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FX-74s running hot

G

geekified

Junior Member
I just got a new computer with the L1N64 mobo and two of these badboys. Unfortunately they might be too hot to handle. Both are running (idling) at 50-54C in BIOS (dangerously close to AMD's advertised max temp of 56C). I am using stock heatsink/fan and I am not overclocking.

I did not apply thermal paste on the advice of my friend because he said that it had already been done by AMD with the stock heatsink. I'm suspecting this might be the problem?

Seeking any and all likely causes and/or advice.

2x AMD Athlon 64 FX-74
ASUS L1N64-WS motherboard
2x NVIDIA GeForce 8880 GTX 768 MB
4x 2GB DDR2800 memory
Coolermaster 1000W PSU
Windows XP x64 OS
 
So, let me get this straight, you have 8 cores in that rig? Pretty cool... Sorry I cannot offer any help besides the obvious things like:

"Did you put thermal grease on it?"
"Did you put too much thermal grease on it?"
"Is the heatsink lapped properly?"
"Is the CPU itself quite flat, or concave?"
"Sure the fans are spinning on the Heat Sinks?"
"Using Stock Cooling?"
"Good airfow in your case?"
"Voltage's set to high in BIOS?"

That is about all I can think of... Good luck dude.

Edit ** Just noticed the other part, not sure how I missed it!.

Well, stock cooling and stock thermal pad that comes with it on the bottom... Personally, i'd remove the stock thermal pad, clean it up with isopropel alc then apply some artic silver... However, the STOCK cooling SHOULD be sufficient for a STOCK (Non O/C) CPU.
 
I think he has 4 cores..

To OP: Is there any way you can cool off the twin northbridge chips, in a way better than the stock heat pipes? Two NF590 stuck to each other is burning hot and your CPU probably don't get much fresh air.

Edit: Nevermind. You have two 8800 GTX there which will probably make it impossible to change NB cooling. Make sure a good case air flow and turn up the air conditioning. 😀
 
it is 4 cores. the FX-74's just support quad cores(2x dual cores on one mobo)

i think the problem is that your using the stock HS's. get some zalmans or thermalrights and you will be all good.
 
Oh... Thanks for the clarification... I thought the FX-74 was quad core already... I havn't paid AMD much attention since the C2D release.
 
Jesus, if you got that machine for cheaper than comparable intel system then i wont say anything.

Anyway, looks like you got money to burn, so here are solutions to cool your AMD FX-74s and the rest of your system


a) get a case like silverstone TJ09, or coolermaster stacker with ALL 4 side fans as intake
b) get TWO thermalright ultra extreme 120 for both CPUs and create a wind tunnel effect. i.e front intake --> TR UE 120 one --> TR UE 120 two --> Exhaust fan
c) buy copper or anytype of memory heat sinks for the memory.
d) get some ram heat sinks and cool the chips on the motherboard
e) get two thermalright HR-03 for the GTX Sli combo (Yes its doable unless the motherboard chipset cooler gets in the way) OR grab the two thermaltake GPU cooler (forgot its name) and grab a PCI slot exhaust fan from thermaltake as well
f) lapping the IHS/thermalright ultras etc are a good thing to shave couple of those precious degrees
g) apply AS5!!
h) get all the above 😀
i) watercool ftw
j) go and live in antarctica. They got free air conditioning last time i heard.

Um question. Does your rig could probably dim the lights around your house when you turn that beast on? 😀 (jokes)

edit - you are one of the only people who own this kind of setup. Id say do some benchmarking because i havent seen benchmarks of these beasts directly from users. Would be nice 🙂
 
I dont have FX cpus, but we used tons them at work and all of them come with thermal grease on the heatsink. It has a silver look so I am not sure if it has silver content, but I would assume that the cpus you have came with the same type of grease. With all that being said here is what I suggest. Remount the heatsinks even maybe using a different orientation possibly. When you remove the heatsink your cpu should have covering of the grease. If it doesn't you have the heatsinks installed improperly. And check what temps you get inside of windows, because the cpu will run at higher temps while in the bios, but not as high as what you are saying. If, which I doubt is the case, your heatsinks did come with a thermal pad, remove it and use themal compound. Also check to make sure your cpu fans are not being slowed down by any bios setting. And recheck the cpu voltage to make sure it is at default. Good luck
 
After 3 fans, AS5, and reseating my heatsinks I was frustrated to find the temperatures completely unchanged. As the guy above suggested, I tested my temperatures in Windows with a program called SpeedFan (they were actually hotter under full system load by 10C in Windows than in BIOS). I also reseated the heatsink and applied AS5 to no avail.

After this I suspected that the problem was that my CPUs were generating too much heat because they were getting more voltage than they needed. After tinkering with BIOS, I was able to shave only a meager 3 degrees off by lowering the voltage.

However, I am happy to report that now my heating problem is solved and my CPUs are idling around 36-41C in Windows. My friend made an observation after we installed AMD Power Monitor on my computer: The CPU speed was not throttling downward despite Cool and Quiet being enabled in the BIOS. Cool and Quiet was not automatically enabled under my OS (therefore the CPU was consistently running at max).

I was able to google how to turn it on under XP x64. You must install the AMD CPU driver for your OS and then change the power setting. (Article I found here: http://www.easypeasy.com/guide...ticle.php?article=108)

You can quiet down the CPUs a little too by enabling Smart Fan Control under the Hardware Monitor part of the BIOS (L1n64-ws mobo) I lost a few more degrees by taking the side of my case off, your mileage might vary.

Hope this helps anyone that might have issues with their FX-74s running too hot. 🙂
 
Now I know why global warming is such a huge problem!!! AMD and Intel are being paid by Dr Evil to inexorably heat up the planet...unless, of course, the united nations pays him the sum of one MILLION dollars.

Seriously, geekified, doesn't it get a little bit warm in your computer room?
 
Originally posted by: swtethan
Originally posted by: geekified
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
I hope that you live in a cold climate.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that? 😛
Click to expand...

cause they can heat your house!
Click to expand...
hey, let me know how you end up doing with your quad. I've gone back and forth on a quad vs an e6750. I'm currently leaning towards the e6750 b/c I can't know that a Q6600 will be a G0.
 
well since newegg double charged my card for stuff i bought on there, i couldnt get the quad yet (my order was cancelled... damn you NE!!), hopefully there will be some on monday. wish me luck!


yeah im stuck on a laptop til i can get a CPU
 
Thumbs up for having the courage to admit you bought an FX-74.

It's up there with the people that admit they have a Willamette Celeron.😎
 
i'm sorry but nothing is comparable to a Willamette Celeron. That was a POS from beginning to End.

The AMD chips are getting beat now, but at the beginning not so.
 
Originally posted by: geekified


However, I am happy to report that now my heating problem is solved and my CPUs are idling around 36-41C in Windows. My friend made an observation after we installed AMD Power Monitor on my computer: The CPU speed was not throttling downward despite Cool and Quiet being enabled in the BIOS. Cool and Quiet was not automatically enabled under my OS (therefore the CPU was consistently running at max).
Click to expand...

That'll save you trouble at idle, but your CPUs will still be hot at load. The real problem is that FX-74s and other FX CPUs slated for use on the QuadFX platform are essentially overvolted, overclocked Opterons. You need heftier HSFs and better thermal grease. In fact, you should probably just go for water cooling. But then, that's already been said here several times.

You should really take some time out to monitor your temp situation while all four cores are under full load.
 
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