Cooling issue

[mmshrink2]

I'm using a P4 3.2ghz on an Intel 865gbf mobo. I have 3 80mm case fans (one on the side panel blowing in, one on the front panel blowing in, and one on the back blowing out). Using Intel's Active Monitor, the Processor Zone idles in the low 40's Celsius, going up to high 50's under load (the threshold is 69 according to Active Monitor). System Zone 1 stays below 35 idling and doesn't go up much more under load. But Zone 2 idles at about 40 and goes up to around 57/58 under load, issuing warnings once it exceeds 55. Also, after running a CD-ROM for an hour or so, the CD/DVD drive gets pretty damn hot (it's a Samsung Combo CD/RW/DVD drive).
Any idea what is wrong here?

 

[micker377]

Your hard drives are mounted near the bottom of the case on purpose, in the stream of air from the "intake" fan. Your CD unit is near the top, out of the air-stream. You can either move the CD unit (lot of work), or get one of those auxillary coolers that is designed to mount to a hard drive, and mount it to the CD unit. This type of cooler is designed to mount on the drive itself, and either vents out the drive bay or into the normal internal exaust stream.

 

[mmshrink2]

I may have to swap over my hard drive and the CD drive. Do you have any suggestions about which auxilliary cooler is worth buying? Also, any idea why zone 2 shoots up so easily? I read somewhere that zone 2 is the RAM region, but I'm not sure about that.

 

[micker377]

You'd just be cooling the CD, and overheating the HDD! Can you mount the CD in the bottom 5 1/4 external bay? Make sure the cables reach, you still want the CD and HDD on separate channels.

 

[paparazi]

When I build a PC I never use the top 5.25 bay, I always leave a gap for this very reason, the top bay always gets hot.
Prescott P4's are literally a HOT TOPIC! at the moment.

This article might be of interest:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041114/index.html

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[micker377]

I put the floppy in the top slot, how often do you use that <grin>?

 

[mmshrink2]

Ok, so I'll put the CDrom drive as close down as i can without causing cable problems (I use my floppy quite often ackshually).
I notice from the article paparazzi sent that zone 2 is in fact between the cpu and the i/o ports, and not close to the ram as i thought. It seems that even if i can fix the CDrom heating problem, I'm still going to have the excessive temps on zone 2, running close to 60C under load.

 

[laffingravy]

Perhaps the side panel fan is actually interfering with the airflow, causing a vortex. You might want to disable it and give it a try. Good luck, worth a try!

 

[mmshrink2]

Hi
I moved the CD unit from the top bay to just above the floppy drive, in the middle of the case. I also changed the cables to the rounded type. But the CD unit still gets very hot after an hour of gaming, and zone 2 hits 57 after the same amount of time, with the cpu at 56/57.
I'm thinking that the next thing to try is to put a Coolermaster Aero 4 Lite fan on the CPU. Any suggestions?

 

[paparazi]

I'm pretty sure the stock Intel heatsink on the P4 3.2 has the round copper core insert, with finer and larger fins.
This heatsink/fan unit compared to Intel stock units upto 3.0gig (which are all alluminium and have fewer fins) are actually pretty good.
The Coolermaster Aero4 lite isn't the best of performers, the heatsinks all alluminium contruction is nothing special, the blower fan shifts a maximum 20cfm and is rather noisey with only just above average performance.
I actually think you standard copper core Intel unit is at least as good as the Aero4 lite.
So to improve on what you already have you will need an all copper swiftech/Thermaltake/Thermalright or one of the many top performing units with a decent 30cfm plus fan.
Martin




We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[mmshrink2]

I understood that the Aero lite uses a different methodology for cooling the cpu, according to the website it blows in a square avoiding the blank spot that you find with the stock h/s-fan.
Also, it comes with a dial to increase or decrease the fan speed as required. Surely these are improvements over Intel's stock system?

 

[micker377]

blows in a square"

Do you mean it creates a square air pattern, or it exausts the hot air into a square exaust box like the old Dell computers? Either way, what happens if you turn the reostat all the way to "fast"?

 

[smah]

You might also want to look into another fan blowing out. Of course, this will depend on airflow volumes for the particular fans in question. Think about this for the moment. Asuming that all the fans are equal, you're trying to push more air into the case, than can be drawn out. So, the air in the case stays there longer than it needs to. I usually have 1 more out fan than in, that way you are always going to get that hot air out of the case instead of pushing on the hot air already in there.

 

[mmshrink2]

Micker,
According to the Coolermaster website (

http://www.coolermaster.com/index.p...l=DI4-7J74F&other_title=DI4-7J74FAero 4 Lite)

air is pushed directly into the centre of the heatsink, in contrast to the conventional method, which creates a "blindspot".

Also, it looks like the aero 4 lite was found to be more efficient than the intel boxed system, at least according to the following studies:

http://www.metku.net/?sect=view&n=0&path=reviews/aero4lite/index_eng

http://www.pureoc.com/cm_aero4lite_1.asp

Smah,
What you are saying makes good sense - I only have the one 80mm exhaust fan at the back (and the PSU fan). However, I don't have another mounting position for another exhaust fan, and the existing grid on the back doesn't seem to take a 120mm fan.

 

[paparazi]

mmshrink2
Exactly my point! quote from that review:
"I used a P4 2.4C fsb800 CPU running at 2.8 GHz"

The stock cooler for the Intel P4 2.4, is smaller, has less fins and doesn't have the copper core insert that comes with the 3.2GHZ retail version.

So in this review the Aero4 lite is being compared to a much more inferior cooler than the one you are using.

Thats if you have the correct copper core OEM retail fan for your P4 3.2?
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[mmshrink2]

Yah, I see your point now, Martin. Perhaps I should get the Aero 4 or 7, which are fully copper, and also fits into the existing mobo mounting, instead (at least the 4 does, don't know about the 7).

Re: my front fan, for some reason there are no air vents on the front panel, so could it be that the fan on the front is simply blowing hot air around the case, and in the process heating up my CD/DVD drive? The only air blowing into the case from outside is coming from the side panel fan, which is not a very powerful fan. (Although, on the other hand, my HD is lower than the CD drive and it's temps seem to remain stable at around 29-34 C). In any event, Smah's point about additional exhausting seems logical to me, but as I mentioned before, I don't know where and how I could mount another exhaust fan.

 

[micker377]

Use a piece of toilet paper and see which fans are sucking and blowing. Do this with side cover on and off. If the front draws in better with the side off, you need more exhaust. My system actually runs 2 deg cooler with the side cover on, due to proper air flow pattern.

 

[paparazi]

mmshrink2
It might not look like the front panel has any vents but tip the case backwards and the opening is usually at the bottom of the facia trim.
If you haven't already got one, a quality twin fan power supply with help lower CPU temps as well, the lower fan draws warm air directly from the CPU area.
These twin fan or big fan units can drop temps by as much as 10C but more typically 4/6C, which is obviosly well worth while.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[micker377]

Expanding on Martin's suggestion, there is also a fan that sits in a PCI slot and vents out. Compare the price of a new power supply, the fan I mentioned, and a more modern case with good power supply.

 

[mmshrink2]

Thanks very much Micker and Martin
I've ordered the Aero 4 (copper) as a start, then I'll look into the twin-fan PSU or the PCI fan, and I'll keep you posted once it arrives.
By the way, does the PCI fan have a specific name, or is there a particular one that you would recommend, Micker?