Excessive Idle Temps XP 2100+ / A7V333

[Multicron]

Hey, first off, here's my complete system spec
Fong Kai FK 320 case w / 300 W power supply , one intake fan front, one exhaust fan back (both generic)
Asus A7V333 MB
Athlon 2100+ w/ AMD's retail box included HS
GF4 4400
120 GB 7200 RPM WD HD
1 GB Kingston PC 2700 RAM
Audigy

Anyway, I was getting CPU idle temps that continually increased from 33C at cold boot to 65C+ (before either the MB's overheat protection cut in or I switched the system off for safety), while MB idle temp went from 23C boot to 49C. 9 times out of 10, trying to do any CPU intensive task (for instance, playing WarCraft III) overheats the CPU and I get auto-shutdown.
I opened the case and placed a 12" oscillating fan pointing at the CPU, and I got idle temps stable at CPU: 49C, MB: 27C . This seems to suggest that I've got some kind of airflow problem.

As an added bonus, here's my voltages:
Vcore : ~1.87 (is this high? I 'm using jumperless mode on the MB...)
3.3V : ~3.2
5 : 4.86
12 : 12.36

Any recommendations on what I should do? (short of RMA'ing the processor / HS) My system is already annoyingly loud, so I'd like to try to keep the noise down, but obviously I need to get those CPU temps WAY down.

 

[mechBgon]

First off, the A7V333 is calibrated pretty high. If the Q-Fan feature is enabled, it will crank down your CPU fan to minimum RPM and not even begin to ramp it up until it's getting readings over 60C. So consider 60C a "normal" temperature for the board.

If you are legitimately having C.O.P.-induced shutdowns, maybe you forgot to take the plastic cover off the gummy patch of thermal-interface material, or put the heatsink on 180 degrees backwards? The heatsink's base has a step in one end to clear the solid end of the CPU socket... big trouble if it's on the other way.

But looking at what you've posted, the biggest item I'm seeing is an idle motherboard temperature of 49C. Something's wrong if your case is really in the 40's inside, it should not get that high. I know Fong-Kai recommends having their rear fan blow inwards, but this forces it to fight against the front intake fan, so I'd recommend having front intake, rear exhaust.

Incidentally, AnandTech's review mentioned compatibility problems with the A7V333 and Kingston PC2700, so I'm curious to hear if you notice any signs of that (after ironing out the temperature problems, that is).

 

[TurtleMan]

first off.. the retail fan that come with it... sucks..
i had the same thing as you , temp at 65 degree + with the stock fan
but after i change the fan, temp remain under 45-55 degree,
put in another fan, my temp went down even more..

suggest u try that..
FAN everywhere bro.

 

[Multicron]

I've had the system since April or so... no problems at all with the RAM.

Mech - I'm fairly certain I removed the entire plastic cover, but I'd have to detach the HS to check. The HS is definitely attached in the correct orientation, is flush with the CPU, etc. I've currently got the fans oriented "front intake / rear exhaust" (had to flip the rear fan). So, to lower the case temp w/o the 12" fan, should I replace both case fans , remove the included-with-the-case "funnel" from the CPU to the rear exhaust fan, or both? Any recommendations for fans that are particularly effective in FK cases?

Turtle - Are you recommending that I replace just the HS fan, or the entire HS/F assembly? In either case, any recommendations?

Thanks all

 

[mechBgon]

I set up a 1900+ on an A7V333 at work, and the stock retail AMD cooler is doing a good job. It parks at 60C with Q-Fan running the fan at a low speed. Granted, you've got another 133MHz on your chip.

Can you confirm that your case really does run in the 40's when closed? It would feel warm to the touch after a while. It seems very strange that a case with an 80mm intake and 92mm exhaust fan could get that hot. I currently have a plain-vanilla Enlight 7237 at home here, with one quiet 80mm case fan in back, and my motherboard reads 7C above room temperature.

 

[NesuD]

take the funnel off an see what happens. sounds like that exhaust fan may be creating a vacuum if it is exhausting air directly from the cpu cooler. The cou fan is trying to blow air into the heatsink but tha exhaust fan is pulling all the air away from the cpu fan. In that configuration it sounds like the cpu fan is competing directly with the exhaust fan for the same air. Not hard to figure out which fan will win that one. Yank that funnel out bet you see a nice improvement.

 

[Multicron]

Yeah, I took the funnel out, bundled up the IDE and power cables, moved them out of the way, and discovered there was ZERO (literally) airflow in the center of my case. I think fan upgrades are definitely in order. I've gotten recommendations for a 120 x 120 intake and 90 x 90 exhaust (both Panaflo), but I can't seem to find the 120 anywhere.

 

[Multicron]

Well, the AMD tech support rep said he was surprised my CPU wasn't fried with a Vcore of 1.87. (He quoted 1.84 as the absolute max, and 1.75 as recommended.)
So, I go check my A7V333 manual to see what the voltage jumper should be set at... and... couldn't find the manual.
Can anyone point me to a *useful* A7V333 jumper reference? (Since, once I exit jumnperless mode, I'll probably have to set ALL my jumpers...)
Asus's site wasn't helpful at all.

(maybe this should be a mobo forum question...)

 

[mechBgon]

If you're in jumperless mode, can't you alter the CPU voltage in the BIOS?

 

[hoodwink]

Dude i had similar high temp problems such as yours and i've systematically lowered my temps from 51/64 (idle/load) degrees to 41/52 degrees. What made a big diff for me was replacing the the crappy stock 300w power supply with an Enermax 350W supply. The reasoning? The Enermax has two fans... an intake and an exhaust fan... the intake one (facing inside of case) is pretty large... and it's actually quieter than my stock one. Then I added Panoflo L1A intake/exhaust fans and now have it pretty much under control...