Basic Question: How to reduce temperature of PC?

[GreatUSA]

I know my question is extremely basic, but I've been searching online and I didn't find any solid information.

I just wanted to know how I can lengthen the life expectancy of my PC parts: the motherboard, RAM, HDD, CPU and graphics card. I want to keep this motherboard working for as long as possible.

I'm about to buy a new CPU cooler, but is there anything else I can do?

Thanks!

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Better airFLOW through the case.

 

[Johan45]

I know my question is extremely basic, but I've been searching online and I didn't find any solid information.

I just wanted to know how I can lengthen the life expectancy of my PC parts: the motherboard, RAM, HDD, CPU and graphics card. I want to keep this motherboard working for as long as possible.

I'm about to buy a new CPU cooler, but is there anything else I can do?

Thanks!

A good description of your case Make/Model and how things are currently set-up( how many fans/size and where) will go a long way in helping you maximize cooling. Also a list of your main components so we know what we're dealing with. One more thing. If you could post a screen shot of HWMonitor free verion open while stressing the PC. This will give us info on temps in your system. They may be fine already.

 

[EarthDog]

They may be fine already.

This. Many people worry for no reason.

Please list your hardware and other info as requested in order to better help.

 

[GreatUSA]

A good description of your case Make/Model and how things are currently set-up( how many fans/size and where) will go a long way in helping you maximize cooling. Also a list of your main components so we know what we're dealing with. One more thing. If you could post a screen shot of HWMonitor free verion open while stressing the PC. This will give us info on temps in your system. They may be fine already.

Thanks! I'll create a screenshot of HWMonitor as soon as I can.

I keep my PC case always without the lid on so does this help keep the PC components cool? Also, I keep my PC case on the floor to reduce the temperature, but does this help much?

 

[Robert17]

Mixed bag. lid off allows dust to gather inside more quickly. Also, although cooler on the floor, that's also where the dust bunnies breed. Proper fans properly configured in a closed, filtered case is generally a best option.

 

[GreatUSA]

Thanks.

Does it really make a difference if I had an additional 1 or 2 fans in the PC case?

 

[Mr.Scott]

Sometimes.
It is situational.

 

[GreatUSA]

It'd be great if I could reduce the CPU temperature of my Intel Q9400 another way like by buying a fan or another device for the PC case? Buying a new CPU cooler for a Q9400 seems like a waste of money because it's so old...
I've already tried re-applying a new coat of thermalpaste and this helped only a little bit.

Thanks!

 

[Lochekey]

Just to be clear. Are you trying to cool the whole system better of specifically the cpu?

If you want to cool the cpu better you could look at getting something like the cooler master hyper 212 evo.

This is relatively inexpensive and will improve your cpu temps. It will also be a good investments as it is designed to work on not only your current system but the newer systems as well If you decide to upgrade at some point.

As the others have said if you can give us more information about your specific setup we can better help.

 

[GreatUSA]

Just to be clear. Are you trying to cool the whole system better of specifically the cpu?

If you want to cool the cpu better you could look at getting something like the cooler master hyper 212 evo.

This is relatively inexpensive and will improve your cpu temps. It will also be a good investments as it is designed to work on not only your current system but the newer systems as well If you decide to upgrade at some point.

As the others have said if you can give us more information about your specific setup we can better help.

That sounds great, but that CPU cooler isn't available where I live.

It'd be great if there was a device that could cool all of the internal parts in my PC case including the CPU cooler.

 

[Lochekey]

That sounds great, but that CPU cooler isn't available where I live.

I guess I assumed you were in the US based on your nick. If you Don't mind my asking where do you live? We can recommend products available to you locally then.

 

[GreatUSA]

I just took this screenshot now after the CPU was under stress for 2 hours:

http://i63.tinypic.com/18epoz.jpg

 

[GreatUSA]

I just noticed that the following fans are all set at 0%. Is that normal?

"FANPWM0"
"FANPWM1"
"FANPWM2"

 

[Robert17]

From your screeny, you apparently don't have any fans connected to your MB. That's why the RPMs = 0. The temps appear to be a bit high which you need to address. For future reference please list all your PC's components: each part by make/model, fan count and placement, cooling config (heat sinks, water, etc.). You'll be helping us help you.

And welcome to OCF!

 

[GreatUSA]

Thanks so much for your reply!

How do I connect fans to my motherboard? My motherboard is rev 1.0 and this is it here: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2543&dl=#ov

 

[GreatUSA]

I've been reading through my motherboards manual .PDF file but I haven't been able to find any mention of connecting extra fans...

 

[EarthDog]

Use the fan headers. It shows where they are if you can't find them on the board. The look exactly like the cpu header... either 3 or 4 pin.

Look at page 7 in the MANUAL, not the installation guide. It shows a picture of your board and a couple of fan headers on the board. 3 pin is voltage controed, 4 pin is pwm.

 

[trents]

Fan headers are circled red in the picture. Your fan wires would need to have three or four pin connectors to fit on these headers. If your fans only have large connectors that plug into a power supply lead then you would need to either get new fans with motherboard type connectors or get adapters to convert the existing connectors. Using motherboard fan headers would not improve air flow in your case but would allow you to monitor their RPM (rotational speed) and, if the fan and header both have four pin connectors, to adjust the speed to cut down on noise when high air flow is not needed.

 

[knoober]

With so few fan headers I think fan orientation will depend on cooler choice as well as case orientation, but it looks like you would basically want one blowing cool air in the front of the case (if you have room) and then maybe a molex adapter to to add an exhaust fan. There main issues with molex adapters is 1) having an open molex plug on your psu and 2) there isnt any ability to control speed on your fans (they always run at max speed), so if you want a really quiet PC then you might want a different solution like a fan controller.