Erm, ok, my PC is a little hot I think and needs help.

Spec reads:

PcChips M848 motherboard

Athlon 3000+ processor

512MB RAM

(If you need anything else, let me know)

I have a heatsink and fan suitable for the processor but the temperature is worrying me. Its regularly getting upto 67oC, which I think is not good.

Short of calling the firebrigade out each time I want to use the PC, any ideas? Buy a bigger heatsink/fan?

This probably explains why it keeps falling over lately.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/142

Have you cleaned out the heatsink lately ...small brush and a hoover ...or is one of the fans siezing up and not moving the air around ...for the low price they are it would probably pay to change them anyway

Have you tried a water spray device to spray a fine mist over the cpu and motherboard?

Water droplets cool everything:)

Have you cleaned out the heatsink lately ...small brush and a hoover ...or is one of the fans siezing up and not moving the air around ...for the low price they are it would probably pay to change them anyway

Forgot to mention that the fan is brand new and spins at about 2,500rpm, and looks quite healthy.

Water cooling :eek: I only wanted a slow but ok PC. :(

For process of elimination, they used to reckon to try running 'em without the case/cover and see how that compares (e.g. no blocked input vents, immediate heat dissipation by increased air flow etc. Ambient temperature is quite low at this time of year (i.e. not mid-summer 90 deg heat). Just a thought.

Mo

Good thinking Mo, I've taken the side off and it's now 8oC lower, so thats a start.

Wrap the heat sink with ice, that will cool it down:)

Seems a little warm.

Flat out folding (cpu @ 100% utilisation) my Athlon 64 4000 is running at 46c. The processor has been running at 100% cpu and that temp since before christmas and has folded 180 work units.

Wrap the heat sink with ice, that will cool it down:)

They started melting far too quickly! :eek: Then thought about the water, so that went away quickly, didn't get to see how low it went though

Seems a little warm.

Flat out folding (cpu @ 100% utilisation) my Athlon 64 4000 is running at 46c. The processor has been running at 100% cpu and that temp since before christmas and has folded 180 work units.

Thats the rough temp I was hoping for. Hmm, is this my excuse to go and buy a new PC? Could be...

Flat out folding (cpu @ 100% utilisation) my Athlon 64 4000 is running at 46c.

The 64s run quite a bit cooler than the old XPs (especially the high end ones) though...personally I don't think 67 celsius is especially hot for an XP 3000+.

If you're that bothered, get a couple of extra fans on the case to improve air flow...

Rob.

First Athlon used to hit 75 deg C quite regularly without any trouble. More recent ones dislike those temps, stay below 65 ideally.

A64/Opteron runs MUCH cooler and it should be below 57 degrees.

Surprised it only hits 46 degrees though, seems very low

Having opened the case and getting an 8 deg C drop, definitely consider some case fans to increase airflow, sounds like the case is hot already so the CPU fan runs in hot(ish) air.

I have some case fans somewhere actually, just need some screws to attach them with as they didn't come with any :( Oh, should the air be flowing in or out of the case? I have 2 spaces at the back.

Oh, should the air be flowing in or out of the case?

Both.

I'd set the fans to "extract" air from the case, and make sure you have sufficient air holes in the front of the case...

Rob.

Athlon XP 3000+ running at 67oC? Pah. I'd say it was perfectly fine to run at that temp, I ran my 2800+ overclocked at 75oC for over 2 years without hiccup.

If you are worried, more fans is the answer. Have them pulling air in at the front of the case, and extracting it at the back.

Also, make sure there is a good bond between processor and heat sink. May be worth giving the processor a clean and a fresh blob of silver paste.

I will give it a go tomorrow. I don't think there is enough holes at the front though. Hmm, I can make some mind

Tom, its the heat thats making it fall over, I've had to put it down to a 2600+ and it's good as gold now. It could be worth going the paste a bit more fresh stuff, I'll grab some new shiny stuff tomorrow too.

FWIW I know with mine that if the case is hot (in the place where it gets hot) it will start to crash quite happily. OTOH if mine's not hot and it crashes, it's down to something else.

Your first post was that overheating might be causing it fall over. Q: Is the problem overheating or falling over?

Mo

Your first post was that overheating might be causing it fall over. Q: Is the problem overheating or falling over?

Mo

I think the overheating is causing the falling over. Since removing the side cover and then lowering the processor (it is a 3000+ yet is now running at 2600+), it seems to have worked. I had a terrible time trying to make a conversation to France via Skype last night, I had to keep re-dialling everytime the PC went off.