Are these CPU temps okay? - Tech Support Forums

shadyb1 · February 9th, 2004, 07:41 PM

I recently completed my first build and have been monitoring both the CPU and motherboard temps through the BIOS and ASUS PC Probe. They seem a little high for my setup to me:

CPU Idle: 42-46C
Motherboard Idle: 39-43C
CPU Full Load: 49-53C
Motherboard Full Load: 40-44C

Ambient air temp: 80F (Hawaii)

Here's my setup:

ASUS P4S800D
P4 2.8C
1 GB Kingston DDR400
120 GB Maxtor HDD (2)
Radeon 9600 Pro 256MB
NEC 8x DVD-R/+RW
Lite On 52x32x52
Hercules Gamesouround III 7.1
Hauppuage PVR-250 TV Tuner
Antec SX-835 Case w/ 350 watt PSU
5 80mm Sunon case fans
2 fans in PSU

I also have all round cables and the PSU connectors are tied-up to increase air flow. My fans are set up as follows: 2 intake at bottom front, 1 intake over HDD, 2 outtake at top back, and two PSU fans operating correctly.

I'm using the stock HSF. Even so, with all of the case fans, shouldn't the temps be lower, especially at idle?

Are my temps within the satidfactory range? I've read people whose temps were much lower with similar setups.

Would switching the stock HSF make that much of a difference, especially with the motherboard temps?

Any suggestions?

Thanks from a newbie...

tony_j15 · February 9th, 2004, 07:49 PM

Since you are in Hawaii, the air temp is a bit higher than usual. 53 at full load is nothing to worry about...sorta. Most people will reccomend keeping the CPU below 50, but damage cannot occur until over 60. Still, I would get a better HS.

sweeper2 · February 9th, 2004, 07:49 PM

well, with 80 degree air, I would guess those are ok, but if it was in AC around 72-75 F, I am sure would be alot cooler. My brother runs a pentium, but I run an athlon cpu, his runs around 27C or so. Let's see if anyone else replys and has input...

teengeek88 · February 9th, 2004, 07:54 PM

stock hs/fans are really cheesy.... get a good one it might cost around $30 but its worth it.... look for one with a copper heatsink and as much CFM as you can get... also notice how loud it is it will be measured in dB's

Welcome to TechIMO

shadyb1 · February 9th, 2004, 08:16 PM

Thanks for all of the reponses so far.

I had a couple other questions:

If I were to replace the HSF, I'd want to get a good 80mm or 92mm fan which moves a lot of air. Could I still plug the 3-pin connector into the MB fan connector or would it fry the board?

Anyone have any good HSF recommendations (preferably a copper HS)?

Also, would replacing the stock HSF also bring down the MB temperatures significantly, or just the processor?

Thanks...

Gait_Keeper · February 9th, 2004, 08:31 PM

I agree 80F room temp, 53 isn't bad at load

keep your machine about 6 inches from the wall so the hot exhaust air doesn't go back in.

think about making a blowhole in the top of your machine, hot air rises, so it will let it out, i cut one and put a 80mm fan there works great!

last but no least turn up the AC

HeadBand · February 10th, 2004, 03:32 PM

yes i dont think you really need a new hsf those temps are fine but if you want to drop the temp a few degrees you might try playing around with the case fans....what is your current setup

cysus · February 10th, 2004, 04:39 PM

Take off the side panel and leave it off, or do what I do take the side panel off and put a box fan next to the system. On my P42.8c setup I got it down to 75f idle(twenty something C), thats 3f above room temp!

The Terk · February 10th, 2004, 05:30 PM

i dont think anyone has asked about the thermal compound that u are using? what would that be? i would recommend Arctic Silver 3 (AS3) since it does the job pretty well and being mostly silver (there was a news thread about this not too long ago) also, i would recommend the thermaltake silent boost hsf because it pumps out some major cfm and is fairly quiet... also, u can not go wrong with zalman hsf units (NOT THE FLOWER)... the antec TMD hsf is good also.... the list goes on

shadyb1 · February 10th, 2004, 05:49 PM

Thanks for the suggestions.

As for my fan setup, I have two Sunon 80mm in the front taking air in, one over the hard drive also blowing air in, 2 in the rear blowing air out, and the PSU which is also blowing air out at the top.

I'm using the stock TIM (the stuff on the HS) which came with the processor.

Are the temps high enough where it would be worth it to take out everything and wipe off the TIM, and replace the HSF? Or should I just wait about a year until I upgrade the processor?

Also, what about the motherboard temps? Are they okay and would they go down if the processor temp goes down?