Hi all,

Thought I'd ask the professionals.

I've built a PC for a friend which has a P4 3.4GHz Dual Core with the standard heatsink/fan and there's two case fans, one 80mm that blows at the CPU and a 120mm at the rear that blows out and I'm not sure whether it's overheating or not.

Along with the motherboard (Asus) came a monitoring program which monitors, among other things, the CPU and MB temperatures. The mobo temp always just hovers around 35 degrees Celcius but the CPU temperature sits at 45 on idle and often goes over 60 degress C during action (ie games). It has actually reached 83 degrees C but I think that may have been a glitch as 5 seconds later it was back at 58 degrees again.

What is a good range or I guess where is 'the point of no return'? Should I get a little something special for the CPU?

Thanks all..........tez

3.4 GHz dual core must mean a Pentium D. Pentium Ds are hot running CPUs, especially the higher clocked ones like yours. 60C at full load may be just about ok or a bit on the higher side depending on your ambient temperature and the case.

If you have case fans, then it is important to ensure that they are aiding circulation rather than act against each other. Just to confirm that the intake fan is not acting against the CPU fan, just disconnect the CPU fan and check for temperatures. Put you hand in the case after about 30 mins of running and check if it feels warmer or cooler. That should tell you something abt the arrangement of fans.

If it has been more than a year since you last applied thermal paste, it may help matter if you remove the heatsink, clean the old paste off with a lint free cloth (even use a mild cleaning agent like nail polish remover - but NOT on the CPU, only on the heat sink); and then apply a fresh paste of thermal paste. Blow dust off the heat sink before you fix it back again. This will typically result in a drop of abt 2C or more under load.

Another way (not always practical) is to leave the case open for max air circulation :)

Kailas Shastry

3000+ Venice, A8N-E, 768MB DDR266, 160GB Barracuda, 380W Cooler Master

oops! mistake.

I meant the CASE INTAKE FAN. NOT the CPU fan.

just disconnect the CPU fan and check for temperatures

...though you wont kill the CPU by disconnecting its fan.

Kailas Shastry

3000+ Venice, A8N-E, 768MB DDR266, 160GB Barracuda, 380W Cooler Master

Hey, thanks for your reply Kailas. Yeah it is a Pentium D (or so says the sticker!) I only hooked it all up a few days ago so everything is (or should be anyway) fresh in that regard. When I was putting all together, or more loading the software in I had the case open and was feeling inside for heat every now and then and it seemed to be relatively cool and it was running ok without the fans to begin with (there's always something I forget, this time it was the fans).

As for the fans I've tried to make it so it's more of an 'airflow' rather than just fans blowing air around. The case fan actually has a tube like thing attached to it that lines up with the processor so it blows air solely on the processor. There's also another space for a fan right next to it that I might try out too.

But as you said, if 60 degrees sounds 'ok' I might just keep an eye on it rather than freak out about it. It's also coming into summer here and the days aren't much help in keeping things cool either!

Thanks again...........tez

The "tube like thing" is a fresh air duct for the CPU fan...it doesn't *have* to have a fan attached to it. Generally speaking, side panel fans are disruptive to good airflow within the case. The fans in the power supply help to exhaust warm air from the case & any other fans placed in the rear of the case should blow outward as well. A front intake fan isn't absolutely necessary, but many people install them. AMD states that "Front intake fans have not proven to be a significant benefit for vertical cases"

http://www.coolcomputercases.com/im...

The problem with my situation is that there's no real air intake available from the front of the case. There's the place to put the fan but there's no vent to the outside air other than some small slats at the bottom of the front cover. I figured a front fan would be best for airflow as shown by the picture in the link but I have a feeling for me it would just be recirculating the 'hot' air from inside the case.

I hate computers............tez

"I figured a front fan would be best for airflow..."

The picture in the link was just an example. It was more to show you how the rear fans work rather than the front fan. As I wrote above...AMD states that "Front intake fans have not proven to be a significant benefit...."

In other words you do not need a front fan. The rear exhaust fans will draw fresh air in thru the front vents. The side panel fan is probably unnecessary & *may* be disruptive to good front to rear airflow.

Thanks for that. As I said there's no real place for a front fan anyway so I'll try switching off the side fans and see what happens.

It's also cooled down climate wise here over the last couple of days which has actually made the difference (on average) on the CPU of about 10 degrees. But still considering I'm entering summer and there hasn't really been a 'hot' day yet I'd like to do as much as I can before the sweltering days come into effect and add 10 degrees to the CPU!

...........tez