Fan Trouble!!!

[Tinneth]

I posted this in another thread but I think that thread is dead now so it wont get any attention.

One question, im not up to date with all this heatsink and fan stuff and i recently just upgraded and i am unsure about something. So..is the CPU fan supposed to suck air towards the motherboard or away?

The reason for this question is that i had a really crap fan that i got with the computers years ago..and my CPU temp was reaching at about 72C. Now i put the new one in my CPU temp is at about 64C while im just sitting here browsing the forums and talking on MSN Messenger. I currently have a AMD Athlon XP 3200+ processor and i have the following fan:

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Product+Details.htm?quicklinx=2N2F&searchphrase=Volcano

 

[blahblahblah]

You link doesn't work

If your processor is reaching 64C idling, you shouldn't have your computer on. Tempertures that hot may be affecting the life and performance of your processor.

For practical purposes, your CPU should idle somewhere around 43C and around 50C under load.

Questions:
1) How many case fans do you have?
2) How many case fan slots do you have open on your case?
3) How are you measuring your temperture?
4) Are you using some sort of thermal grease on your heatsink?
5) Do you have your heatsink mounted correctly? Since its an old heatsink, does it properly support your CPU speed and Socket A?

 

[Tinneth]

You link doesn't work

If your processor is reaching 64C idling, you shouldn't have your computer on. Tempertures that hot may be affecting the life and performance of your processor.

For practical purposes, your CPU should idle somewhere around 43C and around 50C under load.

Questions:
1) How many case fans do you have?
2) How many case fan slots do you have open on your case?
3) How are you measuring your temperture?
4) Are you using some sort of thermal grease on your heatsink?
5) Do you have your heatsink mounted correctly? Since its an old heatsink, does it properly support your CPU speed and Socket A?

1) I have 1 case fan
2) Not sure
3) Using PC Alert 4
4) Yes
5) It supports my speed and yes it is on properly.

Link works for me. By the way, do CPU fans suck air towards the motherboard or push it away? What do you suggest i do to solve this problem?

 

[blahblahblah]

Guess the link doesn't like american's. ;(

If you look in your case, it should be fairly evident how many case fan slots are available. I would recommend buying another one if there is an open slot. If there is no open slot, buy a case fan that moves more CFM (cubic feet per minute) than your current case fan. Beware, fans that have high CFM are also noisy.

More Questions...

- Is the fan working on your heatsink?
- Is your case fan blowing air out of the case?
- You only have a small amount of thermal grease applied to the heatsink, right?
- Do you overclock your processor? (just checking)

If you answer all of those, I would suggest a new heat sink/fan combo for your processor. And worse case scenario, if a new case fan and heatsink/fan (for processor) doesn't cool down your temperture, you may need a new case.

One other thing, your temperture gauge may be off. Is there a way to calibrate it, or do you have some other way to verify those tempertures?

 

[Asus]

Touch the heatsink quickly and see if it actually is hot or if the temp reading is just off.
Make sure before you start troubleshooting.

What is the room temp? It's pretty hot and near summer. I have hit 55C idle with my old Heatsink and CPU when I had my PC upstairs last year.
If your room temp is hotter then I would expect the CPU temp to be increased as well.

Volcano 11's are pretty loud to cool good.

btw The fan blows air down onto the heatsink/CPU.
Back case fans blow out.
Front case fans blow in.

 

[blahblahblah]

Is your case dusty? You may also want to take a can of compressed air, and clean out your case.

For Reference: My room temp is @ 80 F and my idle temperture for my CPU is 47 C. (Sorry, to lazy to convert F in to C )

[Edit]: It's 26.67 C

 

[Tinneth]

Guess the link doesn't like american's. ;(

If you look in your case, it should be fairly evident how many case fan slots are available. I would recommend buying another one if there is an open slot. If there is no open slot, buy a case fan that moves more CFM (cubic feet per minute) than your current case fan. Beware, fans that have high CFM are also noisy.

More Questions...

- Is the fan working on your heatsink?
- Is your case fan blowing air out of the case?
- You only have a small amount of thermal grease applied to the heatsink, right?
- Do you overclock your processor? (just checking)

If you answer all of those, I would suggest a new heat sink/fan combo for your processor. And worse case scenario, if a new case fan and heatsink/fan (for processor) doesn't cool down your temperture, you may need a new case.

One other thing, your temperture gauge may be off. Is there a way to calibrate it, or do you have some other way to verify those tempertures?

I check the temp in BIOS and its the same..
1) Heatsink fan is working
2) Yes
3) Yes
4) No

 

[Tinneth]

Touch the heatsink quickly and see if it actually is hot or if the temp reading is just off.
Make sure before you start troubleshooting.

