Thank You Overclockers.com!

Hi all!

I just found your site about 3 hours ago and have been reading and reading ever since. I feel like a complete idiot, but a very happy one though.

System Specs:
ASUS A7V333 • 1.7 GHz CPU • 768 MB RAM
ATI Radeon 64MB DDR VIVO
WinXP Pro

I have been having problem with this system for almost 2 years (earlier configuration). I've replaced my MB, CPU, tested RAM in DOS mode, upgraded power supply, upgraded video card, changed power strip, added custom MB stand-offs, installed millions of drivers, swopped HDs, F-Disked and formatted endless times, and finally bought XP Pro (yeah ike MS solves anything!). No matter what I did, my system kept crashing to the desktop when running graphics-heavy progs.

This weekend after stressing how I'm going to pay for all of this stuff on my Visa, I ran through it all again, including recleaning all components and contacts. When I crashed again, I got thoroughly bummed out, left the cover off, opened my window, put on my smoking fan, and put on 2 pairs of socks and my thickest thermal clothes. Then I launched the heaviest graphic prog I have. Many hours into it, no crashes!!! (Nice to see this -5°C Connecticut weather was good for something!) That's when a Google search brought me here.

At the start of all of this those many months ago, I called ASUS thinking it was temperature related. ASUS told me my MB running at 27°C and CPU at 63°C was normal! I got my A+ cert 9 years ago back when it was DOS, Win 3.5 and Mac so the extent of what I learned about cooling was minimal.

So that's why I feel like an idiot, but a happy one, and am very appreciative to you guys!

Now all I have to do is spend a week excorcizing all these thermal demons!

=Fitz=

Let's hope you solve your cooling problems before you get frostbite, Fitz....

Attualy they are probably 'normal' temps for a standard pc but of cource their far from ideal.

What heatsink do you have? the standard AMD one? Thats a good place to start when upgrading your cooling.

Get a
Good Heatsink
Good Thermal Paste (TIM) (arctic sliver)
Some more case fans

and you should see a massive reduction.

Don't forget to remove the fan grids from the case. These are the restrictive grids that are infront of or behind your fans.Removing these increases air flow and reduces noise. Wire finger guards can be installe afterwards if safety is a concern. You may want to look at the HS's by www.thermalright.com ..They are the best available at this time. See sig of rig...

Welcome to the Forums!!

Hope you find your stay enjoyable, useful and informative.

I have a theory: The temps I was getting last night when I was crashing were:
MB: 27°C, CPU: 63° C
as opposed to when not crashing with case and window open and room temp at -5°C:
MB: 15° C, CPU: 55°C

I'll bet that my temps were a lot higher during the warmer months. I just hope that I haven't damaged my CPU or MB. It wouldn't be so bad if there were a way to determine which. Either way cooling will work for now.

Questions:
1. There seems to be a debate here about Arctic Silver -vs- other compounds. Shoould I just go with Arctic Silver?

2. What heatsink would you guys suggest for a 1.7GHz Athlon XP CPU? Socket A (462) ASUS A7V333 MB?

3. Where can I get a comprehensive guide on removing existing compound and applying new stuff?

4. Is it worth doing anything to my 64MB DDR Radeon VIVO... like changing heatsink or adding compound (if that's even possible)?

5. What do you think of the 120MM Volcano as a primary intake fan? Too lound and wil my PC fly away when I boot?

6. Is my Sparkle 300 Watt PSU enough for what I need to do or should I buy a server or full tower case with a new 400 Watt Sparkle and use my Dremel on that?

Thanks again, all!

=Fitz=

1. No debate, AS owns ALL.

2.Does it have mounting holes? Some kind of ThermalRight heatsink and a panaflo fan.

3. Why yes there is. http://www.overclockers.com/tips1116/

4. You could, but its probably not worth it.

5. Bigger is better.

6. Should be fine.

1. I would say, get artic silver or maybe ceramique(also made by AS). Artic silver has silver in it, and if your not careful you can short something out. Ceramique doesnt, so its safe, and almost as good.

2. How much do you have to spend?
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-114-011&catalog=62&depa=1 Thats a very decent cheap heatsink, but for a few $ more you can get MUCH better.

3. To take off existing compound, I use lighter fluid on the sink, it disolved the stuff, and a a Q-tip dipped in lighter fluid to clean the core.

4. You realy dont need to unless the current sink is too noisy or your going to overclock it.

5. 120mm volcano? Never seen it, but most 120mm fans are much quieter and push more air than 80 and 60mm fans.

6. A sparkle 300w is enough for running stock, but if you plan on overclocking, get ay least a 400.

Now I would like to say and ask a couple of things.

1. Is your processor a palomino core? Palomino has 1.75v vcore as opposed to the 1.5 and 1.6v core of the TB's. If you have a palomino, they run REALY hot and dont overclock worth beans.

