AMD's so-called "Cool n' Quiet" feature

[Opticreep]

Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal? Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.
There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case. The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case. It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

 

[GF]

I do not have that motherboard, but
on my regular Athlon (32 bit) board, cpu temperature
is presently at 45 degrees, without anything running.
Q-Fan is enabled in the BIOS. It would be cooler
if I disabled it, but it would be a bit more noisy.

It is no cause for worry, since the CPU can go as
I as 95° according to specs.

 

[I like toys and cake]

Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock
heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal? Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

That is a little warm but not dangerously so, I have a shuttle with
the same CPU which runs about the same temps with no problems. Also if
it is a newcastle core CPU which being a 3000+ it probably is then
they tend to report their own temperature a bit higher than it
actually is.

Cool n Quiet is in my opinon worthless. It has to be set up in a very
odd way for windows XP with power management settings that seem
strange and I have never noticed it making my controlled fans spin
down much at all.

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Make sure all cables are nice and tidy then if possible set one fan
low at the front of the case sucking in and one high at the back
blowing out. If you don't have much choice where they go just remember
that heat rises and try to get a good flow, not only across the
processor but around the heat generating hard drive

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.
There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case. The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into*
the
case. It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

Run the machine with a highly demanding game for about an hour and
then open the case and touch the heatsink on the CPU (carefully) and
if it doesn't hurt your hand your CPU is cool enough. It should be a
little warm otherwise it's not doing it's job.

 

[PWY]

Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal? Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.
There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case. The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case. It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

If you would turn both of those case fans around and check your temps again,
I think you would be pleasantly surprised. In other words fan on side panel
blowing in and the fan below the power supply blowing out. Heat rises. Why
fight Mother Nature?

PWY

 

[spodosaurus]

Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal?

That's normal.

Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.

Of course.

There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case.

Try reversing that, or even disconnecting it for a bit while you test
out the suggestion below:

The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case.

Nah, that just screws up the airflow. You want the airflow to come in
from the front (whether there's a fan or not at the front doesn't
matter) and flow up over the drives and CPU and exhaust out the rear of
the case. The power supply fan is a part of this, but with a fan beneath
it blowing air back in you're defeating it. Turn that fan around so that
it's blowing the air OUT of the case.

It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

You've given CPU temps not system temps, unless I missed something...?

 

[River_Rat]

These temps are not out of hand and are quite normal.
Here is the Thermal & Electrical Chart for AMD
http://www.amd.com/gb-uk/assets/con...ssets/K7_Electrical_Specification_Rev_ENG.pdf

DO NOT open the case and stick your finger on the heatsink, this sounds like
something a 2 year old would do, possible electric shock to you &/or static
electricity damage to your equipment.

--
Good Day
River_Rat




Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal? Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.
There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case. The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case. It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

 

[River_Rat]

There is no need to switch any fans around for the heat will only rise in an
environment where there is no circulation.
As long as you are churning the air inside your PC, and an exhaust fan to
reduce pressure build-up and allow the intake fans to pull more cool air
from the outside.

--
Good Day
River_Rat

Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal? Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.
There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case. The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case. It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

If you would turn both of those case fans around and check your temps again,
I think you would be pleasantly surprised. In other words fan on side panel
blowing in and the fan below the power supply blowing out. Heat rises. Why
fight Mother Nature?

PWY

 

[I like toys and cake]

DO NOT open the case and stick your finger on the heatsink, this
sounds like
something a 2 year old would do, possible electric shock to you &/or
static
electricity damage to your equipment.

Although it is widely regarded among the PC modding community to be
the best way of determining if a cooling solution is performing and
there is only a risk of electric shock if your system has been wired
incorrectly in which case it probably wouldn't work in the first
place. As for static you would discharge yourself while removing the
case cover.

 

[Richard Urban]

Draw cool air into the front of the case (away from heat producing
components and fan exhausts). Blow hot air out of the rear of the case
(where the power supply is already exhausting to).

If you try to draw "cool" air in from the back you will invariably be
drawing the hot exhausted air from the power supply back into the case!

--

Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

 

[David Maynard]

Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal? Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.
There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case.

Side fans are a bit problematic because they're not really in a good
location for cross case ventilation. My first inclination would be
exhausting, as you have it, so intake air is pulled from the case front
but, depending on how close to the CPU heatsink it is, you might have
slightly better luck with it blowing inward.

The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case.

That fan should be exhausting outward as, now, you're recirculating warm
PSU air going out the rear back into the case with the third fan.

It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

Basically, you want rear fans exhausting so they remove heat directly and
let the airflow come from the front inlets and across the case.

Intake fans don't do much other than make more noise, unless you need to
specifically direct some airflow at a certain point and can't count on a
natural distribution across the inlet venting.

