Max Time an Amd XP 1800 Can Run?

[SnakeCharmer]

I have been building computers for years, but they have all been Intel/Pentium types. I have finally decided to go it with an AMD XP 1800. I will be using an ECS K7S5A board. I will have a front case fan, a system cooler fan, and probably a couple of more fans in it. Now to the question. My Pentium II is on all of the time because I have my fax line hooked into it and use a windows fax program for faxing. Can I run the AMD XP 1800 the same way, or does it need to be turned off to cool off? I will also have the heat sink/fan combo on the cpu and anything else I can think of. A/C for the room is out of the question since it will be in my herp/computer room/ office.
Thanks for the input.
SnakeCharmer

 

[pillage2001]

As long as the CPU gets a decent cooling kit, it can be on as long as you live.

 

[minendo]

My XP1800+ has been running for 13 days 7 hours at the moment.

 

[Rand]

Provides you have adequate cooling, and even the retail cooling solution is more then suitable to run the processor for months and months at a time with ease.

It it was unable to consistently run for a prolonged period of time then we wouldnt be seeing AthlonMP based serversHell, this forum is running off AMD chips at the moment.

Provides you've setup the system properly and it is running within specifications and your using a quality motheboard etc then there is nothing stopping you from running that AthlonXP 24/7/365 for a couple years.

 

[vicwang]

There's no reason the Athlon XP can't run indefinitely, and there's definitely no need to "cool down". In fact the wattage output of the Athlon XP 1800+ is a good deal less than the P4 1800, while its heat tolerance is also much higher than the P4. See the chart here:

(Notice the Power (max) ratings of the two... and the Tdie ratings, which is the maximum allowable temperature)

The Link

And here's another site that has thermal characteristics of various CPU's. Not a very user friendly site, but according to their database the Athlon XP 1800+ has a typical power consumption of about 59 watts, vs 66 watts for the P4.

Sandpile

With that said, ECS does not exactly have a reputation for making high quality motherboards, and the K7S5A in particular is not known for being rock solid. My personal experience has also suggested this to be the case. If you really want 100% uptime, I'd recommend going with a better Socket-A motherboard, but that doesn't have anything to do with the CPU itself. (for more info on the K7S5A, I suggest checking out the ECS forum at ocworkbench.com).

By the way, you mentioned that A/C for the room is "out of the question". What region of the US do you live in? If it ever gets hot around there, I would think that an un-air-conditioned room with ANY PC in it is a losing proposition, regardless of what CPU you're using. Put any computer in small room with no A/C on a 100 degree summer day, and I don't think there's any way you can expect 100% uptime no matter how well cooled it is.

 

[swifty3]

yeah, i totally agree with vicwang, the ambient air temp of the room your comp is in is a significant definer of what temps u run at. i find that even a 10-15 degree diff. in room air temp makes a 3-7 degree diff. in cpu temps.

 

[Evadman]

I have a few K7S5a's and have nad no problems. If you have one, post it here, we have had lots of experence with this board, since 90% of the people in the world bought it