Question about CPU Temp

[Derfo]

I have an AMD XP 1800+ and a Gigabyte 7VRXP (I know, it sucks) mb.
After a few (insert smile) voltage tweaks I finally got the board to run. The CPU temp reached a max of 68C.
Is it ok, something I can live with, or do I need to invest in some other cooling device. I have not done any overclocking.

Thanks.

 

[Buz2b]

Uhh, just what (insert smile here also) kind of "voltage tweaks" are we talking about? Do you by chance have the vcore cranked up to lofty levels?
The short answer is NO, you shouldn't run your CPU at 68 C for very long. I would imagine that you are going to shorten your chip life and sacrifice some stability possibly. So, you need to either (remember that smile now) lower your "tweaks" a bit and/or invest in some better cooling. BTW, what kind of cooling do you have? How many fans, location, etc and what kind of HSF are you using?

 

[Derfo]

Voltage tweaks were necessary to get this POS mobo Gigasux 7VRXP to work. Here is what I did.
Voltage to DDR Ram upped to 2.6V from 2.5V
Voltage to CPU upped +7.5% ~ 1.82V
AGP voltage remains same at 1.5V
Thats all I did.

Here is my cooling setup, which is very basic.
HSF uses is what came with the retail ver of AMD xP 1800+.
Case Fan is in parallel with the CPU, on the side bracket, does a decent job of sucking hot air from the case. Then there is the PSU fan, directly above the CPU.

Do I need to invest in a better HSF? If yes, which one would do the job sufficiently. I do not want to get something real fancy.

TIA.

 

[junkyardDawg]

what kind of system temps are you getting?
an intake fan and a aftermarket HS might help. I'd also consider replacing the MB if you have to crank up the voltage to get it to run at default speed. also make sure your power supply is up to snuff

 

[Buz2b]

Unless I read it wrong, it sounds like you have all exhaust and no intake. You said the case fan is "in parallel with the CPU, on the side bracket". Is this a "side blowhole" that is exhausting air instead of Intake? Correct my misunderstanding if need be. Do you have MBM or some monitoring program to tell what the case or "system" temps are? That would add some light to the equation. Is there any fan for intake? Maybe one in the front of the case? If not, a simple start would be to turn the one around that is on the side (if that is indeed where it is) to make it an intake fan. Most are used in that manner anyway. Adding a low cfm exhaust fan on the rear of the case would balance things out a bit. Then the next step would be a better HSF. The retail ones just don't do a very good job unless your case airflow is really pretty good.
As for the choice of HSF's, there are a few that come to mind. The lower cost solution (but by no means a low performance solution) would be the Golden Gate 40 from SVC. It comes with a stock fan and the 40 cfm YS-Tech fan. The YS-Tech fan is loud but can just about cool anything. You might find that the stock fan will do nicely though. You might want to check with them just to be sure both fans still come with it though. They did when I bought one a few months ago but the website isn't that clear on it. Heck, even if it doesn't it is still a good deal. The HS is all copper and works nicely. Like you said though, nothing fancy.