HELP CPU too hot!

[lky00]

My TB 1.1ghz CPU temp is too hot.
This is my setup.

AMD SocketA 1.1ghz processor (B-type/200mhz)
Abit kt7a (no raid)
256mb PC133 Xerox(didn't know they make these)
Maxtor ATA66 13gig
Diamond Stealth III Xtreme(yeah I know it's not that great)
CoolMaster Heatsink/fan (the one with smaller fan, I've tried the chrome orb but that sucks too)
Linksys LNEPCI2 Combo NIC
SB Live Value
Diamond Supramax Modem 56k
250W ATX Mid-Tower Case. (have a spare 300W Antec but front cover is broken)
2 fan (front one blowing in and rear blowing out)
1 PCI fan near the Video card

My CPU is fine if I am not running CPU intensive programs like Quake, UT, etc... However, when I do run these appz the CPU temp rises to 130F+ which is borderlining the 140F limit set by the manufacturer. Because of that my system hangs on me everything. I am using WindowsSE.

Does anyone know what might be the problem? I have tried using ME. I have downloaded all the newest driver for my computer but it still crashes when the CPU gets too hot. As of right now I have artic Silver II being shipped over because maybe the contact between CPU and Heatsink is bad. However I tried the Chrome Orb and that's even worst. The CPU fan and fan#2 are blowing over 4k RPM. The BIOS is default and CPU clock is set to 1100mhz.

I've been at this for 3 weeks now and nothing is working out. I've tried swapping RAM, video card, cdrom, etc... The only I have not tried is swapping Motherboard and CPU. I don't have spare and neither do any of my friends. PLEASE PLEASE assist this poor fellow. Thanks a lot!


-lky00

[Liquid_N2]

OK, first thing you need to do is work out a budget, how much you have to play with. Cooling needs to be done right, spend that extra tenner, it will be better in the long run and will prolong the life of your system.

Here are my recommendations:

1. Case - is the power supply covering the processor and air extraction? if yes ditch the cae, i strongly recommend the Globalwin 802 midi tower, i have it and it is a very spacious user friendly and cool case.

2. PSU - Ditch the 250, get a nice 300 / 350 and above. your processor should be running on at least 300 anyway.

3. Cables - are they in the way? restricting airflow? if so get some rounded ones, or better yet do it yourself, fold the cables, get some re-usuable cable ties, voila! home made rounded cables. Get some cable plastic hooks to get them out the way.

4. Cards - get as much space as possible between your modem, video card and sound card. This will help airflow.

5. Drives - Do the same with your drives, try to seperate them as much as possible.

6. CPU - Go for the Alpha Cooler, best on the market and won't let you down. Other recommendations are the Thermoengine and the Hedgehog (100% copper heatsink) Get a powerfull fan also, Y.S.Tech 6000rpm should do nicely.

7. Thermal Paste - Get some, the only thermal paste to even consider is the Artic Silver 2.

8. Airflow - you said you had some fans, one at the front and one at the back. Get some new ones, 6000 rpm 80mm fans, one at bottom of case to suck air in, one at back of case to push air out. get molex connectors not on board.

9. System cooling - If you can do some case mods, cut some blow holes (there are plenty of how-to's out there and Kits) get some extra fans, i recommend one 120mm on the side and another 100mm on the top of the case. Also system exhaust fans are great, cheap and very effective. They go in you PCI/ISA slots space and plug in via molex connector. They such hot air directly out of the case, great to put between cards, especially your video card.

10. Over the top - if you want to be silly about it get a peltier cooler (72watt) or invest in a water cooled system. You can even get an orb cooler to put on your video card, or tiny copper heatsinks that fit on tiny memory chips. But you will need some frag tape for this.

Well thats what i think anyway.

Get some prices together on the above mentioned and see what is the best you can do with your budget.

Let me know how you get on.

Hope this helps.

[lky00]

Thanks Liquid_N2. SOrry I forgot to mention it's a mid-tower

This is a mid-tower and it's pretty tight around the PSU and the CPU. How much of a heat problem can that cause?

I've pulled everything out of the case one cold night in wisconsin (outside below freezing, inside a bit cold because the window was cracked open).
The cpu was still over 120F(sorry I am not literate in Celsius).

To give you an image of how I had my setup.
My MB/CPU was a table along with my case which laid on its side. My cracked window was a few feet from my CPU and there was cold air blowing in. The heatsink was cold and it reminds of sitting on a steel chair with shorts on, but the CPU is still hovering 120F. It is not possible to get a setup like this with a close case unless you have somesort of liquid flowing close to the CPU and don't have the $$ to spend on that.

My friend's ALienware athlon 1.2 socketA cpu maintains a 109F when his room is stuffy warm and his computer has been playing quake3 for some time.

This comparison gives me a grim look on my computer's future.
I have come to a conclusion that it's not air-flow but bad BIOS setting or CPU.

Can you or someone give me a link to where I can find the settings for a 1.1ghz SocketA athlon. I will try user-define instead of the default give by the abit's soft menu III.

What is your take?

[Liquid_N2]

35 celcious = 93 fahrenhiet

OK, one of four things it could be.

1 - Your motherboard is incorrectly ready the temperature off of itself - try flashing the bios.

2 - Your thermal sensor is up the creek. Get another sensor and attach to your cpu, see what reading that give you.

3 -Your CPU has an identity crisis and thinks its an oven.

4 - You have a faulty chip. (most unlikely scenario)

Try the above and see what happens.

Let me know if this helps.

[Gerti]

I think the culprit here is the HSF I think it should go.What I suggest is borrowing a better HSF like a FOP38 or thermoengine from your mates.If it the temp gets lower then buy your own if it doesn't then I dunno what to say cos Liquid_N2 mentioned all the points I was thinking of.

[Rookie]

I was in a similar situation to your's. I had a stock T-bird 800 a CoolMaster HSF (bigger one), and a sucky mid-tower case w/230W PS (I know, not even close to enough juice). I was running at ~54c (129f) at idle, not much more at load. I have no cash to speak of, so I pulled a few tricks. I pulled my PS unit, which was right over the HSF by about two inches, and mounted the SOB to the back of my case so it's still pulling air out, but it's not really in the case. Then I scrounged up enough change, put in a slot fan in the top PCI slot, put a 120mm fan sucking in from front, and a small drive fan up front aimed right at my HSF. I'm now at about ~45c (113f) load, and almost ambient (25c, 77f) when in standby mode. Now I just need a pep66t and I'll be set to o'c away.

[Pat]

Spend some bucks & get a good case with at least a 300w P/S. Look at your airflow. 120mm fans work best like the Paniflo LH. You may have to modify your case. Your case should be slight overpressured with more air in than out. How many fans can you place in your case. Buy a good CPU cooler unit like a Alpha or Swiftech. I hate the Delta 38cfm 60mm fans, so I use two Y/S 26cfm on my PEP66. One to push & the other to pull.

I use the Asus Probe Monitor on my system & I never get above 43*C.

Good Luck,

Pat

[xx]

It seems pretty obvious to me what the problem... Look at one of the previous comments when he has his case near a window for the cold breeze. He quotes the following ...
"The heatsink was cold and it reminds of sitting on a steel chair with shorts on, but the CPU is still hovering 120F"
I don't care how bad the heatsink is if it's properly seated on the CPU it certainly won't be cold!!

Make sure the heatsink is properly fitted i.e. making proper contact with the CPU core. It's the only thing that can explain a cold heatsink when the CPU is burning up.