Stock HP Case And Cooling Issues....

[Morpheus]

Hi All!

I am new to the forums and also new to PC rigging and modding. I have a HP Media Center PC (m7640n) that I got for a song from someone who was on their way to killing it (virus's and the like).

Anyway, I am running it almost bone stock except for the EVGA 9600 GT video card.

What I would like to ask is, what can I do to increase the airflow (additional fan positioning) and keep things cooler. I live in GA, and the pc is located in my basement, ON my desk and according to sppedfan the temps are running as follows (at idle):

GPU - 51c
CPU - 42c
Core 1 - 40c
Core 2 - 51c

My first act is going to be to remove the side panel.......what else can I do?

Thank you all in advance.

[slaveofconvention]

First thing you need to know is, what are your temps like under load - some PC's have a huge difference between idle and load - some very little difference - my quad-core only varies by about 8 degrees between idle and load, because the cooling is temperature controlled. If the hottest you get is around 55-65, you might want to think twice about doing anything - it's a little warm, admittedly, but not dangerously so...

[Morpheus]

Thank you for the quick reply - I've been doing a little reading up and like many others got a little paranoid about the heat. I know that heat is the number one killer of hardware, so....What I've read is that these AMD 5000+ normally run idle around 30c and the 9600 around 38c. I saw the dif and said "oof!".

I'll look at the loads when I crank up Crysis again and see what I get. Then i'll report back here.

Thanks again!

[slaveofconvention]

Careful about removing the side panel - it can actually make things worse, depending on the airflow design of the case. Some manufacturers use an air-tunnel of sorts to pull air over the components and then eject it from the case. Opening the side up can result in cool air being pulled in the side and then ejected straight out again without going where it needs to go. One thing you can do which will almost certainly make your CPU temps drop is replace the CPU heatsink with an aftermarket one - depending on how much space you have, Arctic cooling make two very capable HSFs for AMD processors - the Freezer 64 series (which are pretty tall) and the Alpine 64 series which are lower profile but not quite as good. Irrespective, AMD rates the 5000 x2 (which is what I'm assuming you have) as ok up to a max 68-70c so you do have a little headroom at the moment. Obviously pushing your limits all the time is never a good idea, but I wouldn't be panicing just yet :)

[Morpheus]

Got you - Seems opening the side did help in this case - no ports or tunnels for air - the case is designed with a bunch of little holes througout that side panel. With the side off it dropped the CPU temp to 32c at idle AND under load!

What I'm the most concerned about right now, is the graphics card. It hit 70c under load whilst Crysis was playing and only after about 4 minutes....

Does that seem normal, or should that be ok....? I just got this card and would hate it if it just died. lol

Thank you for your help and information. I will def be kepping an eye on the temps with the side off of this case, just in case.

[slaveofconvention]

Generally speaking, graphics cards run substantially hotter than CPU's. My Ati 4870 runs at 55c within a minute of boot and thats without any load other than the desktop. When I run a GPU client of folding@home on it, and it's being thrashed at a constant 100%, it rarely goes over 65. IF your GPU starts edging towards 3 figures, then is a time to be more worried - I wouldn't be worried about 70 under heavy load at all.

Is there any dust build-up around the CPU or in the CPU heatsink - that alone can add 20c to your temps, easily...

On that note, I'm off to bed - it's 8.45am and I just got home from a nightshift. Seriously though, don't worry but do consider a new CPU heatsink - especially if the one you have on now has an AMD logo on the fan - there are big advantages to aftermarket over stock coolers - quieter and cooler.

[Morpheus]

It's good to get info from someone whos KNOWS what they are talking about.

Thanks again!

I will look into a new HS for the cpu........Thanks again.

[slaveofconvention]

I might be faking it and just be really convincing sounding :P

[FuzzyPlushroom]

If you want to keep the side panel on, there's a number of minor mods you can perform - a 120 in that side panel, blowing over the video card, might be beneficial - but if you're fine with leaving the panel off or replacing it with mesh, those temps are nothing to worry about. As SoC said, video cards run hot.

[x88x]

As SoC said, video cards run hot.

Yup. On the stock air cooler, my GTX260 would routinely hit 75C at load, and it never had any problems...well, other than cooking my hand when I stuck it behind the case.. :P

What's the fan setup right now?