Is my X2 3800+ running too hot?

[rxrfrx]

Last night I just put together my first machine completely from scratch. I'm afraid I may have improperly installed the heatsink.

I put all the components (see description below) and plugged in the monitor (no keyboard or anything) and powered up just to make sure I could post and that cooling was working OK. The boot screen told me that all my drives were OK and my RAM was OK, and said that according to the mobo, my CPU was running around 35 °C. This seemed a little hot. I let the computer just sit there at that boot screen for 15 minutes, and CPU temperature went up to 41 °C and then stabilized. This seems WAY too high for an idling 3800, especially with upgraded cooling. Case temperature was essentially the same as room temperature.

Is this somehow normal? Is the CPU at that boot screen not really completely idle? Did I screw the heatsink installation? Help!! If I don't get any feedback I'll try installing XP and seeing what idle temps are when Windows has booted, and what temps are according to the CPU iteslf.

MY SETUP:

Antec P180
Seasonic S12-380
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester (BV)
Thermaltake XP-90 / Arctic Silver 5 / Nexus 92mm
EPoX EP-9NPA Ultra (Rev 1.1)
2x1GB OCZ Plat PC3200
Maxtor MaxLine III 300 GB SATA
NEC 3450A DVD-RW
Sapphire X800 GTO2
M-Audio Revolution 5.1



Thanks!

 

[biostud]

hot??? too hot is getting +60 C. Idle temperature is not that important compared to load, specially not when in your area of temperatures.

 

[crispy2010]

What are you room temps, my 3800 x2 idles at 29-30c at 29c ambient temp!

Thats on stock cooling!

 

[rxrfrx]

Originally posted by: crispy2010
What are you room temps, my 3800 x2 idles at 29-30c at 29c ambient temp!

Thats on stock cooling!

That's why I'm worried. Room temp is under 72 °F so it's barely over 20 °C. I was hoping to see 25 °C CPU temp at idle at the absolute maximum.

And by idle, you mean you're in your OS and 0% CPU utilization?

 

[rxrfrx]

Whoops, that should say 30 degrees absolute maximum idle temp.

 

[crispy2010]

Yea idle is sitting in windows not doing anything, sitting in bios is the same. are you sure the hsf is properly seated? You can try priming it and see what them temps go to, that might help the hsf seat better on cpu. I have to throw in that I have never been a fan of thermaltake, test out your stock hsf if all else fails!

 

[rxrfrx]

OK... If I just unclip the thermaltake and slap on the stock cooler, is that OK? Or do I need to clean off the grease and start over?

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: rxrfrx
I was hoping to see 25 °C CPU temp at idle at the absolute maximum.

Sorry, but that's an unreasonable expectation.
If your load temps are higher than 60C, you can start to get worried.
Till then, there's nothing wrong.

 

[Bull Dog]

Umm lets me see. I had a 4400+ and in a cool basement, I only saw 30°C at idle. Upstairs where its warmer the computer up there idles around 40°C. I don't think there's anything wrong with your setup.

 

[davidos]

my 3800+ overclocked to 2400Mhz with a Zalman alcu7700a cooler idles at 35C... when i first installed it it idled at 39-40C so I would give it a few days for the thermalpaste to bond with the cpu, etc. your temps should go down 3-5 degrees C...

 

[rxrfrx]

Originally posted by: davidos
my 3800+ overclocked to 2400Mhz with a Zalman alcu7700a cooler idles at 35C... when i first installed it it idled at 39-40C so I would give it a few days for the thermalpaste to bond with the cpu, etc. your temps should go down 3-5 degrees C...

Sweet, thanks!

 

[RocketsFan]

rxrfrx,

I'm not sure what the power cable lengths are on the Seasonic S12-380, but I'm trying to build a system using a S12-500 and was wondering if you had any problems routing the power cables from the power supply up to the connector on the board. Did you have to stretch the cable tight or did it connect pretty easily?

