Operating temperature Intel PIII/P4 vs Athlon XP??

[Dash8Driver]

Does the Athlon XP 18/1900 CPU run hotter than similar Intel PIII/ P4 CPU's. Do you recomend additional cooling for the Athlon and if so, what? Thanks!

 

[Buz2b]

Yes, the Athlon will run considerably hotter than the Pentiums. Yes you do need extra cooling. Without further information though it would be hard to recommend what you might need. As a general rule you need to "balance" the airflow in and out of the case. A couple of good fans to bring in fresh air and at least one plus the power supply to vent the hot air from the case. One method is to use a front fan and a side blowhole fan that blows onto the processor/video card area. Then a good fan up high on the back of the unit to help the PS exhaust the air. And don't forget that you should have a decent HSF for the cpu also. It is also a good idea to make sure the intake of the front case fan is as clear as possible. You can cut, drill or grind any excess material that blocks the airflow but must balance that with the looks of the system also. These are just my basic opinions on the subject.

BTW, you should post this in the "Cases and Cooling" forum, not the MB forum. Just a word of advice.

 

[Iron Woode]

I would try to use a case that has good ventilation to start with. I use a case with air vents on the sides. I then got a good exhaust fan for the back of the case. This helped lower the temps to 28C from 31C. I run a 1.333gghz Tbird with a massive cidicom HSF. Seeing that temps were still higher than I liked, I got a slot fan and placed it 1 inch from my video card(GF2GTS). This reduced my temps to 26C. Cpu temps were 44C. Then I added CPUidle and now my temps are 25C case and 37C cpu.

My room is rather warm so temps are very good for where my computer is.

 

[Hendrik]

Don't exaggerate. Athlon XPs run perfectly well in the high 50s (Celsius) to low 60s (full load). There is no need to get your CPU temperature down into the 40s or even 30s at full load. You make take pleasure in doing so, but it is unnecessary.

If you have a good heatsink/fan combination (e.g. Alpha PAL 8045 and Panaflo 80mm fan), you CPU temperature at full load will be about 20-25 degree C above case tempearture. So you'll want to shoot for a case temperature of 30-35 degree. If your room temperature is between 20 and 28 degree C, all you need is one 80 mm exhaust fan in addition to the PSU fan. Pick a quiet one, e.g. a Panaflo, otherwise you won't hear yourself think.

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

yep, get the alpha pal8045. I have it on my 1700+
I tested it in two different case, one with pretty good cooling, and the one its in now with horrid cooling.

In the good cooling case with a 48.5 cfm fan sucking air from it I got around 38 idle, 44 full load. in the bad cooled case I get around 45 idle, 54 full load.

I'd hate to imagine the temps in that case if I DIDN'T have the best hsf out there for the AMD setup. It'd probably be up around 65C

 

[Buz2b]

<< Don't exaggerate >>

No one is trying to exaggerate. AMD chips run very hot! Instability can sometimes start before 55 degrees C, although it is fairly rare. Also, would you argue against the notion that keeping the temps down also extends the life of the component? I think not. Hey, if you want to run high 50's and low 60's, knock yourself out. Doesn't bother me. But, it is not the wisest choice to make. The risk of insability and shorter component life are just not worth it to most folks. But don't accuse us of exaggeration; it is not!

 

[Hendrik]

Instability can sometimes start before 55 degrees C, although it is fairly rare.

I must say I very much doubt that. The Athlon is designed to work reliably at significantly higher temperatures than that. And in all of my experience, I've never had any heat related instability (only VIA related instability), even though I've reached fairly high temperatures, as I HATE noise.

Also, would you argue against the notion that keeping the temps down also extends the life of the component? I think not.

I wouldn't want to argue against that notion. But for how long are you planning to keep your CPU going? Probably a year or two at best, and given such a short anticipated life-span, I don't think it matters. You'll upgrade before it breaks.

 

[Buz2b]

<< I must say I very much doubt that >>

Open your eyes and look around the forums a bit more and you will see it. Yes, some are related to other components but there are cases where simply getting the temps back down has directly improved stabiltiy.


<< The Athlon is designed to work reliably at significantly higher temperatures than that >>

Sure, and it will melt down at 90C +/-. Just because it is designed to work reliably doesn't mean it always does. Not paying attention to temps and/or running at unnecessarily higher temps is akin to not changing your oil in your car or getting a decent tune up from time to time. Yes, they will most likely function OK for the time being. But that neglect will most certainly mean failure at some point sooner than anticipated. The fact that it will work OK for the time we have it, doesn't stop most of us from doing those things though. As far as the length of time I keep my system, that is subjective to each individual. Personally, I "recycle" mine to either my wife, family members or friends in need of a better system than they already have. That means it stays "within my circle" for quite some time. I don't think that is unusual or uncommon either. I certainly don't want to have it failing on someone else I know simply because I neglected to do some basic preventative maintainance and setup. And it is basic.
Rant over! I guess we can just agree to disagree. I will not take chances with my investments.

 

[Hendrik]

I guess we're both right about our main points: your main point is that if you keep your Athlon in the 40s or even 30s (at full load), you'll very probably be able to use it for years and years; my point is that Athlons work perfectly well in the 50s and 60s, though probably not for as long a time as when you cool them better.

Now it's just a question of preference: you either choose a noisier setup with higher probability of very long CPU life span, or a quieter one with lower probability of long CPU life. I choose the latter, given that I greatly value quiet, and given the relatively low price of Athlons.

I think it's useful to lay out the options in this way, also for others to think about. My main concern was to challenge the wide spread assumption that if your Athlon doesn't remain in the 30s or 40s C at full load, your setup is a failure. It depends on what you want to achieve.