hot box 1

[pawz]

hello all.

I have recently united a PC Chips 810LMR mobo with a T-Bird chip on it to a 1 Gb Athlon processor, socket A.

Having got the drivers sorted out, the system seems to be ok, but it runs very hot and the case gets warm above the psu.

At first I thought there must be something wrong with the 300w PSU I put in, so I swapped that for an old 250, but the problem is still there.

With the panels off the sides it is quite warm to the touch, with the panels on,much warmer, so I do not feel happy to pass the machine on to anyone else.

I tried putting a copper CoolerMaster heatsink and fan on - the one with ther little pipes sticking out the side - but that butted up against the psu, so didn't think that would work. The psu I have in there now has the fan positioned directly over the cpu, but clearly it isn't enough.

I checked the hardware monitor temperatures and they seemed to be comfortably within the medium range - can't remember now what it said (silly me). Something like 110 farenheit, 0r 40 Centigrade for the processor - would that be right?

Seems to me that the heat is getting away from the processor ok, but it is not getting out of the box.

What would be the best solution do you think?

I recently had a friends computer briefly in my grasp and he had an expansion card in the back with some quite powerful fans situated on it, which I was impressed with, but wondered if this would work on an older board - about 2001 I think this came out.

We could put an extra system fan in and cut a bit out the back panel and insert a grill to help the airflow maybe - is there anything else?.

Also is it normal for this 'hotbox' effect? I have a Pentium4 1.8 Gb and that doesn't seem to get unduly warm. The fan boosts if I have a game going for a while but that is all.

I looked in the BIOS of the 'hot' machine to see if the processor was set to run at a higher speed, but it isn't. I don't know anything about overclocking, and don't want to, but could the person who had the board originally have 'tweaked' something on the board that I need to alter, or am I looking in the wrong direction here?

No manuals available of course. Too modern for TH99 and too old to be supported by the board manufacturers.

any guidance much appreciated

Gracie

 

[pmonett]

Your hardware monitor should allow you to check the temperature of the motherboard. If the motherboard is as hot as the PC, you definitely have an airflow issue.
As far as I know, such issues are hard to circumvent.
What kind of box is it : tower, or desktop ? Do you have a lot of cables in your box ? Are they properly fixed, or do they "float" around freely ? Do you have a lot of IDE units (3-4) ?
You may need to add a case fan to help evacuate the heat.
Some heating of the case is to be expected (to a reasonable point - and desktops will heat up more than towers), but the PSU for sure is not at fault. If the PSU overheats, then the whole box dies. As long as that is not happening, then the PSU fan is working well enough for the PSU itself. You probably have some sort of air pocket around the CPU that is not ventilated properly.
Maybe a case fan can help. Maybe you should get another case with a grill in front to allow for better airflow. Maybe just another fan in the back will be enough.

A lot depends on what kind of case you have and on how cluttered the inside is.

The Thunderbird is a good heat source, anyone will agree with that. Which makes it all the more important to ensure your case has a proper airflow.

Pascal.

 

[pawz]

yes - thanks for all of that.Your suggestion of an air pocket seems to make sense. Its a small tower, midi I suppose you would say; not one of the modern small boxy things. The ide cables are not tidied away as yet, but I do not see them as a major factor ( tho every little helps of course) as the problem was evident with there being no sides attached and plenty of air access, if not a concentrated flow.
Otherwise it is 'bog standard'. The graphics card I put in has its own fan, there is a slow old cd-rom, and the floppy and the HDD, and that is it. One stick of Ram.... We will have a look and see what fans we can introduce. You don't think it is a matter of the cpu being made to work too hard because someone has 'fiddled' with the board at an earlier time then?

Good.

thanks for your help pmonet - appreciated

Gracie

 

[SkipCox]

You don't think it is a matter of the cpu being made to work too hard because someone has 'fiddled' with the board at an earlier time then?"

No

The 40°C range is great for this processor. A good case temp would be within 5°C of ambient. That would be cool to the touch.

AMD wants your case airflow to do this:

<img src="

http://home.comcast.net/~sccpresents/goodair1.jpg">

If your air intake is on the bottom, make sure you don't have it shut down by carpeting. That'll cause it to warm up considerably with the sides on. I'd like to see a measured case temp before I comment further.

Skip

http://home.comcast.net/~skip9/index.html

http://scc.i8.com

 

[pawz]

thanks Skip, helpful advice - and the pic. I feel reassured on the 'fiddling' bit. The airflow drawing is helpful too because that is the only place we can put another fan - against the front panel - and we were wondering if it would be able to affect this 'hotspot' which seems to creep up between the psu and the adjacent panel, and then sits on the top of the machine over the psu.
We shall now put a system fan in there and see what happens.

How do I do a measure of the case temp? Dont recall seeing ambient temperature noted on the monitor info. I will look again. Hubsand has just brandished an electronic digital thermometer with a contact probe at me

Very happy that 40 cent is acceptable

Gracie

 

[Perito]

We had same problem with an editing suite.
Inserted the mains run fan in front of tower (inside box behinds the plastic retainer for vl/pci cards and speaker)
Mounted a fan/card extractor at the back. It worked ok but very noisy room now.
Also make sure power supply fins intake are clear of dust collected by old age and use.
Hope this solves it

Perito

 

[pawz]

thanks Perito. We will probably do the same. First put the case fan in and then, if still too warm, put a card in as you did and cross the appropriate digits!

Thanks for your help

 

[ceh4702]

On some cases the vent holes are not sufficient to draw enough air into the case or out of in some cases. Also make sure you have some good fans. Some exhaust fans barely run at all.

You really need to know if the CPU is cooling properly. If the CPU Cooler is not level with the Processor, then it might not cool properly. Did you use a thermal pad or some Thermal Grease and what kind?

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[pawz]

the hardware monitor reckoned it to be running at 40 degrees cent when the machine had been running for 20-30 minutes.

The psu has a fan positioned directly over the processor. There is RS heatsink compound on the base of the heatsink. We had planned to put a copper CoolerMaster heatsink and fan on, the one with pipes, and put our last thermal pad(Japanese name?)on that in readiness, but when we positioned it we found that it was too tall and was in contact with the psu. The heatsink and fan in there now is standard - but I think the heat IS getting out, but being trapped between the psu and the side panel. The hardware monitor seems to indicate all is well, and the heat is in the box, not in the cpu; that is how it seems to me. I haven't had this problem before however, so I am supposing rather than knowing

 

[micker377]

You could modify the side panel and mount a side fan to exhaust the hot air out from the board.

 

[pawz]

ye-ees - someone else suggested that too. It may come to that I spose, but it wouldn't be my preferred option cos it sounds like a lot of work!

 

[micker377]

TRe side fan:
It's really easy. They make a "chassis punch" to create the big hole. Four small holes to mount the fan. Fan grill ($1.98), and fan ($10.00). Just make sure you have the correct plug on the fan to match your mobo. Some mobo's have a three pin plug built in the board (preferred), or you can get a fan with a standard plug (like the drives).

 

[pawz]

you have encouraged me micker. Thanks