Navigation section

Windows Vista Optimal CPU Temperature Range and Cooling Tips for Hot Environments

J

jasonw

New Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Messages
152
This may be off topic from vista but I was just wandering. What temps should I look at? Rite now core0 is at 53C and core1 is at 55C. My office has no cooling or insulation so it can get hot in here. The other day the temps hit 62C and my fans fired up for the first time in the 2 years sence I got the computer. It worried me because all of the sudden there was all this noise like a jet under my desk. When I investigated I noticed the fans went from about 1500rpm to 4500rpm. As soon as I dropped below 60C they went right back to 1500rpm. I have been told I dont want to go above 60C is that true? I have the PS fan, stock case fan in the front and a CPU fan. I added a fan to me 2nd HD as well as one of those blue led fans that hook to one of the card slots. I think though the led fan is sucking air in from the slot and blowing it down on the CPU and I am pretty sure I was told all the air should come in from the front and exit the back so basicaly I am sucking hot air from the PS right in on the CPU. Hmmmm any suggestions? Should I remove the 2 fans I put in there and just let it run with the fans that came with the system?
 


Solution
kemical
I'm impressed! Well done on the cleaning regime.
As for the temps... They are not too bad at that 55ish but is that at idle? Obviously when your system is at full load then thats when you need to know your temps. If they are climbing well above 60c then it may be causing the lock-ups. You could always invest in a quality cooler as I suspect your using the default one that comes with the chip..
Below is a link to a popular Intel cooler (I presume your using Intel chips) although there are many others..

Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Sort by date Sort by votes
Hopefully. I think I forgot something though. I am assuming I take off my current CPU fan and heat sink and put this in its place. Dont I have to put something between the CPU and heat sink or no?
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Yes you should unless the heatsink/fan combo comes with its own and advises against it. Even if they supply their own thermal tape (usually taped to the bottom of the heatsink), I always clean this off using rubbing alcohol or peroxide (yes, use sparingly as using this is not orthodox at all but in the absence of alcohol is fine by my book...). The reason for this is that Artic Silver and other commercial thermal paste is almost always superior than the one included with even the best heatsinks.

Link Removed due to 404 Error

I recommend Artic Silver. But anyway, Pentium's have been running hot since their hay-day and the Pentium-D is no different. You should notice a significant difference in temperature by using a retail heatsink/fan. But the reality is your computers, if they are being used for basic office apps only, will never approach full load. Your CPU will probably never hit the TJMAX (the point at which the CPU burns up or throttles down). Remember, newer Intel CPU's will throttle down the stepping on the processor to keep the processor working at temperatures below critical levels. It does not sound like your computers are in imminent danger of overheating.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
I do notice it slow down significantly when the temps get above 50C. Its mostly used for office stuff and internet but sometimes is used to play games.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Bad news. Got the cooler today and it made no difference in my temps. I read and reread the directions so I know its installed correctly. I had to remove the motherboard to get out HP's stuped CPU heat sync mount. My temps are still in the mid to high 50C's.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm surprised! Is there any way to increase the fan speed? Also check that it is good for pressure against the CPU, it needs to be really tight.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
I am having a very hard time keeping it below 51C at idle. It is much hotter today that is was when I got that data, at least by 15F hotter today. Is is 96F in the office and right now the computer is 52C
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
So by the sounds of that it has improved things? They can take a while to 'bed' in (well the paste can)..
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
So are you suggesting after the past and what not settles it should run cooler? How long are we talking here?
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
I hate to remain off topic here but I made a little invention, ok well I didn't do it. I read how to do it online but my Cavalry external drive gets supper hot so I took my old CPU heat sink and fan, Hooked it to an old USB cable and made a cooler for the drive. It actualy works awsom "see atached picture". My question is the motor has red, black yellow and blue wires. The USB cable has red, black, white and blue wires. The red and black run the fan albeit at half RPM but can I use this set up to mesure fan speed in speed fan? For example if I hook the blue fan wire to the blue USB wire will it measure RPM's via the USB connection? I highly doubt it works that way but who knows. Thanks in advance.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Sorry here is the picture. I got a little premature on posting and forgot.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
I am at a total loss here. I think it is suppose to run this hot. I put 2 more fans pointing down on the new cooler and guess what happened? Nothing. The 2 new fans run full RPM and this caused the fan that came with the new cooler to come to a near stand still all the while maintaining about 50C. Is there anything I can do to get the CPU fan to runn full speed as to keep it cooler?
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Ok..

Depending on which paste you've used it can take up to 10hrs to form all the bonds but anyhow you still only get around 2c drop if that..
The cooler on the external HD is a very good idea and will certainly extend the life of the unit.
As for your temps,the only thing I could think of it being is that there isn't a good enough contact between the heatsink and CPU as this has to be so tight it's almost beyond belief. Also make sure you don't use Too much thermal paste as this again can mess with the temps. Apart from that I'm a little baffled but then again perhaps you need to try an intel forum and see if any one there has a better solution? I think thats what I would do...
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
The past I used is what ever came on the new cooler. I like the external drive cooler as well but it looks a little oaky. I will have to see if I cant make it look better. Thanks for all the help on the temps.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Is there a place in Vista or even maybe the Bios to disable the fan speeds? Clearly there is something somewhere detecting the temps and speeds and adjusting the fans to keep the high temp. Maybe I can disable this and let the fans run full speed at all times.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Yes...
check your power options especially in the advanced section (see screenshot) mine is slightly different cuz I using 7 but yours should have a percentage figure for idle and full load...Change this to stop the throttling back..
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Mine doesn't have that. It only shows min processor state and max processor state.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
I just did some reading and it appears the cooling policy is something new for Windows 7
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
jasonw said:
Mine doesn't have that. It only shows min processor state and max processor state.
Click to expand...


I know, If you read my post, I said mines different cuz I'm using 7. If you change your percentiles so the minimum is 100% it shouldn't throttle back..

Edit: Speedfan is another way of changing fan speed to suit.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
Min and Max are already set to 100%, I use speed fan. It shows the fan RPM but dose not allow me to change it. When I go to the Speed tab in the config there is nothing there. Under the fan tab the only option is a check box "log" hmmm back to the drawing board.
 


Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top