What's the normal temperature for CPU?

[pistachi0]

Hi guys,
I have computer that uses AMD AthlonXP 2000 with Gigabyte motherboard (GA-7VA). I installed the system myself from scratch. The BIOS said that my CPU is currently working at 74 degree Celcius. Is that normal? My computer is still working, however sometimes it has a driver issue on video card (I use GeForce 4 MX400). What should I do?

 

[paparazi]

If this is a true Celsius reading then it is far too high!
My XP2.1+ used to max at about 54C (XP2.0+ is slightly cooler) of course what you get depends greatly on your room temps (ambients) but even in a warm climate I wouldn't expect an XP2.0+ to go above 60C.
Things to check!!
1) Heatsink is fitted 180 degrees out so the cutout in the heatsink base is not where it should be (situated over the socket "A" writing of the CPU socket) this means the heatsink does not sit squarely on the CPU core.
2) You have not used thermal paste? you absolutely MUST use a small amount of proper thermal paste for good thermal heat transfer between the CPU and heatsink.
3) CPU fan is blocked up with dirt or the fan has stopped or is seizing.
4) I would recommend the fitment of at least one, possibly two 80mm case fans for a good turn over of cool air in the case (this maybe a contributory factor in your case but not the whole reason for your high temps)
Check the orientation of the heatsink first and then make doubley sure it is refitted with a small amount of good quality thermal paste. Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[rblue]

Whoa cowboy, better cool that thing off!

My XP 2400 runs @ 41C (105F) with a system temp of 39C (102F)

Mine is set up like this - although not everyone's case holds as many fans:

CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Volcano 9 w/temp sensor speed control
Case: Antec 835SX II w/350W dual fan PSU
3 Case fans (1 rear, 2 front (1 in front of HDD))

This is as close to ideal as it gets as the PSU fan is pulling the hot air off the top of the CPU and the rear case fan is just below and to the left of the CPU. The Volcano is nice since it has an 80mm fan, so it runs slower and quieter than the typical CPU cooler. (3400 RPM right now)

Depending on yoour case type, you may be able to cool it off some by swapping your PSU with a dual fan model.

Here is the official system cooling guidelines from AMD:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/23794.pdf

 

[Kocky]

Better get a proper CPU fan or your CPU will fry like a chicken in a toaster.

 

[Tarwn]

rblue: ah yes, big CPU fans Gotta love em,
I'm currently running a 92mm fan on my CPU that needs to be turned around so it will stop interfering with my case exhaust fan. It runs at a nice quiet 1900 RPM, but keeps my processor nice and cool.

-Tarwn

_{01010100 01101001 01100101 01110010 01101110 01101111 01101011 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101}
^{29 3K 10 3D 3L 3J 3K 10 32 35 10 3E 39 33 35 10 3K 3F 10 38 31 3M 35 10 36 3I 35 35 10 3K 39 3D 35 10 1Q 19}
Do you know how hot your computer is running at home? I do

http://www.tiernok.com/hscripts/systemp.asp

 

[rblue]

lol, Tarwn. I had to do a test fit on the freakin' thing at the store before I bought it. I got the XP2400+/K7S5A combo @ Fry's for $120 a couple of months ago. ECS puts the capacitors around the processor socket, so the biggest heatsink/fan I could get on the thing was the Volcano 9.

The only bad thing about my system is the noise. Running 5 fans is pretty noisy, although the stoopid Western Digital hard drive I've got is noisier than any of the fans in the box.

 

[Tarwn]

Ouch, I know. If I had known how loud these WD's are, I wouldn't have bought it.

I'm running 1 intake, 1 exhaust, 2 PSU fans, a Thermaltake GF4 cooler, and my CPU cooler is actualy the heatsink from a TT Spark7, a 70mm to 92mm adapter, and a 92mm Fan

It's not to loud, but disconnecting the WD and putting it on top of 1/4" felt definately cut down on a lot of the noise. Most of the other fans are rated at 30dba or less, and I generally don't turn them up all the way.

I have a giga-byte mainboard (similar issue with capacitors), otherwise I would have gone with that nifty Zalman heatsink that takes up 4 times the space of a normal heatsink...

I'm running a P4 overclocked about 25% and still keeping the temp between 32 and 42 C, with 25 C ambient (except when I'm watching TV, I turn off the AC because it's way loud).

Anyways, just sharing

-Tarwn

_{01010100 01101001 01100101 01110010 01101110 01101111 01101011 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101}
^{29 3K 10 3D 3L 3J 3K 10 32 35 10 3E 39 33 35 10 3K 3F 10 38 31 3M 35 10 36 3I 35 35 10 3K 39 3D 35 10 1Q 19}
Do you know how hot your computer is running at home? I do

http://www.tiernok.com/hscripts/systemp.asp

 

[pmonett]

I run an AMD XP 2800+ at 2.13Ghz and it stays at 41°C when running under load. I have minimal noise, because I have installed an Innovatec watercooling solution that cools the CPU and the video card chip.
Since my video is a GF4 Ti4400, using watercooling instead of a fan cuts a lot of noise. Eliminating the large (and heavy) HSF for the CPU also cuts down a lot on the noise level.
The only thing I would like to find now is a truly silent PSU. That is the only thing left making noise (My HDDs are Maxtor DiamondMax with fluid bearings).

