CPU Overheating???

[Steven21]

I have a AMD Xp 2100, with a Volcano 7+ when i turn the Fan to low Speed and try to play a game, like SOF 2, RTCW and AA, my PC Locks up after about 10 mins, but if start the game with the fan on meduim, i have no problems.
i've never seen the cpu temp go above 56 degree's C. Im not Over Clocking and i use arctic silver 3. Is the cpu overheating or what, 56 Deg C dosent seem like over heating to me. Any help is much appreciated, thanks

 

[svol]

Well it might be a case cooling problem. If you play a game both the CPU and videocard start producing a lot of heat... and if 56C are your about idle temps then there is certaintly a case cooling problem.

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[Steven21]

I have 2 Fans in the front and 1 in the back, the PSU has 2 fans in it, dont know if that maters any. Anyway, I dont think i've seen the case temp go above 45 Degrees C.

 

[alpha_03]

45c in the case? thats very very hot for case temps.

(old person by trait)

 

[phsstpok]

45 degrees is too hot for case temps! Normal case temp (with room temp at 21 degrees) would be about 30 to 33 degrees.

Balance your airflow. Your two front fans should blow inward and your back fan should blow outward. Of course, your PSU fan is also blowing outward.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[Steven21]

I've never seen the case temp go above 45 Degrees, most of the time the it says below 40C. During the summer it could go higher. I Also checked My fans, they Are the way they should be.

 

[phsstpok]

40 degrees is still hot to me. Do you live in a warm climate?

I'm used to case temperatures below 30 degrees but then my room is usually a cool 17-20 degrees. On rare summer days it will get as high as 26 degrees in here (basement), in which case I might see a 35 degree case temp. That's only a couple of days a year here (near Boston). 27 degrees is my normal case temperature.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[Steven21]

Im in washington state and my PC is Upstairs. The Speed of my rear case fan is adjustable, I keep it a Low speed cause i cant stand the noise it makes, if i turned it up i suppose it would make the case temp a few degree's cooler.
I want a second rear case fan, but im to lazy to Mod my case, sooner or later I'll just buy another with 2 rear case fans.

 

[phsstpok]

Washington, eh? I have cousin in Spanaway (I think that's the name).

Sorry for getting off topic.

The reason we are all concerned about your case temperature is because case temperature directly affects CPU temperature. A 10 degree higher case temp means a 10 degree higher CPU temp.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[Steven21]

Hmmm....Is there anything i can do to decrese the case temp
without adding more Fans? Would a second fan in the back help any?

 

[CompSci]

Yep, For sure, much above 30-33C is Hi case temp...
Bet ya have a nice, neat lookin, LITTLE case, probably a mini or mid tower... and just full of nice goodies, hot vidio, good sound, multiple disks and cd/dvd units, and flat cables...

I've just had to give up mid towers cause I couldn't get good air flow in em, no mater how many case fans I used! Some cases just have a hot pocket in the top that just captures heat and it cant get out.
I've learned to always go with at least a 4 big bay case... simply cause its easier to get good ciculation with a bigger case. Big does get ugly, but they are much easier to keep cool ( and quieter too)

For the 1 mid tower I still have ive had to put a drive cooler in the top big bay with the fans turned around to blow out! Thats the only way I can get the heat out and keep that mid tower case temp even close to normal(32C)...

Pop that case open and see how it runs...
Its letting (or getting) the heat out that helps most!

 

[phsstpok]

In addition to balancing the number of intake and exhaust fans you also want to balance the CFMs. That is, if you have a total of 40 cfm on the intake side then you want pretty much 40 cfm on the exhaust side. (Some say a little lower the exhaust side puts positive pressure in the case, supposedly to reducing dust accumulation).

Beyond that, to get more airflow you need more fans or more powerful ones.

I only have one intake fan, one exhaust fan, and the PSU fan. The intake is 40 cfm and the exhaust is 32 cfm. I don't know about the PSU fan but I'd guess it pushes about 15 cfm. I know, my fans aren't quite balanced which means I'm losing a little bit of effiency. (Strangely, my system doesn't gather much dust). I'll be changing fans to try for a lower 30 cfm for each of intake and exhaust. I want to reduce noise.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[redoXan]

do you have any monitoring software running, if you do, check its threshold, check in the bios aswell, if you have qfan or one of those other asus monitoring things, it could well be turning off your system to "save" your cpu, but doing it too early (which is better than too late)
What is the difference in temps between low and medium speed?

XP2400+ T-bred
A7n8x Deluxe
512 TwinMOS PC2700 CL2
Q-Tec 450W Fual Fan PSU
WD100J
GeForce4 Ti-4200 64MB
3 Fans
17 screws
1 Stick of chewing gum.

 

[Steven21]

I have the program that came with my MSI Mobo (PC Alert 3)
I checked the bios, the temps are the same as they are in windows and the Mobo shuts the pc off when the cpu temp reaches 70c. And Yes you hit my system config right on the head, execpt i only have 1 Cdrom Drive. Also there is a hot spot in between the Vid card and the cpu.

 

[CompSci]

Try the ole open the case and point a house fan at it trick!
If the temps go down siginifigantly, then you got the problem! Poor case air flow! Lots of goodies generating heat in a small case is tuff...
You can get creative. I've drilled holes, and put old HS fans in some wierd places. And those cheap plastic drive bay coolers with 2 or 3 small fans put in the very top big bay with the fans turned around to blow out work well for my small case... Blowin cool air in is great in theory, but getting the heat OUT is a MUST in practice.

But IMHO, your ultimate (and cheapest) solution is to get a cheap BIG full 4 big bay case! (ugly but cool and quiet...)
There's a lot of good cheap cases out there,
Like <A HREF="http://www.pcdirectsource.com/Item.cfm?ID=855 " target="_new">http://www.pcdirectsource.com/Item.cfm?ID=855 </A>
This place is close to me, and these are great $22 cases, even have a good PS, and I don't even have to pay shipping. My whole family and in-laws have em, with AMD processors that need better than average PS, and never a problem.
I'll bet thers someplace with good cheap cases around you too!

Why fight the small case air flow problem...
Give your stuff some room to chill!

 

[Steven21]

thats probably eventualy what i'll do.
thanks for the imput guys.