cpu/case temps - too high?

newbie · Post by **newbie** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 12:12 pm

AcoustiCase
Nexus 3500
Amd athlon 2500+
Zalman 7000 ALCu
Samsung Spinpoint 80gb
Asus A7N8X - VM
Crucial 512mb Ram
Samsung CD-RW DVD Combo
Nvidia Geforce 4 mx440
No other fans

Hi, using MBM 5 I can see that my cpu temp is mainly around 53 - 55 C
and case temp 42 - 43C when I am using my computer as I normally do - internet, WP, email etc. Not sure what idle temps are.

Is this too high? My cpu fan is set at it's lowest setting. The pc is very quiet and I only hear ocassional low grumbling which doesn't bother me at all. Would I be better off setting it at a higher setting and getting lower temps

I think the temps may have been slightly lower on average last year althoug I'm not sure I can remember exactly - with the cpu temp more about 50c.

alglove · Post by **alglove** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 2:57 pm

I think your CPU temperature is fine if you are not planning to do any overclocking. Through the years, I have been running an Athlon 900 (years 2000-2003) and an Athlon XP 3000+ (years 2003-2005) at similar or slightly higher temperatures without any problems. The official maximum die temp for Barton core Athlon XP's is 85 degC.

By the way, running e-mail, word processing, internet, etc., is actually a bit closer to what most people would consider "idle" temperatures, since the heavy CPU usage tends to come in short bursts spread far apart. "Heavy load" CPU usage would be more like running games, running calculation programs that work constantly (Prime95, Folding@Home...).

Your case temperatures are kind of so-so, mainly because of the hard drive. Many desktop hard drives have maximum operating temperatures in the 50-60 degC range. I am not sure off the top of my head what it is for yours.

Fortuantely, this is pretty easy to read with SpeedFan ( http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php ). SpeedFan reads the hard drive temperature from the hard drive's own sensor, using the S.M.A.R.T. interface. If SpeedFan does not give a reading for your hard drive, you may need to go into the BIOS to enable S.M.A.R.T. If the hard drive temperature is below 50 degC, you are probably OK.

Most important question: Is your computer stable?

newbie · Post by **newbie** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:24 am

Many thanks for the reply, alglove - I will check out speed fan and see what the situation is with the hard drive.

I only do the light stuff on the computer, so hopefully it will be ok. The computer is pretty stable I think. I only get problems sometimes with aol software and I think that's the software itself, plus a not very good usb modem.

Edited post ...later...

I downloaded speedfan - my cpu and case temps are lower today (cooler weather) so while they are at 51 and 40, my HDD temp reads 41C. So
hopefully when the case temp is 42-43, the HDD temp should still be OK.

newbie · Post by **newbie** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 3:53 am

Just thoguht I'd add...

I remembered that my case has a removeable dust filter that I'd never cleaned. I sorted that out. Temps are a lot lower today, but I don't know whether that's the dust filter or that it's a lot cooler today. (weatherwise.)

Shining Arcanine · Post by **Shining Arcanine** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 9:22 am

newbie wrote:Just thoguht I'd add...

I remembered that my case has a removeable dust filter that I'd never cleaned. I sorted that out. Temps are a lot lower today, but I don't know whether that's the dust filter or that it's a lot cooler today. (weatherwise.)

It is the dust filter. The dust filter reduces airflow and reducing airflow thus raising the temperature. The dust in the filter further reduced the airflow.