Hi guys, Just built me a new rig AMD Athlon XP 1.8 512 pc133 mb RAM ECS K7S5A Motherboard 400 Watt Psu Ge-Force 4 128mb Ti4600 Leadtek VGA I dont know what the correct temps are? i havent overclocked anything,but my temps are cpu 57 c system temp 39 c These temps seem too hot as it causes my system to hang. Is there any way to cool this cookie down without getting any extra fans in? ( for the moment anyway ) Did i hear someone mention something about V-Core?? Kind Regards Steve

is that an XP 1800+? if so i have that same processor, running on that same mobo. right now according to cpu cool my cpu is at 53C and my case is at 38C and it's pretty mild in my room. When I first built the system I posted to this board about a heating problem cause my CPU temp was in the low 60's, mid 60's under full load. My system never locked up when the cpu was running in the 60's but that may be the case for you. Try taking the side panels off your case and seeing the temps and if its running more stable. Also if your room is very hot then chances are so will your case and cpu, make sure the venting area's of the case are in open air and not right up against a wall or something emitting a lot of heat (ie. my cable modem gets incredibly hot at times..). The best and cheapest solution for you is most likely what did it for me, case fans. They're dirt cheap (well unless you insist on the best), hardly take up any power and can creat a nice airflow throughout your system that will prolong the life of your harddrives and other components significantly. Check to see if the front (behind the hard drives) of your case has one mount or two, if there's two I strong suggest two 80mm case fans on the front (make sure they're pointing the right way so they blow the cool air into your computer) and another 80mm case fan on the back underneath your PSU turned around blowing out (acting as an exhaust getting rid of all the hot air that's just hanging around your cpu and elsehwere in the case). This had a drastic effect on my case and lowered the CPU temp 10 degree's alone. It's also a lot cheaper than a new heatsink/fan and there's no risk of ruining your cpu. Keep in mind if you buy case fans only one of them can be a smart fan (I don't use one, but the mobo supports one). I got 3 of them, one for 6 bucks CDN and the other 2 for 10 bucks each (from another store). I know you didn't wanna hear about fans, but a cool computer with good airflow is a happy computer. And for that cpu you definatly want to be well below 60C from what I have learned, at full load on a really hot humid day my cpu climbs up to around 56-57C but its perfectly stable so I can live with that, even though I know darn well it would be a lot cooler if I had a better cooling solution on the cpu itself. John

I own and use an ECS k7s5a with an Athlon XP1800+ and my cpu temp never gets higher than 46 and my system temp doesn't get higher than 34. If your system is hanging, there are other potential reasons then cpu overheating. One is an underpowered power supply and the other is chipset overheating. You can get a lot of tips on this board at www.ocworkbench.com/ecs

Never underestimate the value of thermal paste between the CPU core and the heat sink.

My Athlon 1.2 Ghz T-bird gets up to 57 degrees C after heavy gaming. I've never had it crash because of heat issues. Is that your CPU temp when your system is idle for a long time? A CPU should still be OK if its 57 degrees. I think the threshhold for real worry is about 65-70 degrees C.

I have an XP 1800+. The lowest my temperature gets is 40 celsius (idle), with system temperature being 3 or 4 degrees under. As mentioned above, Thermal paste makes a difference, but so does the fan / cooling solution you have attached! I was concerned at first with the temperature, but discovered that these cpus run very very hot! The important thing is to see that under the highest load, the cpu does not exceed 85 degrees. That is when damage could occur. Actually, the cpus are supposed to be safe till 90 + degrees, but why take the chance? So, if your cpu is hanging at 57, I would have to question your bios settings - is the FSB set correctly at 133 MHz? How about the voltage? For our CPU, I believe the default voltage is 1.74V for V-core. Does your mobo support Ram voltage and AGP voltage settings? How about AGP / PCI bus ratios? That's all I can think of. Hope it helps. Kai

Use the Coolermaster HHC001 Delta Heat Pipe Radiator - Probably the best in the World!