get this type of case up off the floor -- I had an INWIN midtower that had the same sort of vent in the lower front. Frankly, this is why I use "used" cases -- I have no reluctance to replace a smaller fan with a bigger one, then locate the fan's orientation and remove the plastic bezel so that I can drill a circular pattern of holes in it with a 1/4" or 3/8" drill bit. This was easy with the Inwin because the front case panel had a lattice of little dimples in the plastic every half-inch.

Midtower cases typically have what I call a hotter "cooling profile". I've had better luck cooling full-tower cases, but you can find room in the bigger cases for larger fans and more fans. Even so, if you can modify a midtower case to deploy 120mm fans front and back instead of the 80mm variety, or even replace the 80mm's with 92mm fans, it really helps.

I will not pass judgment on the Speeze cooler. However, this is just the sort of cooler that is amenable to a "foam board" or "plexi-glass" ducting mod. Look in the previous week's posts for a thread created by another forum member whose handle is "Sentinel", with the title "Foam Board Mod". For a visit to an arts and crafts store (Michael's) and $5 for a 2'X3' panel of foam art-board, with the appropriate glue and a razor knife, you might be able to lower CPU temps in that case by as much as 5C. But you will also want to insure enough ventilation from the front of the case so that it becomes slightly pressurized. The Foam Board mod should benefit greatly by a choice of bigger fans -- also.

Also, check your power-supply. If the voltages are below specification or below a 2% tolerance, that could also be causing the CPU to run a little hotter than normal. At least, that is my current assumption, which I myself am trying to test -- hoping that others will post some data.