Pentium 4 630 Tempatures

[John]

Hi All,

Curious as to what tempatures I should expect to see for an Intel P4 630
using the stock HS/Fan assembly?

Just set up a new system for a neighbor consisting of an ASUS P5GDR2-X
mobo, Pentium 4 630 processor (stock Intel HS/fan but using Arctic
Silver 3 heat sink compound instead of the thermal pad) in an Antec
Sonata case. I'm running the case fan at full speed, not using the BIOS
to control the CPU fan speed, not using Speed Stepping and not
overclocking.

ASUS Probe is reporting what I think is rather high CPU temps ranging
from 53C to 61C. At this point I'm afraid to run a full on stress test
so I have no idea where the temps max out. I've heard the 600 series
CPU's run hotter, but I think that may be a little to hot so I'm
wondering if I have a good thermal contact with the stock heat sink.

My personal system is an ASUS P4P800 P4 2.6G overclocked to just over 3
Gig. I'm using an all copper Zalman for cooling and my system usually
runs around 35C to 48C most of the time. So you can see why I'm
concerned that 53C for a CPU without much of a load on it seems way to
hot!

Did I do a bad job of attaching the Intel heatsink/fan assembly or does
the Intel 630 typically run 53C without that much of a CPU load?

Thanks in advance to all who reply,

John

 

[DaveW]

Yes, your CPU, which is NOT a good candidate for over-clocking due to it's
heat probelms, is running too HOT at idle.

 

[Frank]

Hi All,

Curious as to what tempatures I should expect to see for an Intel P4 630
using the stock HS/Fan assembly?

Just set up a new system for a neighbor consisting of an ASUS P5GDR2-X
mobo, Pentium 4 630 processor (stock Intel HS/fan but using Arctic
Silver 3 heat sink compound instead of the thermal pad) in an Antec
Sonata case. I'm running the case fan at full speed, not using the BIOS
to control the CPU fan speed, not using Speed Stepping and not
overclocking.

ASUS Probe is reporting what I think is rather high CPU temps ranging
from 53C to 61C. At this point I'm afraid to run a full on stress test
so I have no idea where the temps max out. I've heard the 600 series
CPU's run hotter, but I think that may be a little to hot so I'm
wondering if I have a good thermal contact with the stock heat sink.

My personal system is an ASUS P4P800 P4 2.6G overclocked to just over 3
Gig. I'm using an all copper Zalman for cooling and my system usually
runs around 35C to 48C most of the time. So you can see why I'm
concerned that 53C for a CPU without much of a load on it seems way to
hot!

Did I do a bad job of attaching the Intel heatsink/fan assembly or does
the Intel 630 typically run 53C without that much of a CPU load?

Thanks in advance to all who reply,

John

The temperatures reported are normal for a Prescott -
Some have even noticed the CPU going up to 70 - 80C without effecting
stability. The temperature in Hawaii is currently 75 and the CPU is
averaging 58C with a stock cooler idling, seen it reach 66C at 80%
usage. I just read the reviews that were posted at Newegg for the
Zalman 9500 and eight out of ten customers 'claim' that temperatures
dropped 10-12C. Don't know if I can expect the same results but it's
pretty remarkable.

 

[news.news]

Previously I used a compact casing (power supply is directly on top of CPU)
with P5LD2, CPU is same as you. Idle temperture is range from 55 degree C
and close to 60 sometime. Running at full load and temperture can go as high
as 69 to 71. Using stock HS/F.

Now I have transferred everything to a new full size casing (Cooler Master
T5). Everything else is the same except a big 12cm fan at the back Idle
temperture drop to 45-47 and full speed is around 58-60.

I have the QFan feature turned off at BIOS. This feature see to created lots
of problem especially the recent release of 0809 version.

 

[paul]

Previously I used a compact casing (power supply is directly on top of
CPU) with P5LD2, CPU is same as you. Idle temperture is range from 55
degree C and close to 60 sometime. Running at full load and temperture can
go as high as 69 to 71. Using stock HS/F.

Now I have transferred everything to a new full size casing (Cooler Master
T5). Everything else is the same except a big 12cm fan at the back Idle
temperture drop to 45-47 and full speed is around 58-60.

