Changed from P4 2.4C -> 3.2 and now LOTSA a noise - help!

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.overclocking (More info?)

I have been running my system for over a year with a P4 2.4C processor and a
genuine Intel Heatsink/Fan combo. The noise level was very low.

A few days ago, I upgraded my CPU to the P4 3.2 version (also with a retail
Intel heatsink/fan), and immediately I noticed that the "fan" noise got MUCH
louder. I decided to use the "older" 2.4C heatsink/fan on this newer P4
3.2 chip and although the noise level is a little lower now, it is still at
least 50% louder then how it used to be.

I am NOT overclocking my CPU in any way.

Can someone please give me some suggestions as yo why is this happening?
Is it because the "newer" P4 3.2 CPU needs more RPM's and therefore
"forcing" the older heatsink/fan into rotating faster and therefore causing
this extra noise?

By the way, my motherboard is an ASUS P4C800 Deluxe (not E version) and I am
not sure if it supports the CPU fan speed control.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.overclocking (More info?)

"M. B." wrote in message...
>I have been running my system for over a year with a P4 2.4C processor and
>a genuine Intel Heatsink/Fan combo. The noise level was very low.
>
> A few days ago, I upgraded my CPU to the P4 3.2 version (also
> with a retail Intel heatsink/fan), and immediately I noticed that the
> "fan" noise got MUCH louder.
> Can someone please give me some suggestions as yo why is this
> happening?

There are two issues. Firstly the new CPU will no doubt have been supplied
with a higher performing thermal solution than the old one. The newer one is
likely to have a larger fan, and will thus make more noise.

Secondly, the Intel retail fans are temperature controlled. The more heat
the CPU puts out, the faster they spin. Your motherboard may also have
temperature reactive fan control enabled - check your BIOS.

Also, did you buy a Pentium 4 3.2C or a (1MB L2, Prescott core) 3.2E? If the
latter, these cores dissipate a lot more heat than the Northwoods, and this
would explain a large increase in fan rotation speed - and hence noise.

> Is it because the "newer" P4 3.2 CPU needs more RPM's and therefore
> "forcing" the older heatsink/fan into rotating faster and therefore
> causing this extra noise?

If you bought a Northwood P4 3.2C, the odds are that it would run a handful
of degrees hotter than the same core running 800MHz slower. If, however, you
bought a (Prescott, 1MB L2 cache) 3.2E, these cores run a lot hotter than
the Northwood, and this certainly would explain a big difference in fan
rotation speed and noise.

> I decided to use the "older" 2.4C heatsink/fan on this newer P4 3.2 chip

On the face of it that doesn't seem like a particularly intelligent move. If
Intel thought the HSF you got with your old CPU was adequate for the new
one, don't you think that's what they'd supply? Unless you are keeping a
constant in-OS check on your CPU temperatures and *know* they're within safe
parameters, put the proper heatsink back on.

Incidentally, on the face of it, purchasing this CPU (especially if it is a
3.2E) when you already had a 2.4C seems a bit of a waste of money. You'd
have been far better off spending the same amount of money on some good
PC4000 or PC4400 memory and overclocking the 2.4C. The resulting setup would
have had a useful performance advantage over what you've now got, and quite
probably would have run cooler/quieter into the bargain. Still, academic
now, unless you can get a refund.
--


Richard Hopkins
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
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