system temp

[B_MAN]

i use motherboard monitor 5 to keep tabs on my cpu temp etc
my cpu reaches a max temp of around 52 degrees celcius when playing games
is this considered to be TOO high, or is it reasonable?
im running an athlon 2200 xp @ 1.9 ghz
it has a huge heatsink and fan on it
so if it is too high, what can i do to bring the temp down a little
any recommended products?
thanks

 

[Asus]

52C is not TOO high. That is pretty average.

If you want to decrease the temp then you can either:
1)replace the CPU fan with a better fan.
2)use Arctic Silver ceramique thermal paste instead of poor thermal paste or a pad.
3)increase case air flow by adding or replacing fans with higher CFM fans.
4)replace the CPU heatsink with an all copper heatsink or HSF combo.
5)put the case in a cooler area with lower room temp.

 

[B_MAN]

what is the best case fan to buy? highest rpm, quiet etc..
whats thermal paste and where is it applied??

 

[SidewinderX]

Thermal paste is a compoiund that you put between the die/heatspreader of the CPU and the bootm of the heatsink on the fan.

Well, gnerall, I liek quite case fans... i've never delt with bad ones... s i can't really answer that.

 

[psyno]

Don't shop for RPM! Shop for CFM (cubic feet per minute).

In general, go for a large ball bearing fan. Ball bearing will be quieter and have a longer life, and naturally the larger the fan, the more CFM it can push at lower RPM, reducing noise.

*Edit: also, you should not be using thermal paste with a modern CPU socket, but rather thermal grease. Paste is unnecessary as modern sockets will keep the heat sink in place themselves just fine. I think Asus meant to post grease and not paste anyway... Here's a link to the product he mentioned.

 

[Asus]

Are you using the stock heatsink/fan that comes with Retail CPUs ?
Replace the entire heatsink/fan unit and not just the fan if that is the case.

An all copper heatsink along with a 30CFM fan or higher is recommended.

You don't need to improve your PC cooling though. Your CPU is being cooled adequately.

 

[B_MAN]

all i want to add is another case fan
can you guys recommend a strong one? high power, low noise?
thanks

 

[Asus]

I wouldn't get anything powerful. No need.

If you are just going to add a case fan make sure you have just as much air coming in as going out. Balance air flow otherwise you get high or low pressure.
My case came with 2 front fans, 2 rear fans and a fan on the top of the case plus my PSU has a fan. That was too many fans blowing air out so I removed the top fan which lowered my temps by a bit.

Link

 

[B_MAN]

perfect
thats what im looking for
thanks

 

[ukfilmer]

what about blowing air inwards? just today i took my main case fan and turned it round so it blows cold air in, then stuck some cardboard to direct the air at my CPU fan. so it gets cold air onto the cpu. i thought that made sense. my PSU is blowing outwards so i thought it'd be ok. am i right?

 

[Alig]

Yeah but what happens if you have 6 fans blowing air in but only one fan blowing air out so you have 6x the air in your case...just hot air being blown around several times over because the one outtake fan cant blow it all out quick enough.

Heat rises dont forget so its a good idea to have an outtake fan on the top of the case if possible.

 

[ukfilmer]

yeah, my only outtake fan is my psu (comp only has 3 fans all together) i might steal one from my old pc, haha, see if my dad notices. so my outtake is at the top and ALOT of hot air comes outta that

 

[Asus]

Yeah, you don't want hot air recycling back in the case.
It's best if the airflow is simple. Lower front to upper back.

If you have fans bring air in from the side or an exhaust fan right above an intake then you might get places in the airflow where the air just drops the dust. lol
Not the best. You want what little dust comes in the case to go right back out the case with the air that brought it in.