How Hot is Hot?

[agmorgan]

At what point do I have to start to worry about my temperatures?

I am short on space so I have to put my PC in a desk which restricts airflow.
There is 1 80 mm fan on the side of the case (to draw in air) and one on the back (to expel air),
but there are no fans on the front of the case to draw in air.

My system temp is 39 deg C and my CPU is 54 deg C.

I even got the CPU up to 64 degrees when I closed the desk doors.

When I take the PC out of the desk I have these readings after 1 hour idle
Sys:30, CPU:47

With my new case fan after 1 hour idle the temps were
Sys:22, CPU:43




My system is
NF7-S rev2
AMD Athalon 2000+ (Palomino)
Stock AMD HSF
ABIT Siluro GeForce FX 5200
512 MB (DDR SDRAM)
Maxtor 40 GB Hard Drive (84320D4)

[si_the_geek]

nice fan!

It would be best to check the rating of the components, especially the processor. www.AMD.com has lots of documentation about its products, including the acceptable temperatures.

I found there that my processor (Athlon 64 3000+) automatically shuts-down the computer when it reaches 70 degrees; I suspect that yours will have a limit like this too, possibly at a higher temperature.

[ninjanutz]

where do i go to get temp readings? or did u take em urself with a thermom

[si_the_geek]

It usually depends on your motherboard... most let you see in the BIOS when you are booting up, and some have Windows programs that tell you the temperatures etc.

[StevenHickerson]

Yeah your shutdown threshold is probably set to 70 but you dont really want to push close to it. I'd say a comfort level for AMD cpus is usually around low 50s C on the CPU. I've seen people run them low 60s before and do ok, but long sprints of running them at this and you could start seeing quirks on the screen (graphics drawn incorrectly, windows not refreshing properly, etc). And eventually on really long sprints like this it could cause the system to freeze or bsod. I've got an AMD XP M 2400+ and I keep it at around 48 usually, it will jump to mid 50's under heavy loads.

[capsulecorpjx]

I had a similar problem. My computer kept auto-shutting down because the CPU was overheating.

Eventually I found out that dust was clogging the CPU fan (the fan that is attached directly to the CPU and heat sink).

So I used a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol and swabbed the small fan, and drew out the dust bunnies from the heat sink's grill below the fan.

So I suggest you try that if you're having problems.

Other than that, I think a little above room temp is fine, as long as you have a few inchest of space between the power supply fan and the back of the wall.

[agmorgan]

where do i go to get temp readings? or did u take em urself with a thermom

ABIT provide a Windows application to measure the temps.
There are other pieces of freeware that will do it as well, however I can't remember their names.
If I remember I'll post what I have when I get home.

[agmorgan]

Speedfan is a good example
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

[dglienna]

I found the code that Westconn wrote a few months ago. It works.

Set wbemServices = GetObject("winmgmts:" & "\\localhost\root\wmi")
    Set wbemObjectSet = wbemServices.InstancesOf("MSAcpi_ThermalZoneTemperature")
'       temp = 123.45

[james14]

I had a similar problem. My computer kept auto-shutting down because the CPU was overheating.

Eventually I found out that dust was clogging the CPU fan (the fan that is attached directly to the CPU and heat sink).

So I used a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol and swabbed the small fan, and drew out the dust bunnies from the heat sink's grill below the fan.

So I suggest you try that if you're having problems.

Other than that, I think a little above room temp is fine, as long as you have a few inchest of space between the power supply fan and the back of the wall.

Same here, I have a Toshiba Laptop that would totally overheat and eventually just turn off.

http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=258

^-- this is what I used to guide me through the process, however I had a laptop. But there are some tutorials online.

[ninjanutz]

i downloaded speed fan bvut wn it trys to acquire my system info it says ...
System Information could not open this NSO file. It might be corrupted or an unrecognized version.

[nothingofvalue]

Just my 2 cents, but I would say that if you have to ask the question then you are running your computer too hot.

Bear in mind that there is a major difference between the temperature required to kill the computer and the temperature required to slowly kill your computer. That is why servers are designed much different than a pc. If you are going to run the pc constantly then get a larger heat sink or at least add a second fan.

Some of the PC monitor software available will shut the pc down at a temp you set to at least help prevent the computer from operating at high temps.

Also, cracking the case open as it is in your photo can have some very bad affects. Number one is that your fan is now blowing all the dust in the room directly into your pc...that is bad. Number two is the fact that your pc fan is actually designed for a closed environment. When you open the chasis you are essentially bypassing the fan

Heat kills...eventually

[penagate]

At what point do I have to start to worry about my temperatures?

When your computer starts crashing (CPU), or you get snowflakes on your display (Gfx). Otherwise, it's fine.

Also, cracking the case open as it is in your photo can have some very bad affects.

I run mine without the side panels on. I tinker too much to keep taking them off and putting them back on.