Under clocking to avoid heat

Status
Not open for further replies.

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530
Okay so I have an intel E6850 (Core 2 Duo @ 3.0 GHz) I was wondering how could I under clock this beast so i can keep it on the whole day without it going over 80 degrees Far. I have it in a GIGABYTE G31-ES2L, FI bios. I don't need it but just to run a server application, and pretty much nothing more. Thanks if you can help me!! Ask any questions and I'll answer them in detail.
 
Solution
Your PSU isn't very efficient (> 60% which means up to 40% loss which generates heat) and it's way too powerful for that server. A 380W-450W that's at least 80% efficient from 20%-80% load would generate much less heat.

What's the purpose of the server and what OS are you running? What else is in that server? That will dictate what you should build. If it were me, I would simply replace the GPU and the PSU.
If need be, manually set the CPU Clock ratio to 6 X or even lower if it can be done. You can also decrease the CPU Voltage Control a bit as long as it's stable. Are all power saving features enabled in the BIOS?

I doubt the CPU is the only heat generator in your system. Are you using a high efficiency PSU? What about the video card?
 
80F is ridiculously cold for a CPU to be at under load, your CPU is safe up to 60C. Since your issue is with how hot your room is getting what you really want to do, rather than decrease temps is decrease heat, undervoltage your CPU will drop its power consumption and heat output fairly significantly.
 
How efficient is your power supply? Many PSUs nowadays are 80Plus Bronze (or better) certified. That basically means for any given load the PSU will operate at 80% efficiency. I believe 80Plus Gold is up to 91% efficient.

Basically the more efficient your PSU is the less heat it will generate from wasted electricity. If all the components of your PC draws 100w, an 80Plus Bronze PSU will draw 125w from the AC outlet (100w / 0.8). The computer uses 100w and 25w is wasted as heat.
 

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530
The CPU is locked at x9 multiplier, thanks to intel, and I dropped the frequency down a ton but the temp grew, and I have a water cooler in it and have enabled all the energy saving bios features the gpu on the other hand is an 8800 gt 512mb and it doesn't get that hot but I also noticed I didn't have the gpu water cooled, could this be the problem?? And btw the 80 degrees is idle temps the max payload is like 145 which isn't what I want. Thanks guys :) and the psu is a bronze star Its not the problem though I checked it out
 

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530


So technically I could under voltage it and it would decrease my heat output, correct? I haven't tried that yet.
 
Water cooling doesn't decrease or increase the generated heat. You can slightly undervolt the processor, but make sure that it still is stable. At best the CPU will run a few degrees above ambient temperature; it's impossible to cool it lower than 80 some degrees if you keep your room at 77°F. Leave the frequency alone as it won't help.

Your E6850 draws 6.6W idle and 51.7W at full load: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/intel-wolfdale_11.html#sect0 That's a lot less than your 8800 GT GPU that draws 53W idle and 132W at full load: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article/2008/02/21/bfgtech_geforce_9600_gt_oc/6 (subtract 138W). In my server, I use a low performance passively cooled GPU and it runs quite a bit cooler.

What PSU do you have?

 

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530


I remember what psu is in it, so is there any way to make it room temp? I will check the pus in an hour. Thanks for the information about the CPU & GPU. Also, you were saying about the water cooler, so does it help with anything? Or should I throw on the old heat sink?
 
The water cooler will help only if the radiator and fan are installed outside of your room. If they're inside your room, then it doesn't help keeping your room any cooler. You need to understand that nothing in your room can be cooler than ambient temperature. If it generates any energy, then it will always be warmer (including your own body that generates quite a bit of heat as well).
 

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530
I know about the energy to heat thing. I'm just making sure i got it all, and I know that but I also have the side panels of the case off, and the radiator and fan are mounted onto the rear of the case, i doubt i could mount it into the basement where it's way cooler. So I guess now, what computer can i build with low temps to run on 4 gigs of ram and doesn't have to have an expensive gpu? I could put this new one in the basement so I can leave the water cooled PC upstairs on only when i need it


I just looked at my psu and it says it's a Purepower 680w model is pure power-680APD hope that helped :)
 
Your PSU isn't very efficient (> 60% which means up to 40% loss which generates heat) and it's way too powerful for that server. A 380W-450W that's at least 80% efficient from 20%-80% load would generate much less heat.

What's the purpose of the server and what OS are you running? What else is in that server? That will dictate what you should build. If it were me, I would simply replace the GPU and the PSU.
 
Solution

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530
Well it was actually my gaming pc, and still is, i moved it downstairs in the basement where the temperature is always 65 or so, and i have been running OCCT on it today and it's been doing quite well with the temps, they rise to 114-120 F then cool down at idle to 84 or 88. and thanks for the psu thing, i actually have 2 more psu's they are both OCZ's but for some reason have "broken" cause i have an skeleton computer at a friends house and pluged the OCZ's into it and it doesnt even turn on, i think they might be under warrenty still, would u like the model numbers for the 2 OCZ's i have?

and about the server: windows 7 x64 right now i have my minecraft, garrysmod, and use it as a data storage server. it used to be my gaming pc like i said before, but it just gets too hot, do you think it's the psu for sure?

also i remember seeing the OCZ's boxes and they are both 1000W.... I doubt they would be any better...

You've helped me a lot by the way, i'll select you for the best answer
 

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530
I also have a 680i EVGA motherboard that used to be in it, since i switched to GIGABYTE the overall temperatures have gone down significantly after a few hours of gaming.
 
A 1000W PSU will be worse unless its efficiency at 100W is high enough. It should be easy to check its efficiency if you know the model number.

If you'll use that system only as a server and not as a gaming PC, why not use a low power video card? If the video card's power requirements drops by 40W, then the PSU will also generate less heat. As an exemple, a 70% efficient PSU requires 57W to generate 40W. I installed a fanless NVidia 7600 GS in my server (I bought it used for $20) as it's relatively low power. A fanless ATI Radeon HD 4350 also is fine for a server.

Assuming that your system requires an average of 150W or less (after replacing the video card), a PSU that's 20% more efficient would draw up to 50W less power from the outlet. That translates directly into less heat being generated.
 

boss_nate

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2011
43
0
18,530



i know the model number for it, and thanks, I don't know if I'll be using it as a gaming system anymore, i have another pc but it's not nearly as powerful and im kinda moving on to more important things than just gaming all day
 
Status
Not open for further replies.