P4 1.8A idles at 59°C?!?!

[NStriker]

I just bought a new motherboard and a 1.8A P4 in hopes of getting in on some of that Northwood overclocking action.

But the thing idles at 59°C and goes into the 60s under full load. That just doesn't seem right. It's only stock cooling, but... My case temp reads as 43°C. That seems darn hot, too.
I got it to go to 533 FSB with the voltage way up at 1.7, but the temp was hitting on 70° by that point.

I've got a case fan and an I-Storm hard drive cooler. Is that not enough? There's really no good place to put a fan in the back for exhaust, other than an unused PCI slot. Besides, I'd really rather not fill it up with fans and have my machine sound like a jet engine.

Or is this 1.8A just naturally running really warm?

 

[WarpSpeed]

Sounds terribly hot. Is the heatsink squarely mounted on the CPU? Are you using thermal grease? Is the heatsink fan running properly? Did you take the temp from the BIOS screen or from a different program? Check temp in BIOS.

 

[Rkonster]

I'm thinking those aren't your true temps. How are you reading them?

 

[FatClemenza]

I'm not sure about the IT7, but a couple of other Abit P4 boards that I've used have read about 5-6 degrees hotter than identical setups using an Asus P4T-E or P4B266-C. I don't know if the Abit boards read high or the Asus boards read low, however, I doubt that this explains away the problem. The lack of an exhaust fan located near the cpu and northbridge is most likely the biggest problem, as your right-- a 43*C case temp is damn hot!

 

[NStriker]

Yeah, the heatsink seems to be solidly on there and I'm using AS2 on it. As thin a layer I could get while still fully covering the heat spreader on the CPU. Though that stuff has some sort of set-up time before it's fully effective, doesn't it?

I've checked temps in the BIOS, MBM5, and Winbond Hardware Doctor, and they all seems to match up. Currently, the fan is spinning at just over 3000RPM. Seems fine. The heatsink was definately hot to the touch last night, so I'm thinking those temps are fairly accurate.

I've had the machine off all day, and now things seem much cooler, though still high. Case temp is 29° and CPU is idling around 43°. But I've only had it on for a few minutes, though, and it hasn't been under load.

 

[NStriker]

(A few minutes later...)

I've been running Prime95 to see how this sucker will heat up now. Still running at stock speeds and it's hit 36° case temp and 57° on the CPU. Still climbing bit by bit.

It's really not that warm in my apartment (it's a basement place), so... This is all CPU heat. Dang. I suppose I really need to try an exhaust fan.

Though I always wanted a Koolance case.

 

[RayEarth]

cook me up some green eggs and ham since you already got the heat going

I would suggest u take off the hs and remount it again just to be sure. It could be a poorly manufactured cpu, while working as a tech before, there was batch of cpu that were all rated the same speed but some just ran 10c hotter than some at most, it was unusual but not impossible, u might just be unlucky, if you can find a way to rma it without spending any money, i would suggest u try that route unless u MB has problems your unware of or you have a cheap cpu case that doesn't vent the heat out properly.

 

[NStriker]

This is my case here. Is has spots for exhaust fans, but they're up above the darn PSU. Not exactly a useful place for them.

There are vents along the side panels for passive ventilation, not that they seem to be doing much. Heck, I just took the side off and it lowered the temp somewhat. Maybe 4°.

I got the CPU from Newegg. It's retail boxed (obviously, hence stock cooling). I don't know what their policies are on returning stuff because it's running abnormally hot. Anyone know?

I'll try reseating the HSF in a bit. I'll let ya know.

 

[NStriker]

The CPU has a sSpec number of SL63X and a pack date of 2/11/02 (says the box, anyway), if that means anything to anyone...

 

[RayEarth]

i think the policy for most places that sell retail package cpu is that you must return it to the manufacturer(intel) directly. I've built a couple of computers using that case at working, not a bad case to use. I would suggest u contact intel and ask for help regarding the temp, they might be willing to check it out or replace it if they find it unusually high. By the way, are my green eggs and ham ready yet?

 

[NStriker]

Thanks for the suggestion. I may just do that Monday. Or tomorrow, if I get motivated and Intel's support offices are open. Of course, that'd leave me without a CPU. I haven't got a spare. Oh, well...

Sorry. I ran out of tin foil when I was trying to make the little basket to cook in on top of the heatsink. :Q Which didn't matter anyway, because it so happens that I'm out of eggs. Though the ham has been sitting in the fridge long enough that it's quite green. Lucky you!

 

[NStriker]

Well, I realized I had a Volcano 7 sitting around that I had meant to use on past system, and that its fan would work great for exhaust. Thermal-regulated speed and everything.

So, I popped out a few of the metal punch-outs on the back of the case (meant for AT era parallel and serial ports, I think), and now there's air exausting at a fairly brisk pace near the CPU. Case temp sits at a solid 37° under full load. 32° or less at idle. Though I really don't think the air seems even that warm when I hold my hand back there. Maybe the sensors are off.

CPU temp hasn't changed much, though. 43° or so when idle, mid fifties with load, high sixties if overclocked to 2.4GHz, 533FSB, 1.7V. And the heatsink is quite hot to the touch. I think perhaps my stock HSF isn't working so well. The case was at 37° and the CPU at 68° during one run. That's quite a difference. The little fan just can't cool the heatsink fast enough, I guess.