Cooling the 3.0 HT

[Clyde]

I have a P4 3.0 GHz HT processor that's been getting a bit hot this
summer. I do hit it pretty hard with Photoshop and other graphic tools.
In the winter and spring, I had no problems. Now the Intel software is
giving me some warnings. Yeah, it's only in the caution area 50-57 C,
but I'd still like to keep it out of there.

I'm running the Intel heat sink and fan that came in the box set. It
also makes the most noise in my system, but hasn't been too bad.

So, I would like this august group's opinion on a replacement heat sink
and fan. I want as quiet as I can get with the real ability to cool this
thing at extended 100% load. (Not overclocked.) I don't have the funds
to go water cooling.

BTW, I have 5 case fans, so that isn't the problem. The other regions of
the Intel mobo do not heat up.

Thanks,
Clyde

 

[Al Dykes]

I have a P4 3.0 GHz HT processor that's been getting a bit hot this
summer. I do hit it pretty hard with Photoshop and other graphic tools.
In the winter and spring, I had no problems. Now the Intel software is
giving me some warnings. Yeah, it's only in the caution area 50-57 C,
but I'd still like to keep it out of there.

I'm running the Intel heat sink and fan that came in the box set. It
also makes the most noise in my system, but hasn't been too bad.

So, I would like this august group's opinion on a replacement heat sink
and fan. I want as quiet as I can get with the real ability to cool this
thing at extended 100% load. (Not overclocked.) I don't have the funds
to go water cooling.

BTW, I have 5 case fans, so that isn't the problem. The other regions of
the Intel mobo do not heat up.

Thanks,
Clyde

5 fans in a PC ????? You didn't say if you overclock, or have more
than 2 hard disks in the system or something else that would justify
the extra fans. I assume you blow the dust out of HS and the rest of
the system ocassionally.

The CPU is too hot, but you really have to measure the ambient
temperature and talk in terms of Degrees above ambient.

In my experience I've yet to see a standard PC that needed
more than one intake fan low in the front and one exhaust fan
high on the rear of a tower. pay attention to airflow
around the disks.

 

[Clyde]

5 fans in a PC ????? You didn't say if you overclock, or have more
than 2 hard disks in the system or something else that would justify
the extra fans. I assume you blow the dust out of HS and the rest of
the system ocassionally.

The CPU is too hot, but you really have to measure the ambient
temperature and talk in terms of Degrees above ambient.

In my experience I've yet to see a standard PC that needed
more than one intake fan low in the front and one exhaust fan
high on the rear of a tower. pay attention to airflow
around the disks.

I did point out that I was not overclocking. I only have one HD a
Seagate 120 GB SATA.

I have 5 fans because that's what the case came with. I have that case
because it was a gift. OK, one of those fans is the PS fan. 2 are on the
back. One in the widow on the side and on in the window on the top.

The air from the fans seems to be very reasonable and not "hot".

It seems like the temp warnings come with I'm doing a batch of
something. For example, I running a batch in Noise Ninja. (2.0 knows how
to use the HT feature of this processor.) Another time I get the alerts
are when I am doing 2 things that use up both sides of the HT. Extended
100% use of one side will also give me an alert.

Thanks,
Clyde

 

[Ken]

5 fans in a PC ?????

I got only 8 fans in my new PC
The original Intel CPU fan is the only that makes a lot
of noise, and I use it on the lowest speed (2150 rpm)
that BIOS can manage (Q-fan).
More speed make too much noise!
But the CPU are pretty cool so that's no problem.
Are there any more effective and quite cooling device available?

 

[Bob Knowlden]

http://www.thermalright.com/

http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/usa_index.asp

I have a Thermalright SLK900U, combined with an adjustable-speed case fan
(http://www.thermaltake.com/accessories/dcfan/smartfan/a1357.htm ). The
copper sinks weigh more than Intel recommends, and they are relatively
expensive, but they give the best performance in air cooling. The adjustable
speed fan permits a trade-off between cooling and noise. (At full blast,
it's intolerably loud.)

HTH.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be altered. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[maggot]

I have a P4 3.0 GHz HT processor that's been getting a bit hot this
summer. I do hit it pretty hard with Photoshop and other graphic tools.
In the winter and spring, I had no problems. Now the Intel software is
giving me some warnings. Yeah, it's only in the caution area 50-57 C,
but I'd still like to keep it out of there.

