An Odyssey of Cooling Nightmares! (chapter 1)

An Odyssey of Cooling Nightmares! (Multi-Chapter)

Submitted for your approval...insight...HELP!

With cautious enthusiasm I recently decided to build a new PC. I took time to read and read and read everything I could find on the latest bells and whistles. However, seeing as I had a very strict budget, and given the current offerings at the local Fry's, I finally grabbed up one of their P4 2.4C/Albatron PX865PE Pro bundles.

Ah, the blissful forethought of 800Mhz FSB...dual channel ram...overclocking...etc. I also knabbed 512Mb (2x256) of Kingston pc3000 Hx ram to feed the fury of this beast.

To compliment the heart of my new creation, I looked to an Antec Sonata case (120mm fan built in) and a Vantec AeroFlow to manage its temper(ature).

Because of the inability to garner government grants to fund this endeavor (i.e. that stinkin' budget again) I had to look to my current loveable PC for spare parts - alas, poor Yorik, I knew him well -[/I] which yielded a CD Burner, DVD Rom, and 60GB Hard Drive. My thoughts looked to the future where I would improve upon the monster after Igor manages to find more gold.

Eagerly, yet with marked trepidation, I began to assemble my new powerslave. Each component easily conjoined with the other, eventually resembling a beautiful black...uh, box.

It was time to flip the switch...

(To Be Continued...)
~A~

(Chapter 2)

The energy coursed! It pulsed through the intricate synapses of the central processing unit. The cold, neon blue eyes upon its visage gleamed with an eerie, icy confidence. Perhaps it was really the PC's intent to only make me believe that this could be done - oh, so easily...it mocked me - you stupid human.

It was alive! I had achieved success (albeit shortlived). With a frenzy I installed Windows XP and the 81, 274MB of patches, updates and service packs. I must say I was quite exhausted by the end of this gruelling session. And then, ahhh...SiSoftware Sandra...the lovely lady who would keep tabs on my whirring behemoth's health. Let us see how he runs!

Hrumph! It would appear my PC loses its temper a bit too oft. Even at stock settings... Asking Sandra to inspect the motherboard revealed some aggravating realities... (IDLE/LOAD)

System Temp: ~30°C/~39°C (roughly)
CPU Temp: ~46.5°C/~57°C
Power/Amb Temp: ~32°C/~39.5°C (roughly)

Ergh - I was beside myself. Where did I go wrong? What was I to do? My heart of hearts told me that I needed to squelch the temperatures as much as possible. To get the CPU down to, oh say... 41/50 (I strove to be a bit realistic in my expectations).

My first thought was, "Oh...I just need to reseat the HSF...that's what it is." After cleaning and reapplying the white goop to the brain, we started again.

System Temp: ~30°C/~39°C (roughly)
CPU Temp: ~48°C/~54.5°C
Power/Amb Temp: ~32°C/~39.5°C (roughly)

Argh... foiled again. I double checked my airflow - tying off all dangling limbs and cables... The temperatures remained high. I was beginning to get a bit steamed myself! So I fell upon the wisdom of the Overclockers Forum - seeking insight from my contemporaries in regard to my current dilemma and the ultimate resolution for my new...forlorn PC. Aha! Lapping & Arctic Silver 3 Surely the panacea for the unescapable heat.

Or was it? I drove to Home Depot and picked up the sandpaper...

(Continued...)

You may not be alone. Might be worth emailing Albatron for more info on this.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1055317