CPU temperatures? Heatsink?

[Jibby]

Hi there. Firstly, I must admit that I'm asking a very stupid question here, but it's something that sorta bugged me every now and then, but never gotten around to asking about it. So, here I am! 🙂

Well, alright, I'm running an Athlon XP 1700+ on a Gigabyte GA-7VRXP mobbo, at stock speeds and cooling, etc. Now, I don't know a single thing when it comes to building a computer, but I do know what I want to buy when upgrading, so I usually just pick the components myself and get a store (might get a friend to do it next time, might learn something from him 😉 ) to assemble it for me.

Now, I opened up the System Information Viewer that comes with the mobbo, and noticed that my CPU temperature is 56 degrees C and the system temperature is 46 degrees C. Is this normal? There was one time when the store mucked up with the heatsink and my computer was crashing every 2 hours as a result. That got fixed, so that's alright, but that was my old computer. I'm wondering if these temperatures are too high for what I'm using now. It is running PERFECTLY FINE, doesn't crash much at all, bu I've seen people in these forums saying their CPU temperatures are 42 degress C or something like that. If the temperatures I'm getting are fairly normal (ie the store did not stuff up with putting together my computer), then is it worth it to get a new heatsink to overclock it a little bit, and if I am to get a new heatsink, what heatsink or other cooling devices would you recommend me getting?

Many thanks in advance. 🙂

Here are the other main parts of my computer... dunno if it'll help with what I asked above, but just in case: 512 MB PC2100 DDR RAM, Leadtek Geforce4 Ti4400 (stock speeds) Vivo.

Hmmm... gonna ask something about that Geforce4 in the video forum... hop in there and help me out on that too if you have the time. 🙂

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

what kind of ram?
that will be biggest limiting factor on your overclock since it is only rated at 133mhz -same as cpu frequency.

when you raise cpu frequency the ram frequency also goes up, and depending on the ram manufacturer, if its good quality then it will probably go higher than 133, if its generic then probably wont go much higher if at all

that cpu temperature seems fine for the retail heatsink+fan combo
system temp is little on the high side, but if its stable then i wouldnt worry
(btw is that temperature after a lot of cpu intensive activity, like a game or just when its been doing nothing for a while?)

if you want to overclock, i would definately go get a better heatsink
it all depends on how much you want to spend

swiftech mcx462
alpha pal8045
ax7
they are all good heatsink units and paired up with a fan of your choiec (80mm) will cool pretty well

do you have any case fans?
if not maybe you should look into those, they will help circulate the air and bring cool air in and expel the warm/hot air out

 

[Jibby]

Thanks for the reply, ChampionatTufShop! Yup, the ram's 266 MHz (ie 133MHz each way, right?). Me thinks it's generic. I do know that I can't overclock it by much without my computer freezing on me when running 3dmark/ut2k3 benchmarks. Doesn't seem like I'll have much hope of overclocking the CPU unless I get better cooling.

About the case fan... yeah, I think I do have one. And the system temp is 46 degrees C even when I just switched the computer on for the first time in 18 hours. However, that temperature doesn't change much though (probably 1-2 degrees C) even if I game on it for a couple of hours.

About getting new heatsink/fan, what would you suggest that I get, without forking out so much that I may as well get a new processor altogether (the Athlon XP 2100+ is AUS $199 at the moment, and dropping).