 

[pistachi0]

Thanks guys. I followed paparazi's advice, I cleaned the CPU fan, I added a small amount of thermal grease on the CPU, then I added one 80mm fan to the case. Obviously something is still wrong during the process, because after I've done all of those stuffs, I checked the temperature by using software from gigabyte, and the CPU temp is still 56 Celcius degree. That's an improvement of course (it was 74 degree) but I think the temp is still too hot. I checked the fan position and it should be ok. Is there any other way to cooler my CPU? Or did I do anything wrong? Should I add more thermal grease (I added about 3 ml of grease)? Or is the CPU fan don't work properly?

 

[Tarwn]

pmonett: PSU - I'm getting a zalman 400, supposed to stay pretty much silent

pistachi0: Thermal grease application to me is usually a rought artform rather than a science. Supposedly, though, a 3gram syringe of artic silver 3 is supposed to be good for about 20-30 CPUs/applications. The basic idea of a thermal grease is to fill in any blanks between the processor and the heatsink. Metal conducts better than thermal grease, thermal grease conducts better than air. The top of your processor (and likely the bottom of your heatsink as well) has minute dips and hills, generally referred to as mountains and valleys. Since it would be pretty much impossible to match up these minute irregularities we add thermal grease which will fill any small places that the cpu and heatsink don't interface exactly. To much grease will result in a thicker layer between the CPU and the heatsink, lowering heat conductivity a little, and also get squeezed off the chip onto the sides or board (which is especially bad if it is electricly conductive). To little grease will cause minute air pockets to remain which will become hot spots on your core.

As far as application goes, the general idea is to take a very small amount and spread it evenly over the core with some sort of straight edge (credit card, plastic case edge, etc). Then spread a very small amount over the base of the heatsink (your finger in a plastic bag generally works well). Remember that it is a grease, not a lotion, that one thought may actually get you closer to the right amount during application.

Other solutions for increasing cooling:
Lap your heatsink - this involves sand paper and cleaning and results in less mountains and valleys in the base of your heatsink. Most heatsinks come decently lapped but might have a couple scrapes in them, etc. The method is layed out in sdeveral websites and the general increase is 1-2C

Replace your HSF - newer, good after market heatsinks generally perform better than stock HSF's. I've heard that the AMD stock HSF is actually not very good at all. Zalman, Swiftech, thermalright, thermaltake (and more) all provide pretty good products. Remember to read reviews on them befoe considering purchase though. Also go copper, aluminum is good at collecting heat, but not as good at releasing it, whereas copper is a much better conductor of heat.

And then there are the complicated solutions such as watercooling, vapor cooling, peltier's, etc. Watercooling is probably the most popular, vapor cooling takes the most techinical knowhow during installation, and peltiers can be dangerous if you don't know what your doing. Tese aren't really a suggestion for you at the current time, only included so I won't get pointed out for not including them

-Tarwn

_{01010100 01101001 01100101 01110010 01101110 01101111 01101011 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101}
^{29 3K 10 3D 3L 3J 3K 10 32 35 10 3E 39 33 35 10 3K 3F 10 38 31 3M 35 10 36 3I 35 35 10 3K 39 3D 35 10 1Q 19}
Do you know how hot your computer is running at home? I do

http://www.tiernok.com/hscripts/systemp.asp

 

[paparazi]

Tarwn, good post, I would also question the type/make of heatsink cooler pistachi0 is using and the room temperature the PC is operating in.
A better cooler may indeed improve things but we need to know what he is using at the moment.
Quote: "aluminum is good at collecting heat, but not as good at releasing it, whereas copper is a much better conductor of heat"
To clarify: copper is the better conductor (draws the heat away) more efficiently than alluminium but Alluminium is actually better at releasing that heat.
So in theory a copper based cooler with alluminium fins would be the way to go, only thing is much of that gain is lost because of the thermal inefficiency of the "joint" between the two metals.
Thats why solid Scrived heatsinks are best (because the fins and base are one) Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[edlance]

Howdy guys,

My first time on here (I came here seeking some help with my ISDN TA...see my post above). Anyway, I've been doing the overclcking, cooling thing a long time. I was water cooling my old celerons back before this new cottage industry of pre-made, commercial water cooling gear came on the scene

I wanted to reply here just to touch on a specific aspect of this discussion (which is pretty good so far). Large fans attached to heatsinks do not always equate to better cooling...and in some cases will actually result in higher temperatures.

My part-time profession is custom woodworking and a shop requires dust collection. I have a 1.5HP dust collector that moves 1200 Cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air through a 6" duct. Now, one would initially think that this thing would make a great vacuum cleaner, but in reality, it doesn't. It works great at collecting sawdust and wood chips from my machines as I use them, but does this well not because the thing sucks hard, but because it moves such a massive volume of air. I know that sounds a little strange, but bear with me...

