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Arrow-1's Computer - HEAT Issues!

Started by Arrow, February 20, 2013, 09:18:07 AM

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Arrow

Roph, you're familiar with my setup and you're the person I think would know what's goin' on here- but if anyone else knows what's going on here, please, do help me out.

This computer set up is less than a year old. It's a very solid set up that Paul helped me out with and designed himself. Other than what came with the processor and case, I have not installed any sort of additional fans or heatsink- but I've just ordered another case fan that should be arriving any day now, as that's presently all I can afford.

My computer is HOT. It idles at about 39-42 C on a good day, and if I try to play Minecraft I'm pushing 60. My processor's max operating temperature is 70! This is scary, because if my processor fries I'm shit out of luck for a while. Watching a youtube video alone can pitch things up to 52 C.

Another thing: I use my computer as a radio when I sleep. When I first set it up there were no issues, but I'm noticing now that it gets hot when it's on standby. Tonight, with everything but winamp and speedfan closed (I even task-killed explorer.exe to see what would happen) I let it go to stand by. Thirty minutes later, the temperature had jumped up twelve degrees to 52. When I woke it back up, it IMMEDIATELY started dropping back down to 40.

I have no idea what's going on right now, but I shouldn't be having heat concerns over running simple programs like microsoft paint and firefox. I'm afraid to use my gaming computer to play actual games right now, and this is saddening. I'm hoping the fan can make a small difference in the short term, and I'll try and learn about heatsinks for when I've got more than two pennies to rub together.

For reference, this is my setup. If anyone needs any other information, I can do my best to provide it.
 



CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119243

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131758

POWER SUPPLY: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171038

PROCESSOR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231309

HARD DISK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245

DVD-RW: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

GRAPHICS CARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150598



Holkeye


Arrow

Yeah, I intend to do that when I get home. :O But that's kind of a given, man.

A little more data. Putting it on a screensaver and not letting it go to standby still makes it heat up.

Turning off my screensaver and preventing standby, then turning off the monitor had it at 35C when I woke up this morning, and kept it quieter all night.

Is there a point where this starts making sense?

Dark_Metamorphosis

#3
Quote from: Arrow on February 20, 2013, 09:18:07 AM
Roph, you're familiar with my setup and you're the person I think would know what's goin' on here- but if anyone else knows what's going on here, please, do help me out.

This computer set up is less than a year old. It's a very solid set up that Paul helped me out with and designed himself. Other than what came with the processor and case, I have not installed any sort of additional fans or heatsink- but I've just ordered another case fan that should be arriving any day now, as that's presently all I can afford.

My computer is HOT. It idles at about 39-42 C on a good day, and if I try to play Minecraft I'm pushing 60. My processor's max operating temperature is 70! This is scary, because if my processor fries I'm shit out of luck for a while. Watching a youtube video alone can pitch things up to 52 C.

Another thing: I use my computer as a radio when I sleep. When I first set it up there were no issues, but I'm noticing now that it gets hot when it's on standby. Tonight, with everything but winamp and speedfan closed (I even task-killed explorer.exe to see what would happen) I let it go to stand by. Thirty minutes later, the temperature had jumped up twelve degrees to 52. When I woke it back up, it IMMEDIATELY started dropping back down to 40.

I have no idea what's going on right now, but I shouldn't be having heat concerns over running simple programs like microsoft paint and firefox. I'm afraid to use my gaming computer to play actual games right now, and this is saddening. I'm hoping the fan can make a small difference in the short term, and I'll try and learn about heatsinks for when I've got more than two pennies to rub together.

For reference, this is my setup. If anyone needs any other information, I can do my best to provide it.



I agree with Holk, blow it clean, add new Thermal paste, and get a better and bigger processor-fan when you can afford it. A decent fan will do a lot to bring down the temperatures.. Also, check your heatsink.. if there is dust between the heatsink and the fan, it may clump it all up and prevent air from flowing through (or even prevent the fan from spinning properly), and then it will have a big impact on the temps. If your processor is at 35C in idle, you got nothing to worry about.. that's pretty normal. I recently cleaned my own computer and It's around 30C in idle.

