When HOT Gets to HOT to Handle!

[SkiDog]

ok, I'm pissed.... after trying to cool my TBird 1Gig for weeks now, I'm giving up. I have bought what I believe to be the best cpu fan out there, the Alpha PAL6035, with Delta 38cfm Fan, after 1 hour my temp is at 50C! It stays at 36C when idle, but jumps to 50! just suffering the net! Its like I need water kit and I'm not even overclocked yet! I'm going to take back my TBird, along with the case and motherboard. Just going to start all over. So what I need form you guys is advice on what motherboard to get and what CPU to get. I know this should go under the CPU or motherboard section, but you guys have offered good advice so far and I wanted you to read and help me out with this one also. = )

Thanks a lot for your help.

Once again, what CPU and Motherboard would you recommend I buy? What cooling should I buy for it?

Thank you!

 

[surlyjoe]

dont panic dood, what kind of paste ar eya usin? and are ya sure its sitting level on the cip?

 

[Nagorak]

How are you going to just take them back? I don't know many stores that just let you return things after a month with no problems...

Anyway, I think you are overreacting a little bit. 50C is definitely running hot. That's about the heat level that mine gets up to under full load, and I have a much less effective heatsink, but also one which is quieter (Agilent Arcticooler). It kind of sounds like your case may be heating up, thus causing your CPU to heat up (which would explain why it takes an hour for it to hit 50C). Is your case well ventillated? If not, you might try running it open to see if that solves the problem.

Other than that make sure you have applied a THIN layer of thermal grease. That should help conduct heat to the heatsink. Also, maybe check to make sure you fan is blowing down onto the PAL instead of sucking away. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the PAL is supposed to have the fan blowing down onto it. (I know the PEP is supposed to have it sucking, but I think it is different with the PAL). Also check to make sure you fan is plugged in and running (not that you wouldn't notice it if that loud fan were off).

 

[Nagorak]

Also, buy a temperature sensor probe and use that to get the temperature of your heatsink (if possible bore a hole down right above the processor, otherwise just get the heatsink temperature as close to the core as you can get it). Those motherboard sensors are horribly inaccurate and tend to report temps much higher than you'll get with a thermocouple.

 

[sleddog]

My PAL is more efficient with the fan sucking. I have an 80mm on it, sucking, and vented outside the case. Works great running at a quiet 7v.

 

[Nagorak]

Well, I'll admit knowing absoluely nothing about the PAL. So, take what I said about it with a grain of salt.

 

[SkiDog]

Alright lets see,
I'm using the Arctic Silver thermal grease between my chip dye and heatsink. I have used a very thin layer and kept it on the dye by using masking tape. everything is on flat and is secure. I have my case completely open allowing for max ventilation. When my computer hits 50c it freezes. This happens with no load other then Windows 98 and solitaire running. The fan is on and is blowing on the heatsink very loudly = )

As far as returning it, yes, it will be a pain but i do not know what else to do.... any other advice?

I'm working on getting the sensor. Would the false reading from my motherboard sensor be the cause of my computer freezing when it hits 50c?

Thank you for your help = )

 

[Kenshin]

I used to have an Alpha 6035, I cut it up to make into a small heatsink for my clock generator. I didn't like it much. Anyways, with the clip that comes with the Aplha I'm not to fond of and usually take me 3-4 tries to get the heatsink to sit perfectly on the cpu die. I have a tbird 800 @1029 @ 2.03vcore by the way. The heatsink sitting correctly on the die of the cup makes a world of a difference. I saw as much as a 10 degree difference. One time I had a bad seat and my temps were around 50C idle, so I went at it cleaned off all the thermal paste and reseat it. When you get a good seat I'm sure you'll get highest on idle lets say about 30 - 40 degrees C and underload a max should be 45 degrees C depending on what fan u are using and the room temps. Can you explain how you are using masking tape to keep the paste in place? I don't think there should be any need for masking tape. If you are using masking tape to spread the paste then ok. Sometimes thinest possible isn't good. I get incredibly bad results with thin layers of paste using a razor. I usualy cover the entire core with paste with no part of the core is visible, (not even semi transparent). That gives me the best performance out of a heatsink.

 

[Pat]

Just built a A7VK133 Asus 1Ghz system with a PEP 66 cooler. Run a 15mm Delta 21cfm pushing & a Y/S 26cfm sucking. Hate loud 60mm fans. My temps under normal use runs between 42*C-44*C based on room temp using the Asus Probe utility. My full tower case has 80cfm of air in & out. I have a razor thin coat of A/Silver only on the CPU core. My next step is to install my copper shim with thermo grease & see if it lowers the temp.

