Athlon XP - Recommended Shutdown Temperatures?

[ElijahBaley]

Does anyone know where I can find out what the recommended warning and shutdown temperatures are for my Athlon Xp 1800 using a thermal diode and supporting software (Soltek ABS II)

Thanks

EB

 

[Nathan123]

Yo bro most of the units I build I usually set the shutdown temp to around 60 to help the lifespan of your processor. Please tell me the cooling system of your unit.

Knowledge is a gift from God sharing it with friends and strangers, make you a better person, inside and outside.

 

[ElijahBaley]

Hi Nathan

I use the standard retail heatsink and fan that came with the packaged processor, the board Soltek DRV-5 comes with a antiburn-shield that supposedly defaults to a shutdown temp of 85c, but if I reset the defaults in the Bios it appears to set at 60c.

The problem is that since I flashed the Bios and added a second HDD the computer shuts down after about 15Mins usage, so I am not sure if I have inadvertantly lowered the shutdown temp when I flashed the Bios, or the new HDD is causing a general temp increase in the case.. or maybe its the very hot weather we are having here in the UK at the moment (30c)... could be all three!

This system was very reliable before I performed the two upgrades.

Thanks for any help,

EB

 

[Nathan123]

What other stuff do you have: CDwriter, how many harddrives, cause it might be your power supply, a time table of 15mins then it shut's down well...it might also be the new bios you installed did you make a backup of your old bios(I hope so). My unit has 4 extra casing fans to regulate air inside the unit. 2 fans for introducing cool air and the other 2 to suck the hot air inside and throw it outside. My unit has a 350watt power supply. You should have at least a minimum of 300watts the high the better.

Knowledge is a gift from God sharing it with friends and strangers, make you a better person, inside and outside.

 

[designchain]

ElijaBailey, what Nathan123 says might be true - you might have a problem with Voltage stability with the added load. If you increase the power supply capacity to 350W or 400W that might help...and it might not. The AMD datasheet says the max die temp for the part is 85C (

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/25175.pdf).

That's not where the warning or shutdown should go, but that's the temp the part should meet it's specifications to. In 30C weather the CPU is liable to get up to 80C - my Athlon 1333 die temp is typically about 45C hotter than ambient, for instance and my box has three fans including the processor heatsink fan...I'd suggest setting the warning at 70C and shutdown at 75C just to be safe.

Now, it may not BE the processor that's your problem. It could be the motherboard itself or the DRAM. Sometimes components are sold as higher performance than they really are (gray market sometimes remarks part. Some illegitimate system builders sometimes bet on a CPU's margin and slip a slower part in and sell it as a faster part - check under the heatsink to see what speed your CPU is; look at your memory to see what speed it is; make sure your board is set up correctly for the CPU and memory type.

 

[ElijahBaley]

Thanks for the advice guys,

its definately a temp problem as it was running without any problems last night with the side panels off, I have a 300W power supply 2x HDD 1xDVD/CDRW, floppy drive and probably the biggest heat source, a Geforce FX 5200 which has a heatsink the size of a battleship and no fan.

I think I will give the 70C warning and 75C shutdown a try, and maybe get a couple of fans to push air through the case, I am starting to think that maybe this system has always been a bit warm with the lack of cooling in the case, and maybe the air temp has made the difference.

Cheers,

EB

 

[designchain]

You need at least one fan in the case besides the fan on the CPU heatsink and the power supply fan. My case has a place for an exhaust fan in back and on the bottom. I didn't install on the bottom (but that should probably be to pull air in to the case) but do have one on the back which exhausts air from the case. I tried reversing it to push external air in to the case but the CPU was a few degrees hotter so set it up to exhaust (which is probably what the case was designed for).

 

[euston]

Suck air out, don't push it in

I'm doubtful about the wisdom of using intake fans which can create unhelpful turbulence within the case and actually disrupt air flow. Smooth airflow within the case is desirable. Turbulence that promotes good heat transfer will be induced by the CPU cooling fan and be local to the heat sink cooling fins. Just deliver plenty of smooth flowing ambient air to the CPU cooler and the cooler fan will do the rest.

The more air you can pull through the case, the better, and make sure it passes the CPU. Therefore, exhaust fans should be sited so that they pull air past the CPU. Make sure there is a decent aperture (that's posh for a 'ole) near the bottom front of the case. A decent PSU should have an internal bottom intake fan that is intended to pull air from near the CPU.

I observe a temperature difference of 15°C between case air and CPU at low CPU load. This increases to 18°C when the CPU has to work hard (poor thing).

Fans are a necessary evil. I hate high frequency noise and fans make plenty. Good quality fans are quieter and, I believe, more efficient. Their blade design may well be superior to cheaper ones which roar ineffectually.

The AMD web site has information that you might find helpful. See: -

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/cooling_guide.pdf