Before asking "Is this too hot?"

[Thrudd]

Dry is a relative term ... most building interiors have much higher humidity levels than the general outdoors in a region like Texas ... well except during thunderstorms and hurricanes ... Room humidity levels need to be high enough to prevent static build-up and the desiccation/drying out of materials.

What you do need to know is your rooms dew point if you a planning on extreme cooling levels.

As an example for a relatively dry room at 80'F and 30% humidity the dew point would be about 45'F.

Another way to look at it, at 5'C you will get condensation for normal room temperatures and humidity levels down to almost 25%.

But all this is with extreme cooling systems like Peltiers/chillers.

I personally have successfully used compressed cold dry air in industrial applications ... mind you I haven’t used it in a PC yet

 

[Tedster]

oh - you're correct, it's just that we have more of a problem with heat and static here because it is hot and dry most of the year. We're in the middle of the chuhuahua desert.

(and yes- chuhuahua dogs come from here.)

 

[MetalX]

My case used to run at like 29c CPU and 36c MB but then i put in my AIW 9800 PRO and the cpu went up to 39c and the MB went DOWN to 32c lol

I have a side vent as close to the vidcard area as i could make it w/80 mm fan
another 80mm fan is used for rear exhaust
and all the pci slot covers are open to help the airflow a bit

 

[Thrudd]

Sounds like you have an airflow issue .... which is not surprising knowing how close those vid cards are to the CPU and how they block good airflow.

If you have some way to measure the air temperature wit the case closed, then check air temperatures around thos heat sources.

All you may need to do is put in some baffles (clear styrene sheet works great) to redirect the airflow where its needed most.

More likely you need to get cool air dirct to the CPU and the warm air away as quickly as possible.

________________________________________

Back to the Original Question - how cold is too cold?

The specifications on most consumer grade chips is 0'C, industrial is down to like -10 to -15 and Military spec can go as low as -25 to -40 .... then there is the issue with all the other components working / behaving as they should at those low temperatures.

So if you really really want to go COLD just stick the whole thing in a mini fridge and keep the air inside as dry as you can

 

[MetalX]

I fixed the problem by purchasing a new case. CPU now idles at 27.8 C and Load temps of 32.5 C. Video card only gets up to about 39 C under load because i added a blower beside it. I now have (in the new case) 2 case fans, a blower and a fan controller. The controller controls the cpu fan, and the case fans. The blower is 4 pin so it doesn't fit.

 

[sllewe]

.... which is not surprising knowing how close those vid cards are to the CPU and how they block good airflow.

bring on the btx!

 

[MetalX]

Sounds like you have an airflow issue .... which is not surprising knowing how close those vid cards are to the CPU and how they block good airflow...

My Vid card (agp) is actually pretty far from the cpu. I just think it was putting too much heat into a (old) mATX Minitower...

It was too small to be adequately cooled

 

[truflip]

putting ur CPU fan on a fan controller isnt a good idea... but hey. its ur PC

 

[MetalX]

YA you're right. . . i took it off the controller and stuffed it back into the MoBo Plug

 

[fury]

putting ur CPU fan on a fan controller isnt a good idea... but hey. its ur PC

I have a Zalman CNPS7700Cu, which actually comes with a fan controller. I keep it at the lowest possible setting and my Athlon 64 X2 3800 stays at about 35 under full load, 22 (actually BELOW the case temperature) when idle. It's 19 in the room that it's in.

 

[truflip]

ur temp sensors are innacurate.. get one of those temp probes n stick it in there n try again..

 

[dmill89]

60 degrees C is nouthing a few years back I had a pentium 2 450mhz running at 1.2 ghz. These were the days before liquid cooling was widely avaliable and the thing got up to 85 degrees C.After running games for hours.The heatsink got so hot I had to wrap the main power cables which touched it in asbestos tape so the wire insalation wouldn't melt.This system ran like this for two years before it finally died. Since It was a 3 year old system I would have just replaced anyway that was good.