 

[rxrfrx]

Originally posted by: RocketsFan
rxrfrx,

I'm not sure what the power cable lengths are on the Seasonic S12-380, but I'm trying to build a system using a S12-500 and was wondering if you had any problems routing the power cables from the power supply up to the connector on the board. Did you have to stretch the cable tight or did it connect pretty easily?

It depends what mobo you're using. I didn't have much of a problem... it wasn't a super-neat situation with lots of slack to play with (and tuck away) but I didn't have to stretch. The EP-9NPA+ has power connectors in the mid-left of the board... if you use a board with a connector in the far upper left you could run into problems without an extension.

 

[Shimmishim]

when you're in the bios, the computer isn't 100% idle and actually puts a little stress on your computer.

the idle temp in bios is going to be slightly higher than the idle temp in windows.

this is something i've noticed with my setup as well.

 

[evilharp]

Originally posted by: rxrfrx
Last night I just put together my first machine completely from scratch. I'm afraid I may have improperly installed the heatsink.

I put all the components (see description below) and plugged in the monitor (no keyboard or anything) and powered up just to make sure I could post and that cooling was working OK. The boot screen told me that all my drives were OK and my RAM was OK, and said that according to the mobo, my CPU was running around 35 °C. This seemed a little hot. I let the computer just sit there at that boot screen for 15 minutes, and CPU temperature went up to 41 °C and then stabilized. This seems WAY too high for an idling 3800, especially with upgraded cooling. Case temperature was essentially the same as room temperature.

Is this somehow normal? Is the CPU at that boot screen not really completely idle? Did I screw the heatsink installation? Help!! If I don't get any feedback I'll try installing XP and seeing what idle temps are when Windows has booted, and what temps are according to the CPU iteslf.

MY SETUP:

Antec P180
Seasonic S12-380
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester (BV)
Thermaltake XP-90 / Arctic Silver 5 / Nexus 92mm
EPoX EP-9NPA Ultra (Rev 1.1)
2x1GB OCZ Plat PC3200
Maxtor MaxLine III 300 GB SATA
NEC 3450A DVD-RW
Sapphire X800 GTO2
M-Audio Revolution 5.1



Thanks!

Looks normal to me. I've had two A64's now (0.13nm 3500+ and an X2 4200+) and the idle temps were always 37 degrees C or more in the BIOS (Gigabyte board). Once windows loaded, idle temps dropped into the low 30's (or the high 20's) depending on ambient/case temperatures.

Why? Cool and Quiet doesn't "kick in" until the driver is loaded. Your CPU is running at full speed during post, and it won't drop to a lower multiplier until the CNQ driver is enabled. Incidentally, CnQ will not work unless:

1) it is enabled in the system BIOS (some mobos don't give you this option, they default to enable).
2) the AMD A64 driver (X2 or Single Core) driver is loaded
3) the correct power scheme is selected. "Home/Office Desk" will disable CnQ.

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: Shimmishim
when you're in the bios, the computer isn't 100% idle and actually puts a little stress on your computer.

the idle temp in bios is going to be slightly higher than the idle temp in windows.

this is something i've noticed with my setup as well.

same here...better chill down man. IT"S NOT THE END OF THE W0RLD FOR GOODN3SS S@K3S !

 

[RocketsFan]

Originally posted by: rxrfrx

It depends what mobo you're using. I didn't have much of a problem... it wasn't a super-neat situation with lots of slack to play with (and tuck away) but I didn't have to stretch. The EP-9NPA+ has power connectors in the mid-left of the board... if you use a board with a connector in the far upper left you could run into problems without an extension.

Oh, I understand. I was asking because I was going to get the same case, mobo, and cpu as you. The power supply I'm getting will be a Seasonic, but will probably be a 430W or 500W. You were the first person on here I'd seen that I noticed was getting all those. Thanks for the answer. And to answer your question, unless you're absolutely freaky about cooling, 41 C is nothing to worry about.