Overheating Intel 975X… System at 50c?

I would appreciate any and all advice from anyone who can assist with the following problem. Apologies in advance for the long post.

I have an ABIT Intel 975x MB (see below for further info or attached for view of my system)… My “PWM1” temperature according to the ABIT uGuru Utility (Confirmed via BIOS) is displaying an unusually high “PWM1” temperature of around 50c when the CPU is overclocked to 3.2Ghz, 3.4Ghz or 3.6Ghz. The maximum for “PWM1” is set to 55c, when I play games, or run any benchmarks and allow them to run for 5 or 6 hours the temperature alarm will sound as the system overheats.

The Full details of my system are as follows:

Zalman 9700 110mm CPU Cooler (Aimed at 80mm Exhaust fan)
Intel Pentium D 805 2.66Ghz (currently stable at 3.00ghz)
2048MB (2GB) DDR2 Dual Channel 800Mhz RAM (G-Skill)
ABIT AW8D Intel 975X chipset
ATI Sapphire Radeon X1950GT 256MB PCI-E
80mm Exhaust Fan (aimed at Zalman cooler to push heat out the rear)
120GB SATA HDD

My machine is housed in a standard Midi Tower (link supplied here and below) case that had a very large fan installed on the side, due to the size of the Zalman 9700 110mm Cooler I had to remove this large fan.

My thoughts are that due to this fan being removed I’ve messed up the airflow inside the case. I’m thinking that a new (not super expensive) case and at least an additional 80mm fan up front might solve my problem. I’m also thinking that adding some good quality thermal compound to the various heat sinks located on the motherboard to increase heat transfer might also help.

Any ideas that don’t involve water cooling or anything more extreme are welcome!

Thanks!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...ower+Computer+Case+500W+Power+Supply+-+Retail

 

Please disregard “PWM1" from the above post!!!.. It is actually the "System" temp not PWM1.

Sorry!

 

Any ideas?... :confused

 

you definately need more airflow to the motherboard especially while ocing. I use this case here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147030 due to 120mm fan in front and back and also on side towards bottom a 120mm fan fits nicely

p.s using stock cooling and the fans afore mentioned my temps are 25 cpu and 30 sys

 

I agree with ibbonkers. Get more fans. Also, check your thermal paste on the components, more is not better! The paste is to fill the tiny gaps. Also make sure the heatsinks are free of dust, and seated properly. Of course if it overheats over a long period of time, you need more airflow. Take the side panel off the computer and put a household fan blowing into it. If that fixes it, you will know for sure you need more fans or better air flow.

E

 

Thank you both for your responses!

As we all suspected airflow was of course the problem :clap I've setup that big 260mm fan (that came with the case) on the side panel and have it securely propped up next to the case. Once that large fan was in place my System temp dropped right down to 40c and about 48c at load (CPU@3.00Ghz). I removed the side panel on the right side (rear of the motherboard) and this helped drop the System temp down to a further 2c. The temps are of course not perfect but it's an improvement and will hold temporarily. Although I've noticed that PWM1 and PWM3 are holding at around 65c at full load and 44c idle.

One thing I hate about Florida is the insane heat in the summer. One thing I like is the air conditioners (we don't use em back in Ireland). I think I'll pull the desk over to the front of the A/C switch the computer on with the case open to see what the temperatures are like? :

I intend to get some quality thermal paste and reapply to the various heat sinks (CPU appears to be fine 31c idle and 48c full load) on the board. I also intend to get at least two 120mm fans, one for the rear and one for the front. This I hope should keep things stable until I can get another larger case.

Thanks again for your adice!

 

I am in Louisiana, the heat is nasty. During the summer, I worship the Freon gods myself!

Looks like you have your problem solved.

E

 

Know what ya mean I'm right here with you guys I'm in mississippi. The heat can really tear ya up

 

Ok I found the problem with PWM 1 overheating. I replaced the PSU and installed a BFG 650W PSU and all of a sudden PWM 1 never reaches anything more than 40c at load idle around 32c - 34c, same setup as before when I did the switch. That other PSU was a Rosewill Stallion, just wasn't up to the job of pumping out the extra juice without creating so much extra heat on PWM 1. The BFG isn't breaking a sweat powering everything even at full load with the CPU at 3.7Ghz. I changed the PentiumD 805 to a 915 (got a good deal on eBay) a wee while ago.. bigger L2 cache 2MB was worth it!!

The 805 I finally had at 110% solid even after beating it with ORTHOS at 3.5Ghz, not bad on air and for the price I paid! The 915 is 110% solid at 3.7Ghz.. again not bad as it was bought used and cheap on eBay! I'm getting 5.0 form Vista for my CPU and 5.9 for GPU and Memory, HDD is at 5.3 I think.

My Spec:
Zalman 9700 110mm CPU Cooler (Aimed at 80mm Exhaust fan)
Intel Pentium D 2.8Ghz (Rock Solid at 3.7ghz)
2048MB (2GB) DDR2 Dual Channel 800Mhz RAM (G-Skill)
ABIT AW8D Intel 975X chipset
ATI Sapphire Radeon 4830 512MB PCI-E
GPU Exhaust sitting right under the 4830
160GB SATA HDD
SB Audigy
BGF 650W PSU
Vista Ultimate 32Bit

 

Re: Overheating Intel 975X… System at 50c?

Glad you got it fixed. Happy New Year as well! PSU's can cause some strange problems... :-D