Added new components.... worried about system temps (1 Viewer)

[AndyVX]

Hello,

I've just added a second hard drive and a GeForce4 Ti4400 to my computer, and I have a question about acceptable temperatures for my system. (I posted before in another thread, but now that things have changed, I just wanted to make sure.)

My system is as follows:

AMD Athlon XP 1600+ (non OC'd)

ECS mobo

512MB DDR

GeForce4 Ti4400 (non OC'd)

Maxtor 7200RPM ata133

Maxtor 5400RPM ata100

300W Power Supply

I have one rear fan blowing air out, and just added a front fan blowing air in (not sure how much it's working though, as there isn't much air hole space in the front pannel...but I can feel that it's bringing in some air)

And the usual power supply fan blowing out air.

Anyways, here are what my temps are:

At system idle - CPU 46C, Case 28C

At full load - unknown -- I can only use the temp setting in my BIOS since Motherboard Monitor doesn't work my my motherboard.

There is something that I'm quite confused about here though. Before added the new videocard and hard drive my temps were 40C/27C. How would adding a videocard and hard drive make my CPU temp go up by 6 degree's, and my case only 1? I would think it would be the other way around.

One last thing. The fan on my CPU...It's blowing air onto the heat sink. Is this correct, or should it be blowing air off of the heat sink.

Thanks so very much for any suggestions you can give.

 

[Ned]

CPU fan should be blowing at the heatsink so that's correct. 46c idle for CPU isn't too bad. I have the same CPU and it idles at 40-43c depending on room temperature.

You should drill the front air-intake holes larger so it can actually draw more in. I don't bother to use an intake fan but I do have the power supply fan and a case fan mounted just beside the CPU (this one alone drops the temp 6c). Have you tried the Speedfan program? It's simpler than mobo monitor and should work for you. I have the PC Chips SiS735 board (basically a rebranded ECS) and both programs work for me.

 

[Camp]

CPU fan should be blowing at the heatsink so that's correct

Unless you're using an Alpha PAL -it can blow both ways.

Your temps are fine -well within AMD specs. Unless you're overclocking I wouldn't worry at all.

As for adding new hardware and seeing a temp increase..the Geforce does run very hot. Depending upon where you put your new HD it could have an effect on air flow through your case (new IDE cables blocking flow). IMO, air flow is the most important part of case cooling.

 

[AndyVX]

Ok, thanks for the reassurance.

 

[Drew Wimmer]

those temps are high, but yeah, well within spec, i'd be worried if they reached into the 50's for any extended period of time, but then again i also worry about the temperature in my rig more than mose people (for the obvious reasons, see sig)

if you can balance the airflow in your case a little more, it'd be better, so see if you can add another fan to the front of your case, not necessary by any means, but if for nothing more than to help keep dust out, it's best to have a bit of positive pressure inside your box

fans on any heatsink can be reversed, and given how the airflow is setup inside your case, the optimal direction for the fan on your heatsink may not be what the manufacturer specifies, if you want you can just flip the fan on your heatsink and see if you get any better performance out of it, certainly can't hurt

btw, what heatsink are you using?

 

[brentl]

Sorry Andy but the only concern I'd have is with your power supply.

I'd think it's a little lean for that amount of equipment

Brent

 

[AndyVX]

Brent,

I'm not to thrilled with my power supply either. I'm wanting to add a CD-RW drive to this computer also, but I'm not sure if my PS will handle it properly.

I was thinking about stepping up to an Antec 1040B case w/ a 400W Power Supply. Not only would I be getting a better PS, but a better case for cooling also.

 

[KyleS]

Agreed the main cause of heat in your new system is your Gforce 4 card. If you ever wonder run your system for awhile then open it up (without the power connected & grounded) and touch the video card heat sink. I bet that you pull your hand away pretty quickly
Your hard drive will add some but not a considerable amount like you are talking. Also the bigger the Power supply the more heat will be produced. I noticed an increase when I moved from a P4 300watt Power supply to a 400.
KyleS
Oh are those 2 hard drives on seperate IDE channels? If not then you are losing the speed advantage of your 7200 rpm hard drive with the addition of a 5400rpm on the same IDE. (Just a little food for thought)

 

[AndyVX]

Oh are those 2 hard drives on seperate IDE channels? If not then you are losing the speed advantage of your 7200 rpm hard drive with the addition of a 5400rpm on the same IDE. (Just a little food for thought)

Oh wow, I didn't realize that. I have them on the same channel. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[KyleS]

Hey Andy not a problem. Either that or get another 7200 RPM hard drive to replace the 5400? Of course that would mean that you would have to actually get a new hard drive.
Best of luck with the new machine.
KyleS

 

[brentl]

Andy; That's sounds more like it!

Brent

 

[AndyVX]

Kyle,
I think I'll stick with the 5400 for now I'm only using it for storage (school work, MP3, video, downloaded stuff like drivers/programs/patches, etc)
Once again, I just wanted to thank everyone for helping me out with this, and thanks for for the advice with other topics that ended up coming up.