I'm running the Intel heat sink and fan that came in the box set. It
also makes the most noise in my system, but hasn't been too bad.

So, I would like this august group's opinion on a replacement heat sink
and fan. I want as quiet as I can get with the real ability to cool this
thing at extended 100% load. (Not overclocked.) I don't have the funds
to go water cooling.

BTW, I have 5 case fans, so that isn't the problem. The other regions of
the Intel mobo do not heat up.

Thanks,
Clyde

Why does Intel set the caution so low? 50-57 is not too hot at load.
My Abit software sets the cpu alarm at 70c by default and I have the
choice to manually set it higher or lower. What are your idle temps on
the cpu?

 

[Clyde]

Well, it kind of took care of itself. I noticed that the heat sink on
the CPU (from the Intel box) were a bit dusty. So, I thought I'd take
off the HS and vacum it clean.

When I pulled the HS and fan, the P4 came with it. Hey, just a few bent
pins that were easily straighten. I thought that I would need some
silver goop after I pulled the processor off so I went to my local
TigerDirect store and bought a Zalman 7000 Cu (the copper only one).
Then I put it all back together. Nothing!!!

It wouldn't boot. Heck, it wouldn't POST or do anything but run the
fans. I remembered how hard it was to get that processor off from
Intel's very tough thermal pad stuff. I must have done something too
hard to the processor (I remember a tiny pop sound at one point.)

So, I had to buy a new 3.2 P4. Painful. <sigh> Alas it would do any
more. So, I had to buy a new Intel D865GFB mobo. Well, that worked fine
with the 3.2, but the 3.0 still wouldn't work.

I'm very curious as to how the weird timing would happen so that I loose
both the mobo and processor at the same time. Yeah, I probably did in
the P4 myself, but what happened to the mobo? I guess that's a better
question for psychics or the gods - neither of whom do I believe in.

Well the Zalman on the 3.2 seems to be humming along pretty darn quietly
at about 40 C. I haven't pounded it yet, but that normal temp is about 8
degrees less than the old one.

Clyde

 

[T Shadow]

Well, it kind of took care of itself. I noticed that the heat sink on
the CPU (from the Intel box) were a bit dusty. So, I thought I'd take
off the HS and vacum it clean.

When I pulled the HS and fan, the P4 came with it. Hey, just a few bent
pins that were easily straighten. I thought that I would need some
silver goop after I pulled the processor off so I went to my local
TigerDirect store and bought a Zalman 7000 Cu (the copper only one).
Then I put it all back together. Nothing!!!

It wouldn't boot. Heck, it wouldn't POST or do anything but run the
fans. I remembered how hard it was to get that processor off from
Intel's very tough thermal pad stuff. I must have done something too
hard to the processor (I remember a tiny pop sound at one point.)

So, I had to buy a new 3.2 P4. Painful. <sigh> Alas it would do any
more. So, I had to buy a new Intel D865GFB mobo. Well, that worked fine
with the 3.2, but the 3.0 still wouldn't work.

I'm very curious as to how the weird timing would happen so that I loose
both the mobo and processor at the same time. Yeah, I probably did in
the P4 myself, but what happened to the mobo? I guess that's a better
question for psychics or the gods - neither of whom do I believe in.

Well the Zalman on the 3.2 seems to be humming along pretty darn quietly
at about 40 C. I haven't pounded it yet, but that normal temp is about 8
degrees less than the old one.

Clyde

Any chance the cpu socket got roughed up too? Failing that they both get
power form the same source.

 

[Clyde]

Any chance the cpu socket got roughed up too? Failing that they both get
power form the same source.

I'm guessing a good chance of that. Oh well...

BTW, the 3.2 I got was the Prescott. It seems to run a tad quicker, but
it sure does make heat. The highest temp I ever saw on the 3.0 Northwood
was 59 C. This 3.2 Prescott will keep a flat 60 C with one side of the
HT working 100% or both sides at 50%. And that's with the Zalman 7000
Cu! So much for less heat.

Well, it seems to run fine at 60 C though. The Intel Active Monitor
doesn't give any warnings at that level. It's looking for 69 C to give
warnings.

I guess the added features will be nice in the future. I'm liking the
security features that SP2 will kick in.

Clyde