Think of the wet noodle analogy. In a typical case, intake fans are like
trying to push a wet noodle uphill. Air goes into the case and wafts around
just about anywhere, would be nice if it went by the heatsink, going out
the first, and whatever, hole(s) it can find.

It's much more effective to pull a wet noodle up hill by it's tail. I.E.
rear fans exhausting heat directly from the hotspots that are right there
and let the cool air come in whatever holes it can find (the front vents).

 

[Al Smith]

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.

There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case. The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case. It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

I don't know if you've been reading my thread, but I discovered
that it isn't a good idea to have a case fan mounted directly
below the PSU that is blowing air into the case. It recycles the
warm air blowing out from the PSU. If your fan is a lot lower down
on the back of the case, this might not apply to your setup.

Your temperatures seem a bit too hot to me. I wouldn't want them
that hot, anyway. Your running temperature is 45, whereas mine is
42. We've got similar CPUs and video cards (mine's 3200, yours is
3000; mine's 9600, yours is 9800). Running temperature doesn't
matter, but I wouldn't want my temperature under full load to be
over 60 C. The threshold for our CPUs is 70 C.

By the way, I tried Cool 'n Quiet, but uninstalled it. It didn't
do anything at all that I could see, and I don't really like the
idea of it reducing the speed of my CPU when it isn't necessary to
reduce it, just to save power -- I'm not worried about how much
electricity the computer is using, I'm only worried about heat and
noise, which (in spite of its name) Cool 'n Quiet doesn't seem to
do anything about.

 

[Al Smith]

As for static you would discharge yourself while removing the

case cover.

LOL. That could be messy. (sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[Chuck]

I've been down the cooling road several times. The case front air intakes
are not optimal on most cases, so another source of cool air is needed. The
processor and motherboard chip set need cool incoming air and fans to move
hot air from the heatsinks. Obviously, the processor is a major source of
heat. The mbd chipset and any video chipset, card or mbd is the next area of
concern. Some cases actually need a circulating fan, usually mounted at an
angle and on or near the bottom of the case. This helps distribute the cool
air from the front of the case more evenly. To really tell what air
direction is best with rear fans and a particular case/power supply, it's
often necessary to use one of the fan control units that have additional
thermal sensors that can be placed in areas of concern. (Trial & Error
testing for the best configuration). The PCI and AGB card areas should be
measured to make sure that sufficient cooling air is passing thru them.

My current temps using a 3g Athalon are
case 30-34
hdd 30-32
cpu 39-42
video 30-32 (ati 9200) (cheap video card)
The case uses a side fan with a shroud going to the processor

The general idea is to get the cool incoming air distributed so that hot
spots are minimized.
Power supply cooling arrangements vary, and will make a big difference in
the case airflow and optimum fan usage and airflow direction.

Last but not least, HDD failure is often due to dry bearings. This may be
due to higher than desired internal HDD temps.

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

If your computer foes into the 90's (C) then it will be toast. 72 -74
degrees Celsius is the max for AMD64 procs.

Not all HSF are compatible with Cool n' Quiet. Are you running ASUSprobe to
monitor conditions?

I would suspect that the thermal pad/paste was improperly applied when the
HSF and cooler were added. My CPU (AMD64 3200+) runs 34 at idle and 39-40
at full load.

Bobby

 

[Shep©]

Inside my PC is an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, with stock heatsink/fan.
There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or
if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s. Is that temperature range
too hot, or is it normal? Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

In addition to the CPU and power supply fan, I have two additional
fans inside the case to circulate air. To get the best air
circulation possible, how should all these fans be arranged?

Right now, I have the CPU fan blowing air into the CPU's heatsink.
There's another fan on the side panel, blowing air *out* from the
case. The third fan is below the power supply, blowing air *into* the
case. It sounds good on paper, but the temperature inside the case
seems a little high.

You are running a little warm but well within spec.Ambient room temps
affect cooling as does the position of the system e.g if the back is
too close to a wall if you are using a back case fan.Also
messy/incorrectly located wires inside can affect cooling.
I use 1 80mm back case fan blowing out and this cooler(Bargain of the
year IMHO as it also comes with it's own tube of Silver Thermal
paste),
http://www.cclcomputers.biz/acatalog/coolersA370.htm
http://tinyurl.com/ybtn
MicroFlow2 SPA07B2 (Skt A) Ref: CLR0006
0
more details

Online Price £6.48£7.61 Including VAT at 17.5%

My temps in Summer rarely go above 50 Deg C under very long and heavy
game usage.
Case temp ATM 29 Deg C
CPU 43 Deg C
HTH




--
Free Windows/PC help,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/trouble.html
remove obvious to reply
email (e-mail address removed)
Free songs to download and,"BURN" :O)
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/nomessiahsmusic.htm

 

[David Maynard]

I've been down the cooling road several times. The case front air intakes
are not optimal on most cases, so another source of cool air is needed.

