CPU is still 50 degrees at idle even with arctic silver 5 and venus 12...

Ok I have a 3200 64 bit processor and i just put it on my mobo (Abit KV8 max3) and am having cooling problems. I bought a Thermaltake Venus 12 and also Arctic Silver 5 to help, and i'm having 50 degree idle and 58 degree load temperatures. It doesn't make sense. I also have 2 intake fans at the front of the case, one intake fan at the side of the case to blow on the CPU cooler. i have an outtake fan on top and a 120mm outtake fan at the back. I have plenty of air going through the case and its still not helping.
What can you guys suggest for me?
Thanks,
Jacob

intel or AMD, my comp at idle is 50-53 60 under load, because I have a prescott which run incrediably hott it may be normal.

My Athon64 3700 runs at about 48 or 49 idle. Then again, I only have one case fan blowing out (none blowing in) as I like the silence.

I have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+. I really don't think its normal. My friend's system with a 3000+ runs at 35 idle. Although i'm not completely sure.

I'd say one of the following is your problem:

1. The CPU is overclocked.
2. too many fans in your case.
3. That is normal for your processor (never had one so I don't know).

If you have overclocked, then you shouldn't have written this post in the first place.

Assuming you haven't, try messing around with your fan configuration by turning one off and see if you get a better flow through the case.

Your temps are nothing to worry about though, well within acceptable temps. But I do understand why you are asking. It does seem a little high with that much air blowing through the case. I have the same temps as you, but I am running stock cooling on the CPU, and only one case fan blowing out.

Haha, i'm definately not overclocking, especially not with these temps as they are. I have tried unplugging certain case fans and nothing really seems to help. I unplugged the back 120mm fan and that was really bad, and then i unplugged the side intake fan and that caused about a 2 degree increase.
Man i would have thought that this AMD would be able to run cooler, but I could be wrong.
The programs i am using to check the temps are the ABIT EQ which shows the temp and fan speed, and I also have Motherboard Monitor. MM says i'm running 49 to 51 idle, and gets up to around 57 at load, and ABIT EQ shows that i'm at a constant 55 idle going up to 61 at load. So i'm choosing to believe MM so i feel better about it all, but i still believe that the temps should be lower.
Thanks for all of the replys, I will try looking in the BIOS later today.
Any other suggestions also?
Jacob

Mine 3500+ used to run at about 50 degrees C when idling. That was before I activated Cool n Quiet - now it idles at around 35 deg C, 55 under load with CPU burn for 1 hour.

Well, my cool-and-quiet mode is already enabled. I also checked the temps in BIOS and i was at a steady 50 degrees. So i'm still stumped trying to figure this one out...

anybody else have any recommendations, I'm at a loss here.

When you take your side panels off and run it that way, what kind of temps are you getting? Are your board temps as high as your CPU, or is your board MUCH cooler?

Anyways, I don't think those temps are too much to worry about really. They are not dangerously high in any way. Sure, 5 degrees lower would be nice, but....

Cool'n'Quiet is only active when the OS is loaded & when the proper driver is installed. Have you installed the Athlon64 driver located HERE ?

You can also find some extra tools HERE.

Didou, just wondering.

I have the "asus" version of the cool n' quiet software running. Do I also need to install that AMD driver in order for it to work, or are they the same program in different names?

If you don't install the driver, the speeds will not be adjusted depending on the CPU load & if the CPU speed/Voltage isn't lowered I doubt the CPU will be cool enough for the fan to lower its speed &/or stop.

On my motherboard, there's an option similar to the Asus Q-Fan but if the CPU doesn't go down to 1Ghz (Voltage to 1.1v) then it doesn't stop turning.

PS. Maybe the Cool'n'Quiet driver is also installed with the drivers located on the Asus motherboard CD, I'm not sure. Anyhow it's always better to install the newest version.

Thanks!

I know I am kind of threadjacking here.... but

I went to remove the asus cooln'quiet before installing the AMD version, and I get a message saying that since the files are being used, it needs to uninstall it during a reboot.

I am just afraid that I am going to mess up my windows installation here... should I go ahead with the uninstall process in order to install the AMD driver, or just leave it as is and install overtop?

Well, go to your control panel -> power management & then set it to minimal power management. Then with a program like CPU-Z, see if the CPU speed gets lowered when there's nothing hogging the CPU. If the speed drops down, then Cool'n'Quiet is already active.

Something definitly has to be wrong becuase i have an Amd Athlon xp and i get way cooler temps than that also i have a friend with the same processor and his temps are around 38 degrees. Try many temperature programs "Search for one called Everest"

Which BIOS version are you running? Versions 23 and 24: Abit KV8 MAX3 BIOS HISTORY show recalibrations for CPU temps... I would try using Abit's flash menu, and let it update your BIOS to either version, but why not the most recent? :grinthumb

Hi there. I came here from Neowin. I still visit neowin as well as this.

Ok, getting to the topic...Try Everest Home Edition. The program that came with my mainboard (MSI's CoreCenter) shows a bit higher temperatures than Everest Home Edition.

CoreCenter normally reports IDLE: 40-45 C and ONLOAD: 50-60 C

Everest reports different with IDLE: 35-40 C and ONLOAD: 40-50 C (depends on what I do on the pc).

Wouldn't it be better to trust the higher temps ? If Everest is not reading them well, your CPU might be on the edge. If you trust the higher ones & they turn out to be wrong, no harm done.