I have the QFan feature turned off at BIOS. This feature see to created
lots of problem especially the recent release of 0809 version.

Your CPU temps do not sound 'too high', as previously opined in this thread.
I have two machines running P4 630's and have idle temps at around 45C to
50C and full load temps as high as 65C. Your temps sound as though they are
"within range". Try to improve you ventilation a bit and you should be fine.

 

[Paul]

Your CPU temps do not sound 'too high', as previously opined in this thread.
I have two machines running P4 630's and have idle temps at around 45C to
50C and full load temps as high as 65C. Your temps sound as though they are
"within range". Try to improve you ventilation a bit and you should be fine.

To improve the cooling on my Sonata, I removed the lower plastic bezel
and the air filter. (I suppose your neighbour might not like that
mod - the chromed plastic thing will look pretty lonely.) That will
net you perhaps a 5 degree C improvement in temps, for no additional
money. The problem with the Sonata, is it doesn't have enough vent
holes, when using the 120mm fan on the back.

The best place for the hard drive in the Sonata, is the lower
drive bay. With the bezel removed, and the improved vent area,
the drive will stay nice and cool.

The only thing I don't like about drives in the lower bay, is
putting the side panel back in place, without snagging the wires.
(I don't use SATA drives, so anything in the bay is PATA.)

Paul

 

[John]

(e-mail address removed) (Paul) wrote in

To improve the cooling on my Sonata, I removed the lower plastic bezel
and the air filter. (I suppose your neighbour might not like that
mod - the chromed plastic thing will look pretty lonely.) That will
net you perhaps a 5 degree C improvement in temps, for no additional
money. The problem with the Sonata, is it doesn't have enough vent
holes, when using the 120mm fan on the back.

The best place for the hard drive in the Sonata, is the lower
drive bay. With the bezel removed, and the improved vent area,
the drive will stay nice and cool.

The only thing I don't like about drives in the lower bay, is
putting the side panel back in place, without snagging the wires.
(I don't use SATA drives, so anything in the bay is PATA.)

Paul

Thanks to all who replied,

Glad to hear my temps are actually in the norm range for the 630.

Paul, thank you for the info on the Sonata case, I'm sure my neighbor
will not want to remove the front bezel. However your idea about
removing the front filter is a good one. We may want to try to remove
the air filter and see how much that will help. The case is up on a desk
and not on the floor so it should do OK without the filter.

I did mount the disk drive in the lowest drive bay and did see where an
additional fan can be attached to the inside of the drive cage. I
wonder if it would be worth the trouble and cost to get another fan and
install it there. It is so far away from the front of the case wonder if
it would actually pull in more cold air or just stir up the air inside
the case?

Fans are inexpensive, so guess we could add the second fan to the drive
cage and see what the CPU temps do. If nothing else, the video card
should benefit from the extra air flow it since it is one of the
Gigabyte 6600 units with the passive heat pipes and no fan.

John

 

[Paul]

Thanks to all who replied,

Glad to hear my temps are actually in the norm range for the 630.

Paul, thank you for the info on the Sonata case, I'm sure my neighbor
will not want to remove the front bezel. However your idea about
removing the front filter is a good one. We may want to try to remove
the air filter and see how much that will help. The case is up on a desk
and not on the floor so it should do OK without the filter.

I did mount the disk drive in the lowest drive bay and did see where an
additional fan can be attached to the inside of the drive cage. I
wonder if it would be worth the trouble and cost to get another fan and
install it there. It is so far away from the front of the case wonder if
it would actually pull in more cold air or just stir up the air inside
the case?

Fans are inexpensive, so guess we could add the second fan to the drive
cage and see what the CPU temps do. If nothing else, the video card
should benefit from the extra air flow it since it is one of the
Gigabyte 6600 units with the passive heat pipes and no fan.

John

The bezel is more of a factor than the filter. Removing the bezel
gives you about 6 square inches of extra vent holes, which the
case badly needs. (Another option, would be to "Swiss Cheese" the
bezel - I've done that to external hard drive enclosures, by
drilling a series of holes on the bottom of the units neat the front,
where you cannot see them. Several styles of hard drives enclosures
I've used, have a fine little fan in the back, and virtually no holes
in the rest of the enclosure to allow air to crossflow.)

