No temp sensors - How should I (blindly) cool my system?

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frank67582

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Feb 15, 2014
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I'm upgrading our 10 year old Dell Dimension 4700 so that our family can play some old games (e.g., The Sims 2) smoothly. I'm unable to get temperature readings from the CPU and GPU. I'm a novice and I've never thought about PC temperatures until today. I'm concerned that the upgrades I purchased will introduce more heat into the system. How should I cool my system? I will provide the details and then my specific questions. I would really appreciate your help.

Details
I cleaned the inside of the PC today and disconnected unnecessary hardware (i.e., a floppy drive, a DVD drive, a DVD-RW drive, a 2nd HD). Aside from some sad looking capacitors in the power supply and a fruit fly I found between the CPU and the heat sink, everything else looked fine. I learned what thermal grease is today and read up on PC cooling. I learned that I couldn't use HWMonitor, Realtemp, or Speedfan to monitor my system temperatures.

TIM.jpg

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HWMonitor is only able to read the sensor in my Seagate HDD which is the second from the right in the bottom right-hand corner of the case. If I leave the computer idle for a while, the HDD temperature will flat out at 44C (111F) and I have no idea how hot the other components are. I understand that the new video card I bought can run pretty hot. Should I be worried?

Questions

    ■ I read that I need to replace the thermal greese on my CPU. This is an old computer and don't want to spend too much. Can I get away with using something simple like this or this?
    ■ Should I remove all the unused components to improve the airflow or would this create dead spots?
    ■ Unlike the other Dimension models, Dell decided to do a downward-facing CPU heat sink fan configuration for the 4700. The new graphics card will have direct heat exhaust. I assume I would benefit from negative case pressure. Should I improve the incoming airflow in the bottom right by removing the 2nd HDD and mounting the 1st hard drive on its belly on the bottom? The CPU shroud would be drawing air in and the power supply + video card would be blowing air out. Should I spend more money and buy a case fan to install in the top center of the case to blow even more air out after I empty the top right bays?

Thank you!





 
Solution
unknownofprob
1) Both are good, but I would go for option 2, option 1 will be fine anyway if you decide to get that one.

2) Keep all unused components/fittings in the case, it might increase airflow a slight bit but not enough of an advantage to do so.

3) Keep the HDD where it normally goes, With fans, just put them where they are most effective, the Front/Top/back/bottom are the best spots, but not so much the side as it disrupts the airflow.

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unknownofprob

unknownofprob

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Oct 3, 2013
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1) Both are good, but I would go for option 2, option 1 will be fine anyway if you decide to get that one.

2) Keep all unused components/fittings in the case, it might increase airflow a slight bit but not enough of an advantage to do so.

3) Keep the HDD where it normally goes, With fans, just put them where they are most effective, the Front/Top/back/bottom are the best spots, but not so much the side as it disrupts the airflow.

 
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