Problem With High Temps

[kinth]

Hi guys
i was hoping someone could help me, i recently updated my comp with an AMD phenom II x4 970, an Asus M4A78LT -M and 4gb of corsair xms3 1600mhz.

Because of an incapabilty with the case power and reset wires and the motherboard i had to switch to an old case. the old case is about the same size as the one i was using before it and has more holes for ventilation. I thought it may be the ram which is naturally OC'd but designed to run at 1600mhz and the mobo supports upto 1800mhz. But the ram is only slightly warm even under load

My problem is my temps seem to way above normal. My XFX 9800gt 512mb(it comes pre overclocked but has always seemed to run cooler) is idling at 70c and saw it hit 97c during gameplay and in most games it it's between 80-95c which obviously doesn't seem right. GPU-Z says the fan is at 50% when its idling at 70c , the fan only goes up when the gpu is under load. My mobo is aimed at AMD/ATI so i expect some incompatability's and plan oon upgrading when i have enough money. But i didn't expect such high temps for seemingly no reason.

My CPU idles at around 50c and goes to about 55-65c during games and load. i ran a stability test on the cpu for an hour (i didn't have much time) and the highest it hit was 70c, it's not overclocked but the strange things is when i did OC it from 3.5 to 3.9ghz the temps only rised by about 1c. Also im using an aftermarket cooler which has generally always worked for me. it's a gelid SilentSpirit not sure of the exact model.

So i was wondering if anyone knows what might be causing this. And also can you point me in the direction of some good airflow guides.

i upgraded from a terrible foxconn mobo m61pmv i think it was and some random sticks of ram totalling 3GB and an amd 64 x2 4400ghz oc'd to 2.6ghz.

my boot up seems slower with my new stuff, games run a bit better but it doesn't seem like im getting the full power i should be out of it.

Full Specs

AMD Phenom II x4 970 3.5ghz
Asus AM3 M4A78LT -M
4GB Corsair XMS3 1600mhz
XFX 9800GT 512mb (260.99 whql driver)
Lite on BluRay drive
500gb sata HDD
Thermaltake 550w tr2 psu

 

[suteck]

What is your case? And room temperature? Make sure all your cool and quiet as well as thermal control in bios are turned off so your fans will run at max. How did you apply the thermal paste? What are you using to monitor your temps? Sounds like air flow through the case but I would like to know what kind you have to help properly. Simplest thing is to make sure you have one case fan at the front pulling air into the case and one on the back pulling air out of the case. The thermal paste won't do much about the video card heating up but if the inside of the case is getting hot from the cpu it might.

 

[Lmeow]

Those temperatures seem a bit high seems. My GTX 470 doesn't get that hot. How many fans are there in the case? And is the 9800 GT fan dusty? You will want a bigger cooler in a case with less ventilation or at the very least upgrade the fans in the case and make sure they are all working. Check the thermal paste is applied properly.

 

[kinth]

the case is an old emachines case, its off an old family computer that was just lying around and it had the power wires i needed.

im using chillfactor 2 thermal paste and i applied it using the card that comes with it to get an even spread.

im using amd overdrive to get cpu temps and gpu-z to get gpu temps. and ram was by touch i have the side of the case off most of the time and i had grounded myself

i may need to reapply the thermal paste. as i had to remove the fan quickly when moving to the other case , it still seemed spread even when set back down but better to be safe than sorry. so i will do that tomorrow.

i seem to have thrown out my old spare case fan i'll have to pop into my local pc shop and see if they have any.

i think its definately an airflow problem and possibly a tiny bit from the thermal paste. unfortunately i didn't expect to have to get the new mobo and ram(didn't realise how truly *** my old mobo was ) so i no longer have any money left for a new case.

also a side question for anyone who might know. my CPU uses HTT 3.0 but runs at only 2ghz(3.0 is meant to run at 2.6 i believe) unless i make it run at 2.6 in the bios. is this normal ?

