Athlon XP help and info

[khyron]

Alright, I'm new here and have some questions... I'm having some heat problems with my Athlon XP system.

To start, I use an ASUS A7V333 motherboard with its own heat sensor, which is what I've been using to date.

I used to have an Athlon XP 1700+ with the stock heatsink/fan. However about a year ago I started running into some frequent locking up and program errors. I was told it was probably due to the heat; the CPU was running at 135f. At the time I purchased a Dragon ORB cooling fan (I think it was the ORB 3). The problems disappeared, but that could have been the onset of fall and cooler weather.

Around christmas, I ugpraded from a 1700 to a 2100. I kept the CPU fan as is. The CPU was running at ~125f steadily and I wasn't worried. Everything was fine until a week or two ago. I started getting some lockups during heavy gaming sessions. I checked the temperatures and they started reaching 130-135 or so. Taking the side off my case was a temporary fix; that dropped the temp down to 125-130 or so while gaming (54 or 55c).

Now, I know that Athlons run hot. What I don't know is how hot is safe for them to run, what a good cooler to use is, and what more I can do. I live in a fairly warm area (Utah), and it's already hit some records (Two days so far in May that reached 99f outside), so I'm rather concerned about later in the summer when it starts to get VERY hot.

I need advise, as to how hot my Athlon XP 2100+ should be running, what a better cooling option would be if it's running hot, and any other advice I can get for keeping the system running well.

Thanks.

 

[khyron]

Also : The CPU is a TBRED, but I do not know if it's A or B.

I looked up the invoice for it and it's listead as : CPU AMD|2100+ 1.7 ATHLON XP TBRED

 

[FO_SHO]

I looked up the invoice for it and it's listead as : CPU AMD|2100+ 1.7 ATHLON XP TBRED

that really doesn't say anything, rather your CPU serial # would help. Or you can download WCPUID and verify your Tbred version.

The athlons I believe are like good up to 80C, or some crazy number like that. I personally would NOT go over 60C just for longevity, nor would I want to stay around 50C idle. My 1700 JIUHB @ 2.19(now) is idle ~37/38C and the most load I have gotten was 46C, never over 50C.

I really like thermalright's products. They are fairly cheap, and perform very very well. Take a look at the SK-7 at newegg. They are $25, and add a decent fan for $5 and it will perform very close to the SLK800 with the same fan. They are pretty easy to put on, but buy a CPU shim if you're a newb to putting on heavy HSF's on AMD chips.

Also, u should give us the mobo temps(chasis) as well (in C pleze cause F sucks), but it's usually around ~30C roughly. You want to make sure you got ample air flow through the comp cause your CPU temps would stay high no matter what kinda HSF you get. I have 6 chasis fans, so I am getting great air flow. Another comp I built only had one input, one output, PWR fan, and the SK7 (1700@ ~2.2Ghz) and idle was around 38C.

 

[JAGedlion]

yea, almost all amd's are good up to 90 degrees centigrade, check the papers, the fastest ones are still rated at 85.

I agree with f_sho on thermalright though