Is my system ok? A7N8X, 2500+, SLK3700 -also NB running VERY hot!

[indd]

Just put this thing together yesterday. Complete system:

Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0
512MB Mushkin PC3200 (Basic stuff)
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ w/ stock HSF
Antec SLK3700AMB with stock 350W ps
Vantec Stealth 120mm fan intake front, stock Antec 120mm fan outtake rear
Radeon 9700 Pro
2x Seagate 120GB HD
Pioneer A06
Toshiba DVD-ROM
floppy

After some good amount of testing I can get everything to go stable at 166FSB. Gave it up to 1.75V at 200FSB and it won't go stable. Now, I have it at 11.5X and 180FSB, and prime95 likes it ok. I finally had the sense to put both hard drives in the bottom two spaces and to rearrange my cables to maximize the air flow. NOW afterwards it finally runs at 56 degrees C at this 180FSB 11.5X (2070Mhz) at 1.725Volts with case temp of 32 degrees C under load. I know this is probably high for most of the overclockers here so any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I would really like to run at at least 400FSB at this temperature, or of course lower.

I think possibly my limiting factor may be the northbridge heatsink. Right now at 56C the CPU HSF is somewhat hot to the touch. However, the northbridge heatsink is much, much hotter. Not too hot to the touch, but almost so. Anyone know of a good way to cool this thing down? There doesn't seem to be any easy way to get a fan blowing on the northbridge heatsink, so anyone else had to struggle with this with this MB/case? I would also consider other HSF's for the CPU, but right now I don't think that it is totally my limiting factor. Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[mechBgon]

If you want to solve the heat issue badly enough to spend ~$40-$50 on it, then I suggest getting a nice Thermalright SLK-800A or one of the 900-series. The blow-by from the 80mm or 92mm fan on the CPU heatsink should cool the northbridge quite a bit too, and it'll be a nice upgrade in CPU cooling as well.

If you don't have the memory voltage at 2.6V or more, then that's a good idea too.

Bigger picture: is it worth plunking down $40-$50 more for a little more speed? What tangible benefit will you get, versus spending that $50 on a new game or something Your call.

 

[Hyperfocal]

A couple questions...

Have you compared the temps with the case open?

Are you running the fans at full power? i.e. setting them to full speed in bios.

What thermal compound are you using?

56 seems high, but within reason. I was getting about 52 under load with the stock cooler at 11 X 200.

 

[indd]

Right now at load with the case off, 51C CPU, 29C case. I'll have to check on the fan power and memory voltage. Compound is whatever comes with the HSF.. I will try to get some better stuff on there soon. Is AS3 still pretty much decent for this kind of thing? As for the new HSF $40 sounds like a lot, so I'm not sure it's worth it for a few extra megahertz. I'm sure the extra 2 fps wouldn't make too much difference to me. Might just be happy at where I'm at now instead.

Also, on nforcehq there's a faq on how to lap your northbridge. It sounds like a bit much, but I might have to try it though. Check it out
http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23979

I do have a few quiet NMB 80mm fans, trying to figure out a way to point it down at the northbridge area to maybe help cool things off. Anyways, thanks! Am off to check some things out.

 

[Hyperfocal]

Switching to arctic silver should buy you a degree or two. The stock cooler should work well enough since they ship the same unit with the 3200+ retails.

It does sound like you have a case cooling issue since you lost 5 degrees with the case open. I have a similar system and have much lower case temps. IIRC, the bios sets the fans at a lower setting by default.

 

[indd]

Mech: put the DDR voltage up to 2.6 as you said, thanks!

In BIOS set the fans up to 100% (they were at 67% by default). Oddly enough it didn't cool anything down at all What ambient temps are you getting hyperfocal? Also, is your northbridge almost too hot to the touch?

Trying to think of what else I can do to get the case cooler, maybe cut an intake fan on the side or something. That way I can hvae fresh air blowing on the northbridge. If it matters I'm using rounded cables, and everything is moved out of the way of the intake airflow. Also I will put on new thermal compound. The AMD stuff seemed too thick or something to give a good contact.

Overall I'm wondering what's wrong with my setup because this Antec case is supposed to be really good at cooling.

 

[Hyperfocal]

I've never really worried about my northbridge, but compared to the heatsink on my other Nforce2 board the Asus' is pretty small.

It shouldn't be a problem even at 200 since that is a stock operating speed.

You may just have a board with quirky temperature sensors. My Asus gives a board temp of 21 while the MSI board gives a temp of 33 in the same room.

 

[indd]

Might be. For now I have it running at 11.5x 180FSB. It runs pretty stable so I'll keep it here. Thanks Hyperfocal!

 

[WobbleWobble]

I don't think it's your northbridge hold you back. You're not overclocking your northbridge as they are made to run at at least 200Mhz FSB. I think it's your chip that isn't good enough. You're reading 56C which I think it 56C socket. That means your diode temp could be up in the 60-65C area, which would hinder your overclocking abilities. Voltage bumps greatly increase heat output and I believe all A7N8X's overvolt by 0.05V. So your 1.75V setting is actually running at 1.80V, you can double check in the Hardware Monitor part of the BIOS.

Secondly, hitting the magic 3200+ number was never a for sure thing. Many people on this board have failed at hitting that point, while keeping Pirme95 stable. Many have hit 3200+, but many also have not. That's something you should keep in mind. To better your chances, I would buy a new HSF as your temps seem to be holding you back. I'm pretty sure it's not your motherboard hold you back.