How hot is too hot?

Hi
You guys are all talking about cooling etc but rarely are specifc temperature limits mentioned (or more likely I just haven't looked hard enough). So can someone please tell me what the recommended CPU & system temps are? JIC you need the info, the system is an Intel duocore 3GB processor on a Foxconn 945G7MD-8EKRS2HV mobo. If you need more info I'll try and provide it - over to you guys. thanks

 

Around 50°C would be a good 'load' temp for the CPU. I would be worried if mine got over 55-60°C. I think 70°C is the max, but I would not try it to find out...

What temps are you getting now? Core Temp is supposed to be a pretty accurate software temp monitor: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Core_Temp_d5665.html

E

 

Hi Fred
thanks for the recommendation. I have only had the temperature monitoring software (Foxconn Fox-one) for a couple of days AND I have just changed my bios, so I've no idea what good temps are. All I do know is that my CPU is running at ~45C when doing very little. If I then burn a DVD (including conversion from avi to DVD) then the temp ramps up to 60-65C. Fox-one has a default alarm setting setting of 60C for the CPU, so i assumed that that 60C is indeed quite hot. I shall be giving the PC a good hoovering tonight to get rid of all the accumulated fluf. There is also another temp but I can't remember what it is for (not very helpful really) reading I'm getting with Fox-one, but I think it is much lower than the CPU. I'll give Core temp a go tonight and see what temps I get when I start to use stress the CPU etc.

 

Hi Halo
Is this the kind of info you need for the CPU ID - Intel Pentium D 925 Processor (2 x 3.0GHz Dual Core) 800FSB Socket 775 Processor. Oh and the PC is a desktop.
Fred, I tried to run Core temp but it said my processor was not an Intel core archtecture based processor - hmm. Any other suggestions?

 

thanks for the tech info - what is case temperature (which is 68.6C for the 955)?

 

wow that Everest application gathers a mountain of info. Interestingly it thinks my cpu is only at 25C (Foxconn says 49C) BUT it is reporting soemthingcalled Aux at 49C). Mobo temps (called system by Foxconn) are 42C. Both hard drives are at 28C. Oh, following installation it said this application wont work completely with my processor. Strangely it has my cpu as a D930 when an Intel recognition program says it is a D925 - curious eh? S owhat do you think re the discrepancy re cpu temperature?

 

After years of running all sorts of monitoring software and even buying a lab quality infra-red temperature meter, I've come to the conclusion that my own digital heat sensor is still the best and easiest to use.

That is, 'the first digit (finger) on my left hand". I just reach into my PC and lay my finger on any component and if I have to jerk my finger out quickly or say "Ouch!" then the temperature is TOO HOT.

Just for grins and giggles, I did download and run the "Core Temp" program that told me my core temp is 26°C. That's about right. I'm still running the fan/heatsink that came with my AMD Athlon dual core CPU and it keeps my CPU chip nice and cool.
Periodic cleaning keeps it running at top efficiency.

As dirt builds up in a CPU heatsink, the cooling efficiency goes down.
I see heat sinks that are completely filled with dirt.... in my work as a PC tech. Washing the dirt out of the heatsink, cleaning and re-oiling the fan, returns the cooler to maximum efficiency.

Good Luck,
The Shadow :cool

 

I too have just tried using my digital heat sensor. Despite both Everest Ultimate & Foxconn Fox one saying that the cpu was at 70C (I was using Nero to burn a DVD = 100% CPU), there was not a searing pain when I touched the heat sink under the cpu fan. I had assumed that IF the cpu was really at 70C that the heat sink would at least be quite warm to touch. Is it possible that both programs are grossly wrong re cpu temp? Oh after a bit of research it seems Everest occasionaly (depending on mobo)displays the cpu temp as Aux. So, apart from dust & broken fans, what causes a cpu to run hot, assuming that %age usage is low (<5%)? At the moment it is sitting at 43C.