Those cpu cooling test labs rate the coolers different. One rates the Swiftech 370 best & the next one rates the PEP 66 best. I do know if you get that $80 cooler from Swiftech 462 it should cool that CPU, but you have to bolt it to the M/B because it weighs 24oz. The max AMD recommends is 300 grams to total weight.

Room temp & air movement in & out of the case makes a difference.

Good Luck

Pat

 

[kamikaziken]

I'm running a similar set up, 1g tbird@1178 using an alpha pal6035 on an abit kt7 and my idle temps are 27c at idle and 38c after running 12hrs of seti. The alpha wasn't the easiest to put on, I had to remove my power supply to get enough room and then take some needle nose pliers to grasp the clip with. But I also just took the thermal grease that came with the hs and put a little mound of it on the core and then let it sqish out around the edge of the core. No razor blade or tape just the sqish.

 

[SkiDog]

When HOT Gets too HOT to Handle!

Ok, I used the masking tape to keep Arctic Silver thermal grease paste on the die only, not the rest of the chip. I put the masking tape only on the very boarder of the die, covering the rest of the chip and only leaving the dye open. Then I used a floppy disk metal slide cover to spread the grease on the dye about the thickness of the masking tape. Then I removed the masking tape with a perfectly coverd dye, leaving the rest of the chip clean. You should try it, it realy works well. The only problem is that my CPU still runs just way too hot... The heatsink is sitting correctly on the die and it makes a huge difference. For example When it is not on correctly, my computer reaches 50c in a matter of min. When it is on, it taks about a hour of Windows 98 and solitaire to reach 50c. The sad part is, my system is not even overclocked Yet! The case is off, and the temp of the room is about 70f. All advice is welcome seeing how I will have a prob. trying to return this stuff. = )

Thank you for your time and help = )

 

[Kenshin]

kamikaziken (Feb 26, 2001 09:12 a.m.):
I'm running a similar set up, 1g tbird@1178 using an alpha pal6035 on an abit kt7 and my idle temps are 27c at idle and 38c after running 12hrs of seti. The alpha wasn't the easiest to put on, I had to remove my power supply to get enough room and then take some needle nose pliers to grasp the clip with. But I also just took the thermal grease that came with the hs and put a little mound of it on the core and then let it sqish out around the edge of the core. No razor blade or tape just the sqish.

Ok, how in the world could you get ur temps to be 27c at idle????? I've had to duct air from outside once just to test, my feet were frost bitten from the cold air being released from my case, I got a delta fan blowing air straight on my alpha with an 80mm fan intake right over the delta blowing the subzero temps cold air onto my processor and still my idle temps are only 25 degrees C. At load my temps get even as high as 38 degrees C. I know the air is cold because one, my feet could no longer stand the cold air even with socks on and two the intake pipe was covered in ice.

 

[SkiDog]

When HOT Gets too HOT to Handle!

Alright,
Well if I'm able to return this stuff, what CPU and Motherboard would you recommend I buy and why? Also, what cooling should I buy for it?

Thanks = )

 

[Nagorak]

I guess a thin coat is all relative. I didn't mean to have it super thin. I just meant not to squeeze the whole tube out on top. In my experience, you should put a coat that is thick enough so that it is not transparent. When you seat the heatsink on the processor, any extra thermal grease will be squeezed out anyway, thanks to the super strong AMD clip. If you have too much on there, it should get pushed off, leaving just enough anyway, so I don't think you can put too much (just don't be ridiculous).

I guess I would suggest trying to put a little more thermal grease on the CPU. Just use your finger, there's no need to go overboard with a razor or anything else. I really don't know what your problem could be...is there anything hot that is venting onto the CPU in any way?

It almost sounds like the CPU might be defective?

 

[Colin]

Don't use your finger! The oil in your skin will contaminate the HS compound. Go read the faq at www.articsilver.com .

 

[SkiDog]

When HOT Gets too HOT to Handle!

Ok, lets see...
As far as the thermal grease, I have applyed it and reaplyed it many times now, using almost a full tube.
As far as any heat venting onto the chip, good thinking, but my PSU is out side the case on the ground. (The whole case is praticaly taken apart allowing max ventilation). I cant think of anyting eles that would be adding heat. My HDD's are away etc...
As far as a dead/bad/defective CPU... How would one tell/test it?
Also, now when I boot my computer, I get errors (Blue screens) in windows after I logon and need to shut down completly. (This is just now happening, This has not happened before) It also seems like my CPU is also getting hotter much quicker... When this all started, it took about an hour to get to 50c. Now it is like 10 min. It makes me feel like the heatsink is not on correctly, but it is.... Any ideas?
Please help = )

Again, I would like to thank all of you for both: your time and help with this problem. = )

 

[SkiDog]

When HOT Gets too HOT to Handle!

Alright,
If I'm able to return this stuff, should I get the same AMD 1gig CPU? or should I just try the intell?

 

[Nagorak]

amd