This can't be good...

[IBM]

'Kay, can't afford a new rig, so thought I'd try OC my Athlon 3400+. Haven't really tried before 'cause it's always been enough grunt for what I do, but after reading up on Clunk's now legendary efforts, I thought I'd have a play around. Also that I'd read the 3400+ wasn't much of an overclocker.

So before getting going I got hold of Motherboard Monitor 5 (friend recommendation) which told me my CPU temp was 66C (in red, worryingly) and case temp at 47C. This seemed high for a CPU at rest (not benchmarking or anything). So read up and got a copy of Core Temp, which started off telling me the temp was 84C which has now calmed to a positively balmy 74C.

This seems hot. Am I right, or just over reacting?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It seems a bit too high IMHO!! We are talking about an Athlon 64 and NOT a Pentium 4! I would try reinstalling the cooler with some good thermal compound and/or improving your case ventilation!!

[IBM]

It's alright, Core Temp is telling me it's now 94C....what fun....be back when I've figured out why it's so hot....

[DecomposingStar]

another 6c and you can fry and egg (or something...)

not good!

[Max Tractor]

yes way to hot if the reading is correct, have you pulled the side to check the fan is spinning, and how much volts have you got pumping through the cpu

[Girdag]

That does seem very hot. Are you using the stock cooler, or an aftermarket one?

[IBM]

laptops are great aren't they?

Okay, so the fan is spinning, and the volts are set to default, so absolute minimum I expect.

I've got a lot of dust sitting on my Zalman CNPS7000-ALCU Super Flower Cooler, so I'll pull it off first thing tomorrow and give it a good clean, and probably replace the thermal compound just to be on the safe side.

I've just replaced my PSU with something cheap which seems to be running very hot, but not enough to contribute to this kind of heat. Funny thing is that I've been having CPU overheat errors on reboots and just figured it's been a glitch or result of heavy 3D, rendering or encoding. But this has been going back more than a year which makes me wonder what kind of strain I've been putting the CPU under.

Least I know I've got a little wiggle room with temp when I start OC again

I'll let you know how things are going.

[Girdag]

I've just replaced my PSU with something cheap which seems to be running very hot, but not enough to contribute to this kind of heat.

It may be unrelated to this problem, but cheap PSUs are NEVER a good thing, and if it's running hot I'd be very concerned.

[Kiro-San]

It may be unrelated to this problem, but cheap PSUs are NEVER a good thing, and if it's running hot I'd be very concerned.

Completely agree with that. The PSU is something you never skimp on. You should always make sure you get a quality make. As for you HSF, if it is clogged with dust that that's very likely to be the reason your CPU is nearly ready to boil water I'd take your whole PC apart and clean the thing. Preferably outside and using a can of compressed air. Remember, dust is the enemy! Thank god for the filters on P180.

[DecomposingStar]

The PSU could be pumping a bunch of unwanted volts into your components... not good. Give another PSU a go, or buy a new one.

Do a nice clean up and try get your cables tidy while you're at it to increase airflow. Try and understand where your air flow is going, and needs to be going to (ie, in past the HDD's/PCI slots/CPU and out the back/top exhaust) and make it happen.

[IBM]

Unfortunately the cheap PSU was a loan after my old PSU went belly up, and I wouldn't have done it except I can't afford a new one atm.

Anyway, pulled the rig to pieces....guess what, dust everywhere....I'll post some pics in a minute...

Chip still seems to be running high though. What kind of temps do you think I can expect from an Athlon 64 3400+ (clawhammer)?

Core Temp tells me it's anywhere between 49C and 59C, while Motherboard Monitor 5 puts me solidly at 49C with a case temp of 35.

[dave87]

Clawhammers run hotter than venices iirc, but I think mid to high 40s is what you should be aiming for.

Are you using the stock HSF? If so one possibility is getting the Arctic Cooling Freezer, should drop your temps a bit

[IBM]

Dave .... HSF Zalman CNPS7000-ALCU Super Flower Cooler. Supposed to be decent, and it's turned up full

Core

Dusty

DustFree

Inside

Outside


'Puter's been on 15 mins and I'm getting 60C from Core Temp and 52C from MM5.

Any ideas?

[IBM]

Oh yeah, and that dust pic is the inlet for two case fans, both feeding air into three stacked HD, two 74.5 Raptors and a 250 Deskstar....

I'm suprised they didn't fail first. Must have been toasty.

[kalniel]

Temps look better - I would say they're fine for a clawhammer. But you shouldn't try overclocking on a dodgy PSU..

[IBM]

Okay, things seemed to have levelled out at around 50C for Core Temp, although I'm not really doing anything to put any strain on the CPU....I'll see how things go next time I boot up 3D Studio or rip some video....