Using a P4 fan on an AMD heat-sink . . .

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Natakel, May 24, 2006.

  1. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    Hello all. I recently decided to upgrade my wife's HP Pavillion 553 with an nVidea FX5200 card (it had onboard video). The upgrade was simple - I love how easy it is to load the nVidea drivers.

    Well, in my usual fashion I also swept out the case. I held the sweeper hose close to the cpu fan to kick the dust off it and the heat sink - an action I have done countless times in the past with no trouble . . . till now. I got the nozzle too close to the fan, and CRACK - I broke off one of the blades . . .:eek: I tried running it as it was, and it sounded like a coffee grinder on it's last legs. I had no other AMD fans laying around, but I did have my old stock P4 fan assembly. With a little modifiation I was able to mount it on the heatsink.

    It seems to be working Ok for now - at least till I can aquire a proper fan - but I'm a bit worried about the cpu temps the MB is reporting - 53C idle (it's an AMD Athlon XP 2100+). Now, I have no idea what the temps were before, but I can't believe they would be higher, as I also added a side 80cm fan and some exhaust holes at the top of the access side. Anybody know what a "normal" heat range would be? Or is it a bad idea to use a P4 fan (much larger fan, but it does have a lower RPM).
     
  2. Hipster Doofus

    Hipster Doofus MajorGeek

    That temperature looks fine especially if it is only a temporary measure. Just make sure it doesn't turn into one of those 'gonna' jobs. :eek:
     
  3. Bold Eagle

    Bold Eagle MajorGeek

  4. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    Thanks for the replies, Hipster and Bold Eagle. I have to admit to a few "gonna" jobs to my shame . . . but not this one! This morning I ordered a thermaltake replacement HS and fan for the computer. My wife likes her computer . . . lol

    I didn't change the heatsink, but now that you mention the thermal grease, I guess it's not beyond the realm of possibility that when the fan hit the sweeper attachment, the shock could have broken the cohesion between the processor and the heat-sink . . . I hadn't thought about that. At any rate, the replacment parts should be here in a few days.

    Thanks, guys
     
  5. Solomage

    Solomage Private E-2

    53C Is definately a little toasty, I have an XP2200+ and that Idles at about 36, hits about 44-48 under load.

    Its not that big an issue, if I remember rightly, the spec on these chips is ok (ok as in no permanent harm done) up to about 70-80 Deg C, not that you would ever want it to get that high though, i find they tend to start crashing if they get much over 60C.

    I too am one of those "gonna" job specialists, but I spose its the nature of the beast to prolong (especially if you're into wow!) :D!!
     
  6. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    I thought so too . . . I just wish I had the forethought to check the temps before I broke her fan! Your post makes me glad I bought an after-market
    cooling system . . . it should get here tomorrow.

    Her HP has always gotten the old stuff that I have upgraded in my main PC/s - and I gotta say the HP 553w has always accepted the "upgrades" with no problems. This will be the first "new" upgrade that I have perfomed on her PC. It seems to be a very stable platform - but bear in mind I have added a case fan.
     
  7. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    Well, I received and installed the thermaltake "Slim Volcano 8" on the H.P. The temps are already down to 48C . . . and I figure as the interface material sets it will probably continue to drop.

    Quiet fan on this model. Not bad for $10.00.
     
  8. Hipster Doofus

    Hipster Doofus MajorGeek

    At least it is coming down. You could try using Prime95 or a similar program while watching the temp & see where it settles under stress.
     
  9. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    Well, this is weird . . . in bios it shows the processor temp to vary between 46 and 50C . . . . but when I run Everest is shows the temp being around 65C :confused:

    I'm not sure which one to believe. I felt the heatsink, and it is warm - but not that warm! I checked the thermal specs on the processor, and the max appears to be 90C, so I'm not overly concerned yet, but even 50C seems too hot.
     
  10. Bold Eagle

    Bold Eagle MajorGeek

    Well I would try another diag app and confirm the temps, BIOS is normally a lot more accurate than the apps but you can have a slight increase from when in BIOS > OS but 15C seems a bit much:

    http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311

    Try this "Motherboard Monitor 5.3.7.0" and see if the output is the same as EVEREST or BIOS. I think sometimes the apps might not support your onboard sensors?:confused:
     
  11. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    Thanks, I'll try that and see if it is the same as Everest.

    One thing I noticed this morning was the CPU fan kicks into higher RPM in bios . . . which explains why the temps are lower in the bios. Through a bit of research I found that the motherboard (FIC AM35) sometimes comes with a built-in CPU/System fan controller which may be throttling down the cpu fan. I can see no option in the bios to disable or adjust that feature, but I am still doing some research on it. I know the max die temp on this processor is 90C . . . but still, I can't believe the system feels 65C is an "OK" idle temp . . .

    Thanks
     
  12. Bold Eagle

    Bold Eagle MajorGeek

  13. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    Thanks, Bold eagle . . . I'll check the sites out. I'm not in front of the thing right now, so I'm not sure what version of bios I have.

    All I could find before was the "Hardware Monitor" which displays the cpu and system fan rpms, and the cpu temp. There is nothing there which would allow me to alter the fan speeds. The pdf manual I downloaded for the board shows many more bios options then I am finding . . . maybe there is some way I can "unlock" something which will provide more options - on an old PentIII board I had you accessed "advance" bios settings with Ctrl + F1 . . . guess I'll give that a try.

    Thanks for the advice! When I get off work in a few I'll get back at it. I played Guild Wars on it for 20mins (most cpu and graphic-intensive game on it) and the cpu temp stayed right around the 65C mark. Guess if it's happy I should be too! lol
     
  14. Bold Eagle

    Bold Eagle MajorGeek

  15. Natakel

    Natakel Guest

    Well, I gave up on trying to alter this through the bios . . . so I went around the problem. I had a 3-pin to 4-pin molex converter, so I hooked the cpu fan up to the power-supply. I clipped the sensor wire, and using a spare 3-pin connector, taped off the power leads and just hooked up the sensor wire to the cpu plug.

    It worked. Fan is running at top speed, and I can still read the rpm's in bios and Everest. The cpu plug-in's power pins can alternate voltage to their hearts content - it won't effect the fan. Running 46C at idle . . . and I can live with that! This is my wife's pc, and she won't be overclocking it.

    Thanks for all the help - I just wish this thing had a more user-friendly bios!

    Natakel
     
  16. Bold Eagle

    Bold Eagle MajorGeek

    Good to hear amd I like your problem solving :)
     

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