Advice please - Cooling for my Non-Overclocked system

OK I have the following PC spec:

P4 Pentium 540J
Asus P5AD2-E Premium
OCZ PC-4200 OCZ EB Enh. BW Platinum Rev.2 x 1GB (dual channel 2x 512)
OCZ PSU 600W
Radeon x300 SE graphics card
IBM Deskstar 120 GBx2
Western Digital 200 GB Caviar 8MB cache x1
NEC DVD RW 3520
Pioneer x16 dvd Rom
Light On CD RW 52 speed
Samcheer Midi Server case - AluminiumMg alloy

Have not installed any new fans - have 4 standard that came with case which are used - not sure how good they are, and using the intel cpu fan that came with the psu.

I am finding that idling temp with the mobo is around 40+ deg but when the cpu is performing encoding eg with TMPG then at times temp goes up to 72 C which is way too high.

I was wondering if anyone had some good suggestions on how to cool the case down. I have thought of several options eg:
replacing the case and cpu fans
liquid cooling systems....
But have no great experience in cooling and am clueless about the best and easy to fit products....
Advice greatly appreciated.

the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 CPU Cooler is supposed to be quite good but tbh from what I have read heard your temps although high arent dangerous for a Prescott. They have a high temp threshold afaik. Also they have 'thermal throttling' with wil kick in when the core temp gets too high (i.e. the CPU will slow down, its aroind 77 degrees I think?)

So I wouldnt worry - the Freezer 7 is supposed to be quieter than the stock HSF. When Custom PC mag reviewed a bunch of LGA775 - compatible coolers very few were able to even match the stock HSF without sounding like a jet fighter :p the Freezer 7 was afaik able to beat it and be quieter at the same time.

If you get teh Freezer 7 then get some AS5 as this will help your temps.

a link of an article about thermal throttling here some interesting results

this maybe a silly question, but which way are the fans facing?

i would have 1 intake and 2 out take.

have you re-applied thermal compound since you've had the system?

is the heatsink clogged up with dust?


just a thought :)

my comment on the freezer series is that they're not going to give you those large drops in temps u would normally expect from a 3rd party HSF. what they would give you is lower than stock HSF temps, and theyll do so with significantly less noise.
if you are abit of a silence freak [like me], you'll hate the way the fan whines at >1800rpm :P

Thanks for the replies.

I think I will try giving the whole thing a good clean out first.
Feeling around the case - it may well be the front fans are directed the wrong way - ie out, the rest are out!. (back, side and top)

About reapplying thermal paste- any tips? Do I clean the paste off first and then put a new layer on? Any advice regarding best paste to use?

My case actually, I have just realised is a kingwin (that is 1 year after purchasing it - no label on the case itself and I just chose it from a shelf along side the samcheers).

yes, clean the current layer of thermal paste with isopropyl alcohol <--common item in pharmacies i guess
the best paste is Artic Silver 5, though ive found Arctic Cooling's MX-1 to be just as good. Artic recommends putting a small blob of paste -1/2 the size of a grain of rice- on the center of the cpu, then just placing the HSF on top of it. the paste should get squashed in all directions....

thanks silon

Still running high emps so thought would go for liquid cooling - any ideas of an easy, economical and safe waY (ie. good connectors) to cool?

generally with fans, the front should be intake and the back and top exhaust, but remember it should be roughly equal out and in :)

its amazing what it can do by changing the heatsink on a cpu, using as5 and getting proper airflow.

When I replaced my stock HSF on my athlon xp 3000+ with a thermaltake silent boost using as5, and fitted an intake fan (I didnt build it) my load temps dropped 17 degrees!!!!!