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I just managed to get my new system together:

http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=21737

- I'm getting 62-69°C - using a AMD heatsink/cooler.....is this dangerously high?

I've got my 350W enermax on max, with its output fan just above the CPU - pumping out as much heat as possible.... is there anything I can do to bring the CPU temp down.. or is it alright as it is?

By AMD heatsink/cooler do you mean one that came with your CPU or one you already had or purchased afterward or is it just an AMD recommended fan? That sounds pretty hot too me:hotbounce

are those tempatures from the asus probe utility? there are some who say that asus reports 10 degrees higher than what the temps reallly are. regardless those temps are a bit on the high side.

try replacing the stock heatsink with a good copper core heatsink also are you relying on just the fans on the enermax for case cooling? if you are its a bad idea.

It is the AMD cooler that came with the cpu:

"AMD *Retail* Athlon XP 2100+ (1.73 GHz) with AMD H/S/F 3 Yrs Warranty"

I am using the ASUS mobo to record the temps.....


So, I've got the AMD cooler taking heat from the cpu, and the Enermax dual fan taking that hot air out - max speed.

I think your cooling system is a bit light, especially if it's a Palomino core.

Try adding an exhaust fan at the back of your case. You can get an Enermax 80*80 with manually adjustable speed, so you can tweak a little & find the best noise/performance ratio.

I had similar problem with asus probe.
I updated my bios and the temperature
reported droped abooout 10 degrees.

69*C isn't "dangerously high" for your CPU, but many components in your system (including your motherboard) are rated at around 65*C.. So if things are getting that hot on the CPU sensor, then your chip socket and what not are probaly feeling a bit stressed by the heat too.

Normal operating tempatures should NOT exceed 60*C in my experiences.

It is very important that you have AT LEAST 2 case fans, one intake and probably one exhaust in the back. Fresh air circulation is vital because blowing hot air on a CPU will only do so much to cool it down. Cooler air on the other hand... Case cooling is very important and often overlooked.

Ambient temperatures play an important role in all of this too. Is it very hot in your room? If you have the luxury, it might be worthwhile to keep your entire room cool.. It could lower your CPU temperature quite a bit to keep your room at 70*F instead of 85*F

The case has a fan at the front, but there are a lot of cables around - as the case isn't that big.

Total cooling:

Front Fan
AMD heatsink/fan on CPU
Enermax 2 Fan PSU:


The side fan is sucking air from almost directly above the cpu


The case isn't exactly high quality - so there's no space for an extra case fan anyway - plus how would I connect it when there's only on cha_fan connector on the mobo?

Power supply fans are not really for case cooling.the double and triple fan power supplies are for the purpose of cooling the power supply and preventing it from radiating heat into the case not for cooling the case.

Like Rick said you need at Least two case fans one bringing air in and one drawing air out for proper airflow. I wont buy a case that doesnt have at least one 80cm case fan slot in the fromt and one in the back. and my preference is for TWO 80cm in front ( one in front of the hard drive bay ) and a 120cm case fan in the rear.

I've updated the bios - and the recorded temp has gone down a couple of degrees - to 60°C during normal windows operation.

I will be adding thermal paste/adding a better h/s/f/ and perhaps getting a better case - fan at front and back..
but not yet...I'm not loaded. Around February I'll have enough money - but not o/c until the above.

Thanks for the tip. I flashed mine as well, and Probe now reports the correct readings...which are usually under 30C for idle. And to think, for all this time, the 51C I idled at was actually 31C :eek:
And now I can turn my CPU fan down lower

My temps are half yours - that's not right.

Arctic Silver 3 is like $5 now, you can't go wrong. Plus you can get an excellent Coolermaster budget heatsink at newegg for <$10. I would reccomend one of them. I had one with a 2100+, and it was really good, actually. Not quite as good as my $30 Volcano 9, but only about 5-10C behind. You really can't go wrong with Coolermaster, IMHO.

Plus you should get at least 2 fans for your case, one blowing in in the front and one exhausting, usually right next to the CPU HSF.

Arctic Silver 3 + Coolermaster HSF + 2 80mm fans really shouldn't down you that much! Maybe $30 or less. Getting a new case really shouldn't be necessary, you should be good off with your current one if you put some fans in. Think of it this way: your CPU fan is just blowing the same air it uses to radiate heat off the sink onto the sink again, your entire computer's air is at a standstill.

So yes, AS3, CM HSF, and case fans will solve your problem.

The temparature isn't threatning but it will lock up your system. I've had this problem, make sure you have the heatsink/fan on the right way, if you put it backwards the heatsink does not touch the precessor (like it's supposed to) leading to your heat "problem". An XP 2100+ should be around 40C-50C, any temp higher then 75C WILL damage your processor permantely. Hope this helps with your heat problem.

Correct. The pinnacle of the V your clip makes should be directly above the processor core. Failing to do so will most likely cause chipping or breakage if your machine is mishandled or jostled. This is entirely possible, but I didn't think this is what happened since your processor would probably be toast by now...