 

[kinth]

ok thermal paste re applied, seems i went a bit overboard with the thermal paste. anyways re doing it hasn't helped much idling around 50c but only gets to around 58-60c underload which is better. gpu is still idling at 70c with the fan at 40% using rivatuner to knowck the fan to 100% gets me an idling of 58c but still hittin 90's under load :/

 

[suteck]

Is that with the side off the case Giving you some more air to help cool it?

 

[kinth]

nooo ive pretty much always have the side of the case off (first ever gpu i had didn't even have a fan, so i took the side of the case off and used a house fan to cool it. and old habits die hard , ever since then ive pretty much had the side off unless there is kids around)
i really cant work it out , apprently nvidia cards are fine upto 120c but that doesn't sound right to me
just looking at the case suggests terrible airflow. the bottom area of the case just under the gpu is quite warm.
the case is tiny it only just fits a mATX board so the gpu is sitting not far off the bottom of the case. probably blowing its own heat onto itself with the heat rising and all.
looks like ill need a new case when i can afford one. even if its just a cheap tower with a big size.
still think the cpu is a bit high considering im using an aftermarket fan. but that maybe from the gpu running hot aswell

 

[suteck]

Was it the other case or the psu that came in the case that made it unusable? As far as the reset switch goes you don't need that anyway - it usually causes more harm then good. A nice soft hold the power button down for 3 secs is much better on the os anyway. If its just the power supply cause it has the wrong connections or something on it why can't you switch the psu from this emachines case over to the big one?

 

[kinth]

im using the same psu as the old case.
the problem is the actual wiring from the power button etc on the old case is in a little block instead of being seperate, and the block doesen't fit onto the motherboard so i needed the seperate ones,
i'll have a look for a new case on monday
my old case is about the same size anyway and the only reason it wasn't overheating was probably because it was a fair bit lower spec(athon 64x2 4400, 3gb at 667mhz)

 

[kinth]

3gb ram*

 

[suteck]

Cooler Master Elite 330 Black ATX Mid-Tower Case $40
Here's a nice Raidmax ATX-238WU Tornado ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case (Blue) for only $45 including shipping.
What's your budget and we'll help if you like.

 

[kinth]

i was literally just looking at the cooler master hoping it would be big enough im from the uk so its around £30 which is pretty good
ill have a look at the raidmax
im looking around the £40 mark at the most(if you know any uk sites. if not probably around $50-$55, had to fork out a bit for the new mobo and ram so running low on money

 

[kinth]

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-elite-430-black-mid-tower-case-with-window-120mm-front-led-blue-fan-w-o-psu

what do you think of that one? 1 less fan than the one you mentioned but more expandable alot more room for more fans if needed

 

[kinth]

and a bit of a newb question, if the psu is mounted at the bottom of the case is it still mounted the right way up so the fan on the bottom of it is facing the bottom of the case. strangely enough ive never had a case with bottom mounting psu

 

[suteck]

Usually they just turn the holes around so the fan is on top. I don't like bottom mounts myself, but then I watercool LOL. Looks like a pretty good case. and not a bad price. It's good to have places for extra fans and room in the case for the air to flow.

 

[kinth]

well ive never used a bottom mount, and i doubt ill ever get to watercooling ive been building this budget machine up for years
i know having a top mounted psu can give you a little extra airflow but i should be able to fix that by buying and mounting an extra fan to the exhaust. which leaves the psu just to cool itself , ill just raise it a bit more off the floor to so it can suck in as much air as it likes.
can't seem to find many cases on the sites i usually order from with top mounts

 

[kinth]

well looks like ill be getting a new case then updating my gpu(had this 9800 for a couple of years , and considering its basically just an 8800 anyway its getting a little old) looking at the radeon 6850.

i'm off to bed anyway, its bloody 6:30 in the morning , thanks for the help this was my first time on these forums. and ill be sure to pop on to help people with things i do know about to repay the favour

i'll let you know how i get on