Putting system together... boots at 40-50c

[LuDaCriS66]

I'm putting a system together to replace my sister's PIII 650 with some extra parts and a generic case with 300w PSU that I had lying around.

These are the parts:
Gigabyte GA-7VAXP
Athlon XP 1800+ Palomino
512mb PC2100
Radeon 7200
IBM 60GXP
SB Live

I put everything together and booted the system up and I was getting temps of 50c using the stock HSF that came with a 2400+ tbred chip. I thought to myself, okay I must have either mounted it wrong or the HSF just isn't good enough. So I replaced it with a thermalright SK-6 and the temps were only 2-3c lower. I also noticed that the case ambient temps were practically as high as the CPU temp was! So the CPU temp hovered around 53c idle... and the ambient temp was around 45c. It's a hot room but it's not that hot... the other system I have in this room is using a 2400+ chip and the case temp is only about 34c (yes it's high but it's only cuz of the room.... no a/c)

So I don't get what's heating up... I even tried using a different PSU with the same problem. Any ideas?

/edit..
I forgot to note... these temps are with both sides of the case OFF..

 

[Arcanedeath]

How is the airflow in your case? and have you tried to find temps w/ the system not in the case? Also, What are you using to get your temps? Some motherboards tend to report their temps very high. Then again, could be a combo of bad case airflow, not that great a HSF, and the hot room. Welp give us some more info

 

[NokiaDude]

Sorry man, Palominos run hot. T-Bred run much cooler, as much as 15C cooler. Try and see in your BIOS if it has a "CPU Disconnect" feature. Or maybe it's "S2K Bus Disconnect". If you do have it, it'll make the CPU run cooler becuase it makes the CPU reduce voltage or clock speed when idle. Works for me. I have a 1700+ T-BirdZ runnning at 32C.

 

[LuDaCriS66]

Actually the thing is, the parts that I'm using are from my system... they're just parts that i upgraded from. They ran just fine before and certainly didn't boot up at these temps. I do know for a fact that this Gigabyte GA-7VAXP mobo doesn't read temps correctly... but it was enough to reboot the system just while I was making a boot disk for Win98se...

The airflow isn't really an issue I think... cuz I'm getting these temps with the side panels off. Even with the side panels on, I don't think I should be booting up at a 45c ambient temperature..

I even touched the heatsink cuz I was curious and it was WAYYYY hotter than I've ever felt on a heatsink before..

 

[NokiaDude]

. . . . Did you apply thermal grease?!? Remember, a little goes alot. You want to barely see the color of the core. That's how thin you want it.

 

[LuDaCriS66]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
. . . . Did you apply thermal grease?!? Remember, a little goes alot. You want to barely see the color of the core. That's how thin you want it.

Yup, applied and re-applied AS3 both times I changed HSF's

 

[NokiaDude]

Try applying less. Take off the HSF and wipe the AS3 off of it. Leaving the CPU alone. Then try that.

 

[NokiaDude]

. . . . . . . . . . . are you checking temps via the BIOS or Windows?

 

[LuDaCriS66]

I was checking through the BIOS. Hm... don't know what's wrong. Maybe it's the crappy case I had it in ha

 

[mechBgon]

Temperatures in the 50C range are generally not cause for concern unless you happen to have a board that estimates temperatures way low to start with, like an Asus A7N266-VM ("normal" is about 42C for these, whereas "normal" for some boards is in the high 60's/low 70's, eg Abit NV7-series boards). Do try to reduce the case temperature down into the 35C area if possible.

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
Try applying less. Take off the HSF and wipe the AS3 off of it. Leaving the CPU alone. Then try that.

There it is....the worst advice I've heard all week! Congrats.

Anytime you take off the HSF, you should reapply the thermal paste PROPERLY. If the heatsink is hot to the touch, then heat is being transfered as it should. Perhaps the board just flat out reads temps higher. I'd move ahead and check the system for stability, then go back and worry about temps if you have the time to waste.

 

[moonshinemadness]

Try running the system with the side of the case off and see how much of a difference it makes, if a lot, get cuttting, make a blowhole and one in the side, stick some quite 80mm fans in and see how it goes.

 

[Insane3D]

mechBgon is right. There are two important facts to remember here. First, all socket A motherboards read the temperture of the air in the CPU socket, not the CPU itself, and are not even remotely accurate in most cases. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, like the KT333 based 8K3A series from Epox which read from the internal thermistor of the CPU. Second, the max allowable operating range of the core is about 90-95 C.

Temps in your range are quite normal, and are not anywhere near maximum levels. I predominately only check my CPU temps for the first couple days of a new build just to get a baseline. After that, I don't worry about the operating tempertures unless I have stabilty issues that could be heat related. Also, not sure where you are located, but it is summer now, and operating temps will raise with the temperature outside, unless you have a controlled temperature room. Personally I think, unless you are having problems, as long as you keep it under ~75C under full load with something like Prime95, you should be fine.

The old addage applies here...if it ain't broke, don't fix it!.