Even the other temperatures are not dangerous for your componenets, if your processor reaches 50C from 1 program though, that seems kinda weird. Maybe you need to set your fans to work at higher speeds, and just clean the heatsink + adding thermal paste, That usually helps. Also, there might be some problem with the PSU but I doubt it.

What temperatures are your graphic card reaching? And your other components, do they also suffer from being hot? I wouldn't say that you have dangerous values though, so playing games shouldn't be a problem..
Make sure that you have the BIOS set to shut off your computer if your components reaches a specific value aswel, that is if they happen to boost up alot when you are not noticing. That would prevent anything from over-heating.

Also, get rid of speedfan.. It's pretty much useless, and doesn't even read correct values from time to time. Get an utility from your manufacturers website, or get CPU-Z + HWmonitor or something. They can be found here:

Cpu-Z: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

HWMonitor: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

You can also download CoreTemp from the same site.. it will let you see your processors Tj.Max Temps. So you know when you are in dangerous values.

Edit: Forgot to say that newer CPUs usually runs fine at around 50-60 degrees, but you don't want to be in values that is higher than that.. Tj.max temps are usually around 80-90 degrees, for newer CPUs but you definetely don't want to be around the 70-80C mark.
Can you feel that?..

                                    My Current Project:


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Fade

Arrow

According to HW Monitor both my CPU and GPU are idling at between 35-37 degrees. That's reassuring. I haven't even dusted it yet! I'm going to do that now.

As for thermal paste, I'll get more when I can, but for now that's not a possibility.

How frequently should I be blowing the dust out of my machine?

And to my knowledge, I don't have a heatsink. Any suggestions there?

Dark_Metamorphosis

#5
Quote from: Arrow on February 20, 2013, 07:10:04 PM
According to HW Monitor both my CPU and GPU are idling at between 35-37 degrees. That's reassuring. I haven't even dusted it yet! I'm going to do that now.

As for thermal paste, I'll get more when I can, but for now that's not a possibility.

How frequently should I be blowing the dust out of my machine?

And to my knowledge, I don't have a heatsink. Any suggestions there?

35-37 degrees in Idle-mode is pretty normal, especially if you havn't dusted the components yet. That often lowers it 5 degrees or so.. thermal paste helps there too.

I usually do it twice a year or so, because dust really likes to get stuck in there for some reason.. but it depends really. You can just do it when you think It's time for it.

A heatsink is very vital to keep your processor secured from heat, so if you don't have one you definetely need to put one in when you can. But if you have a 1 year old PC I would be very surprised if you didn't have a heatsink. Are you sure about that? The heatsink needs to be removed to access the processor slot, and above the heatsink your processor fan should be installed.

Also, I suggest you to buy or borrow a anti-static wristband when dusting off your components or removing your processor to add thermal paste and such. Usually they won't be damaged but It's better to be safe, or a change of components can be a very expensive action.. but if you are just gonna clean it off with air, you don't need one of those. Just a tip, cause I have had friends that had their components damaged because of static electricity, and It's not a fun thing.
Can you feel that?..

                                    My Current Project:


I support:


Fade

Arrow

I imagine I'm thinking of a different component then, because I definitely had to do that during installation. The temp's idling at 33C now with firefox, paint and trillian running, and watching video brings it up to about 43 tops. This is an old house, and we've only been here for a little bit, but it sat uninhabited for about a year. I imagine that gives a lot of time for crap like dust to accumulate. I dusted my computer shortly after we arrived in... I'm thinking November. It wasn't terrible inside, but there was definitely dust. I guess I just hadn't expected it to build up so fast.

Thanks for the help, everyone. If there are any parts I could plan on buying in the future to help further mitigate temperatures (I imagine a cooler computer lives a fair bit longer) what might they be? My new case fan should be arriving any day now, but just the same, it wouldn't hurt to know.

strike

just check it periodically for dust, especially in an old dusty house. especially with a new case fan, case fans help but also pull in dust. I'd check it once a month or so.

