Are my temps ok?

[Goldstandard]

I have an a64 3500 for socket 939 with vcore at 1.55 o/c'd to 2450mhz and a thermalright slk-948u with 92mm enermax fan (2500rpm, about 50cfm) and my idle temps are at 46, and 60 at load. Is that normal for my setup? Just so you know though, my ambient temps are a bit high, 80, 82f because a/c for my room sucks. I used as5 and I know it takes a while to cure. My load temps used to be 63.

Also, any recommendations for northbridge cooling? My A8V comes with a passive one but I am at 245 fsb right now and I need to know if what I have is enough or if I needed more.

 

[Cerberus2k7]

It's a bit high, but not anything dangerous. I would just say load up your comp. Run F@H, few games, listen to music, have a few IE/FF windows open, some normal windows folders, and just check to see if you can use your system like that without it crashing. To me, it works better than just running prime or F@H by itself because you are throwing other programs into the mix at the same time.

 

[David]

I would say that 60C is really a bit too high. If possible you want to keep it in low 50s, or under 50 ideally. Its not at the melting-CPU stage yet through. As has been mentioned, try testing the system stability.

 

[Goldstandard]

Should I lap the heatsink? I figured that it would be fine but I did feel some roughness when I pulled the protective covering off. My as5 might still have some more curing left to do too.

What about northbridge coolers?

 

[Cerberus2k7]

Oh, and I know how it is with the hot room. It's like, 93ºF in mine at times. Stupid AZ heat!

As for lapping your heatsink, go for it. It can't really hurt unless you have no idea what youre doing and just go off scratching it against random sheets of sand paper.

And about NB coolers, there are a few different ones out right now. The one you currently have might be sufficent enough to just be able to add some AS5 and be set. Right now, I believe the best air NB cooler you can get is the Swiftech MCX159 so if you have that, you wont need to worry about your NB for a while

 

[Goldstandard]

Well, I think I am going to wait for the winter to see how my temps are, and then decide what to do then. As for the northbridge, the swifttechs seem a bit pricey, for a little nb cooler. What about putting some sinks on the mosfets? I heard that the higher the fsb the hotter they get and I am at 245 right now. (I have been able to take it up to 275 before)

 

[Leviathan41]

The best cooling product I have bought was a window A/C unit for my room. It was about $70 and it keeps my ambient temps as low as I want them.

 

[Goldstandard]

I can't do that. My window screen is fixed and can't be removed to place an a/c unit. Isn't there anything I can just set down by itself like on top of my dresser?

 

[archilochus]

Goldstandard, Air conditioners work by removing heat in the freon..That heat is dissapated in the condensing coil. That part of the unit usually sits outside so the heat removed doesn't reenter the area your try to cool..So having the unit sit on your dresser will do no good..Air conditioners cool by removing heat, just like a HS on your cpu..The plan is to get the heat out of the case..Think of the case as a small house..

 

[Goldstandard]

Hmm, I guess that means I will have to wait till winter for cooler temps. Sigh...

 

[Goldstandard]

Ok, I lapped my heatsink, and the temps are now 46/56, which is better, and the AS5 is still fresh and hasn't even cured yet.

 

[TheWesson]

Gee, nobody mentioned case temps yet.

So I will.

Get your case temps down and your CPU temps will follow.

Make sure that air has a good path to get all the way through your case. Wide openings for in and out. Snip fan grills on intake and exhaust. Check front intake - often for some unknown reason case makers design cases with approximately zero airflow permitted through the front. You need some clear intake - side blowhole or wide front intake or something.

I say all this because CPU load temp of 55C seems rather high when room temp is 26C, especially considering that you have a good HSF.

the wesson

PS By the way, what is your case temp?

 

[Goldstandard]

Yeah, I noticed. When I open my case I get a 1 to 2 degree drop, so it must be the airflow. I will see if I can move the cables further out of the way.

My antec case has two temp probes in different spots. One is near the intake and one is further inside near the video card. The temps are 44, and 33, so there are definately some hotspots in there.

Update: After opening up my case I can feel that my vga card is quite hot. I think I need to get some custom cooling for that. I don't see how much more I can do wiring wise.

 

[TheWesson]

ack! An antec sonata? those are notoriously hot cases.

but quiet ...

there are some standard antec sonata mods. Like opening up the bottom louver in the front bezel.

<scratches head> I can't remember, but I think the design tries to suck air in the front thru the carpet. Anyhow the front bezel is really a problem.

the wesson

 

[Goldstandard]

Sorry, it is actually the P160, not the sonata. I thought about that one but I thought the P160 looked cooler.

What is the best cooling kit for a Radeon 9800 pro 128mb made by ATI?

 

[TheWesson]

Ah. The p160 ... that's a nice looking case.

Also actually has openings in the front bezel, too.

Temps better if you clear away airpath between front intake fan and outside world? Remove air filter for example? It has an air filter in the front, right? You have a front fan? One 1600 RPM 120mm fan for the whole case with a filter in the way might be pretty sad.

the wesson

PS Get case temps down and then think about special video card cooling if you still need it, is my advice.

 

[Goldstandard]

Ok, I removed the filter and the metal grill, and load is currently at 58, so that is a little cooler. I did an experiment where I put my 6in fan by the case and dropped the temp to 51. So it is obviously my case. I have an aerocool blue led fan in front and the standard fan is the exhaust. I notice that it tends to stay cool, then slowly the heat builts up, at the top of my case I think. Should I put in a blowhole or would drilling a bunch of small holes be sufficient for heat to escape?

The ambient temps went down 2 degrees so far.

Edit: Ok, I figured out that the fans on my computer are slowpokes that only do about 50 - 60 cfpm! My case is big so obviously that won't cut the mustard. Any recommendations?

 

[Cerberus2k7]

For cooling your 9800pro, the VGA Silencer is currently the best air cooler for it I believe. There are some mods that have been done to them to help them cool better, but the stock setup works well and is hassle free compaired to the Zalman cooler.

 

[TheWesson]

A lot of people like Evercool aluminum fans ... they are often relabeled and sold under another sticker. A 120mm aluminum fan with grooves at the corners is pretty likely to be Evercool aluminum.

Panaflo 120mm -- well, I have two 120mm Panaflo L1A's and I do not like them that much. They are buzzy. Rumors are going around that quality control isn't that super at Panasonic's Chinese factory. (My 80mm Japanese Panaflo are great, though.)

If your fans are thermally controlled (have a blue thing on two copper legs sticking out of the hub, for example) you can short circuit that to go to max speed. Just wrap a small stripped wire (securely!) around those legs.

If you have 50 CFM going through your case already, you can get a few more degrees with better ventilation. A rule of thumb would be that doubling your air throughput should cut the rise in case heat approximately in half.

the wesson

 

[Goldstandard]

Ok, I got two new fans, an enermax adjustable one, and a sunon one. they both move about 80 to 90 cfm, and are rather noisy. I put the enermax in the rear so I could adjust the airflow so it is positive presure inside. Now to get some tin snips and get rid of those grills.

Oh, and my temps have improved, they are now 42 56.