2. Is it a 1700+ or 1.7ghz? a 2100+ runs ~1.7ghz, while a 1700+ runs at 1.47ghz.

Wow, 55C with your room temp at -5C! There is definately something wrong there. My processor temp doesn't go over 50C even with extreme overclocking and a 1.9 Vcore. It sounds like your heatsink isn't making good contact with the CPU core. So to answer your questions:
1. Get Arctic Silver 5. It has been proven, and most people use it.
2. If you are interested in overclocking go with a high end Thermalright heatsink. I think your motherboard has the mounting holes around the CPU socket for big heatsinks. If you aren't into overclocking then most copper heatsinks with a decent flow fan will work.
3. To remove the old thermal goop use cleaning alcohol. If you can find some 90+% that's the best. You can use 70% isopropyl, but it leaves a residue. No biggie if you don't want to go find the other stuff.
4. Possibly. I doubt that's overheatsing though. Those cards don't get that hot.
5. Well, I've never heard of a 120mm Volcano. There are a bunch of 120mm fans available. The Vantec Stealth put out a decent amount of air and are very quiet.
6. The Sparkle should be enough without overclocking. Give us the ratings on the label.

1) arctic silver 5 is the best thermal compound out right now, get it, it lowers ur temps by at least 5c over regular white stuff or thermal pads

2) u would have to check www.thermalright.com to see if the a7v333 is in the mobo compatibilty list, i rememebr seeing a few of their sinks had too little clearance over their ram, from best performing to lower its sp-97, slk947, slk900, slk800

Man! You guys are helpful! Thanks again.

At bootup it says XP2000+

In the BIOS, I have three speed choices:
1250 MHz
1667 MHz (which I am running at)
2083 Mhz

My Freq: 133/33
CPU VCore: 1.750V

As far as the mounting holes go, how do I find out?

I am sure you are right that my heatsink is mounted wrong. I bought thermal compound at (don't kill me for this!)... Radio Shack.

As far as $$$ goes, I'll be happy if I can do all of this for like $40.

Am I right is suspecting I can easily change my speed to 2083 Mhz once I get these thermal demons excorcized?

=Fitz=

As far as the mounting holes go, how do I find out?
Are there 4 holes around your CPU socket? They are mounting holes (they are the size of screws).

I am sure you are right that my heatsink is mounted wrong. I bought thermal compound at (don't kill me for this!)... Radio Shack.
thats fine, just nake sure its nice and thin.

Glad you found the forums.

Hope you find them as useful as I have.
Honestly, I know my OCing experiences would have been more
troublesome without the help of others in this, and other forums.

Best of luck 2 U =Fitz=!

Sparkle powersupply's are pretty good quality...the dont bs like other companies, and perform nicely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but its pretty much Fortron under a different name.

Anyway, the Artic Silver isnt that hard to put on, and good luck with your cooling efforts. You've definitely come to the right place.

lostshoe420 said:

Sparkle powersupply's are pretty good quality...the dont bs like other companies, and perform nicely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but its pretty much Fortron under a different name.

Anyway, the Artic Silver isnt that hard to put on, and good luck with your cooling efforts. You've definitely come to the right place.

Click to expand...

It is my understanding that Forton = Sparkle and if
anything they are seriously are underrated.
Not all = FSP Group though. Look for "FSP" in the part number.
Those are the good ones.

The "High Q" (aka "GU") don't have FSP Group components
and don't stand up as well under heavy load. Some have
said the fans are lesser quality too. (???)
In any event, there's likely a reason the "High Q/GU" are cheaper.
With the 'fsp' being so cheap why not spend a few more
and get the better ones?

Arctic Silver is easy to put on compared to Shin Etsu. That
stuff is like clay, but is easy when you get your technique
down pat.
It's the removal where Shin is more simple. Silver stains
everything it touches ... not so bad with Shin Etsu.

Just my two cents.

I'll be honest, I didn't believe all the AS5 hype until just recently.
I noticed a 1-2° drop almost immediately; who knows though, maybe it was coincidence. Anyways, if I've read their instructions correctly, I should expect another couple of degrees to drop off after a week or so.
As one who didn't believe and has been recently converted, I would whole heartedly recommend it

i agree, overclockers.com is a superb website thx 2 all the ppl who have helped me

Armitage said:

I'll be honest, I didn't believe all the AS5 hype until just recently.
I noticed a 1-2° drop almost immediately; who knows though, maybe it was coincidence. Anyways, if I've read their instructions correctly, I should expect another couple of degrees to drop off after a week or so.
As one who didn't believe and has been recently converted, I would whole heartedly recommend it

Click to expand...

Just maybe the temps dropped because when you were installing it the heatsink/fan/proc were basking in the cooler outside case temperature. Even the case with the side off would be cooled passively. That could explain the immediate drop.

First thing I'd do, that computer manufacturers fail to do, is ensure that your case has good ventilation through it.

Try to have 2 fans that actually have big big openings to the outside - one for intake (front) and one for exhaust (back.)

I mean actual openings, not cute little vents, and not cute little patterns of holes stamped out of the case metal.

A good heatsink is certainly nice, but it can only do so much if the inside of your case is a sauna ... going from no case ventilation to decent case ventilation could drop CPU temps by 15C.

and it's pretty cheap, too.

the wesson

it angers me that case mfgrs handle ventilation so poorly, generally, when it would be so cheap to do better.

Yeah they would actually save case material and time (from drilling) if they just left decent openings.