please help...new

I just finished putting a new system together, here are the specs

Soyo kt400 dragon lite MB
AMD athlon xp 2400+
256mb Crucial 3200 ddr
300 watt PSU ( hits 390 )
60gig WD HD
Geforce 4 440mmx 128mb ddr agp
dvd
cdrw

My problem now is over heating. My biss reads diffrent numbers than sandra and sandra has some stuff that i dont understand. Then cpu was running at 55c, its has a oem HSF. On the rear i have a coolermaster 32cfm exhaust fan. THe power supply also has a 120mm fan on it. It was getting so hot that i took a side panel off and im shooting a regular household fan at it, till i can figure things out. What should i do??

I want to get a better HSF first. Then my case is so old it only has a exhaust outlet and thats it. The front theres a oldschool speaker that isnt even used, so i might cut that out and put a 120mm intake fan there. In sandra it says my pci slot is way to hot 65c+, im guessing thats my vid card cause its the only slot i have filled. THen it says my power/ aux temperature is too hot, what is that? is that the heat of my power supply? Over all im just upset cause I have a decent computer but its getting way to hot when i push it ;(, any comments would be great, and i can post pics if that would help

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS
If you want a good cheap heatsink get an SK-7... your temps look awfully high even if your case only has one exhaust... is 55C idle? have you tried reseating the heatsink? Sorry i can't help with the sandra prog

well i just put it all together again, side panel and all to get a base reading in the bios and here is what i got.

cpu 50c
case 30c
cpu on die 70c

That 70c kinda scares me. I also got some pics of my case so you guys can see what im working with. There are alot of power cables, im gonna go get some twist ties today to hold em back or somwhere, cause there taking alot of room up. Other than that i jsut want you guys to tell me what to do. Get a new HSF, where to put fans etc. Im completely cool with modding my case, and have the tools. I was gonna take out that front speaker and put a intake fan, any other ideas?

anyone?

get rid of the lousy speaker, 70C? i wouldn't even turn it on... i don't see how its possible...? too much as3 or whatever?

to tell you the truth my grandpa put the HSF on in texas, and sent it to me in NY. Were meeting up for a family reunion in PENN this weekend im gonna bring it and were are gonna reseat the HSF, and maybe get a new one. 70c on die, but i dont have any probs, I played CS for 4 hours last night and it didt lock up or freeze or anything. I just run SANDRA and it says warning so I freak out and post

LOL, ok good luck, i think the heatsink may have been messed up in transit... maybe not making proper contact or somthing

i don't know...
if you were playing CS for 4 hours no prob there might just be a problem with the temp readings...
i am not saying your temps are not higher than they should be, i think they still are, but if you really are at 70C right now, I think the CS would have caused serious issues

70c is pretty high and a better HSF is definitely where I would start.

The case mod for the 120mm intake should work pretty well; but you've got a spot you could put in an 80mm intake right at the bottom front-no case mod necessary.

If you don't want to pop for round cables then some twist ties and folding the ribbon cables out of the way should help airflow a lot if you decide to put in an intake fan.

wow. you sound like me!
im hittin 55* too. and ive got my big floor fan zip-tied to the side of the case on full blast, and even then it only gets down to 50*

looks like you can add a fan at athe buttom of the case
just put some higher rubber feet on your case to lift it up a bit

do a search about your board. try and find out more about the readings it put out

If you're going to be modding your case anyway, you might want to add an intake on the side panel and a blowhole at the very top of the case. Those should all help to improve your airflow throughout the case.

ya, so far i think what i want to do, is get a better HSF if reseating the stock one wotn work. Then adding a 80mm blowhole up top and take out the front speaker and put a 80mm in it too. I would put it on the mount thats on the bottom of the case bu i dont think that will pull in as much air as from the front. Plus im getting fans with leds so I want to see it ...also where would i go about getting lexan to make a window for my case? i went to home depot and two craft stores today with no luck?

A new HSF combo will do you wonders, I bet. I went from my stock HSF to an SLK-800(a)/SmartFan II combo (+AS3 and lapping) and my temps dropped somewhere along the lines of 7-8 degrees.

There are lots of windoe kits available on casemods.com and the like, ebay as well.
I made my window myself, $2 for the plex at a glass shop. Give one a call, they all carry plex and lexan. some good looking hardware and you are all set.
Brian

both of you

well definatly get a better heatsink. i recomend the Thermal Right sk-7 and a Thermal Take Smart Fan 2. that is an awsome combo and is relativly cheap. Also, use some AS3, make a real thin layer, and ONLY on the die The smt fan 2 is almost a definate go becuase it has so mayn features and it only costs about 10 dollars. In my opinion, I think it is the best fan around. it moves more air at a higher pressure than even what the specifications claim.

I would not turn on that comp if it gets up to 70°C Idle. that is NOT GOOD! they smoke at 75°-90°C I wouldnt take the chance if i were you.

Ducting: ducting is an awsome cheap no time consuming way to lower temps! its really easy. what you should do, is make your own side panel out of card board, get a fan the same size as your cpu fan, and cut a hole in the cardboard for that extra fan. But, make sure it is almost perfectly lined up with the cpu fan. then get some posterboard and make it the right length, and then make it almost like a pipe, but a square one of course that fit snug against the fans. so, then connect it and you will have cool outside air going right to your cpu cooler.

If any of you have questions, click the PM button below one of my posts and private message me.

good luck and happy o/cing!!

I get the feeling you would get a lot better cooling if you either got a new PSU or Looked at the fan in the PSU you already have. It could be that the fan in the power supply is dead.

checked the psu fan and it works, it better too, just ordered it brand new haha...I think im gonna do some cool mods and ducting on the inside. As far as what was mentioned above about teh ducting. do I just want to go around the fan on hte HSF or the heatsink too? Im think not around the heat sink cause air needs to get out right? just asking before I do anything

you are correct, duct just to the fan.

gracias