Decent Chipset temps b4 starting to overclock?

[dizman]

Hi I just built my new system (should be in my sig below) and I plan to OC like crazy as that's what I've read the Opterons do best.

But I install the Smart Guardian software that comes with the DFI LP UT NF4 DR SLI Expert mobo and looked at my temps. Says my CPU is 26-28C, PWMIC is 32-34C (what is that anyway?), and chipset is 48-50C!

The chipset seems a bit high to me, is that a bad temp? I'm loving the mobo so far but it seems that the chipset is in a really bad place as it's right between both vid cards (got SLI going) and right next to where the hot air exits out of the top card on it's left and on the right are all the HDD connections so they block airflow coming from the front of the case!

So I'm wonder if this is a high temp for a chipset or not and when I go to OC how much on average does the temp of a chipset go up?

 

[dizman]

So no one has any input on this? Or should I have put this in a more frequented forum? :?:

 

[Scout]

Hi,
I saw this the first time around but didn't comment because not a whole lot has been written about chipset temps. They do tend to get hotter under overclocking, particularly if you choose to increase the voltage to them (some boards allow that), but in my experience they rarely cause problems due to heat. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the 50C temp unless you are seeing stability problems.

Is yours passively cooled or does it have a fan? If not, you can install an aftermarket fan or else just work on your case airflow.

 

[dizman]

Hi,
I saw this the first time around but didn't comment because not a whole lot has been written about chipset temps. They do tend to get hotter under overclocking, particularly if you choose to increase the voltage to them (some boards allow that), but in my experience they rarely cause problems due to heat. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the 50C temp unless you are seeing stability problems.

Is yours passively cooled or does it have a fan? If not, you can install an aftermarket fan or else just work on your case airflow.

It has a fan on it, it's just in a horrible place, sucks in the hot air that comes out of the top videocard.

You do have a good point, I haven't actually tried to OC it yet. My last PC (A64 3000+ S754) I couldn't get above a 200Mhz OC which I think it was the chipset getting too hot. That one was passive and nearly burned myself touching it after a failed OC attempt (yea I know I'm dumb :lol: ) So I gave up on that one quickly.

 

[Scout]

I frequently use the "thumb test" too and it's surprising how hot some components inside a PC run! Video cards and chipsets for one, and the power regulation circuitry for another example, especially on a power hungry Prescott P4!

Wonder if it would help to fabricate a shield of some sort to divert the hot video card air away from the chipset fan... just a thought.

 

[dizman]

I frequently use the "thumb test" too and it's surprising how hot some components inside a PC run! Video cards and chipsets for one, and the power regulation circuitry for another example, especially on a power hungry Prescott P4!

Wonder if it would help to fabricate a shield of some sort to divert the hot video card air away from the chipset fan... just a thought.

I've thought about that, I have some thin plastic packaged from another pc part that I could cut into a large curved surfact to hopefully divert the hot air away from the chipset while allowing the cool air coming into the case to go into the chipset.

Just an idea I haven't put anything in motion yet.

 

[luminaris]

PWMIC is Pulse Width Modulation Integrated Circut. The actual PWM IC is a small rectangular chip right above the CPU heatsink bracket

It has alot to do with regulating vcore voltage. Apparently, its rated for a very high temperature. I'm not exactly sure what the temp ranges should really be.

 

[ak47is1337]

Dizman, I have had the same problem when testing my friends opteron 165. The DFI chipset cooler is crap and there isn't much you can do about it considering mine is right under the GPU and has about 1/10 inch clearance. My zalman cools that a bit though. Your only real option to decrease it is to decrease voltage (really doesnt need high volts) or to get good case flow.

 

[apesoccer]

You could do what i did...heh.

Cut on the case, throw in a 120mm fan with the top-left edge being squared up with the middle of the first gpu. You may want a second 120 in the top of the case somewhere as well, so you don't end up with too much blowing in creating a pressure build up (which decreases the airflow...).

When you have a pair of cards in sli right there...you can take the side off...leave it off for 5min, put your hand inbetween the two sli cards, and notice that it's much warmer... You need a way to vent the heat from those cards. I've tried blowing air out from right there, but it made my cpu hotter...I don't know why...maybe a vacuum instead of a pressure build up...

What i ended up doing, was, in addition to the 2 out (discluding the two in my psu) in the back of the case and the 2 in towards the front, i added 3 120mm fans, 2 out on top(roof), and 1 in over the cards. I added a fan controller to the mix so i could better control the sound output from the added fans, but it didn't really do that much for me (still ungodly loud...).

Btw...lining up 4 holes exactly right is a bitch...I have yet to get 4 holes to line up right. Meh!

 

[ak47is1337]

yep casemodding is a pain in the ass
i just use a big fan with my side off

 

[dvdpiddy]

40c for all chipsets load(mine are 35c nforce2 :lol: )