So Many Choices, slightly Overwhelmed.

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:02 am

My computer recently started overheating idleing at about 50 degrees celcius and jumping to over 60 in less then a minute of PC intensive gameing such as oblivion. I didn't even know about it until I got an internal alarm from my computer, qukckly scareing the crap out of me.

From what I've been told it's more then likely one of three things, fan going bad, the heatsink clogged with dust or the thermal paste drying out.

I figured my best bet was to take the chance to just update what I assume is a stock heatsink in my system. I've been over many of the reviews here at spcr and have to admit Im a bit overwhelmed, didn't realize just how big a choice this could actually be.

I've never built my own system, never even touched anything to relating to the processor so I'll be haveing my brother performing the surgery on my PC.

I'm running a prescott lga 775 P4 with HT on an Abit AA8XE Mobo, XP pro and a geforce 7600gt.
It's a two year old alienware built system so the case is monstrous, size Im not so worried about but would VERY much like to avoid haveing to pull the mobo from the case.
The primary use of my PC use of my pc is without a doubt gameing and net browsing.

Right now I'm leaning towards the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro but was looking for an advice from you guys, the people who know about this stuff, before jumping to make the purchase. Any help and advice would be MUCH appreciated.

aidanjm2004 · Post by **aidanjm2004** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:53 am

what are your goals? I assume you are looking for a reasonably quiet cpu cooler, seeing as you are posting here on silent pc review? there are a range of options, depending on how much you are willing to spend. arctic cooling make some coolers that are reasonably quiet and excellent value for money.

skidrow · Post by **skidrow** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 2:16 am

Hmmm ...
One of the first things that I would do with this computer is take it outside with the side off and clean the internals with a can of compressed air.
Watch out for clouds of dust!

Some (humorous) links:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php? ... ure=Others
Oooo ... Lemon Scented:
http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index.php? ... msg1089209

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 4:27 am

replace the thermal compound on the heatsink, i'd suggest also using a razor to remove the existing thermal pad thats probably on the heatsink, a lot of stock coolers have them, the surface will be smoother, using AS5 or something of the like [avoid off-brand stuff though] and then replace the heatsink, temps will probably have a significant drop, like they just tripped and fell into a ditch.

and if that doesn't do it [do all that after blowing out the dust of course] you may have a problem.

also, download and run a few programs like CCleaner, Ad-Aware SE...mainly those two, defragment your computer with a good deframenting program, one that i've found is called Power Defragmentor GUI, you'll need to download a file called Contig from M$, but then it will run flawlessly, its a great program. aside from being physically clogged up, your OS may be all crudded up, and cleaning that will also lower temps.

J. Sparrow · Post by **J. Sparrow** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:18 am

bonestonne wrote:also, download and run a few programs like CCleaner, Ad-Aware SE...mainly those two, defragment your computer with a good deframenting program, one that i've found is called Power Defragmentor GUI, you'll need to download a file called Contig from M$, but then it will run flawlessly, its a great program. aside from being physically clogged up, your OS may be all crudded up, and cleaning that will also lower temps.

Harrison Ford did that in Firewall and its Prescott temp dropped ten degrees.

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:38 am

aidanjm2004 wrote:what are your goals? I assume you are looking for a reasonably quiet cpu cooler, seeing as you are posting here on silent pc review? there are a range of options, depending on how much you are willing to spend. arctic cooling make some coolers that are reasonably quiet and excellent value for money.

Anything thats quieter then what's in here is an upgrade. I'd really rather not spend more then $40-$50 USD.

bonestonne wrote:replace the thermal compound on the heatsink, i'd suggest also using a razor to remove the existing thermal pad thats probably on the heatsink, a lot of stock coolers have them, the surface will be smoother, using AS5 or something of the like [avoid off-brand stuff though] and then replace the heatsink, temps will probably have a significant drop, like they just tripped and fell into a ditch.

and if that doesn't do it [do all that after blowing out the dust of course] you may have a problem.

what kind of problem?

J. Sparrow · Post by **J. Sparrow** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:34 am

The Freezer 7 might be noisy on a Prescott at full load, with that budget you can buy something better. If your case is (or can be) optimized for straight line airflow, a tower design is your best bet IMO.

