CPU Temperature?

matty_c608

Hi all,

Just been playing with everest.

My CPU temp is set to 63 degrees C at the moment.

I frequently experience the Blue Screen of Death when doing intense things with the PC.

Is 63 odd too hot? Seems like most people start complaing when it hits 50 odd!

Please inform

Thanks to be left accordingly

wolfman

Hmm, depends, but generally, yes that is too high.

What kind of CPU do you have?
And is that 63C under full load?

Have you checked the heatsink is properly mounted and the fan is spinning ok?
And also that your case has decent air flow / ventilation?

matty_c608

It's an AMD Athlong XP 2200+

It's sitting at 58 now, but tends to peak up to 65 sometimes!! Not even under full load, just with a little music playing and a few firefox tabs!

Thanks for the answer.

I am going to take apart my system next week. Remove components, remove dust, insert new HDD, and then whilst at it, i'll check out my heatsink.

What is that grease that is to be applied - does that help in transitioning heat into the heat sink?

I may need to look at ventilation yes. I don't mind a slightly noisier PC, can I buy a faster fan to pump more air in?

bat999

Hi matty

The grease is 'thermal compound'. It's made out of silicone. It is smeared between the CPU and the heatsink. It then allows good thermal contact between the two and lets the heat be passed efficiently from CPU to heatsink. You don't need to use much of it, just a thin layer.
:cool:

edit You can get it from ebuyer :- http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/search/?qfind=thermal+compound

matty_c608

I found this link in applying the thermal compound. Any good?

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/274/1

bat999

matty_c608 wrote:

I found this link in applying the thermal compound. Any good?

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/274/1

Hi
That looks like a thorough write-up.
I haven't any experience doing this with PC's.
I used to repair TV sets. This stuff was needed when replacing heatsink-mounted semiconductors (eg transistors and thyristors).
:cool:

matty_c608

Thanks!

Yeh, after a little reading I'm going to buy some Artic Silver thermal compound, clean my heatsink and processor, reapply, then see how much it cools down by.

What about fans though - can I get faster ones?

Thanks!

Matt.

gavinp

Go for bigger fans rather than faster ones if you can as they move more air without increasing noise..

Thanks

Gavin

j_davies

Some folk dont do this at all but I sand down the heatsink and Processor backplate locked into a spare recepticle as not to damage the pins with some P800 wet and dry just slightly damp on a completely flat surface and the conduction is much superior because the aluminium heatsink has to may flaws otherwise and my temps are so :cool: to what they used to be, obviously this is my choice.

Paint Shop, MSN, Media Player, IE (3tabs) PC Wizard, AVG Scan and OE all running and PC now on for about 4hrs and a temp of 12c which is quite respectable.

bat999

matty_c608 wrote:

Thanks!



What about fans though - can I get faster ones?



Matt.

Yes, and you will have the first Athlon helicopter.
:rotfl:

wolfman

j_davies wrote:

Some folk dont do this at all but I sand down the heatsink with some P800 wet and dry just slightly damp on a completely flat surface and the conduction is much superior because the aluminium heatsink has to may flaws otherwise and my temps are so :cool: to what they used to be, obviously this is my choice.

Paint Shop, MSN, Media Player, IE (3tabs) PC Wizard, AVG Scan and OE all running and PC now on for about 4hrs and a temp of 12c which is quite respectable.

Hmmm, I'd question that reading. If you're just cooling on air, your room temperature would need to be around 12C which is unlikely. Are you reading from the motherboard sensors? If so they aren't always the most accurate. Depending upon your cpu you can read directly from the core if you have the right software. This'll give you the most accurate reading.

Lapping is a good idea although you will still need a very minimal amount of thermal paste.

I've lapped both my heatsink and Core 2 Duo (which voids the warranty). On some Core 2 Duo's the heatspreader is sometimes slighly concave. I mainly lapped it so that the whole thing was flat and made a more consistent contact with the heatsink.