why so hot?

[mrsteve0924]

i just installed a new AMD 970 board from gigabyte, GA-970A-DS3P. got everything up and running, but i noticed all the heat-sinks get extremely hot. the north and south bridge and the mosfet sinks. can't even touch them for more than a second. do AMD boards normally run hot like this? my intel board, GA-Z87X-D3H, hardly any heat coming off the heatsinks at all, just slightly warm.

not sure if it's just an AMD thing or maybe just a difference in quality of the boards.

 

[EarthDog]

Because its a cheap and weak board with only 4 power phases. What CPU do you have in it? I would assume an FX hex/octo core of some sort?

That said, if they are that hot, you need to get some air across them or you will kill the board.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

What CPU?
Should have asked us before buying...

 

[mrsteve0924]

athlon II 640. and believe me this board is an upgrade over the board the cpu was living in before. the PC is being used by my 10 year old son and i didnt want to spend a lot. im not unhappy with it. i am just wondering if the heat difference i notice between this board and my intel is because intel is better or it's just a function of this being a cheap board.

 

[EarthDog]

Its a crap board, but AMD VRM's, particularly with FX hex and octo's run HOT.

Get a fan on those things before they go POP!

 

[Johan45]

I know it's a cheap board but the 3.0, 640, I wouldn't think would work it that hard? Are you still on auto or have you OC'd it

 

[mrsteve0924]

I know it's a cheap board but the 3.0, 640, I wouldn't think would work it that hard? Are you still on auto or have you OC'd it

default settings still. i will post some temp readings from hwmonitor

 

[Johan45]

Like E_D said get some air moving in there it'll help a lot.

 

[TheQuadFather]

Ive had experience with a similar board 970A-UD3P, nearly the same heatsinks, they ran toasty, its just a budget heatsink design, no heat pipes or anything

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Ive had experience with a similar board 970A-UD3P, nearly the same heatsinks, they ran toasty, its just a budget heatsink design, no heat pipes or anything

The UD3P will actually handle an octo core FX chip unlike the DS3P.
There's actually quite a large design difference in the two boards, although both are meant for a budget.

 

[chrisjames61]

Like E_D said get some air moving in there it'll help a lot.

I'm wondering if the default vcore is too high? Maybe he could undervolt it a bit?

 

[knoober]

^probably^

Ive seen this happen with an ASUS board and a Gigabyte. Both were running Phenom II chips and were reaching the heatwall on default settings (no OC at all). Dropping the voltage was a big help in keeping the temps in line

 

[mrsteve0924]

so i added an additional fan and heat sinks aren't as hot. never realized how much good air flow really helped cool those heat sinks. my temps in hwmonitor were never crazy. i guess the heat sinks are just doing their job.

 

[NZKshatriya]

Yeah.

circulation = happy parts