Need cooling help!

[Syx]

Hello all, I've been browsing these forums for about a week and have really learned alot, so I'm new and I am looking for some help to cool my heater(aka my computer).

In the past couple months my computer has been overheating like mad, and it randomly just stops working(computer runs but no signal to anything), and the only thing I can think of is the heat.

With typical use my processor gets up to about 60C and my northbridge gets up to 50C(redline). There currently is only two fans in my whole box, one 70mm fan on the CPU heatsink and one 80mm fan on the back of the power supply(300watt). So obviously I'm in need of some major cooling, that's why I'm here hoping you guys would help me.

Here are my current plans to cool this beast down:
New heatsink and fan for the processor(socket 478 williamette core)
New heatsink and fan for the chipset
5 80mm case fans, Intake: 1 front 2 side, Exhaust: 1 rear 1 top
Round ata/floppy cables to help with the air flow
I also have a 400watt power supply with 3 fans but I have to check the voltages to see if it's not broke(got it from my dad)

I would like to know if this is a good plan and any suggestions are welcome, thanks

 

[I.M.O.G.]

Sounds good, here are some things to keep in mind:

The chipset isn't too important to chill... Any heatsink fan combo should do the trick fine when you are air cooling that CPU. Some people think the chipset cooling is more important though, so this is my thought atleast.

Watch when you buy round cables... IDE cables should not be longer than the standard size, but rounded cables are often quite a bit longer - this can increase your risk of transmission errors considerably. Stick to something shorter whenever possible.

A better power supply would not hurt - the problem could be that just as easily as it could be heat. Of course with your temp readings, I would guess heat also.

Most importantly, we're glad to have you here, so keep posting away lurker n00b! It looks like you did your homework before posting up... Welcome to the forums!

 

[Goldstandard]

another good idea would be to lap the heatsink before mounting it, often the manufacturer doesn't do a good job smoothing the bottom out. Don't forget the Arctic silver 5 either. A little trick to get the stuff to come out easier is to run the syringe under hot water, that way you can spread it better.

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

Have you started folding yet?

 

[Syx]

Thanks for the tips, I was thinking about thermal compound because I noticed the heatsinks are just clamped in, and I just thought maybe adding either some artic silver or compound would help with the heat transfer, as far as lapping I only saw one thing about it and I don't know much about it, but I've heard it helps so I could learn about it and try it.

As far as folding is concerned, I haven't check it out yet, and I usually shut my computer off at night because I can't sleep with the noise, but once I get some better cooling in this rig I plan to leave it on all the time, and then I'll probably check it out since it seems to be a big thing around here. Also my parents use this computer alot, which makes me mad but what can I do. Also parents + computer = spyware and other crap infecting my computer that I have to clean out every day :'(

Also right now I have the side of the case off and a big fan just blowing on it, temps are down to 36 for the cpu and 34 for the chipset, it's just a temporary solution so that my computer doesn't randomly shut off in the middle of what I am doing.

 

[TheWesson]

Gee, with just one intake and one exhaust fan - with unimpeded airpath - you'd probably see about 80% of the improvement in case temp's you're going to get.

No need to go from 10 CFM to 120 CFM in one fell swoop ... geez.

some ballpark figures for case temp. 10 CFM might be about what you're getting right now ... with only PS fan cooling the case.

10 CFM ~ 33C rise case above ambient (intake) temp
40 CFM ~ 8C rise
80 CFM ~ 4C rise
120 CFM ~ 2.5C rise

those figures represent case exhaust temp for 200W in your case, for that CFM ...

the wesson

 

[archilochus]

Have you removed the fan grids from the case yet? These are the restrictive grids that are infront of or behind your fans. Removing these increases air flow while reducing noise..I use right cut, green handle, aviation tin snips.Available at most hardware stores for around $15.00..Keep your flow up & temps down.

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS

please don't quote my pic.

 

[LudaChris]

Yes Cut The Grills!!

I am a newbie my self but i would DEFINATELY reccomend cutting the fan grills. I have 2 exhaust fans in the back, 1 intake in the front, 1 intake on the side, and a blowhole at the top. I cut the grill guards off the case from the back 2 exhaust fans and the front intake fan and lowered my temps 6C! The front of my case has room for 4 x 80mm fans but it currently just has 1 x 120mm, but i cut a big hole to where i can still mount 4 x 80mm fans.

I used a dremel tool myself. You can pick up an awesome dremel with a ton of accessories to last you a while for about 65.00 @ hardware store. It's kind of expensive but i find myself finding a new use for that thing every month. I'll post some pics when I get home. Was a very easy task for some nice results. The blowhole's grill up top is just holes in the top window, I am going to try and cut that and try not to mess things up, the side fan has a wire grill so it has plenty airflow.

Good luck man!

 

[Stupid Boy]

1. I recommend this power supply if you need to replace yours.

2. Fans are cheap; get as many as you want. Just make sure you get good ones.

Also, while you're doing all this, if you're not using Arctic Silver thermal grease, replace the goo with Arctic Silver 5 or Ceramique.