The problem isn't a lack of hole area in the front of the case.

The
processor and motherboard chip set need cool incoming air and fans to move
hot air from the heatsinks. Obviously, the processor is a major source of
heat.

This is why the rear fan mount is the best (due to the ATX component layout).

The mbd chipset and any video chipset, card or mbd is the next area of
concern. Some cases actually need a circulating fan, usually mounted at an
angle and on or near the bottom of the case. This helps distribute the cool
air from the front of the case more evenly.

You wouldn't need this if it weren't for the side fan short circuiting the
case cross ventilation draw. Still, it would be best addressed by
increasing the rear exhaust airflow, if possible, rather than an air stirrer.

Unless you have a wall, baffle, shroud, or some other air director, fans
are excellent at sucking their own exhaust right back into their own intake.

To really tell what air
direction is best with rear fans and a particular case/power supply, it's
often necessary to use one of the fan control units that have additional
thermal sensors that can be placed in areas of concern. (Trial & Error
testing for the best configuration). The PCI and AGB card areas should be
measured to make sure that sufficient cooling air is passing thru them.

The best way to deal with an AGP hotspot is a PCI slot fan adjacent to it
or a video card heatsink that exhausts out the adjacent PCI slot: an
'unfortunate' aspect of AGP cards having the main components on the 'wrong
side' with respect to case airflow (one of the things addressed by BTX).

My current temps using a 3g Athalon are
case 30-34
hdd 30-32
cpu 39-42
video 30-32 (ati 9200) (cheap video card)
The case uses a side fan with a shroud going to the processor

The general idea is to get the cool incoming air distributed so that hot
spots are minimized.
Power supply cooling arrangements vary, and will make a big difference in
the case airflow and optimum fan usage and airflow direction.

"Optimum" depends on what one wishes to achieve and if noise is of no
concern then placing a half dozen fans all over the place is perfectly
fine, but it's not particularly efficient nor is it quiet.

Last but not least, HDD failure is often due to dry bearings. This may be
due to higher than desired internal HDD temps.

Generally not a problem if one is active rear exhausting, with sufficient
airflow, and the air intake restricted to coming primarily from the front.
However, I did note that if the front panel air distribution is problematic
then one might want to put a low RPM fan up there for the hard drives,
especially if you have a stack of them (acting as a flow restrictor).

 

[Al Smith]

If your computer goes into the 90's (C) then it will be toast. 72 -74

degrees Celsius is the max for AMD64 procs.

True for Athlon 64s, but not for all older AMD chips. One I looked

on my regular Athlon (32 bit) board, cpu temperature

If he's using a 32-bit board, he must have an older CPU than a 64.
Probably the one that's rated up to 95 C.

 

[Mirek Fídler]

There's also a Radeon 9800 Pro in there. If the computer is idle or

if there's only a light workload (ie internet surfing), the CPU
temperature is around 45 degrees. When there's a heavy workload (ie
games, number crunching, etc), it's often around the late 50s and
sometimes it even reaches the early 60s.

I have my sn85g4v2 bios set to "quiet" operation mode and my CPU gets to 65C
under heavy load. Causes no problems -
100% stable with CPU overclocked (Athlon64 3200+ @2420Mhz) running Prime95
for two days.

Am I better off activating, or
deactivating, the "Cool n' Quiet" feature?

I recommend it. It reduces my idle CPU temperature from 50 to 35C - which in
turn allows even quiter operation (I can even stop the heatpipe fan). Impact
on performance is negligible - less than 0.5%.

Mirek

 

[Peter R. Fletcher]

True for Athlon 64s, but not for all older AMD chips. One I looked


If he's using a 32-bit board, he must have an older CPU than a 64.
Probably the one that's rated up to 95 C.

It depends where you're measuring the temperature. Athlon's specs are
for _die_ temperature - i.e. the temperature measured _inside_ the
chip itself. The "CPU Diode" temperatures reported via suitable
software by the latest Athlon processors may correspond to that
(no-one seems to be quite convinced of this) but the typical "CPU
Temperature" returned by motherboard sensors located immediately
underneath the CPU socket certainly doesn't - basic Physics says that
this value, even if correctly measured and reported, is likely to be
significantly lower than the die temperature. There seems to be a
reasonable consensus that Athlons will run happily at CPU temperatures
(measured by a sensor under the socket) up to the mid 50s. Most people
would feel that a measured temperature of 60 was too hot and 70 was
asking for trouble (and likely to get it in short order).

Please respond to the Newsgroup, so that others may benefit from the exchange.
Peter R. Fletcher