 

[bocamojo]

I have an Athlon T-Bred that normally runs around 53C. It's normal. I have AS3 paste, and an aftermarket heatsink, and 3 case fans, etc. What OS are you running? I noticed that my system used to run a lot hotter under Windows ME than under Windows XP (I used to dual boot it, now only have Win XP on there). If I were you, I would reapply the AS3 with a plastic credit card, and make sure you've got the heatsink adjusted properly. Also, I would use a program like MBM (motherboard monitor) in windows, to get a better idea of temps. Lastly, I would put some effort into getting some airflow going. If the room temps aren't cool, taking the case off won't help much. The reason for that is that the hot air may stagnate around the CPU area. If you use a case, and you get some positive airflow from front to back, it should move the hot air away from your CPU. If you want to test this out without putting the case on, get a small to medium sized cooling fan (like you would use in your house), and point it toward your CPU. Don't put it too close, just close enough that you can barely feel the air going past the CPU. If this helps, then setting up good airflow and remounting the case should work.

 

[Regs]

Welcome to the world of AMD. I have a kt333 that reads from the cpu die as well. The reading is always 5-8c degrees higher then the ABS (the temp of the air around and in the soket) reading. I run 50-54c idle with a Alpha Pal heat sink. This is after I re-installed my HSF twice while keeping the case open. I have 3 80mm fans blowing in my case too, it is just insane how hot these AMD's run on these motherboards.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

/revs up MBM5 out of curiousity

KT333 reading off the CPU diode - 38C idle

- M4H

 

[imported_Phil]

I have a 3000+ running on an ECS L7VTM (don't ask, it came with the machine that I got a real good deal on!), and the temps are 59C after a few hours of full load, and about 54C idle. I've tried four heatsinks (I can afford to as I work in a large computer store- take comp in, try fan, package it back up again and pop it back on the shelf), ranging from CoolerMaster "Silent" (hah) copper 'sinks, to the X-Dream, various thermal compounds, and the stock HSF with *silicon* paste (i.e. not thermal compound!) works best.

The silicon paste is a little invention that a mobile technician friend of mine found at a local hardware store, it goes a stupidly long way (one tube lasted him four months of regular use), and it dropped the temperature down 5C. Nice.

Dopefiend

 

[Alkali]

I have an XP3000+ that runs almost all the time at 54c up to 60c in some circumstances.

There is absolutely nothing to worry about

Its perfectly normal for CPU's to get this hot, and in fact they can go up to around 85c at least, before they pop.

 

[LuDaCriS66]

Thanks guys..

still, I'm not too sure about this. Yes, I understand that Athlon chips can generally run at this temperature. What I don't understand is how the ambient temp is also 45c+ ... plus the generic 300w PSU I had in there felt really hot to the touch. My Antec 300w in my other system feels cool compared to the other one.

I actually took everything apart... gonna try putting it together again I guess.

 

[syberscott]

Originally posted by: LuDaCriS66
Thanks guys..

still, I'm not too sure about this. Yes, I understand that Athlon chips can generally run at this temperature. What I don't understand is how the ambient temp is also 45c+ ... plus the generic 300w PSU I had in there felt really hot to the touch. My Antec 300w in my other system feels cool compared to the other one.

I actually took everything apart... gonna try putting it together again I guess.

If your ambient temp is 45C when you first boot and the computer has been sitting a while, then I would say the board is reading high. Try running it with the side off and if the case temp is still high I would say the board is definatly reading high.

 

[LuDaCriS66]

Originally posted by: syberscott

Originally posted by: LuDaCriS66
Thanks guys..

still, I'm not too sure about this. Yes, I understand that Athlon chips can generally run at this temperature. What I don't understand is how the ambient temp is also 45c+ ... plus the generic 300w PSU I had in there felt really hot to the touch. My Antec 300w in my other system feels cool compared to the other one.

I actually took everything apart... gonna try putting it together again I guess.

If your ambient temp is 45C when you first boot and the computer has been sitting a while, then I would say the board is reading high. Try running it with the side off and if the case temp is still high I would say the board is definatly reading high.

I guess it would be reading it high cuz it does reach temps of 40c right when I turn the system on. The 45c+ temp I was getting was with the side panels off too. The CPU heatsink was hot enough to the touch to definately be over 50c...
I can understand if the ambient temp reading is off... but i don't understand how the CPU would be soo hot to the touch and is even able to reboot the system..

 

[Alkali]

Ok, I have an MSI motherboard, and I use the "PC ALERT III System MONITOR" software.

That is right now as I write reading a CPU temp of 50c and has a reading for chassis temp of 41c.

I have Vantec Nexus Temperature monitoring kit, and that reads 42.5c = 51.5c CPU core for CPU (because its attached to the Heatsink - which I find more useful), and 26.5c for my case temperature. My case is aluminium, but still, this is way lower than the reported temperature from the software.

Dont believe all you read from the software, that chassis temperature is reading from a temperature sensor on the motherboard, which is of course absorbing heat from the area around the CPU.


Just relax