If you want to try a simple experiment, you can pop out the plastic
covers on two bays in the front of the computer. That will at least
give you a quick demo of how much difference more vent area makes.
Those covers should be easy to put back after you've tried
the experiment, while removing and putting back the bezel would
be more work.

If you consider the build you did for the neighbour, to be
a "pro" build, you might consider changing computer cases.
Find another case that has a bit better venting strategy,
like maybe a side duct with fan, as that could help keep the
processor cool. A bigger case, with more room around the
processor, has also been known to help (some CPU cooling
problems are cause by stale air getting trapped around the
CPU area - if the hot air cannot get away from the HSF, it
cannot cool well).

Normally, my answer to questions about CPU cooling, would be
not to worry about it too much. But, the thing is, with the
Intel processors, they throttle at about 70C, and the latest
processors have THERMTRIP set at 20C higher than that, and
that means the computer will shut down if the processor
hits 90C. To stay out of "throttle country", you've got to
have good enough cooling, so that when Prime95 torture test
is running, the processor is at say < 65C. That should be far
enough from 70C, so that the user never sees a performance
degradation due to throttling.

There are three temperatures that are key to thermal
performance. The processor temperature, the case air
temperature, and the ambient room temperature. If the
room is hot, then the other two will also increase.
The CPU cooler can only do its job, if the air in the
computer case is cool too. If the air in the computer
case is hot, the world's largest HSF assembly won't help.
And that is why, when you have a cooling problem, you have
to look at the case air temperature, and the CPU temperature,
to decide whether it is cheaper to improve the case cooling,
or cheaper to buy another HSF for the CPU. A well cooled case
is allowed to be about 7-10 degrees C hotter than the room,
with the preference being the cooler of those two numbers.
Some cases are 20 C hotter than the room, which means the
poor CPU HSF doesn't have a chance to work. Even an
XP-120 couldn't keep the CPU cool, if the case air temp is
45C.

Paul

 

[Ed Medlin]

Thanks to all who replied,

Glad to hear my temps are actually in the norm range for the 630.

Paul, thank you for the info on the Sonata case, I'm sure my neighbor
will not want to remove the front bezel. However your idea about
removing the front filter is a good one. We may want to try to remove
the air filter and see how much that will help. The case is up on a desk
and not on the floor so it should do OK without the filter.

I did mount the disk drive in the lowest drive bay and did see where an
additional fan can be attached to the inside of the drive cage. I
wonder if it would be worth the trouble and cost to get another fan and
install it there. It is so far away from the front of the case wonder if
it would actually pull in more cold air or just stir up the air inside
the case?

Fans are inexpensive, so guess we could add the second fan to the drive
cage and see what the CPU temps do. If nothing else, the video card
should benefit from the extra air flow it since it is one of the
Gigabyte 6600 units with the passive heat pipes and no fan.

John

Paul and you both seem to be on the correct track. Good airflow was the only
way I could get my 630 down in temps. I did buy a Spire HS/Fan that is very
similar to the Intel stock fan but just a bit larger and had a larger-low
rpm fan. That only brought me down 4-5C at idle. My case is a Lian Li PC60
and had an exhaust fan in the top and I found that by removing it and duct
taping the hole I eliminated a "dead air" area in the region of the CPU. It
seems that the slightly different position of the socket does make good
airflow a priority. I use a thermistor to check temps in the box just to see
where I had problems and by experimenting got the idle temp down to 40C or
so and max is still up in the high 50s-low 60sC and I can live with that.

Ed

 

[John]

I ordered some fans to play with and they should be here today. I should
have some time Thanksgiving day to play with the case airflow. Will try
Paul's idea of removing the 3 1/2" drive bay covers just to see how much of
an overall temp change that makes. Next I will add an additional fan and
play with the speeds along with removing the air filter on front of the
case. I'm hoping the additional fan will bring the idle temps down into the
high 40's without going to a Zalman or other fine cooling product.

John

 

[John]

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

Follow up:

The case fan was delivered as expected, so I did a little
experimentation with the neighbor’s Sonata case.

Here are the results using ASUS probe as the measuring tool.

CPU idle temp was bouncing between 53-54C before experimenting started.

