AMD 750 Duron temp??

[girldog44]

Could someone tell me what are the safe temp range for my AMD 750 Duron please.
The system is running at default settings,and RadioShack thermal grease with a Dragon Copper Orb and the 7200RPM fan with 2 Case fans, 1 @btm front,1 @ mid rear + power supply fan @ top rear.
The system under normal use(surfing web) runs @ 102/104 F, is this too hot?

 

[nihili]

Could someone tell me what are the safe temp range for my AMD 750 Duron please.
The system is running at default settings,and RadioShack thermal grease with a Dragon Copper Orb and the 7200RPM fan with 2 Case fans, 1 @btm front,1 @ mid rear + power supply fan @ top rear.
The system under normal use(surfing web) runs @ 102/104 F, is this too hot?

Whether that's "too" hot is a matter of taste. Personally I prefer to keep it below 40C (104F) at full load. Web surfing doesn't put much of a load on the cpu, so those temps seem high to me. On the other hand they're well within spec for the cpu.

You could certainly do better than that, and if you're planning on overclocking, you'll want better. Once you start pushing the chip faster, the temps will start to climb.

What direction are the case fans blowing?

nihili

 

[girldog44]

Fans >>>>>>>

The fan @ btm front is sucking in, Mid rear is sucking out and is right by the Orb fan, power supply is blowing out

 

[nihili]

Re: Fans >>>>>>>

The fan @ btm front is sucking in, Mid rear is sucking out and is right by the Orb fan, power supply is blowing out

Ok, that sounds about right. Basically at this stage you can spend some time trying to improve airflow in the case by dressing wires and such. You can bet more powerful case fans, or add more. But probably the best thing you can do is upgrade the heatsink. The Orb series generally aren't great performers when it comes to overclocking. THey look cool, and your chip won't burn up at stock speeds, but they don't have enough cooling potential to deal with much overclocking.

nihili

 

[girldog44]

Replace the HS ??

I got the copper Orb because it was said(from reading here and reviews) it was the 2ed best on the market as for cooling and OCing, Are you pulling my leg here or what? No disrespect ment.
I have to leave the comp now for an hour or so and will check back then, Thanks.

 

[nihili]

Re: Replace the HS ??

I got the copper Orb because it was said(from reading here and reviews) it was the 2ed best on the market as for cooling and OCing, Are you pulling my leg here or what? No disrespect ment.
I have to leave the comp now for an hour or so and will check back then, Thanks.

Gosh, no, I'm not pulling your leg. I just went through and checked several sites and can't find anybody recommending the copper orb. In fact orbs generally don't get very good reviews, though I think one of them did OK. If you could point me to where you got the recommendations I'd be happy to have a look and see if I can figure out what the confusion is. I have heard people talk about using copper orbs as a GPU cooler, but I don't recall ever seeing it recommended as a CPU cooler.

nihili

 

[girldog44]

A few reviews for you >>>

Well it's a Dragon Copper Orb 3 not just a Dragon Orb, the # 3 is the one I have and I don't find any review that is saying to stay away from it. Just a few links for ya below.

http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/cooling/dragon_orb_3/1.htm
http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/cooling/dragon_orb_3/2.htm
http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/cooling/dragon_orb_3/3.htm

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/Tt_Dragon_ORB_3/

http://thecoldshop.com/display.cfm?articleid=32&page=1

http://www.tech-planet.net/reviews/00025/

http://www.jsihardware.com/reviews.php?ID=51

http://www.google.com/search?q=dragon+copper+orb&source-id=yahoo-b

 

[nihili]

Ok, that sounds more reasonable. (for some reason I missed the word Dragon in your first post) The good news is that that's the best of the Orbs. The bad news is that while it performs acceptably at stock speeds, it's not going to stand up well to overclocking.

As for the reviews you posted, let me point some things out. Most of the review compare it to only a limited range of heatsinks, and not generally the best ones. One review only compares it to other Orbs. They rightly conclude that it is the best Orb. One of the reviews you posted actually says that it doesn't recommend it. I'd take a look at the reviews on the front page here and also look at the heatsink roundup at anandtech.com. Dansdata.com also has a broad comparison group.

But that's all water under the bridge. It's what you've got. Your choices are either to try to get the best performance you can with it, or you can replace it with something else. Personally I'd live with it for a bit until you run into a wall. There are always better heatsinks coming out and if you're just starting on overclocking, this one may do for a bit. Once you get going you'll have a better idea of what you want, and a chance to save for it if you need to. For the record, you can get great heatsinks for between 30 and 50 bucks not including shipping.

