PC running hot

My PC is running hot. It's not only the processor, but the video card as well. At idle, the processor is running at 45C (CPU) 35C (ambient), and the GPU (this one scares me) at 64C. I have the stock HS and fan. Here's what I have:

P4 Prescott 3.2E
DFI LANParty Pro 875B MoBo
2.5GB PC3200
3x80GB IDE WD HDD (runs at about 42C)
1x250GB IDE WD HDD
eVGA NVidia GeForce 6800GT
PCI Bay exhaust fan (I can't tell if this thing is working, or if it's just blocking hot air from escaping).

This is in an Aspire XNavigator case (1 intake fan in the front, 2 rear exhaust fans, one side exhaust fan, and one top intake fan). I've used AS5 paste. The case is packed in pretty tight. All four external 5.25 bays are filled, I have one free PCI bay, and all four HDD stacked one on top of the other.
The machine ran cooler when I had a 5000BTU AC pumping into the back of the case, but my electric bill was getting insane. Now I have it next to an open window, but it's not cutting it. On days that it is actually cold enough to make a difference, I'm too cold to go near the PC. I don't think I want to move up to water cooling yet, mainly because I don't think there's enough room in the case for the tubes/pump/etc...
Does anyone have ANY ideas on how I can cool this thing off? Any specific HS/fan combo? Any ideas on how to cool off the GPU? I am afraid to even play any video games, since I'm worried about BSOD and thermal failure.
HELP!
Thanks in advance.

 

Well to be honest those temperatures arn't too bad. There are A LOT of people on here who will try to scare you about temps but 45C for a CPU is fine, in fact it's about average for a stock CPU (don't let people scare you too much on this topic). You can double that temp and then you're on the line. Well OK, most processor have a max running temp of 85C not 90C. But anything under 70C is nothing to worry about.

As for the video card, there are two things I have to say. First off, nvidia recommends to slow down the card only once it hits over 115C, which IMO sounds insanely hot but if you use that as a guide that means you're also safe there. But to be honest my nvidia 7800GT idles at 45C. So it does seem a little high. Secondly are you sure the program you use to view the temp is accurate? A lot of programs misread video card temps. The newer nvidia driver can display the temp directly from the advance tab on properties. So if you use Nvidia based cards check there. If it is hot, I suggest oiling the fan as a starting point.

 

first, as Coco said, those temps are not Hot, just warm and well within a safe range.

secondly, you have the TOP fan as intake? that doesnt seem to make sense in any possible air flow system-- 1) hot air rises, and you're essentially pushing it back down, and 2) by doing so, you're disrupting the positive airflow out of the rear of the case

change that sucker to an Exhaust fan asap. my bet is that alone with give you ~4c drop in Ambient temps

 

Thanks for the quick responses.

IYTC, the fan is blowing in the correct direction (which it was, I just wasn't thinking at 1am and typed intake instead of exhaust).
Coco, I am using the NVidia properties to display the GPU's temp. I also have a digital thermostat reading the ambient temp of the card, and that's running at around 45-46C.
As far as oiling the fan, just use a standard lubricant like WD40? What about a faster aftermarket fan?

Thanks again

 

I only suggested oiling it because usually if a video card starts to get hotter it's because the fan is starting to spin slower. It's usually only an issue with cards about 2 or more years old though. And if you've never oiled a fan becfore make sure you apply the oil in the right spot. There should be a hole under one of the stickers in the middle of the fan. You place the oil there and only in there. In rare cases there is no hole. If that happens and it really needs oiling, you have to buy a new fan.

You can buy after market fans if you like. I find they are usually more money they there worth though. To be perfectly honest your video card temp is most likely just fine as it is. But if you really want to get it down I suppose that would be your best option.

 

I agree with everyone here on the CPU temp. I am running a P4 3.0 and with the stock Intel HSF I was at about 45C idle and high 50's under load and never had any problems with overheating. In my experience, though, once you hit about 60C with the CPU you'll start to get random, non-critical failures - like programs erroring out.