Don't buy the Ninja unless you're willing to do some modding to get the adequate amount of pressure. The U120 is going to be "replaced" (?) by its bigger brother the U120X.

The Noctua IMO should be less effective than the modded Ninja or the U120, but it's interesting because of the mounting system and the included, quiet fan.

There are of course other tower coolers (Tuniq, HR-01 etc) but these three are the ones we talk about more often here. Then there are inline coolers, these are better if you have L-shaped airflow (that is, side intake vent).

If you have access to coolers other than the ones I've mentioned, feel free to post them.

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:37 am

I've got access to just about anything through the internet so thats not an issue. The biggest problem for me is basically not haveing to pull the mobo from the case.

I'm not the one who will be doing the installation so anything that doesn't require a backplate is preferred.

J. Sparrow · Post by **J. Sparrow** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:51 am

Only the Noctua certainly needs motherboard to be removed.

The U120 doesn't need motherboard removal as long as you're using a mainboard with a metal backplate. The Ninja doesn't need it, too, but performance might be not much better than the stock cooler.

I don't see what's the problem with removing the motherboard, though. It only takes about 15', and it's not a PITA unless you have a cramped case.

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:57 am

My brother is a royal pain when it comes to this stuff so the less work he has to do the better. I honestly don't know if the system has a metal back plate to it.

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 11:06 am

BTW if it matters, like I said the case is huge so size shouldn't be an issue. It's got one side panel mounted fan and a rear exhaust. plus the obvious processor fan.

aidanjm2004 · Post by **aidanjm2004** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 2:30 pm

J. Sparrow wrote:The Freezer 7 might be noisy on a Prescott at full load, with that budget you can buy something better

but hopefully it wouldn't be more noisy than the cooler that came with the cpu..?

if Hitman's primary goal is to bring down the temps, he may find he doesn't even need to buy a new cpu heatink (if he blows out the dust from the case and cpu cooler, and maybe reseats the cooler with some new thermal paste after cleaning off the old thermal paste).

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 4:21 pm

aidanjm2004 wrote:
J. Sparrow wrote:The Freezer 7 might be noisy on a Prescott at full load, with that budget you can buy something better
but hopefully it wouldn't be more noisy than the cooler that came with the cpu..?

if Hitman's primary goal is to bring down the temps, he may find he doesn't even need to buy a new cpu heatink (if he blows out the dust from the case and cpu cooler, and maybe reseats the cooler with some new thermal paste after cleaning off the old thermal paste).

at this point im wondering if thats my best bet. this is the first time this alarm has happened so it's overheating, especially with speedfan's marks BUT...Id assume Id be much better off then almost anything over stock

J. Sparrow · Post by **J. Sparrow** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:07 pm

Never heard the stock cooler but they say it's pretty noisy. I assume the Freezer Pro is quieter than that but I couldn't bear it at full speed (which is lower on the AMD version), it was hitting my nerves.

Of course you can try borrow an air compressor and give the thing a nice clean-up, that can really bring the temp down if the heatsink is starting to clog.

However, now that you're here it would be a pity if you didn't develop a taste for quiet computing

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:26 pm

yah. I figured either way a GOOD cleaning, which the system hasnt had since I got it two years ago would require removeing the heatsink anyway, why not upgrade to something better, makeing it cooler and quieter, especially since up until this started it's used to running non-stop.

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:58 pm

Sorry for double post but time for newb question of the night. what exactly does bolt-thru-board mean?

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:19 pm

bolts go onto a backplate behind the motherboard to hold the cooler down...4 bolts.

de-crappify your OS first.

open the case, and look at the CPU cooler, its impossible to miss. see if its held in with a clip on the socket that holds the cooler down in two places, or if theres some other type. if you're unsure, take a picture.

if theres dust, while you're in there, blow it out. unscrewing thumbscrews is the beginnings to a quieter computer.

action first, more questions later..the system wont fix itself.

Hitman84 · Post by **Hitman84** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:57 pm

cleaned out my fan, decided to pick up the freezer pro7 and with AS5 already see results, the system is idleing about 10 degrees cooler now.