WTF, Idling at 45C??

[Flav_cool]

Hi,

I got my p4 3.0 GHz, and I'm getting temps of 45C idle, and up to 60C, when loaded. Is this normal???


UHHhghhghg

[JacobM5727]

i dont know for intel, but i would say no - did you put thermal grease on the heatsink? how much?
how many fans? what is the fan configuration? what kind of heatsink?

[Flav_cool]

The guys that sold it put the processor on the mb...so I don't really know. There is one fan on the back, on on the processor, and one pulling up into the power supply. Plus, it has an air duct on the side so that it pulls air from outside.

[JacobM5727]

is the heatsink copper, or aluminum? you may be able to tell by color.. if its aluminum, you should upgrade it - if its already copper, or, aftermarket, then they might have installed it wrong

[ShawnD1]

Those temps are perfectly normaly for systems with really crappy cooling systems (like my computer, the one that burned out 2 motherboards!)..

When Jacob says get a copper heatsink, he's not kidding. Copper is 62.5% more conductive than aluminum. This means that if a copper heatsink made the CPU stay at 100C, a copper heatsink of equal area, shape, and volume will run at only 63C or so.

Make sure you get a monster of a fan on your heatsink, you need to keep your motherboard cool! If your capacitors get damaged from heat (like mine did... twice), you'll need a new motherboard. Get the maximum number of fans that your case can hold and cut off the wire mesh on the back of your case for maximum airflow. Your case will look like a mess and your computer will sound like a jet engine but at least it will stay cool.