 

WELL, my first thought is an Intel CPU. Right?
Generally speaking, they run a lot hotter than their AMD counterpart.

After my CPU has been on for most of the day, I can reach in and lay my finger on the cpu heatsink and it's only slightly warm to the touch.
I've got an AMD Athlon 3800+, dual core CPU.
In fact, I just did that and nothing in my PC is even warm to the touch.
The "Core Temp" program says that my core is at 35°C. If you trust such programs. ???

At this point, if your PC were on my bench where I could get my grubbies on it, I'd do exactly what I do to any CPU cooler, even my own on my AMD processor.

Remove all power from the system.
Unplug the CPU fan from the mobo and unlatch and remove the entire Heatsink and fan assembly.
Remove the fan from the heatsink.
Carefully clean the fan blades with a damp cloth to remove every bit of dirt.

* At this point I'd inject a few drops of fine machine oil into the bearing cavity on the back of the fan, with a hypodermic needle and manually spin the blades to work the oil into the bearings.

Scrape away the old heat sink grease and then scrub the heatsink with soap, water and a good brush, till it's shiny and clean.

After thoroughly drying the heat sink, reassemble the fan to it.
Apply a thin coating of fresh heat sink grease to the bottom of the heatsink where it meets the CPU chip and reinstall the heatsink/fan assembly.
Reconnect the wire from the fan to the connector on the mobo.

Return power to the system and boot'er'up!

I just recently did this to a 'Thermaltake' heatsink/fan assembly that I installed in a new computer that I built back in 2000. The heatsink wasn't too dirty, believe it or not, but the fan bearing was HOWLING!:cry

After performing the above mentioned maintenance on it, it's now running as good as it did eight years ago.
It's as "Quiet as a mouse blowing bubbles in a feather-bed".

Cheers Mates!
The Shadow :cool

 

Hi
The PC is only 3 months old & so the fan is still super quiet and works running at 2443rpm as I type. CPU is 46C & it is indeed Intel. I wonder whether I would be worrying about all this if I hadn't installed the temp monitoring program cos it's always run these temps IF they are to be believed. Again I repeat, I did not burn my finger when I place my finger on the heatshield when the cpu was alledgedly at 70C - I would have epxected it to be quite warm.....

 

I agree with The Shadow, can't hurt to clean it, and the if the thermal paste is too thick or too thin, or if the heatsink is not mounted properly, it will not transfer heat properly. (cool heatsink, hot CPU).

The 'digital' test works great for me on chips with no heatsink, if it almost burns my finger, I stick a heatsink on it! My quad core Intel is at 51-55°C, and the heatsink feels room temp. The real heat is at the core of the CPU, and that is what the software stuff is 'supposed' to read. Course I am not running a stock heatsink.

I would check the thermal paste.

E

 

well I took off the fan and heatsink - loads of goop on the cpu. cleaned it off and put an a minimal amount of fresh thermal paste. Reassembled and switched on. It may be runing a couple of degrees cooler on high usage (in the 60s) - of course summer has finally arrived in the UK so ambient temps have shot up to the giddy heights of 15-20C!!!! Other things have now started to go 'wrong' on the PC e.g. keyboard not typing what you type (s actaully gets s#) and whenever I restart the PC it always wants to do chkdsk. Is it possible that I've 'accidentally' ticked/activated something in the bios whilst I've been tinkering in there?

 

....I had a cat piss into an electrical socket once...:eek

....While my computer hung while loading Unix...

(Bad inode count. Fix inode count? [Y] Bad file count. Fix file count?[?]) :confused

..... Which crashed the computer.... rolleyes

.....And fried the motherboard.... :cry

......Destroying 3 chips!......:banghead


That was when I learned about "the thumb test". If you can't touch the chip fdue to the heat, with only a small amount of discomfort, there's a problem with the chip. This was when a 386, with a 40 MB hard drive, 4 MB RAM, and a Bournoulii drive was a BIG DEAL, and a status symbol! :cool

I was understandably upset.:tas

Almost as upset as when a friend of mine caught a striped bass that was 1/2 inch under the legal limit. I was holding it so he could unhook & release it when it did a tail-flip and drove a dorsal fin spike through the little finger of my left hand -- 5 days before I was supposed to attend a summer music camp to work on my vocal & :guitar guitar skills. :dood

I was all for eating the fish, :neener INSPITE of the laws!:kissmy


But I, joyfully,:celebrate digress.

