Hello All, I just upgraded my old computer. I installed an AMD 2800-XP with an ASUS A7V400-MX Socket A (Socket 462) motherboard. I have an ATI Radeon 8500 128meg video card. I was wondering what temperature range the cpu should be in, or what would be considered safe. I am checking it with a program called Everest. Temp. so far has been between hi 50's and as high as 74 centigrade. I checked after playing Call of Duty for about 30 min.'s that's when it was 74c. Usually it's in th low 60's. The processor was retail so it came with a fan and heatsink. There is no fan on the mb, just a heatsink. The video card does have a small fan on it. Also there is a fan on the bottom at the front of the case. Are these temps normal? Do you recommend installing more fans? If so what do you suggest. Thanks for reading this, any help would be appreciated. Sal
CPU temp seems kind of high. Try removing the heatsink, cleaning the old pad off of it, and use some Arctic Silver 5 heatsink paste. Reinstall heatsink and fan, make sure nothing is blocking airflow, recheck temps. If still high, you might want to try an upgraded HSF. But before you shell out money for a new HSF, try some other monitoring software, like ASUS's ASUSprobe. The Everest software might be incorrectly reporting the temperatures. I had an overclocked XP 2500+ at 3200+ speeds, and it never broke 55C even after running Prime 95 for hours.
Thanks for the reply trgrpullr, I will download Asusprobe and try it too. Does the Artic Silver 5 heatsink paste work better than the pad that came on the heatsink? I noticed the fan mounted on the lower front of my case,which is blowing air towards the back of the computer, is barely blowing any air at all. I think I should replace it. Is that considered to be an 80mm fan? Do you have any suggestions for a good fan to use there? Thanks, Sal
Im not running an amd 2800 so i cant really compare temps with you but i can tell u this. Im running a p4 3.2ghz prescott, which ive read can run hot sometimes, and i used Arctic Silver 5 w/ a aftermarket can thats just a little bit bigger than the stock intel fan. My current cpu temp with IE the only program running is 37c. Arctic Silver 5 gets the job done!
lascapa, yeah, I really think Arctic Silver 5 (NOT one of the generic copies) is better than most of those heatsink pads or other pastes out there. Just make sure that you THOROUGHLY clean off all the old pad residue (yuck, I said "pad residue")before you apply the AS-5. Use pure rubbing alcohol (91% is fine) to remove all traces of the old stuff. Don't scratch the surface of the heatsink when cleaning it. You only need to use a tiny amount of the stuff, about the size of a BB, spread it evenly, being careful to keep it on the core of the chip-the smooth rectangular part in the middle. Reinstall the heatsink, and you're done. Sounds WAY more complicated than it is. Usually the fan in the front is 80mm, but some are 92 mm or even 120. You'll have to measure it. Do you have a fan in the back of the case, or an opening where one could be mounted? Also try to make sure the hard drive and floppy cables are tucked out of the way, they tend to be prime offenders for blocking airflow. Good luck, let us know how it goes.
Thanks trgrpullr, I reattached heatsink with Artic Silver 5, and replaced the fan (80mm) in the front of the case, and added one on the rear to exhaust heat. Also I must have an older case, my power supply when installed, the fan pointed towards the top of my case. So I drilled some new holes and turned the ps over so the fan would be right above the cpu. The temps I listed before were with the side panel of my case off. The temps now are around 55c and after playing Call of Duty on line for about an hour the temp. was 64c (with side panel on comp). A lot better now since the changes. Do you think they are still too high? I was thinking of adding this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=664350&CatId=0 What do you think? I really appreciate your help. Thanks, Sal
I wouldn't waste your money on that, you've already reduced your temp under load by 10 deg C which is a HUGE improvement. If you are still concerned, you can always cut a "blowhole" in the side of your case right where the cpu HSF is, so that it sucks in fresh air from outside and blows it at the CPU( you DO have the fan setup so that it is blowing AT the CPU, right? ). But, it sounds fine now. If your computer starts spontaneously shutting down because of heat, you can always make changes. I forgot that my Athlon 2500+ was a mobile processor which runs at lower temps. Your temps look good. For now, just enjoy your system.
Just thought I would add that I used to run an xp3000 and always had similar temps (60c - 80c). I always thought this was too high but apparently it is considered within its normal operating range going of what I was told by AMD. I did manage to get it down to 30c with some decent watercooling but as long as under full load you dont go into the high 80's then you don't really need to worry. The only problem is that overclocking is completely out of the question on the default HSF. Other AMD users told me they were getting much lower temps with similar speed cpu's so in the end I just put it down to variations in the way they were made, prehaps there was a few batches produced that ran at a higher temp.
Thought I would share my $0.02. Running an Athlon XP 2100. Used to run at IDLE 70*. Get some games going it would be up near 80* (disabled overheat protection.....stupid huh?) I finally got irritated enough to fix the problem. I bought a new case, and a Thermaltake Volcano heatsink/fan. Idle is now at about 46, and I never see anything over 60. The new case provides so much more airflow, its rediculous. My old case(from my old 900 Mhz Athlon) had almost zero airflow. Cases make a HUGE difference.
Thanks for the replys DoubleDwn and pro'noob, Yea I think its my case too. It wasn't even made right for the cpu (fan was on top) and there is a fan in the front but no holes in front of case to suck air in. I am thinking of modifying this case for better air flow, that will give me something to mess around with. What kind of case did you buy? Maybe I will go that way if it's not too expensive. Thanks, Sal
This is the case I bought. Nothing really fancy, but it does the trick. The entire front of the case is mesh, so you get great aitflow. Fairly cheap too at $65. http://www.krex.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1078
The coolermaster Centurion case is what i am using as well as the 2800+, the case has very good air flow and is real easy to mount you kit in to, normal temp for a 2800+ is around 54c idle & 59/61c under load so yours was running a bit hot, you should drop a few c with the new case ... if you still think it's running hot then get a different HSF as this can drop the temps .....
I'm running my FX53 overclocked to 2.53Ghz at 40'c, even under a long heavy load it doesn't get to 50'c, you really need to get the temp down, this cpu should run at about 45'c. I think the cpu will only work up to mid 80's before its cooked. What is the ambient temp in the room. Have you also tried to run with side off and a desk fan blowing into case to take away any outside heat, if it still runs too hot you need to look closer at the CPU. Were all the new parts new or second hand?
Thanks, All parts are new. Temps did drop after making some modifications and reattaching heat sink. Temps with side case on were between 55c and 64c. I decided to keep this case and add a top window with exhaust fan above cpu and side window with fan blowing at cpu, also going to add some colored led lights. I've never modded a case before so I thought I would try it with this case. In the future I might add a Thermaltake Volcano heatsink/fan that DoubleDwn recomended. Thanks,Everyone here has been very helpful. Sal