 

[KOLS]

I have an older system Soyo Pavda with a 2.4, ran into some real lock up problems (witnin about 4-5 min) trying to use a Dazzle to convert some VCR footage, so in despiration I pulled the side off the case and ran a box fan on low (24"x24") and the problems went away, the cpu was peaking at about 128F and the moterhboard around 123F, respectively they dropped to 90F and 78F under load. I know this the slegehammer approach, and is probhibly masking the real problem. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[YellowC4S]

I can't seem to get the AS5 on correctly

I have anAMD X2 4400 running @ 2.7MHz, watercooled. My idle temps are around 39-41C with my load temps being around 55C max. I keep reading about people with idle temps in the 20's and I'm jealous. I think I'm going to buy a small fridge and keep the reservoir for the watercooler in it.

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

I have anAMD X2 4400 running @ 2.7MHz, watercooled. My idle temps are around 39-41C with my load temps being around 55C max. I keep reading about people with idle temps in the 20's and I'm jealous. I think I'm going to buy a small fridge and keep the reservoir for the watercooler in it.

Do you think your computer will run faster if the temperature drops a bit?

 

[IBN]

Can someone put it in plain english what temperature range the CPU and System temps should be plz.

I have just disconnected 4 fans from my pc and my temps are now

CPU: 67 degrees celcius
System: 40 degrees celcius.

before i disconnected them they were:

CPU: 63 degrees celcius
System: 27 degrees celcius.

thanx

 

[truflip]

my cpu threshold is 80C.. that means it turns itself off once it reaches that temperature.

if those are your load temps (meaning when your cpu is at 100% process) then, in my opinion, youre fine. if those are idle temps (your CPU is jus sitting there) then it might be a little high.

what cpu do you have btw?

 

[IBN]

My AMD Athlon XP 2400+ runs at 67 degrees and 40 degrees system temp.

My P4 HT 3Ghz 64 runs at 53 degrees celcius.
and the system temp is at 45 degrees celcius. I have 2 120mm fans btw.

What should the system temps be ideally? On both systems they are using the generic PSUs. I am wondering will changing to a better PSU decrease system temps?

Thanx

 

[DonNagual]

Critical temp for your AMD CPU is 85c, so those temps are fine assuming it is your full load temp. If that is your idle temp, then you may be a little toasty.

The pentium 4 critical temp is about 70c, so again, providing that 53c temp you are reporting is the highest your cpu is going, nothing to worry about. If that is your idle temps, then you may be a little on the warm side again.

A new psu will not affect your cpu temps in any way. If you want to lower your temps, the best way is to first clean off any dust built up, and then if you want to be really aggressive, to remove the heatsink and apply some new thermal paste - maybe with a third party heatsink/fan.

 

[IBN]

What about the system temps???

 

[DonNagual]

What are you refering to when you say system temps? Motherboard chipset temps, or ambient temps? Those numbers don't look like anything dangerous to me.

 

[IBN]

When i check inside the bios it reads CPU temperature ....... and System Temperature ..... thats what i am referring to. And will a better PSU affect the system temperature?

thanx

 

[DonNagual]

I'd assume that is your motherboard chipset temps then, and those temps seem fine. I'd say a more important issue is whether or not the CPU temps you report above are your idle or your load temps. If they are idle temps, you are a little on the warm side, and you'll want to take some action before any damage is done.

And no, the PSU wouldn't be the cause of your temps. I won't say that PSUs have nothing to do with cooling, as they actually do (the efficiency of the PSU fans can help/hinder your case's overall airflow). If your CPU temps above are idle temps, then a new PSU wouldn't be the solution (unless your current PSU fans are not working for some reason). A better solution would be removing dust and/or reseating the heatsink is your best bet.

 

[IBN]

I removed the CPU and heatsink, applied Artic Silver and my CPU temp is running at 55 degrees celcius at full load now.

BTW it wasnt crystal clear about the System Temperature. What would the max temp be for the system temp (motherboard whatever its in the bios).

thanx

ps

would a better case make a difference in bringing down temps???

 

[DonNagual]

I'd say you wouldn't want your chipset to get to 60c. That would be dangerous.

You could also remove the chipset heatsink and at some new thermal paste there. Replacing your case might also bring the temps down, depending on how bad of an airflow your current case has.

But it doesn't sound to me like you are having any temp problems. Your CPU at full load is hitting 55c and its critical temp is 85c (for your AMD), your chipset is reaching 40-45c at full load, nothing dangerous there at all either.