Hmm high temps with P4 1.6A and EPoX 4G4A+?

[Antoneo]

Ok this is a bit wierd I think. I am running a P4 1.6A (not overclocked) with an EPoX 4G4A+ in a Chieftec case that looks like the Antec 1060. I am using an Antec TruePower 330 as well. I believe I have two fans going out in the back and no fans in the front. I got rid of the wax/black stuff with 91% isopropyl alcohol and applied Antec's reference silver. Oh and its the stock HS+fan combo.

I am getting 42C idle and 56C load during Prime95 not overclocked. My case temps are around 36C. Well I am reading on the threads over here, with the majority of the people having temps much lower than me and PLUS they are overclocking.

I bought this setup in the hopes of OCing (haven't tried yet because of these temps). I know that the temps are within the threshhold but they seem so high... could it be that the Antec stuff needs time to "settle" down? Should I run Prime95 all day and see if the temps go down or is that just a waste of time? Maybe the EPoX board is reporting higher temps than they really are? Maybe bad chip?

~MistaEng

 

[Duvie]

A couple of things....

1) Not all mobos are ready the same...Asus mobos tend to report much lower temps then other mobos...Epox like my board report about 4-6c higher temps and in some cases MSI and ABIT boards are 6-8c higher then comparable asus mobos...Whose right? Who knows....Just t to let you know this may not be an apple to apple comparison. It is up to the mobo manufacturer in calibrating that temperature.

2) There was talk about a chip with possible a defective packaging meaning the heatspreader is not making good contact, but the enormous amount of data I have sen this is plain and simple a manfacturers thing....


3) oc it up to 2.4ghz and if temps are well within the 60's maybe look at getting an aftermarket hsf...the retail unit hsf is like only 2700rpm and like 27 or less cfm....There are qiute a few hsf combos for around 20 bucks or less that will give you copper core (much better) higher rpm (adds some noise, but not much), and more cfm....

I notice from 1.8@2.4 w/ 1.53v I am loading at 49c and at 1.8@2.61 w/ 1.71v I was getting 54c load....

Never ran it at 1.8@1.8....

The higher the speed and vcore is where the retail unit will show its ineffectiveness...the low rpm and cfm just can't get the heat off of the heatsink effetively....



4) my case temps are running only about 2-3c higher then my old asus mobo in same case with same cooling...



5) try the oc out first...you wont damage the chip with heat...it will throttle before it will allow that....

 

[Antoneo]

Thanks for replying 🙂.

but the enormous amount of data I have sen this is plain and simple a manfacturers thing....

What do you mean by this? That the "possible defective heatspreader" is not true. Just wondering. There is a chance that my chip might just be hotter than other chips and I got a bad one correct? Intel might have just let this one out since it stood within the threshhold temps when they tested? Probable?

Also the air temperature in my room is about 75-80 degrees fahrenheit (28C??).. not sure if that plays a factor. Also no rounded ide/floppy cables.

Well, I know that having a better hs+fan combo will give me better temps, its just that I am disappointed that I'm not getting as low temps as others who are running the same setup. Sigh...

Oh and here is the pack date: 05/13/02, SL668, malay chip i think


Is there any other program that monitor's temps besides MBM? I found it a bit confusing and don't like it too much 😀.

I guess I could try overclocking but probably not until I find a way to lower my temps (I'm sort of a "needless worrier" type of person)

Thanks guys!

 

[Duvie]

The heatspreader is something I heard someone throw out there...It may have some real effect...I don't know....

However make sure you are comparing with ppl using an epox 4g4a mobo...That is what I am saying...

The 28c for room temp adds a little obviously...If 26c is the usual that can bring the cpu temps down but not likely more then the 2c max the room temp came down...


I don't have rounded cables!!!


I think as rule of the thumb the retail hsf are only really good for 2.4ghz or less....If you go higher just get a different hsf.....

I would use MBM5.1.9.1....Sandra 2002 SP1 seems to read within 1c of MBM....Also did the epox 4g4a come with a monitoring software????

Run it and have some fun....Temps will not hurt you...If they are too high the board will throttle and become lethargic like a 200mhz cpu....Long-term??? If temps in load are higher then say 60-62c look at different hsf...IMO

 

[nightowl]

Just for reference, I have a P4 1.6A running at 2.13GHz on a 4G4A and under load running Prime95 my temps max out around 50C. I am unsing the stock HSF from Intel with ASII. My room temps are about the same as yours, MistaEng. I am not sure what to tell you about your high temps other than recheck everything, which I am sure you already have done. Right? 😉

 

[Duvie]

Do you have lastest bios??? I think there may have been a temperature correction....

Also how did you apply the AS3??? Very thin is the way it needs to be done...I use an old CC and put just a little dab and spread it veryt thin....

My first 1.8 I put in a MSI ultra ARU...I use retail hsf and retail thermal pad...At default I got 48c idle and 61c load....I switched to an Asus p4s333 with same thing except I had to remove old thermal pad and apply AS2....I got 36c idle and 48c load....And AS2 wont help that much!!!!


Edit: I really just saw your case temps....That is a bit high even for a 28c room....Do you have side open??? Does the fan suck the air off of the hsf or blow?? I can't remember....

I generally run sys temps about 2-3c higher then room temps....I have average case cooling at the best, with not an expensive case....


My fan sucks air...If I blow air it will improve cpu temps by about 2c but the hot air is no blow and scoured onto the board and raises my sys temps about 4-5c then they are now while I am cranking prime95....

 

[Antoneo]

Also did the epox 4g4a come with a monitoring software????

Oddly (well unlike ASUS), it doesn't though I wish it did.

I am not sure what to tell you about your high temps other than recheck everything, which I am sure you already have done. Right?

nightowl, I don't know what else there is to do 🙂.

Do you have lastest bios??? I think there may have been a temperature correction....

Well, there is a new bios up on the site but on the "EPoX 4G4A+ seems promising" thread in the motherboard part of Anandtech Forums, many people seem to be doing better with the 4/24/02 bios which is the one I currently have. I have also experienced no "real" problems yet (others have reported certain things not working like the raid controller or something like that) so I am currently following the old adage, If it ain't broke don't fix it.

If I remember correctly, I applied a thin layer of the Antec silver stuff (looks the same as AS3 and it also says 70% silver content by weight, maybe just AS3 relabeled? :confused😉 on the surface using a CC as well. It wasn't a bare translucent haze type of layer... just enough so that it was spotty patches so to speak. That shouldn't really matter as long as its not a thick layer right?

My case is closed and the fans are connected to the Antec power supplies' "fan only" with the air direction out of the case... arg... I guess I'll have to tinker with the comp tomorrow.

 

[jna]

Originally posted by: MistaEng
Thanks for replying 🙂.

...

Is there any other program that monitor's temps besides MBM? I found it a bit confusing and don't like it too much 😀.

Thanks guys!

MBM is great! 🙂 It's extremely configurable, which makes it confusing, but if you use it enough, you'll see that it is in a different league completely than other freeware solutions. Play with each option to see what it does, and don't forget to wait a few seconds to let it update. Personally, I find the Digital displays much easier to read than the VUM displays. The CPU warmer (for Peltier cooling, when CPU is idle, condensation forms) is the most useful feature ever.