You didn't mention whether or not YOUR 'puter is a laptop or a desktop.

Each will have its advantages. A desktop lends itself well to pushing tons of air :strong through the system, as well as using thermal grease on everything it's reasonable to use it on.

I would set up a dedicated, external, powersupply, or go to TAP Plastics and try the following solution, though:

1) Make yourself a a nice plexiglass case;

2) Buy 2 to 8 large CPU fans;

3) Make a case with walls specially cut to fit half the fans on the inside of one side, sucking air in. Put the other half on the inside of the opposite-side as exhaust fans;

OR

4) If that varient might not work, set the fans up at 45 degrees from one another, setting up cross-ventilation (to purge the air-space between the cards, but still with fans to intake and fans to exhaust air;

5) Add cooling pipes and other cooling-mods to your hearts content in all the space you can create;

6) Create a separate (perhaps insulated) compartment AWAY from your componants, and add ventilation/cooling pipes/etc THERE, too;

7) Create a separated, ventilated, compartment for your computer's power supply OUTSIDE of the box and away from your MOBO and etc. (Optional)

8) Create screens/filters, to protect from dust (Optional)

9) Set up air filtration, using a new air conditioner filter (Optiona) BUT:
On days where you feel like you can't control the heat, you'l be able to use frozen gel pacs to chill the air. (OR you could fill it up with cooling mods)

You SHOULD be able to create a nice case, add as many cooling mods as you would like, as well as move a source of heat AWAY from the componants, AND increase ventilation.

For the filter-box, set-up dual walls on the intake fan side, You can make ventilation slits or cut holes, and inset filteration medium (like you would use in an air-conditioner) in the airspace between the two sides. IN the second side place your intake-fans on the COMPONANT SIDE of the filtration compartment: Either use a filter the size of the entire side, so you don't stress any one fan, and use ALL of them suck-air through the filter in unison, OR use a filter for each fan (which I DON'T recommend).

On the other side (either straight across & staggered or at a 45 degree angle on top) of your plexi-case, ALSO ON THE COMPONANT SIDE, affix your exhaust fans to suck out the hot air.

That should, hopefully be over-kill, but over-kill is usually your friend when you talk about both pushing ammunition AND ventilation!


ANd as for my cat and the computer, I know... It probably didn't do the cat much good, either! :-D

 

it depends on the cpu as to what is too hot. Some (like a lot of A64's) max out their tolerance in the 60-70C range. Some run up to 90C (Prescott anyone? LOL)

The cooler it runs, the better because it is more energy efficient the cooler it runs. However, don't worry about heat levels unless you are doing some overclocks, as overclocking will jack the heat way up.

 

I used to work security at what will remain an un-named disk drive manufacturer. I got used to watching 300 drives go through their burn in, with 270 of them failing.

When I got cold during the third shift I would go hang out in the room with the disk drives. It was a convenient way to stay warm, plus I had to document the temperature gauges on each of the racks. You'd be surprised how hot 300 HDDs can make a 30x15 ft room!

But yes, cooler is better. I've never heard of too cold being a problem, even if you freeze your liquid crystal solid it will thaw and run like a champ... unless you drop it and it shatters... :eek

(I accidently froze a portable DVD playerm once. I wondered why some coke-head friend of my housemate wanted to leave something with a battery I COULDN'T remove at someplace we were living. So I stuck it in the fridge. The BROKEN frisge. The one that freezes soda pop, and milk, solid and turns saki to a slushie... But it was a great insulator. And I eventually evicted the housemate.

Arizona.... You can have it.