Believe it or not, the CPU does make some contact with the HSF, although not enough. And your CPU won't fry right away because of this, but I'm sure your computer would "hang" from overheating in a matter of minutes. I've had some personal experience with this.

Thermal paste is a good idea! Please remember to apply sparingly. Paste is only meant to smooth out the imperfections in the metal surfaces of your CPU and heatsink, thereby increasing suface contact a small amount.. Too much paste can actually impede contact, raising your temps even higher.

If you are using a thermal pad on your heatsink, scrap that junk off! This was adequate about 5 years ago, but ever since HSF retention mechanisms have gotten so hard to put on and put so much pressure on the CPU, pads are worthless.

Your Enermax fan is very inadequate if used as an exhaust fan. I have the same PSU and the airflow is very poor and it is probably one of the least effective fans I've seen in one. The PSU is very good quality though and a good buy.

Your BIOS could be misreporting the temperatures.. It wouldn't be the first or last time I've heard of this. I would like to think flashing your BIOS to the newest version would fix this.

his temp readings probably are correct given he is running a 2100 witha stock heatsink and NO airflow in the case.

artic silver is great stuff I use it but be very carful applying it I have seen chips fried because people put to much on and when they powered up excess flowed and being conductive it shorted the chip frying it.

there is another heatsink at newegg I have tried it is called a speeze model 5R265B1H3 it is rated for AMD 2200+ has a copper core and microfins. it has gotten very good reviews and is considered adequate for even light over clocking. and it's only 8.00 USD I am using this on two of my amd machines one a 1600 and the other a 1800 I had a coolermaster on the 1800 before adn the temps were 46C idle and 56C under load with the speeze the temps are 38C idle and 45C under load. another thing I like about the speeze is it uses a three point attachment on both sides instead of the singe point that most heatsinks use.

I didn't bother to sift through the whole thread bu6t I read enough to seee that some of you have misleading and unfounded info here. to begin with, someone said the PSU fan isn't for case cooling...WRONG. The PSU fan is a key component in cooling the case, it exhausts the hot air from the case. I'd also like to address the side fan sucking air directly from the HSF. Unless your HSFan sucks air from the HS(most blow air onto it) then this can and will create "dead air". This is a situation where turbulence creates spots where the air doesn't move, it can be created when to directions of air cross and disturb the flow, or when the air is pulled or pushed in opposite directions. The proper airflow through the case should follow natural flow as closely as possible which is up. Hot air rises, so help it rise up and out. Your fans should intake cool air from the front(as close to the bottom as possible) and direct the air toward the back, the air is then sucked out the back at the top by the PSU fan(an additional fan near the PSU fan is also a good idea) Adding other fans can help if positioned correctly but you need to check the flow and amount of turbulence in order to maximize the cooling effect.

The only turbulent areas should be around any HSFs in the system, this includes those on the CPU, GFX card, chipset, etc...
The airflow in these areas should still move in the direction of flow although it is disturbed by the fans. Doing a "smoke test" can show you the airflow through the system. If you find problems, you can correct them by ducting and directing the air to correct the turbulence in the problem areas.

Another thing you might consider, the AMD HSF isn't very well made, you might need to finish the surface. I've seen some of those things that were pretty uneven on the surface that contacts the CPU. I'd recommend a better HSF but if nothing else you might want to make sure it has a smooth flat surface.

One more thing....Arctic silver is one of the best heat transfer compounds I've ever seen(there are some better but they are pretty much for industrial use only) Be careful when you use it, getting it across connections can fry something. No matter what anyone tells you, Arctic Silver is conductive and Will conduct electrically, although not well, it is enough to kill something. If you doubt that, just run a thick bead of it along a table and check each end with an Ohmmeter.

the purpose of fans on a power supply is to exhaust hot air from the power supply not the case. as power supplies have become more powerful and run even hotter many manufacturers have added another fan ( and in some cases two extra fans) good cooling requires good airflow one reason that better PSU's have two fans no just one. so in that sense PSU's do aid in case cooling but that is secondary to their design philosophy which is to cool the power supply. and a power supply with two fans or even three is not an adequate substitue for case fans.

Ok, then, so I want:

- New case with support for fan at front and back - ??? can anyone recommend a good, cheap ATX case - with plenty of room for a Asus A7V333 (12" by 9.6" [30.5 by 24.5cm]). I don't care what it looks like, I just want decent cooling - available from a uk shop or uk online shop please. Thanks

- Decent cpu heatsink/fan:
Coolermaster HSC-V62 Copper Socket A/P3/FCPGA Cooler Upto AMD 2600 - £15 - or would the be cheap £5 coolermaster be sufficient?

- Finally -
Coolermaster Premium Heat Sink Compound & app' Kit

What do you think? Can you recommend any cases? Thanks.

or instead of the thermal compound, I could have the much credited:

Arctic Silver III (OA-002-AC)


and I think I've found a suitable case :

Coolercase Tornado (CA-008-OC)

Just what I want, though it would be better if I could get it slightly cheaper - maybe with less fans and a better "look". What do you think - of this and the above cpu heatsink/fans etc?

BTW - should I bother with rounded IDE cables - £9 ?
and rounded floppy cables - £4 ?