HSF Going bad?

[Draven_X]

Ever since I had fixed my RAM problem my PC has been running flawlessly. However today while installing a game my Core Center popped up and my CPU Fan Speed was flashing. My rpms were at 1,000 and dropping. It finally stopped and said it was running at 975rpm. It was running somewhere between 3100rpm-3200rpm before this happened. Could my HSF be shot after a week of use? Or perhaps it is just hot? Or is it just a misreading? For the record my CPU temp actually dropped while all this was going on. Also when I turned off and let it sit for a few minutes. The reading comes back to 3183rpm but still flashing like a warning. Thanks in advance.

 

[Rik]

What software was monitoring it???

 

[Draven_X]

Its called Core Center. It was one of the utilities that came with my MOBO. The temps are fairly accurate. I checked them against my BIOs. I think it may be the software.

 

[Rik]

Get speedfan from the downloads section and see what that says.

 

[nork]

Is your fan making any noise, better yet, is it making the same sounds as it always did before? If its making louder sounds or other sounds, peel back the label on it and put some powdered graphite on it, along with just a small touch of oil, then put label back on with a small bit of tape like duct tape.
Powdered graphite is good because when you oil a fan it goes bad again in a few weeks or months, but if you use powdered graphite you only have to do this ONCE for the life of the fan. You can buy it at any hardware or auto store, the auto people can tell you how good it is!
I have been using powdered graphite for about 7 yrs now.
I have an MNSI neo2 P4 mobo and it came with a noisy fan so i did my graphite trick. This is my everyday pc and its on about 16 hours a day, sometimes more, been going for about 4 yrs now with same quiet fan!
So this is a good hint for anyone with any noisy fan as powdered graphite beats oil hands down by a mile. But its good to use a bit of oil only to help spread the graphite around faster. All you have to do is run the fan for about 5 seconds and all fan noises leave. Note this doesnt work as well with very very old fans with totally worn bearings but it will help them as well.

 

[Draven_X]

I did notice it was getting a little bit louder. It just struck me odd since I used it for maybe 2 hours a day for 2 weeks. I just went out and bought a Antec CPU Cooler. Along with the Antec Super Cyclone Blower. I took my PC apart last night and replaced the HSF and arranged everything so it was a lot cleaner and no cables in the way. It seems to run a lot better. It runs at 4100RPMs which is better than the 3100RPMs I had before. I set the Blower just below my graphics card. Just need to get one more 120mm exhaust fan and I'll be all set. Thanks for the advice. I will surely use it if the problem occurs again.

 

[kirock]

You did use thermal paste between the HSF and the CPU right? Good temps for the Athlon 64 are around 30-35C no load and 45-55C under heavy load. 65C is shut down time, the CPU will automatically clock down anyway to prevent burn-out. In my sig below is a link called BSODs, in there you will find a link to CPU temps.

 

[Draven_X]

Yes I used the Antec Silver 5 or something to that effect. I got it from Circuit City. I was thinking of upgrading my CPU down the road. I just wanted to make sure I don't overload the CPU and have it burn out. I was thinking of upgrading to a 4000+ but was also looking at the Athlon FX and the X2. Just not sure what the big difference is between them. Is any of the safer at higher temps?

 

[nork]

I'm not qualifed to answer your question except to say that you can visit the AMD website and see the operating temps for the cpu;s you are talking about. But it seems to me that with the setup you have now you should be ok with a faster cpu.

What i wanted to add is that anytime I feel there is a heat issue of some kind i take the case off and i put a standard, square type of house fan a foot away and have it blowing right at the mobo. If all is well with the pc with the house fan blowing on it then i know i have a heat issue to deal with. Its just a diagnostic tool but it saves a lot of time quessing what the problem is. Especially when you turn the house fan off and the problem comes back, then you know you are on the right track. Of course you then have to go further to find out the exact problem, but its a good start. And if you feel the issue is the cpu\hs\fan then you can put a smaller house fan that blows only on the cpu. That helps narrow it down as well.

 

[Draven_X]

I don't think I am having a over heating issue. My case temp stays around 35C and 27C idle. My CPU jumps up to around 55C when playing various games for a few hours. I do not check my temps when playing. I only check them when I am done. So it could be 55C for a long period of time and maybe thats where it peaks. Also I havn't played any games yet with the new HSF and Blower. I just turned it on and set up my options and let it sit for a few minutes. I will post again when I get home and run a few games on it to see how well it is cooling. I have the HSF exhaust blowing up to the PSU. I figure the air would flow off the HSF into the PSU and out the back. I did the same setup on my graphics card and the cyclone blower. It seems to help a lot considering my case temps dont rise when installing all the new stuff.

 

[nork]

Sorry, i thought i had made myself clear. I was saying that, in the future, if you should even suspect an overheating problem, then using the house fan method works real well.
Good luck with your new setup. My guess is that with all the new cooling all you would have to do is go to your mobo mfgrs website and see their list of compatible cpu's for your mobo, get the cpu and install and all will be fine.
That is, if you need one. The rule of thumb is that one should be looking at getting twice the processor speed before its worth buying a new cpu to replace the one you already have. Of course lots of us will break that rule and we are willing to pay the price for just half that speed increase, lol.