Should I switch case?

[Jagdpanther]

I currently have a TK-950TX case.

My system is:
P4P800-X Mobo,
1 Gig RAM,
GeForce 4800TI SE
Pentium 4 3.0GHz Prescott.

I have decided to delay upgrading my system until the Socket AM2s come out so in the mean time I want to try and overclock this system and get the most out of it, perhaps I'll even wait for Conroe since besides the GeForce 4 the need to upgrade isn't as pressing as it used to be.

My problem is that my Prescott is currently running at around 70 degrees according to the BIOs.
I have opened the case to let more air in and cleaned out some dust but that only drops it down by a small bit.

I do not have a case fan and just rely purely on the stock Intel fan.

What should I do?
New Case? If so what? I want something reasonably cheap that will tide me through the next 2 years at least.

Add a new fan? If so any recommendations? Again cost is more important than performance. My case has a grill at the back that looks like it is designed for a case fan. There are also some cooling holes along one of the side panels.

Has anyone got any options that do not involve specialist equipment? something DIY?

thanks for your help.

 

[gahleon]

First off I am getting a powersupply with that TK-950TX case model you gave me. Who is the maker of your case man? Also if you see grills for a case fan I would suggest using it. Just make sure the rear is an exhaust fan and if you have a place for an intake fan in the front utilize it! Those are some things that you can do. Good idea on the switch to amd! Intel blows dude and I doubt their "conroe" is going to be as good as they say. It just wouldn't be like intel to pull it off. Good luck man

 

[Jagdpanther]

Hey there is only an exhaust port at the back.

I think that number I gave might be the power supply but I can't find any other form of ID. any tips on finding out exactly what sorta case this is?
My cousin got it for me back when I knew nothing about comps.

There is another grill out the front for a fan, but there is a plastic attachment on the front which hides it. I am not sure how to take that covering off.

Edit: Ok A little more exploration and I can semi confidently say that there is a mount for an 80mm diameter fan out the front and an 80mm diameter exhaust fan out the back

There is a plastic mount for the front one, the exhaust one needs to be screwed into the case.

Are all 80mm fans the same or do you guys have any recommendations? Will the two fans be enough to solve my problems?

 

[gahleon]

well I wouldn't say that it would solve your problem. The current pentium chips blow. I hate to put it like that cause I am no fanboy as some people on this forum love to point out, however, intel chips run so hot and depending on your case temperature it destroys your ambient system temp or in otherwords the temp inside your case. I would definitly get two fans and no they aren't all created equal. The things you want to look for are cfm and dba. Cfm are cubic feet per minute which is how much air the fans actually push and dba are the decibles. You can get fans that will push 90 cfm but they sound literally like a vacuum cleaner! get something that is 19-30 dba but has around 30 cfm. Make sure they are 80mm. For some jazz you can get fans with LED's. The only solution to your problem honestly is a pc upgrade because there is no way that two fans are going to solve that rediculous pentium heat problem. You could always try to get a larger heatsink. Are you running the heatsink that came with the processor?

 

[gahleon]

Oh yeah one more thing you want something to hold ya over for the next two years? Ok well the new AMD socket is coming out sometime this year so you don't have to wait two years to upgrade right?

 

[Jagdpanther]

Thanks for the tips.

I cleaned out some dust on the Heat sink and temp dropped by about 20 degrees so that partially solves the problem.

I am just using stock fans and heat sinks on the CPU at the moment
I plan on upgrading sometime this year so don't want to spend too much on Pentium 4 specific stuff.

 

[gahleon]

Sweet man well just get those two fans and put them in will cost ya 20-30 bucks for everything. That should help as well so that it helps cool the rest of your components which will in turn help keep the temp inside the case lower. Which will also help that pentium stay colder!. Yeah for your new build. Make sure you have dust filters, that or make sure you keep it cleaned out often! Static electricity kills computers and so does heat. Dust kills heat dissipation! Good luck

 

[Scarchunk]

You can always pick out an AMD fanboy (Gahleon) because they use every opportunity to bash Intel even when it has very little to do with the thread. I have a P4 630 3Ghz and while it doesn't blow, what does blow is the stock HSF. Not only is the stock HSF loud, it also had my CPU idleing at about 52C. For about $35 on newegg I bought a Artic Cooler Freezer Pro 7 and some Artic Silver 5 thermal compound. My cpu now idles betwen 30C-32C and never breaks 45C under full load. I do have 2 120mm case fans as an intake and an outtake, but I would recommend using some case fans on any newer build as all cpu's could use some good airflow.

 

[gahleon]

Well, I wouldn't say that I'm a fan boy. You could say that I am a performance boy if anything. I own a few intel chips in older computers but the last 3 that I have built all are representative of AMD. If intel comes out with something that is stable and quick then hell I will go with intel. However, this isn't like the ATI and Nvidia performance race. AMD has had a distinctive lead for a long while. Thats the only reason for saying that current intels suck. It is true relatively speaking. Plus this thread has plenty to do with it. The guy's processor in this thread does suck for its thermal qualities. It still gets far too hot in my eyes. Nothing unbearable. I'm sure part of it has to do with his setup and maybe even the way that the thing is mounted. However numbers never lie and just looks at toms benchmarks intel is far behind. We will see shortly when this "conroe" comes out and is reviewed by a third party like toms how good it truely is. Plus this isn't every opportunity btw, you probably haven't ever read any of my other posts.

 

[Rugger]

Gahleon/ScarChunk: You can both limit the CPU fanboy arguments to the CPU forum. We're not interested in that type of BS down here. :roll:

 

[gahleon]

Rugger, first off if you read the conversation I was merely stating fact mixed with a hint of opinion. I didn't start anything with the whole fanboy argument. That was the other guy. I was just defending myself. So you can butt out. Thanks.

 

[Rugger]

Both of you had some good points on cooling and tried to answered his questions: cleanliness in the case, extra fan for ventilation in the case and an option for alternate cooling.

I just don't want to see discussions here degenerate to the levels they have in the CPU forum. I understand you were trying to defend your statement on Prescotts running hot. I agree they run hot, but there are less inflammatory/more informative ways of saying that, then "they blow." Did that warrant a Fanboy accusation? I don't think so, but it turns out his primary problem was cleanliness in the system and not the Prescott.

I'll just ask again to help keep the conversations from degenerating to the levels of some threads in the CPU forum. Thank you.

 

[gahleon]

Rugger thanks for the way that you went about saying that. At least you where able to keep your cool when I got a little hot at ya. You had a good point. Thanks

 

[Rugger]