How Hot is too Hot?

[rhonsin]

My husband downloaded a program to monitor temps and fans. He has always used Photoshop 6 for everything and never given it a second or first thought. But now with the temp monitor he says it(CPU) is too hot when it is 101 and it usually runs at 85. Is he being obsessive about it?

 

[brianF]

Depends on the chip. If it where too hot the machine would lock up. But it is a little on the high side. My overclocked P3 850 will get that high playing quake3 for an extended period.

If you havent opened up the case and cleaned it out lately it would help.
Get a can of compressed air available at lots of stores. Shut down the pc, remove the cover, and blow out all the dust that accumulates in the fans, heatsinks, vents, etc.

You could also add another case fan to help keep the machine cool.

 

[brianF]

You could also download rain, it is a Program by Leading Wintech .Rain is the most efficient cpu cooler program you will find.Offers more extreme cooling than Waterfall. Specially designed for overclocking and extreme heat conditions. Rain runs an HLT command on idle cpu threads to save power and run cooler.

You don't need it for 2k or xp, but for 95/98/me is helps

http://www.tweakpc.com/Download_files/rain10.zip

 

[rhonsin]

He has an Athlon 1G CPU. He has a fan on the HD, turbo fans in one of the drive bays and a slot fan, he is leaning towards a case fan. He did what you suggested earlier and just checked it and it was 91 at idle. He's at a loss. He is running Win 2K.

 

[Paul Nagel]

Athlons run hot! That temp is just fine so long as it is in farenheight degrees.

http://www.heatsink-guide.com/maxtemp.htm

 

[rhonsin]

Thanks Paul! He feels a little better and he is going to get a case fan. Yes the degrees were fahrenheit. Thanks again for the quick replies.

Is it possible to overcool a computer?

 

[Paul Nagel]

I think you could probably freeze it up completely with liquid nitrogen! ha ha! I dont know the exact number, but the various components are most likely built to operate with an upper and lower limit. In cold areas, you would not want to leave a computer out in freezing temps and then bring it inside and start it up immediately. Big temp changes should be avoided. Unless you install one of the mini airconditioning super coolers for extreemely overclocked machines, you will not get it down to even room temp.

 

[rhonsin]

Thanks Paul, it doesn't tend to get that cold down here in FL. And I won't be looking into an a/c for the computer, even if it was overclocked. Thanks again for the info.

 

[Randy48]

101 is bad for a T-bird, when if gets up to 140 is when you need to worry!

A case fan will help, what is needed is good air flow through the case.

You want cool air to enter through the bottom front of the case and the warm/hot air to exit out through the upper back. You also want to clear the path of the air on the inside of the case. Move wires and cables that block or restrick the air flow!

I put together a little guide for optimizing a case, you can find it Here

 

[Gary R]

I'm using the system below, and with one exhaust fan (5,000 RPM) and the fan on the cpu (unknown speed) the cpu temp measured with a program called MBProbe usually runs 10 to 14 degrees F. above the room temp.
As I type this, the room temp is 64F and CPU temp is 77F. During summer I had problem with heat, room temp would be about 92F & cpu would be 102 - 105.
:
According to the Info tab on MBProbe:

CPU Information

AuthenticAMD Athlon TBird
Family 6 Model 4 Stepping 2, 1.70V
:-----------------------
SYSTEM INFORMATION:
:
SMbus ... VIA VT82C686B ... Port 5000h
Sensors ... VT82C686A ... Rev A2h ... ISA Port 6000h

 

[FlaFoci]

Originally posted by Randy48
101 is bad for a T-bird, when if gets up to 140 is when you need to worry!

A case fan will help, what is needed is good air flow through the case.

I put together a little guide for optimizing a case, you can find it Here

Thanks Randy 48, I'm the hubby, I did install a case fan today, it helped out alot, really droped the temp quite abit.
I looked at the page you have the link to, I will deffinatly take alook at the things you mentioned.

Again Thanks for the hepl guys