Dark_Metamorphosis

Quote from: Arrow on February 20, 2013, 08:24:19 PM
I imagine I'm thinking of a different component then, because I definitely had to do that during installation. The temp's idling at 33C now with firefox, paint and trillian running, and watching video brings it up to about 43 tops. This is an old house, and we've only been here for a little bit, but it sat uninhabited for about a year. I imagine that gives a lot of time for crap like dust to accumulate. I dusted my computer shortly after we arrived in... I'm thinking November. It wasn't terrible inside, but there was definitely dust. I guess I just hadn't expected it to build up so fast.

Thanks for the help, everyone. If there are any parts I could plan on buying in the future to help further mitigate temperatures (I imagine a cooler computer lives a fair bit longer) what might they be? My new case fan should be arriving any day now, but just the same, it wouldn't hurt to know.

The best answer I can give you for a cool computer is to switch out the cooling system to a water-based system (sorry I don't know the english word for these kind of cooling systems). It can be a bit expenisve but they definetely work! Switching out fans can also do wonder, and It's not that expensive to buy an extra fan that's very good at keeping the PC from getting warm. You can also see if you have updated drivers for your components, since they can spook around with the performances of your components.
Can you feel that?..

                                    My Current Project:


I support:


Fade

Arrow

Thanks for all the help everyone, I guess I was mostly just freaking out over my temperatures.

That just leaves one thing though.

Why is my computer heating up like crazy on standby?

Acolyte

Maybe it has a fever. It is flu season after all. :V

Roph

What are you using to see temperatures? Use CoreTemp, not Speedfan.
[fright]bringing sexy back[/fright]

Malson

My computer kept crashing while playing any sort of taxing game or running intensive programs. It kept saying I was having graphics card issues, which I thought to be the driver, and spent a few weeks attempting to figure that out. But then I decided to dust it out with compressed air and haven't had an issue since.

I also ordered a custom build from RophCo, so what works for one should work for the other!

Arrow

Just installed the new fan, and that combined with the dusting earlier has me sitting at an average idle temperature of 31 C. I am very happy now. I tested it by playing minecraft for a few minutes (about as long as it took to preheat my tower to cookie-baking settings before) and it wouldn't go above 41. Very, very nice.

CPUID Hardware Monitor is what I'm using, and I like that it keeps hold of min/max ranges.

But guys, the general heat isn't an issue now. :O The problem is that when the computer goes into standby, which is a reduced power settings mode, it experiences an increase in temperature. Waking it back up brings it back down to normal. This...should not happen. It makes no sense. Doing less work != more hot stuff. I'm confused.

EvilM00s

For your processor, the heat values you list are quite acceptable. I run a similar AMD chip and I get to maybe 35C on a hot day after a Diablo III marathon... I never baked cookies on my tower, although that sounds yummy if not debilitating to my machine.

Are you talking like, shut down and wait for you to push a button to wake it up standby, or idling to where the screensaver pops up?

BTW, your heatsink is the big silver thingy you clipped on over your processor.
:tinysmile:

Arrow

Yeah, I confirmed I had that when I popped it open today. :)

And I mean like, power saver settings, after 15 minutes turn off monitor, after 20 go to standby. Not full hibernate- I don't have to fiddle with the power button. Waking it back up just means clicking my mouse and wiggling it. NOT screensaver. I don't have one of those turned on.

Roph

The standby thing seems odd. Your CPU shouldn't even be running then. All that's going on during standby is that your RAM is kept powered, and it's listening for a wake up signal o_O

You could try looking in your bios settings, making sure that halt states, speedstep, cool n quiet etc are enabled. I know that they can be toggled for my Intel CPU, which would force it to run at full speed at all times.
[fright]bringing sexy back[/fright]

Arrow

I'll take a look at that, yeah. For now though, just...not going into standby seems to solve the problem well enough. For now, all is well. Thanks, Roph. :D