help! Overheating XPC and other oddities

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

I've got a recently purchased XPC SK41G here. From the start it has
exhibited strange fan control behavior. If I leave it on "Smart Fan" it
will waver the speed an excessive amount, even when the changes in CPU
temperature should not be affecting it. And that brings me to my next
problem, which is heat.

In a 75F room, the case temperature is around 46C and the CPU
temperature is around 55C. Very high for just sitting in the BIOS
health monitor screen. I have an Athlon XP 2400+, 120GB hard drive, DVD
ROM and ATI AIW 9600 in there. By contrast I also have an XPC (of
another model) with an Athlon XP 3000+ that runs about 6C cooler in the
same room.

If I open the case, the system does not cool off very much, so even
though it has poor ventilation, that doesn't seem to be the problem. I
have re-applied the thermal compound and it didn't make much of a
difference.

The 200W power supply is almost too hot to touch. That I can accept.
What's very unusual to me is that when I have the system powered off, if
I put my ear close to the back of the power supply I can hear an
intermittent and consistent buzzing or beeping noise going at the rate
about twice a second. Is it supposed to be like that? Does anyone else
have the 200W PSU that could check? I have it unplugged now because I
am worried of a fire or such.

At the very least, I can say that while I did use it, it was stable.

Any comments would be appreciated !
Thanks

jld

 

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

"jon l. dawson" <jldawson91@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gV%Ac.25666$V57.5833927@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> I've got a recently purchased XPC SK41G here. From the start it has
> exhibited strange fan control behavior. If I leave it on "Smart Fan" it
> will waver the speed an excessive amount, even when the changes in CPU
> temperature should not be affecting it. And that brings me to my next
> problem, which is heat.
>
> In a 75F room, the case temperature is around 46C and the CPU
> temperature is around 55C. Very high for just sitting in the BIOS
> health monitor screen. I have an Athlon XP 2400+, 120GB hard drive, DVD
> ROM and ATI AIW 9600 in there. By contrast I also have an XPC (of
> another model) with an Athlon XP 3000+ that runs about 6C cooler in the
> same room.
>
> If I open the case, the system does not cool off very much, so even
> though it has poor ventilation, that doesn't seem to be the problem. I
> have re-applied the thermal compound and it didn't make much of a
> difference.
>
> The 200W power supply is almost too hot to touch. That I can accept.
> What's very unusual to me is that when I have the system powered off, if
> I put my ear close to the back of the power supply I can hear an
> intermittent and consistent buzzing or beeping noise going at the rate
> about twice a second. Is it supposed to be like that? Does anyone else
> have the 200W PSU that could check? I have it unplugged now because I
> am worried of a fire or such.
>
> At the very least, I can say that while I did use it, it was stable.
>
> Any comments would be appreciated !
> Thanks
>
> jld
>

Jon,
I have checked my SK41G and yes I can hear a noise from the PSU when
I listen next to the fan outlet. It is a quite buzz with a clicking sound,
the clicks seem to be faster, about 5 or 6 per second. I suppose this is
normal because even when switched off, the psu has to produce a small amount
of power to the MB to detect the power button being pressed.
My machine is a much lower spec, but the smart fan does sometimes speed-up
and down rapidly and I attributed it to times when the cpu was working at
100% utilisation.
Although you would expect the XP3000 should run hotter than the 2400, they
use different technologies. The Barton chips have a larger surface area
which helps heat dissipation,
see http://www.silentpcreview.com/article31-page1.html
However, your cpu is running hot for just idling, have you used a good
quality thermal compound such as arctic silver and follow the manufactures
instructions to ensure it is only applied thinly -
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm
If your PSU is hot to touch, then it could have a faulty fan, check that the
fan is always running ok.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

logized wrote:

> I have checked my SK41G and yes I can hear a noise from the PSU when
> I listen next to the fan outlet. It is a quite buzz with a clicking sound,
> the clicks seem to be faster, about 5 or 6 per second. I suppose this is
> normal because even when switched off, the psu has to produce a small amount
> of power to the MB to detect the power button being pressed.
> My machine is a much lower spec, but the smart fan does sometimes speed-up
> and down rapidly and I attributed it to times when the cpu was working at
> 100% utilisation.
> Although you would expect the XP3000 should run hotter than the 2400, they
> use different technologies. The Barton chips have a larger surface area
> which helps heat dissipation,
> see http://www.silentpcreview.com/article31-page1.html
> However, your cpu is running hot for just idling, have you used a good
> quality thermal compound such as arctic silver and follow the manufactures
> instructions to ensure it is only applied thinly -
> http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm
> If your PSU is hot to touch, then it could have a faulty fan, check that the
> fan is always running ok.
>


Hey !

Thanks for the info. I think maybe the combination of processor, video
card and PSU are driving up the case temperature. I added a small fan
(not sure the dimension, like half the size of a regular case fan) and
sort of lodged it in there between the video card and front of the case.
It only seems to be helping in reducing the hard drive temperature,
which is better than nothing. The rest is still really hot, even though
I feel cool air circulating around the vents on the sides.

I'm using the thermal compound that came with it. It's white, came in a
packet. I read that there's only maybe a 3C max. difference in types of
thermal compounds? Is that true? Even so maybe it's worth a try.

