CPU temp is to high - Tech Support Forums

pbharris · December 18th, 2001, 11:50 PM

Hi All,
I have an athlon 1200 running at around 65 C - the temp has been creeping up since i got it too which i find strange. i have a sk6 copper heatsink and a 5k rpm fan and I am using thermal paste. i used to have another fan and the temp got to high for it and i got the sk6.

any ideas ?

ragtop · December 18th, 2001, 11:59 PM

The two things that generally affect CPU temperature are the CPU heat sink/fan, and the airflow through the case.

It looks like you've already covered the heatsink portion, but double check to make sure its properly installed (seated properly on the processor die & not too much thermal paste)

The next thing to check is the airflow through your case. What type and location of intake/exhaust fans do you have?? (a good fan at the rear of the case is particularly critical) Make sure the fans are running at rated speed and are blowing in the right direction (normally you blow in from the front or sides and out through the back or top) Are there any other obstructions to airflow, or are things plugged up with dust, cat hair, etc.??

The last thing you might need to consider is a problem with the temp monitoring hardware/software. Does your monitoring software temp agree with the temp shown in BIOS?? Or is it possible that the probe is going bad?? Does the heat sink really feel that hot to the touch?? Are you having any stability problems due to heat??

pbharris · December 19th, 2001, 12:16 AM

hey thanks fot the quick reply. i have one fan in the front of the case sucking in and nothing besides the power supply fan at the top. i'll get a new case fan tomarrow.

the heat sink it hot but not painful to the touch.

i am getting stabilty problems. i run linux which was great after i got the new fan ( i had a couple of lockups prior to that) and tonight i had a lock up - i check my cpu temp in the BIOS and it was at 67 C, which is probably cooler than it was while it was doing a bunch of stuff.

Kuasimodem · December 19th, 2001, 12:51 AM

If the heatsink is getting hot, as you posted, then the heatsink is doing it's job absorbing the heat from the CPU. Now you just need to get the heat from the heatsink to outside the case.

It does sound like you may have a weakness in the airflow through the case. Definitely add that rear fan, and think about putting a higher output fan on the heatsink itself.

Since the SK6 uses clips to attach the fan, you can't use a 60 to 80mm adapter, so your only other choice is a Delta screamer or something similar.

Another alternative is to place a blowhole fan directly above your CPU in the side of the case, with a duct feeding right into the heatsinks fan, with a quarter inch gap in between.

BURNin'HELL · December 19th, 2001, 01:11 AM

I don't see why he can't use an adaptor... i have the gladiator which is already a 100grams above the amd spec and i use an adaptor and an 80mm fan...

what is you case temperature.... i was gonna say that maybe you put too much paste on, but you said that your heatsink is hot which means that its removing the heat from the processor but i'm guessing that the heat is not being removed from the heatsink... do you have your fan blowing on your heatsink?

Kuasimodem · December 19th, 2001, 01:18 AM

Fan adapters need 4 screws to mount to the heatsink, the SK6 mounts the fan with spring clips.

pbharris · December 19th, 2001, 01:37 AM

i customized my sk6 a bit... i don't have the clips. i took my old fan off which fits ths whole area of the sk6 and is blowing into the CPU. it is a nice quiet fan.

Kuasimodem · December 19th, 2001, 01:58 AM

It's possible that the fan that you put on it doesn't produce enough airflow, have you tried it with the stock SK6 fan?

pbharris · December 19th, 2001, 02:13 PM

i could try that out too. Thanks!

storm2k · December 19th, 2001, 02:33 PM

try some arctic silver ii on a better hs/fan combo. yours might not be doing the job well enough.

also, do things like rouding and flattening cables to that air is completely unobstructed from passing through the system. i generally like at least three fans... one in the front, one in the back, and one in another place such as the top or sides. airflow is critical!