PIII 1GHz in fanless mode - safe?

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 8:20 pm

I just got a used PIII 1GHz chip (SL52R) for a 'fun' upgrade with a PIII 800MHz system. Currently the system is running fanless (with only one Glacialtech 120mm fan in the PSU cooling everything including the nearby CPU heatsink). It's been running fine and stable.

How much hotter would a PIII 1GHz be compared to the 800MHz chip? I'm about to do the swap now and would appreciate any quick advice on this.

Cheers!

metalac · Post by **metalac** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 12:32 am

P3 800mhz = 26W
P3 1000mhz = 34W

So basically you get 9W extra with 1ghz P3. Can you give your current temperatures (ambient and cpu) to figure out what your cooling coefficient is then you should be able to figure out what your increase in temperature would be.

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 1:18 am

The mainboard lacks the facility of a temperature sensor and so I can't get an accurate reading. However, judging that the previous setup is rock-stable and the CPU heatsink never gets hot, I figured it was safe to put a 1GHz chip in the same setup...

..which I have done and is now working fine and stable too!

dago · Post by **dago** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 5:07 am

If there's a PSU fan, it's not totally fanless

I tried my P3-S 1.26GHz totally fanless (no PSU fan, nothing), in a closed environment (it's an HTPC). It booted and operated normally, but the temp was too high (70°C) so I didn't made any burn test and put one fan to cool everything.

I would say that with some airflow provided by the PSU, it shouldn't be a problem.

If you look at this spec :
P3 800 = 20.8 W
P3 1000 = 26.1 to 33.9 W
P3S 1.26 = 29.5 to 30.4 W

So you may want to check the exact version of the CPU.