PC running too hot :(

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P3wP3w

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Sup guys

I recently got my hands on a PC with a Pentium 4 640, which has now been refurbished. The problem is, it's running way too hot even during idle and this is with its standard cooler.

I'v re-installed the cooler but the problem remains. Idle temps are 65'C. Any solutions, i don't want a mini heater in summer :(
 
You make no mention of anything else so it will be difficult to advise.

Obviously adding more fans correctly and cleaning would help. Also an after-market CPU cooler.

And it will be difficult to cool a PC that is in a place with a hot ambient temperature.
 
Cheers, but the board is a Intel 915GUX and only supports P4's and cele's :(
 
P3wP3w said:
Sup guys

I recently got my hands on a PC with a Pentium 4 640, which has now been refurbished. The problem is, it's running way too hot even during idle and this is with its standard cooler.

I'v re-installed the cooler but the problem remains. Idle temps are 65'C. Any solutions, i don't want a mini heater in summer :(
Click to expand...

And what happens if you remove the cover and point a fan at it? Does the temp drop?

I also had some heating issues with a little old spare PC which i turned into a media center. In my case it was actually the GFX card [old Nvidia 6600] which was not only a massive card blocking airflow , but was generating heat all by itself like crazy. My motherboard had a built in SiS GFX chip [which is ok for media purposes] and i removed my Nvidia, and suddenly alot less heat.

It still gets hot mind you, but it is one of those shuttle/compact jobbies.
 
pools work great for summer . . . :P .... mmmmm clean dust off cpu fan , meaning , take the cpu fan off the heat sink and clean it . dont just shove a old toothbrush on it. also reseat the heatsink , make sure all paste is off and apply new paste . check that the sink isn't lose. make sure theres no wires hanging over the cpu , check gfx card , clean that .

it could be both , it could be one . but 65 sounds like an ATI :D
 
I have never understood the eastern cabinet designed we get out here.
Basically what they do is they have the power supply fans sucking air out the cabinet which is correct.
Then they have a fan at the back of the case and sometimes 2 of them, again sucking air out of the cabinet.
Basically with all these fans sucking air out of the cabinet the fan on the CPU sits in a vacuum and serves no purpose at all and all it does is collect static dust and deposits it onto the CPU heat sink.
Thus if you have a fan at the back of the case, often almost next to the CPU, turn it around so it blows air into the case and over the CPU fan which will in turn assist the airflow through the CPU heat sink.
Sometimes just also adding a piece of cardboard to assist the air flow onto the CPU helps.
Often like with AMD's they have a fan on the side of the case with a funnel facing inwards towards the CPU but this fan also sucks air out of the case while the CPU fan tries to blow air onto the CPU.
 
ProAsm said:
I have never understood the eastern cabinet designed we get out here.
Basically what they do is they have the power supply fans sucking air out the cabinet which is correct.
Then they have a fan at the back of the case and sometimes 2 of them, again sucking air out of the cabinet.
Basically with all these fans sucking air out of the cabinet the fan on the CPU sits in a vacuum and serves no purpose at all and all it does is collect static dust and deposits it onto the CPU heat sink.
Thus if you have a fan at the back of the case, often almost next to the CPU, turn it around so it blows air into the case and over the CPU fan which will in turn assist the airflow through the CPU heat sink.
Sometimes just also adding a piece of cardboard to assist the air flow onto the CPU helps.
Often like with AMD's they have a fan on the side of the case with a funnel facing inwards towards the CPU but this fan also sucks air out of the case while the CPU fan tries to blow air onto the CPU.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that depend on the case one buys?

Agreed, back fan next to mobo must bring air in.
 
If you buy a special case then maybe its ok.
I'm talking about 90% of other case people buy.
Agreed, back fan next to mobo must bring air in.
Click to expand...
Almost every case I've checked in this case sucks air out... amazing.

Another good tip on cooling is remove the CPU from the heat sink, clean and apply new heat sink compound.
I have watched some of our 'techhies' assemble these and they just put a tiny dollip of compound on and try and sqeeze it up... shocking.
 
P3wP3w said:
Sup guys

I recently got my hands on a PC with a Pentium 4 640, which has now been refurbished. The problem is, it's running way too hot even during idle and this is with its standard cooler.

I'v re-installed the cooler but the problem remains. Idle temps are 65'C. Any solutions, i don't want a mini heater in summer :(
Click to expand...
Do you seriously expect someone to provide solid advice based on that?:confused:

Thermal paste/mat?
Case fans?
Ambient temp?
CPU fan throttling?

Those pentiums usually run very cool so something is clearly wrong. I'd guess the issue is with thermal contact between heatsink & cpu. i.e. either the paste or cpu seating is wrong.
 
Ditto on the above advice...I too had an issue with my Quad-Core (was running at 70degC at idle). I applied new thermal paste and made sure the heatsink and fan was seated properly on the CPU. (now running at 54-58degC at idle).

I'm planning to move the 4HDD outside further decrease the ambient in the box.

edit: I previously had the box on the floor in the foot well of the table, but have since raised it off the ground and to a more "open" space (sides off).
 
Last edited:
Cheers guys. I've reseated the heatsink and cpu, and removed an extra molex connector connected on the board as well. Now to wait and see :)
 
I had the same problem... What you should do is get ur hands on some Thermal paste... get a Hyper TX2 and also make sure ur cooler is mounted correctly... i managed to drop my core temp by about 20-25degrees and still idles hundreds now :) oh and i was also running a P4 CPU
 
sycogrim08 said:
I had the same problem... What you should do is get ur hands on some Thermal paste... get a Hyper TX2 and also make sure ur cooler is mounted correctly... i managed to drop my core temp by about 20-25degrees and still idles hundreds now :) oh and i was also running a P4 CPU
Click to expand...

Fancy thermalpaste can do some wonders.
 
ProAsm said:
If you buy a special case then maybe its ok.
I'm talking about 90% of other case people buy.

Almost every case I've checked in this case sucks air out... amazing.

Another good tip on cooling is remove the CPU from the heat sink, clean and apply new heat sink compound.
I have watched some of our 'techhies' assemble these and they just put a tiny dollip of compound on and try and sqeeze it up... shocking.
Click to expand...

Actually, the compression method does work. It is alot easier to make a mess of it by trying to spread the stuff as thin as possible by yourself. Either method works. Paste is to be just a filler and if put on too thick it works almost as an insulator.

As for the airflow; where do you extract the air? Most general air flow is from in low on the front to out high on the back. This should get cooling to the rest of the board's components.

Using the PSU as an air extractor on its own is valid for old power supplies that ran fans constantly, but with today's PSUs having thermally controlled fans relying on the PSU fan for this task doesn't count anymore.
 
phiber said:
Fancy thermalpaste can do some wonders.
Click to expand...

Yeh true.... arent those the tubes that cost about R200 or something... :rolleyes:

TheRift said:
Which reminds me... still need to get to the pharmacy for a non-mercury thermometer and mess with the stuff inside it. :D
Click to expand...

huh??? are you thinking of using that stuff for trial and error :eek: sorry not to sound like a n00b but ive never heard of that before...
 
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