I disagree with the consensus that the 64C temp of the GPU is acceptable and I'll give you an explanation. Yes, I know that nVidia/card manufacturers say that the chips are supposed to run that hot. I've had a BFG 6800GT OC for about a month now and for the last week I'd been fighting a problem where when I went to play Age of Empires III (AOE3) I could play for like 10 minutes that the screen would corrupt (meaning it would just become all jumbled) and then the screen would go black. I would have to turn off the computer to restart - even the reset button would not work. I checked the temps of both the CPU and GPU and they both seemed fine, at least according to what nVidia says is acceptable so I figured it must be something else. I tried EVERYTHING! - first I changed to umpteen different video driver versions and then I tried different memory. Then I installed MBM5 and watched the CPU temp and saw that it was going to about 60C after being in game for several minutes and before it would lock. I checked the CPU fan and noticed that it wasn't even running. I've had it for about a 18 months now, so I figured it would be time for a new one. So I went out and bought the Coolermaster Aquagate. I would get great temps now AND I would quiet the system down. After installation I'm down to about 30C idle and 40C under load so I just knew I had the problem licked. I started up AOE3 again and POOF, same problem. I surfed the AOE forums thinking it HAD to be a software issue. I tried numerous fixes they list there and again, same problem. So now I started watching the GPU temp all throughout the game. My 6800 idled at 61C and just sitting at the main menu in AOE it would rise to 83C. I never did see what it would go to when I played a game but I went out at bought an Arctic Cooler NVSilencer5 last night and installed that bad boy! OMG! Highly recommended! Easy to install, quiet! WOW. Temps for my 6800 are now 45C at idle and, guess what? Last night I played a whole game of AOE for 2 hours and watched the temp the whole time. It never went over 60C after 2 hours! No lockups, no errors - flawless!

My recommendation: go out at spend the $35 and throw out the stock cooler on the 6800 and you won't have to worry about thermal issues as far as the GPU goes.

 

Welcome to the forum elcapitan I'm sold ,I have an nv5 not a bad little cooler and much more quiet than the stocker,my sparkle 6800gt was exactly the same running in the 65's,I had no probs with it at those temps,the only reason I bought the nv5 was for overcloking potential and silence,if neither of those were a concern,i would have been happy leaving the stocker on

 

Thanks again for everyone responding so quickly.

OK, so I won't worry about the CPU temp. I'm not going to OC. I guess I'll run CPU burn in for about 30 minutes tonight, see what the temp is under full load. Hopefully it wont climb TOO high (this is something I've been worried about doing, but if my temps aren't too bad, I might as well see what happens).

As far as the video temps, I'M afraid to play any 3D game, such as PoP II. Even with the AC blowing directly into the back of my case, the digital thermostat would climb up to 60C, and that's just measuring the ambient temps, not the core.

SO, if I'm going to be tinkering with the (video) card, I might as well change the fans.

I was thinking about the AC Silencer 5, and also looking at the Evercool High Performance VGA chipset cooler (http://www.coolerguys.com/840556062189.html).

The Evercool looks like it wraps the entire card in a heat sink. But then again, is that a good thing? Any opinions?

It's not about money, it's about performance. If there's something out there that will cool better, even if it's more expensive, I would rather go that route.

Thanks again.

 

I'm not exactly concerned about noise. I have five case fans, a PCI bay fan two PSU fans, the CPU fan and the GPU fan all going. I have the case fans cranked up all the way, too. It sounds like a wind tunnel, but I have the Gigaworks S750, and it's not a problem to drown it out with other noises

 

hey man if u want to never have cooling issues in ur lifetime and u can afford water cooling then check this link out...

you might come up with bad link, just click the red wrighting that says Zalman and go to watercooling > Reserator 1 plus

http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=145&code=005009



the Reserator 1 plus has VGA and CPU blocks so u can cool both,it is fanless and works better than most of the ones with fans in my opionion, plus holds a gallon of liquid!!! If ur enterested www.newegg.com is selling it for $230 i believe!

IT WORKS GREAT!! idles way lower than anything anyone here is mentioning!!

 

You know, another nice thing about the NV5 is it serves as an additional case fan. It exhausts all its hot air out the back of the PC instead of recycling it. It has lowered my overall ambient case temp several degrees as well. As I sit here typing this (so not under much load) the CPU is at 30.4C and the water in the coolant tank is 27.2C.

 

I've noted your correction on the top fan.

I've also noted the concensus that your CPU temps are actually pretty good, and I agree. But if you want to try bringing that one down a bit more, you could turn the side exhaust fan around so that it acts as an intake.

I'm assuming that the side fan will then blow air at the CPU/HSF. If so, this arrangement will allow the CPU fan to get room-temperature air to cool the CPU with, instead of using air that's already been warmed by your GPU and hard drives.

Another observation to support the above: you've got a lot of fans sucking air out of the case, but only one helping the air get into the case. You should have more exhaust fans than intake fans, but four to one is overdoing it. Three exhaust fans to two intake fans would be a better ratio -- assuming that they are all of fairly similar air-moving capacity.