Longterm effects of High CPU temps...?

walla

Senior member
Jun 2, 2001
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I am running an Athlon XP2200+ with a Gigabyte G-VRXP motherboard. Currently my idle temps are about 53C idle, 60C load.

I have gone through two motherboards, about 5 or 6 reapplications of my heat sink, and about 3 or 4 different fan configs. I just can't get significantly better than this.

Evidently these temps are about on par with what most people get with this combination. Which is somewhat of a relief for me. But I still think it high.

The system runs great, and i would be willing to just ignore the temps as long as that is the case. I'm wondering, though, is the processor going to kick the bucket early because of these temps? Would any other part be in danger?

If I could run the system for 3-4 years the way it runs right now, I'd be willing never to look at my temps again :) But I want to be safe, since this is an investment at my budget.
 

Soulkeeper

Diamond Member
Nov 23, 2001
6,735
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as long as your not having any instability probs i doubt it would affect yur cpu's life by a noticeable amount if at all maybe like 10 years down to 6 or 8 long as yur running within AMD"s specs and it is stable with atleast as good a cooling system as the retail AMD HSF
you try lowering the vcore ??
drop as low as you can while still keeping the system stable
try reversing the fan's spin
how many case fans you got ?
cramped case ??
are you using AS2 ??
wow why you go through so many boards ?
get a good copper/aluminum HSF like the alpha one that everyone likes. I was thinking about getting one myself
what Heatsink you got now ??
how many rpm's is the fan on it ?
 

JamesM3M5

Senior member
Jul 2, 2002
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I put a Thermalright AX-7 on my XP 1800+ with a low-flow, quiet fan. This thing pulls heat off the Palomino like crazy with Antec Silver paste, similar to Arctic Silver 3. At 2700RPMs, the fan flows around 30CFM and is literally whisper quiet. With SETI running 24/7 or Hot CPU tester running for an hour, the CPU temp (read from the socket) never reaches 48C.

Your 2200+ with the Thoroughbred core doesn't transfer heat to the heat sink as well, due to its smaller die size. It naturally runs hotter even though it runs 1.5V vs 1.75V for the earlier Palomino cores.

If you're well under 90C, then your processor should last its expected life cycle (probably close to 20 years). If you want it cooler, you have to get aggressive with a loud air-cooled setup or a water/peltier cooler. I'd rather spend $500 on more computer or car upgrades.

The Thermalright AX-7 was $25 from SVCompucycle.com. I got the 80mm thermally-controlled blue LED fan for $5. With 2 Panaflo 21dB case fans, the system temp is only 13C above ambient and the processor temp is always under 47C even under load.

EDIT: I meant ot include this article on the TR AX-7

Good Luck!
JamesM
 

dannybin1742

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2002
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mcx 462 all the way is you have the money, what is this ax-7 talk, it takes a loud high cfm fan to get it to even come close to the mcx 462 hsf, my diode temps only show 47load on my epox 8k3a
 

J3anyus

Platinum Member
Mar 30, 2001
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dannybin1742: How much did you spend on your MCX462? And how much does an AX-7 cost? And the difference is about 2-4 degrees C, right? Yeah, that's what I thought ;)
 

teddymines

Senior member
Jul 6, 2001
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My CPU temps were around 30-40 for a few months when I built my rig, then slowly crept up around 50-60! Turned out that the ASII had dried up a bit and gaps had formed, creating hot spots on the core. I'd recommend 3 things that got my temps back down:

1. Remove and reapply ASII as directed (I reapplied a slightly thicker layer)
2. Add another exhaust fan
3. Duct a front fan's output to the HSF by means of a funnel and flexible tubing

I did the latter by forming a cardboard box into a funnel, duct-taping black flex tubing to it, and positioning it directly over the HSF. This lowered temps by about 4 degrees.

The only long-term risk I can see is if the paste dried up to the point that it no longer conducted heat, in which case you'd see very high temps and probably failure.
 

IRJack

Member
Jun 6, 2002
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Rule of thumb for cpu's/ic's regarding lifespan and temp:

For every 10C increase in die temp, lifespan will decrease by 50%.

Ie. a cpu running at 40C will last twice as long as the same cpu running at 50C, and 4 times longer than the same cpu running at 60C.

The trick is, how much life is in these puppies to begin with??? It will vary from cpu to cpu, so it's a guessing game.
 

roamerr

Senior member
Oct 4, 2000
656
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The funniest thing is "what is the long-term?" I do not overclock but I still do not keep a computer over 1.5 yrs. Heck -- If my Pent 4 1.7ghz cpu fails I'll just plug in a faster one and be out very little $ -- especially considering Intel announcing the 3ghz coming out soon....

Long Term = 2 yrs or less for me

If it's stable do I even need cooling????
 

RU482

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
12,689
3
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Originally posted by: IRJack
Rule of thumb for cpu's/ic's regarding lifespan and temp:

For every 10C increase in die temp, lifespan will decrease by 50%.

Ie. a cpu running at 40C will last twice as long as the same cpu running at 50C, and 4 times longer than the same cpu running at 60C.

The trick is, how much life is in these puppies to begin with??? It will vary from cpu to cpu, so it's a guessing game.

Curious where you are getting this information?

 

IRJack

Member
Jun 6, 2002
101
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No place in particular. It's just a rule of thumb used in the electronics industry. Doubt you'll find it published anywhere - the possible exception would be heatsink manufacturers :)!
 

walla

Senior member
Jun 2, 2001
987
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I lied and I feel like an idiot. I have a XP2100+, which I knew, and realize there's a difference.

I am currently using AX-7 with arctic silver three. As many times as I've tried (and I've tried many times), I could not get a significant decrease in temperature. I've tried very little (though never a 'translucent haze'), to probably too much. I'm using Panaflow's L1A's, sealing up all the holes to get better air current...but never with much success.

I think one of two things is the case. You must be some sort of super-adroit model-car painting expert hobbyist to apply the right amount of thermal compound (because I've tried my hardest to mix thin with even), or my heatsink has gotten too scuffed (or the clips too loose) since I've tried so many times to apply the thing! And I've heard of lapping, but I'm skeptical about rubbing my heatsink with grit paper or whatever.

I'm to the point where I figure it the system starts overheating (have thermal protection shutoff at 80C to be safe), I will start tweaking again. Otherwise, I find it much more entertaining to use it without worrying. You know, while its not yet so obsolete :)