So, what can you do with what you've got. I've already mentioned a few possibilities in my other responses. Beyond that you might consider lapping the heatsink. Also, what sort of thermal interface are you using? If you're not using a version of arctic silver, that can make a few degrees difference. Also it's worth asking around to see how accurate your motherboard's thermistor's are typically accurate.

Now many people overclock up to 50C, you're at 40C. One of the first things you should do is test the temperature at full load. THere are a variety of programs that will keep your cpu at full load for as long as you like. THe full load temp will give you a better base of comparison that "normal" load will.

I've got a cold and my brain is shorting out, so I'm going to stop here.

nihili

 

[Puer Aeternus]

Just my opinion...

HA HA, I am laughing here. A Dragon orb on a 750 seems like overkill. I have a TtVolcano 2 on my Duron 1gig and my avg temp is 39-42c..that is pretty good considering it is not overclocked. You have a bigger fan and Heatsink on a smaller CPU..you should have cooler temps!! Re-apply that sucker and check your fan placements and make sure nothing is obstructing the air flow..if you have cool air reaching your Dragon Orb than you should get low temps and O/C away if that is your goal. Remeber this fan is made for 1.4 tbird/XP and higher chips.
Also these little things helped me get better cooling w/ my Volcano7..they may help you(I think your temps are good already good, could be better w/ that fan though ):
1.Re-apply your thermal grease..not too much! I cleamed my CPU and applied a thinner coat and got better temps.
2.Re-seat your heat sink...I fiddled w/ my H/S and again brought the temp down a notch or 2.
3. dont worry about temps so much or you may end up breaking something while fiddling w/ your system....I have a dead 750 duron ...ask me why!
Unless O/C'ing your CPU is your goal dont worry about temps!

Actually, It just occured to me that your temps are very good...I was converting Ferinhite to celcius and your fan is doing a good job IMO.

 

[RnPgrosz]

Like nihili said those are safe temps but there are a few other things to consider. I noticed that you are using radio shack thermal grease. That stuff is low quality and the chances are with Arctic Silver II or III you could see a drop of 2-4 C possibly more. If you are looking to overclock there are some great hsfs that you can get for between $20-50 like the cooler master heatpipe, alpha pal8045(on svcompucycle.com for only about $35 which is a good price), swiftech mcx462, the new ax7 and many more. If your not going to be overclocking stay with the one you have now.

 

[girldog44]

Oh well,got to do somthing looks like

And thanks Puer Aeternus for your comments also and others.
I have laped the HS and I have a thin layer of grease on it (RadioShack brand). I was thinking about reversing the rear mid fan so that it would blow in onto the Orb, but that mite upset the airflow of the Orb fan.
All of the wires are dressed out of the way and I have rounded ribben cables also in a tower case. The sucker sounds like a jet taking off now, but I guess I could get better case fans. I do want to try and OC the system, thats why I got the ABit KT-7 MB and Orb in the first place.
I'ed still like to know what "good temps" are verses too hot temps, if someone wants to weigh into that.
Thanks all, Girldog44.

 

[Puer Aeternus]

Temps

Any Tech I talk to look at me like I am crazy when I mention low temps in the 30's...they all say 50c is perfectly fine. Now anyone here will tell you low 40's is okay and better yet 30's. So take your pick...I am in the 30's right now and content and just added another 100mhz via O/C.
I am still relatively new to all this and still learning myself. I would say that if you are in the 40's that is fine..If you have money to burn and like to tinker..than by all means go for the low temps...I just cringe to think that you have a new system and are already convinced that it is not up to par...enjoy what you have
(BTW..I got my 750 o/c'ed to 900mhz w/ a MINI -not so- SUPER ORB...you should get 1000 maybe more...good luck!!)

There is lot's to read here on temps, enjoy:
http://overclockers.com/

 

[nihili]

Basically lower temps improve stability. As long as you're not experiencing instability, then you're ok. The chip itself won't fry until a *lot* hotter than you're at. My motherboard has an automatic power down on high temperature feature; I think the lowest I can set it is 60C. So consider your chip safe up until at least 60C.

Nonetheless, most people find that keeping the temps low lets them push the chip more. There are a lot of people running in the mid 40s. As I said, Personally I do my best to stay under 40 at full load. My concern for your temps is that you're at 40C at stock speed under a light load. Once you start overclocking, that will rise quickly. However, it sounds like you've got all the bases covered, so it may just be that your mobo reads the temperature higher than it is. I don't have any experience with that mobo, I suggest you ask around on the MSI MOBO forum to see how accurate the thermistors typically are. I also suggest you do a full load test. That will give you an absolute point of comparison as you overclock.

In any case I'd say you're ready to start cranking it up. Keep your temps below 55C and you won't be close to having any physical danger to the chip. After that it's all a matter of stability.

good luck,

nihili