What is the room temp? It's pretty hot and near summer. I have hit 55C idle with my old Heatsink and CPU when I had my PC upstairs last year.
If your room temp is hotter then I would expect the CPU temp to be increased as well.

Volcano 11's are pretty loud to cool good.

btw The fan blows air down onto the heatsink/CPU.
Back case fans blow out.
Front case fans blow in.

Heatsink is hot..Not sure of the room temp and im unable to check :'(

 

[Asus]

Where is your 1 case fan?
In the back or front?
Your PSU has a fan so if you only have 1 fan I would mount it up front.

 

[blahblahblah]

Where is your 1 case fan?
In the back or front?
Your PSU has a fan so if you only have 1 fan I would mount it up front.

I have a different fan placement philosophy. But now is not the time to start a holy war over such a thing.

Tinneth, does your PC Alert give a temperture reading for you motherboard temperture?

 

[Tinneth]

I got a fan on the back of my case. Im thinking its the case that is the problem so I am currently searching for a new one. My current system temperature is at 41/42C which i think is the temperature in the entire case. No temperature for the mobo though.

At the moment, my CPU temp is hanging around 60C

 

[Asus]

That isn't that bad for temp considering your case temp.
My case is at 28C and my CPU is 45C. Its 70's (F) for room temp.
17C difference for me.
19C difference for you.

What's your fan placement philosophy? lol

 

[blahblahblah]

That isn't that bad for temp considering your case temp.
My case is at 28C and my CPU is 45C. Its 70's (F) for room temp.
17C difference for me.
19C difference for you.

What's your fan placement philosophy? lol

70's F for your room temp. Brrrrrrr...thats cold.

According to my ASUSprob, my motherboard temperture is 28 C.

lol, I just re-read my previous post. :dork: Anyways, I think fans should be placed for exhaust only. I found thats the easiest way to keep my temperture and noise down.

 

[Asus]

70's F for your room temp. Brrrrrrr...thats cold.

It was 80's in here with 8 ceiling flood lights on earlier today. gasp :O
I opened up the door for cool air through the screen. Also turned on a ceiling fan. lol
Those suckers give off heat!
It's been rainy and cool lately. It was 80s few days ago.

 

[blahblahblah]

It's been rainy and cool lately. It was 80s few days ago.

lol, where I live, the low is in the 80's.

 

[Asus]

I live in the midwest. Used to live in Kansas City,KS now I live north of there...3 hours.

 

[Tinneth]

Ive been looking at some new cases to get seeing as my current has pretty crap airflow. This is the one im thinking of getting:

Case

 

[Asus]

That one will surely improve airflow. hehe

 

[Tinneth]

what heatsink/fan combination do you recommend to be the best at cooling and reasonably quiet?

Whilst searching these forums, Windows Media Player...playing..as well as a conversation in MSN Messenger the temperature goes no higher than 61C. Is this ok? Or should I look to lower it? However, if I restart my PC then go into the BIOS and look at the temperature there, it is about 3 - 5C lower than what PC Alert 4 is reporting it to be. So that means my temperature at the moment is around 57/58C.

 

[blahblahblah]

That is still a little high, imo. How high does your temperture get when you are playing games? You should try to get your idle temperture down to 50C (idle). In your case 55C (idle) may even be acceptable.

- Does it seem like your CPU fan is blowing alot of air around?

- I just took a look at the CPU cooler you have (you have a good one). It mentions that it has a variable fan speeds. Have you tried to increase the fan speed on the CPU cooler?

- Did you ever get that new case yet? How many case fans do you have installed?

- When you touch your heat sink, is it hot or is it really hot? Does it feel like it is at 60C or does it feel colder?

One other thing is that your temperture monitors could be off (both, your Bios and PC Alert 4).

You are doing a pretty good job of stumping me on this problem. lol

 

[Tinneth]

I replied to your message Blah. Do you think that the fan I have is good enough to cool it properly? If not, what fan would you recommend?

 

[theGreenBunny]

Sounds like your temperature sensor is off. If everything is mounted correctly it really shouldn't/can't be reaching those temps, certainly not with better-than-stock cooling. If a cpu really required 5 casefans and an uber case to run at normal temps AMD wouldn't be selling it.

Is there a bios update for your mobo? Sometimes they adjust the temp readouts with one. They did so with my mobo anyway (I still don't trust it though).

 

[Tinneth]

Ok I just had a round of UT2004 for about 20 mins or so then quit and checked my CPU temp and its at 59/60C. My friend has got the exact same set up as my PC but hes got a less pwerful CPU and a slightly less powerful graphics card and his CPU runs at 42C. Maybe my heatsink fan isnt connected to the motherboard properly? Or perhaps I need a better fan. My cpu fan at the moment is running at about 4020 and the CPU temp is at 55/56/57C and if I crank it up anymore it will be way too noisy. What really good cooling fans than are quite quiet can you think of?