One rating on your case and heatsink fans that you should look at in addition to the CFM or RPM and size is the static pressure. Static pressure is meaured in inches or centimeters of H2O (yes, water). This meaurement tells you how hard a fan can force out its air (or in the case of a vacuum cleaner, or dust collector, how hard it can suck). This is very important for heatsink application as it tells you how hard the fan is capable of forcing the air down through the fins.

The CFM rating of a 92mm fan spinning at 2500 RPM might be well over 75 CFM, but the static pressure might be less than 1/3 that of a 60mm fan spinning at 7,000RPM and flowing only 45 CFM. The CFM rating for the fans does not include any sort of load or obstruction...this is open air flow rating. The static pressure tells you the ability of the fan to overcome the load or resistance and flow air.

In this case, the 92mm fan may not cool the heatsink as well as the 60mm fan because its static pressure is so low, it can't force enough air through the heatsink fins.

Anyway, just something to consider in that search for the perfect balance of cool vs noise.

 

[Tarwn]

Thanks edlance, I had actually considered this but unfortunately couldn't find ratings on either fan for it and ended up going with the old method of "I'll try it and see what happens" Luckily the 92 seems to actually work a little better except that it is acting against the rear case fan, so I'm going to try it as an exhaust instead of intake. I was actually willing to take a degree or two hit to temps just to get the whiny 70mm out of there.

paparazi: Thanks for correcting that backwards portion of my aluminum/copper section. I was answering the phone and posting at the same time (never a good idea) and had to go back and fix several places where my thoughts got ahead of my fingers, I must have missed that one

-Tarwn

_{01010100 01101001 01100101 01110010 01101110 01101111 01101011 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101}
^{29 3K 10 3D 3L 3J 3K 10 32 35 10 3E 39 33 35 10 3K 3F 10 38 31 3M 35 10 36 3I 35 35 10 3K 39 3D 35 10 1Q 19}
Do you know how hot your computer is running at home? I do

http://www.tiernok.com/hscripts/systemp.asp

 

[pistachi0]

Tarwn: thanks, now I fully understand of my CPU situation. I need those kinds of information since I don't know where to find one. I use AMD's standard HSF that comes in the same box with AMD CPU. I probably should replace it with a better one.
paparazi: I use standard HSF from AMD. My room temperature is normal since it's winter in Sydney. The system temp is 39C (according to Gigabyte's easyTune software).
About the water cooling: since I live in Sydney, I don't really know where to find it. I checked some local computer stores and they said they don't have it.
edlance: good post. By the way, welcome to this thread.

 

[paparazi]

I'd say although not perfect, 56C is well in the
"safe zone" for an XP CPU and a vast improvement over the original 74C that you were getting.
Which extra case mount position did you use? the rear top is the MOST effective if you only go with one fan.
Using a second fan point might give you another 3-4C drop, I would be pretty pleased with that!
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[edlance]

56C is definitely well within the safe zone for an XP processor. AMD states the maximum allowable die temperature is 95C (that's 203 degrees fahrenheit!).

I run an arkua 2442 on my XP 2100+ and normally run in the 44-50C range depending on what I'm doing.

My case has three fans (including the power supply fan). One fan mounted on the side of the case blows in and one on top blowing out and the PS fan blowing out the back.

My GF4 TI4600 vid card has its own fan and heatsink as well, and the SOYO Dragon Ultra mobo has a small fan on the chipset as well. I have heat spreaders on my memory.

So, 56C with the stock heatsink and fan is not bad at all and frankly, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Grenage]

95C? I thought AMD's max tolerance was in the 70's.

 

[edlance]

Nope, 95C according to AMD.

 

[BernardStewart]

I would say these temperatures are far too hot.
I'm running an AMD XP 2.4 which gives a cpu temp of 40C and Motherboard temp of 25C. There are six hard drives in the case with two papst ball bearning input fand and two outlet fans. I upgraded the CPU fan from a 60mm to 80mm and this helps a great deal.
If the system is running hot for long periods PAPS recommend using ball bearing fans rather than sleeve bearing as these give greater reliability.

 

[paparazi]

edlance, there has been several differant maximum temps for recent XP CPU's (depending on model core) The original T/bird I think was 95C (from memory) some XP's are 90C and others just 85C.
These are maximum "burnout" temps, AMD's maximum sustained running temps for an XP are around 70C but I dought that would be very stable.
Most experienced AMD XP users except 60C as being the threshold for stability, anything less is fine
Palomino core XP's do run a little hotter than Thoroughbred variants, it doesn't surprise me at all that BernardStewart's XP2.4+ is running cooler than your XP2.0+
he has possibly a thoroughbred "B" core and you "probably" have a Palomino.
I have had a similar experience myself, my Palomino XP2.1+ used to max around 54C in my 4 fan LianLi case but after upgrading to a 166fsb XP2.6+ the maximum temperature has come down to the mid 40's with exactly the same cooler and setup.
The XP2.1+ Palomino as you can see is a hotter CPU than an XP2.6+ Thoroughbred and only matched in heat output when you reach the XP2.8+ - XP3.0+.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.