Too Hot?

[tomedcollins]

Apologies for starting another topic on the subject of whether or not a computer is running too hot, but as well as concerns about the heat of the processor I'm also curious as to whether my case and chipset temperatures are anything to worry about.

My processor runs at 3.2Ghz and I'm getting my temperature readings from Motherboard Monitor 5.

When idle, the processor temperature is generally at 42 degrees celsius, and the case and chipset are usually at 36-37 degrees celsius. Under load (usually games) the processor temperature soon rises to 60 degrees (my record is 61 degrees) and the case and chipset heat up to about 46 degrees.

Are these temperatures too hot? Also, I've read that recent P4 processors should never overheat as they will 'step down' to a lower speed when they detect that they're too hot. If this is true I'm concerned that even if my processor is in no danger of burning out, I'll never get the fullest performance from my machine as it too easily reaches the temperature at which the processing speed slows.

I've only had this computer for a couple of weeks and am finding that crashes to desktop are more frequent than with any other computer I've had. I'm not sure whether it could be the machine overheating or just the games I've been playing (Deus Ex 2 and Need For Speed Underground, which to be fair to my computer are both games which a lot of people seem to be having problems with).

Sorry again for asking again what seems to be a very common question. Thanks in advance for any help and advice that anyone can give to me.

[Ryanoffski]

Those temps do seem a little too hot. The idle CPU is okay, but the idle motherboard and the loaded temps are getting a little too high. You should probably invest in a quality heatsink/fan for your cpu and maybe a motherboard chipset cooling kit.

[thekingofpain]

It isnt mindblowing hot (yet)---but which heatsink are you using now?

Got a way of measuring that temp without using MB Monitor?

[Dax_Brandy]

61 is hot.. care to post your rig's specs.. include cooling solutions like fans, hsf, etc..

[tomedcollins]

OK, my system specs are as follows;

3.2Ghz P4 Processor
Intel D875PBZ Motherboard
512MB RAM
Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card (guess this is generating plenty of heat too)

The processor is cooled by an Intel fan. There's what looks to me like a bog-standard heat-sink nearby. Case fan has a max load of 360 watts. I've got to admit that despite owning PCs for thirteen years I've not got any experience of the cooling systems - I've always bought ready-made PCs and have never taken the cheap option, so I've always trusted manufacterers to put together a system that can adequately keep itself cool.

I don't have any other way to my knowledge of measuring the temperatures without MBM5.

I took a side panel off of the case and the temperatures have dropped considerably. Now, my CPU runs at roughly 28-30 degrees celsius and the case and chipset are at 25-26 degrees when idle, and when under load I've recorded maximum temperatures of 47 degrees for the CPU, 34 degrees for the chipset and 33 degrees for the case. Obviously, these are big percentage drops in temperature - are these new temperatures acceptable?

I guess the airflow to the system is poor, but the only advice I've ever been given about that is to leave six inches at the rear of the case, which I've always done.

[stroyal]

Those temps are good. Your problem is your case fans. You need more or you have to cut out the fan guards and replace them with wire guards. My rule of thumb with cases is you should have very little temp differance with the covers off or on.

Most cases have those guards with those little holes that stop more than half of the air that the fan can move, and make the fan over rev and make more noise.

[stroyal]

Front fans have another problem on a lot of cases. There is no way for air to ger to them, because the plastic front of the computer has no holes on it. I have cut holes in the front of my computers so air can get to the front fans. You can do it out of sight on the bottom of the front cover.