what is the best software program to cool computers?

[ssgohan434]

what is the best software program to cool computers? I know of only CPUIDLE. Is there anyone that is better. Doesnt matter if trialware or if shareware or freeware.

[TheFrag]

uhhh.... a fan?

I dont exactly get what you are asking. If you mean to check temps, then MBM5 is good

[ssgohan434]

no not to check temps. it is to like make less power consumption when not using the computer to lower temps. check up on their website. type CPUIDLE in google and theirs is the first website.

[JigPu]

Well, there is also Rain and Waterfall. Rain caused me some serious problems (made my pooter REALLY slow), so I ended up unistalling it.

[shameless DC plug]Why cool your CPU with software just to get better idle temps when you could download SETI or Folding and use all those wasted cycles to help humankind![/shameless DC plug]

[RedDeathDrinker]

Indeed! SETI makes my computer really cool. In fact - it's so cool, I could keep a side of beef on it for a week and it wouldn't go off. It's so cool, my 'pooter's the style editor for GQ magazine.......

[Yodums]

I remember reading threads like this along time ago and someone brought up a real good point:

Why cool when it's already idle? What are the benefits?

Also it's actually bad to use those kind of program since it does something to screw up the transistors in your cpu thus damaging it since it's fluctuating back and fourth with load. Sorta like turning on and off a lightbulb constantly.

[UnWishedLegacy]

I gotta agree with Yodums- why bother with something like CPUidle- if (at idle) you are using about 3% of resources (examples from my PC using WinTop to see what processes take which %age of CPU time).

When my CPU was idle- my system is about 43*C, with my usage about 8% but peaking at 17% from time to time, most of this is from the software that tells me whats going on- CPUidle will do the same thing, will make a CPU running at 9% acutally run a something like 12%.

If you want to keep your CPU power&temp friendly- invest in decent cooling, seeing as you have a P3- maybe a moderate cooler for that- with a medium speed fan, and a little something for that graphics card of yours- as they will shoot off temps that rival your CPU's when idle... next to the precessor, the GPU is one of the biggest culprits of heat.

Just a suggestion.. :)

[ssgohan434]

i dont need actually anything for the PIII being i cant OC it. COMPAQ mobo. i just overclock the vid card. so far 300 core and 200 mem (SDRAM)

[UnWishedLegacy]

you dont need to be overclocking to use a decent heatsink- if your using the normal Intel one that came with it- then you can reduce your temps by 5*c (I think thats the average reduction), but I REALLY recommend you do something with your vid card, even just by putting some small ram-sinks on it- or even by attaching a card cooler into a PCI slot.

Either of these options can cost less than $10. or if you have parts lying around the house- you can make them yourself (I think I saw articals in the O/C.com archives somewhere, I'll have a look for the link...

{EDIT} here you go...
For a "card cooler" http://www.overclockers.com/tips823/

And for Ram-Sinks http://www.overclockers.com/tips846/

[BobPaul]

What? Don't start telling me that issuing the HLT command is bad for your processor, it's specifically designed into the processor. Haven't you ever read the stats on modern mobile processors? Newer versions are always being segmented further so the least amount of processor area is operational at any given moment. The same technology is used, to a degree, in desktop processors. I don't think I could say it any better than they do on CPUidle's website

"Modern operating systems like Linux execute the HLT instruction in an idle priority thread. This thread is always executed when the CPU is otherwise idle. No additional execution time for HLTing is needed, the CPU will not run slower.

While other operating systems like Linux always used this mechanism, Windows only learned it with NT. But even with NT and following versions it is only enabled when the BIOS and ACPI implementation is recognized by the OS."

I can tell you straight up that my processor runs much cooler under linux than it does idle in windows, even with XP.

Bob/Paul
dual boot WinXP and Redhat 8.0
2100+ tbred 266FSB @ 12x166 = 2000mhz (2400+)
Epox 8RDA+
120 Gig Deskstar
All-in-Wonder-Radeon 7500
SB Live!Platinum
1024Mb cas 2.0 DDR 3300