P3-700 FC-PGA: how hot can it run with retail fan without causing lockups?

[Pete]

I currently have a Cel266@400 running unsteadily on a BH6. I would like to buy a P3-700, and as I have a credit at Egghead, I'm looking at a P3-700 FC-PGA--decent current performance, and the highest speed officially supported by my mobo. I'll pair that with a MSI 6905 slocket from Onvia. Now comes the essential question: will it be stable with just the retail Intel fan and no other cooling but the 235W Sparkle PSU in my Elan Vital T10? Assume room temperature is ~72 F, and the case is always on, as the whole pointis to reduce computer noise (of course, luck had it that I bought a Quantum Fireball LM Plus ). I want to remove the two old 80mm case fans I currently have in there, and just run it with the PSU fan.

Will this be enough? Right now MBM shows about 89-93 degrees F for the BH6 temp sensor, and though that may seem high for just the MB, the KOFAN Celeron heatsink I replaced the stock Intel Cel HS with is never too hot to touch. Thus I'm guessing the cause of my system instability is the OCed Cel, which is currently using 2.15V.

I'd like to remove instability and noise in one fell stroke of the credit card. For the record, my system holds:

Xpert128 AGP
Monster 3D II
Aureal SQ2500
D-Link DFE-530TX+ PCI NIC
D-Link DE220 ISA NIC

Quantum Fireball LM Plus 30GB 7200rpm (loud :|)
Creative 2X DVD-ROM
Memorex 2x2x6x CRW-1622

I don't think they produce a disproportionate amount of heat, except for maybe the Fireball, in which case I may just point an old 486 fan at the bottom of the drive cage it sits in. So can I get by with just the PSU fan, or will the CPU need stronger cooling measures?

Thanks.

 

[Wolfman35]

IF you don't Overclock it it will most likely work. I have alot of systems running in MATX Cases with only the retail PIII Fan/HS and they run ~40-42C under load in 20-22C ambient room and 28-30C ambient case temp. One problem you may have is the ATI video card. That Pro chip puts out LOTS of heat. Scrape the thermal pad off the stock HS and use Artic silver or Radio Shack Compound.

 

[Pete]

Actually, it's a Rage 128 chip, not a Rage Pro or Rage 128 Pro, if that's what you were referring to. Would it put out enough heat to affect system stability? In any case, I'll try replacing the thermal compound with left-over Radio Shack compound--any recommendations on how to fully remove thermal compound?

 

[Wolfman35]

Acetone (Finger Nail Polish Remover) and a Plastic Scraper (Like a credit card edge)

Yes ... All the ATI Rage chips run very hot and will definitely affect that case ambient. Especically with no circulation fans other than the PS. A non-Overclocked chip should handle it tho with no problems.