Removing the Sonata air filter: Temperature 53 C .. Thought I would see
a significant change, but there was not that much of a change perhaps a
half degree or so.

Opened up the 3 1/2" drive bays as Paul suggested: Temperature bounced
between 51 - 52C.

Removed side cover from the case: Temperature went down to 48C.

Installed second Antec fan (79 CFM) on drive bay mounting point running
full speed: CPU temperature went down to 50C.

I was hoping the second fan would get the CPU temperature under 50C, but
it didn't. Guess having the temperature only 2 degrees C higher than
running with the side cover removed is as good as it is going to get
without replacing the stock Intel heatsink/fan assembly. We are going to
leave the second fan installed with the air filter removed and call it a
day since the computer will not be used for serious game play.

One would think Intel would have used a better cooling solution knowing
how hot the 600 series processors run. Guess Intel feels they can take
the heat ... time will tell.

Thanks to all who responded,

John

 

[Lon Leader]

John, you probably have had enough of working on your neighbour's PC,
but here's some comments I have.

I know nothing about Intel CPU's, but is the one you are working with
known as a 'Prescott'? Anyway, random reading on my part has noted
that these 'Prescott' CPUs are known for running very hot. Indeed
Intel apparently has a recommendation for cooling them:

- Thermally Advantaged Chassis for use with "Prescott" P4
- Chassis Air Guide (on side panel) provides room temperature air
directly to CPU cooler.

see here: http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=92650#

Basically, all this is is a hole in the side of the case with a
telescopic horn shaped tube on the other side directly in line with
the cpu cooler fan that one extends down close to the cpu fan.

I don't have an Intel CPU but I was intrigued with this concept. To
experiment I cut a piece of heavy, dual-layered corregated cardboard
to fit the side of my case (not a Sonata, but a similar Antec
SLK3700BQE). I then cut a carefully located square (easy) hole
directly over my CPU fan and folded a square tube of cereal box
cardboard that I could slide down through the hole to surround the CPU
fan. The hole and tube were 2 3/4 inches square because that was the
size of the 92 mm fan on the CPU. It worked like a treat! It lowered
the temp of the CPU by 7 degrees Celsius - from 41 to 34, and that was
with the stock AMD CPU fan loafing along at about 1000 rpm under Q-fan
control (and dead quiet). I can't remember for sure, but I seem to
recall that was a degree or two cooler than with the case side off.
Experimentation showed that the tube only had to be close to the top
of the CPU fan, not touching it.

The final solution for me was easy. Antec sells a newer case exactly
like my SLK3700BQE called SLK3000B, but it has the air hole and tube
assembly for Prescott CPUs. The door and tube is available separately
and is an exact colour-match and fit for my case. It turned out the
hole was not in exactly the right location - but real close. Just
extending the tube down to the cpu fan (it covered it about 80 %) got
me within a degree of my cardboard tube results, but I fabricated a
small cardboard adapter for the end of the tube and it got me back the
last degree.

In your case, should a cardboard test prove similar results, you could
probably hack a hole with a Dremel and cover it with a fan grill guard
for neatness, and just tape a cardboard (or plastic) tube to the
inside of the case side. I would have tried this if I hadn't been able
to get a new case side.

-=( Lon )=-

 

[John]

Lon,

Thanks for the thorough job of documenting your cooling efforts ... great
food for thought.

Yes, the processor in question is one of the Prescott series. Bottom line
is guess I blew it on the case selection. I had a Sonata case laying
around that I bought on sale a few months ago to rebuild one of my systems.
The neighbor saw the Sonata and liked its looks, so we decided to use it
for the build. I have built a few systems with that case and have had great
luck with the temps but this is the first time I have used a Prescott in a
Sonata case. Hind sight being 20/20 I would not have used it for the
Prescott.

If it were my computer, I might just try your suggestion just to see how
well it would work. However, don't think my neighbor wants to do surgery on
the case. We are thinking with the temperature being down to 50C at idle,
it’s about as good as it is going to get for a Prescott with a stock
heatsink/fan (especially since it is running at 48C with the side of the
case off).

I did post to another group to ask what temperatures others running an
Intel 630 with a stock heatsink/fan in a ducted case are seeing. If it is a
huge difference then we may want to replace the case altogether.

John