[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I'm not an expert at overclocking or computer innards, but I can see two fans > that appear to be drawing air into the case, though apparently none in the > back--unless the massive heatsink assembly on (what I assume to be) the > processor has one in it. >
That big one is the primary processor heatsink. It radiates heat away from the core of the CPU... and dumps it into the case interior. From there, you need case fans to move the warm air OUT of the case, and cooler air in... or you'll wind up with a greenhouse. > I have run SpeenFan 4.34, and it gives temps of 43 to 50C when idle. Welcome to the greenhouse. This is *way* high for an idle speed unless you're seriously overclocked, and even then it's shocking. My two systems average about 38C idle, both quad core. You definitely have a cooling issue. > While > torture testing, the four cores reach as high as 65C, while a reading called > Temp1 goes as high as 69C. > The chip itself isn't rated to go higher than 65C... so if Temp1 is going to 69C, you are definitely overheating. By comparison, my two systems average about 55C under 100% load of P95 on all four cores. > I've noticed that Prime95 seems to run into errors only when it is testing > the > longer FFT lengths (1024K or more). And I have recently run MemTest and got > one > error from it. So I'm suspecting bad memory may be to blame. > Not a chance. The system is too hot. The Memtest errors are likely symptoms of the overheating. First... get some airflow OUT of the case. You need a 120 mm fan to mount on the back of the case (there should be a place for it -- measure it) blowing air OUTWARD. This will help the intake fans at the front, and will remove more of the hot air. If this doesn't bring temps down substantially, your heatsink may not be "set" properly. It may have an air bubble in the thermal grease, and may need to be reseated. This should be done with top flight grease (Arctic Silver AS5 or better) and by someone who knows how to get an even application. Finally, if that big heatsink looks like this: http://www.cooltechpc.com/ctpc/images/intel_775_fan.jpg ...then you will definitely want to replace it. That's the "stock" fan supplied by Intel, and while it is suitable for typical home use, it is absolutely NOT suitable for 24x7 Prime95. You want something more like this: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6873/cpu-zal-27/Zalman_CNPS9500A_LED_Ultra_Quiet_CPU_Cooler_AMD_AM2754939940_Intel_478775Core_2_DuoQuadExtreme.html?tl=g40c14s52 Measure your case carefully and ensure that the heatsink you choose fits -- the one I just linked to is quite tall, and wouldn't fit in a "thin" case. Good luck! Jeff _______________________________________________ Prime mailing list [email protected] http://hogranch.com/mailman/listinfo/prime