The PSU fan seems to be running ok. It's blowing some really hot air
out of it. If I put my hand on the PSU itself (either on back near the
fan or on the side with the caseo ff), it's kind of like grabbing the
steering wheel of your car when it's been baking out in the sun for
hours. Not the kind of thing you want to keep holding on to, but not
hot enough to cause burns.

I've set the fan speed to medium now. It's been sitting idle in Windows
for the past hour or so. The room temperature is 78.7 F or 25.9 C.
Temperature is 47/54/47. If I set it in the BIOS to "Smart Fan" and
"52C", it shoots right up to 56C and hovers in that area, constantly
switching between low and medium fan speed. It never really a normal
transition though, it kind of revs up and down and doesn't like to
settle on anything. Is this the same as yours?

The only weird part is that I've heard the fan do the revving thing- I
don't know how else to describe it- even when set to a constant "medium"
speed. And it hadn't reached 60C, so it shouldn't have changed.

It's relieving to know that the noise when powered off is probably
normal. Don't have to live in fear of it exploding or something


-jld

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

--snip
>
> Hey !
>
> Thanks for the info. I think maybe the combination of processor,
> video
> card and PSU are driving up the case temperature. I added a small fan
> (not sure the dimension, like half the size of a regular case fan) and
> sort of lodged it in there between the video card and front of the
> case. It only seems to be helping in reducing the hard drive
> temperature,
> which is better than nothing. The rest is still really hot, even
> though
> I feel cool air circulating around the vents on the sides.
>
> I'm using the thermal compound that came with it. It's white, came
> in a packet. I read that there's only maybe a 3C max. difference in
> types of thermal compounds? Is that true? Even so maybe it's worth
> a try.
>
> The PSU fan seems to be running ok. It's blowing some really hot air
> out of it. If I put my hand on the PSU itself (either on back near
> the
> fan or on the side with the caseo ff), it's kind of like grabbing the
> steering wheel of your car when it's been baking out in the sun for
> hours. Not the kind of thing you want to keep holding on to, but not
> hot enough to cause burns.
>
> I've set the fan speed to medium now. It's been sitting idle in
> Windows
> for the past hour or so. The room temperature is 78.7 F or 25.9 C.
> Temperature is 47/54/47. If I set it in the BIOS to "Smart Fan" and
> "52C", it shoots right up to 56C and hovers in that area, constantly
> switching between low and medium fan speed. It never really a normal
> transition though, it kind of revs up and down and doesn't like to
> settle on anything. Is this the same as yours?
>
> The only weird part is that I've heard the fan do the revving thing- I
> don't know how else to describe it- even when set to a constant
> "medium" speed. And it hadn't reached 60C, so it shouldn't have
> changed.
>
> It's relieving to know that the noise when powered off is probably
> normal. Don't have to live in fear of it exploding or something
>
>
I just took apart my heat sink etc and found that virtually none of the
thermal paste that came with the Shuttle was actually between chip and
plate. Cleaned it all up and added a ShinEtsu Thermal Pad. The fan hasn't
even sped up once since I did this, previously it ran at fast speed nearly
all the time. Well worth checking that the Suttle's cooling devices are
actually working. Shuttle also claim air flow is better with case on.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

> --snip
Another thing to check - the CPU shim is supplied with a thin blue plastic
protective film on the top side to prevent the copper surface being
scratched.
If you have not removed this, then it will raise the CPU temperature.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

logized wrote:
>>--snip
>
> Another thing to check - the CPU shim is supplied with a thin blue plastic
> protective film on the top side to prevent the copper surface being
> scratched.
> If you have not removed this, then it will raise the CPU temperature.


Nah, that wasn't on there. The case and processor was actually assembled
and tested by Multiwave (mwave.com) where I bought it. It ran hot when
I got it and continues to run hot now that I've re-applied the thermal
compound a bunch of times.

I ordered Arctic Silver 5 and should be getting it this week. I'm
hoping for a miracle

Thanks
-jld

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

quick update- Shuttle USA and also the reseller of my XPC have both
suggested I replace the PSU based on the noise it's making when powered
down. A tech support rep from Shuttle said it should be silent. Maybe
something to consider for yours...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

"jon l. dawson" <jldawson91@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:vvNBc.96505$V57.15314464@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> quick update- Shuttle USA and also the reseller of my XPC have both
> suggested I replace the PSU based on the noise it's making when powered
> down. A tech support rep from Shuttle said it should be silent. Maybe
> something to consider for yours...
>
Jon,
Thanks for the info, I decided to do a search on google and found
many reports of shuttle PSU clicking - see
http://www.sfftech.com/showfaqs.cfm?fid=18&fcid=32#369
Many say it is not a problem and I am happy to accept the noise so long as
it does not get worse - as you have got Shuttle to aggree that yours is
faulty, then hopefully you can get them to replace it with the latest 250W
type?

Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.shuttle (More info?)

logized wrote:
Thanks for the info, I decided to do a search on google and found
> many reports of shuttle PSU clicking - see
> http://www.sfftech.com/showfaqs.cfm?fid=18&fcid=32#369
> Many say it is not a problem and I am happy to accept the noise so long as
> it does not get worse - as you have got Shuttle to aggree that yours is
> faulty, then hopefully you can get them to replace it with the latest 250W
> type?

My main concern isn't as much the noise as the heat, but now that I
think of it, it's probably just being raised up by other factors in the
case. Shuttle didn't say anything about upgrading the PSU, just that
they'd replace it, and it'll cost me $10 S&H to do it, so now I'm not so
sure...

-jld