[Frunobulax]

I am new to building my own computer and hope someone can help me out with what I'm sure is a basic issue:

I was installing the OS and got an error message: RQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. I googled and from what I read became concerned this is the computer overheating. So I checked the temperature readings in BIOS and this is the reading:

CPU = 46
Motherboard = 31
ICH - 58
MCH - 66

All Celsius of course. This is just when I turned it on and the ICH/MCH temps were nudging upwards a little when I left it on for a few minutes. I got worried the temps are too high and shut it all down, I am afraid of turning it back on and overheating before I know more.

I looked at the Technical Specifications for the mobo and although it tells me what regions of the mobo are represented by ICH & MCH, it doesn't list temp ranges for them that I could see. It does list a temp of 50 for the mobo and I don't know if this should be applied to ICH & MCH as well.

My first thought is that I need a better heat sink than came with the CPU. However, before I leap into buying a heat sink, I want to know does this just affect the CPU temp or will it bring the ICH/MCH temps down as well? Because it seems that the CPU temp is just fine at 46. And I only have my suspicions to go on that the ICH/MCH temps are too hot and would like to have confirmation on that.

Any kind advice to a newbie is appreciated, thanks!

motherboard = Intel DG33TLM LGA 775 Micro ATX

processor = intel core 2 duo e4500 allendale 2.2ghz

power supply = antec earthwatts ea380 atx12v 380w

case = hec 6k28bb8f microatx mini tower

hard drive = western digital caviar se3200aajs

ram = a-data 2 x 1 gb 240-pin ddr2 sdram ddr2 800

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I could not open any of your links.

The stock heatsink should be adaquate, I am interested in the case you listed a matx, provide another link,if there is not enough room in there or good airflow this could cause problems such as this. The cpu temp is a bit high for a computer at idle in bios, should be mid 30's C. You should have atleast 1 case fan in the front pulling cool air in and 1 in the rear exahusting hot air out.

Another thing what video card do you have I ask because a 380w psu is most likely not enough for your system you would expect to see a quality 550w in it

[Doby]

I could not open any of your links.

The stock heatsink should be adaquate, I am interested in the case you listed a matx, provide another link,if there is not enough room in there or good airflow this could cause problems such as this. The cpu temp is a bit high for a computer at idle in bios, should be mid 30's C. You should have atleast 1 case fan in the front pulling cool air in and 1 in the rear exahusting hot air out.

Another thing what video card do you have I ask because a 380w psu is most likely not enough for your system you would expect to see a quality 550w in it

[james_8970]

He has onboard.
The PSU is sufficient.

Can you give another link to you RAM, thats the only thing hardware wise I'm interested in at this point.
Typical mATX cases have terrible airflow, are there are case fans within your computer?

James

[Frunobulax]

Thanks for the replies. I will try again on the links. OK, they worked in preview so I hope they work in reality too.

First, the stop error (RQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) turned out to be unrelated to temperature. I now actually have XP installed and everything seems to be running fine at least for now.

Second, re: the temps - there is a nice utility program that comes with the mobo that monitors the hardware. According to that, all the temps are well within normal parameters and that's with the MCH temp stabilizing at 72C. Nevertheless, I am wondering if I shouldn't try and knock those temps down a little anyways. It stands to reason that parts will wear out faster when they run hotter.

I understand the principle that airflow should go from front to back, but my case doesn't seem to be designed for that. I don't see anywhere in the front to put a fan.

The fans are very quiet which I really like, but I suspect that they are not running full speed and are designed not to until the temps get really hot.

The PSU has a ton of extra cables dangling out, I could probably secure those a little better.

I welcome any further advice. I am not a gamer and so not worried about overstressing the machine too much. I am a network admin in training and figured that one good way to get some hardware experience would be to build a machine from scratch.

The bottom line questions at this point are: what are the things I could do to help push the temps down, and how big of a deal is it to do so? Thanks for any input.


motherboard = Intel DG33TLM LGA 775 Micro ATX

processor = intel core 2 duo e4500 allendale 2.2ghz

power supply = antec earthwatts ea380 atx12v 380w

case = hec 6k28bb8f microatx mini tower

hard drive = western digital caviar se3200aajs

ram = a-data 2 x 1 gb 240-pin ddr2 sdram ddr2 800

[Frunobulax]

I should add, to be more specific about the fans: there is the 80mm PSU fan, an 80mm in the back that came with the case, and the CPU heatsink (that came with the CPU).

[Doby]

Without being able to add a front fan you won't get the real good airflow, thats one reason I don't care for a case like that. You maybe able to try and add a fan in the side instead of having the airduct, this would be a experiment however and could actually disrubt the airflow, but what the heck fans are cheap and worth a try.

Try the fan blowing in then experiment and reverse it to blow out, see what works best.

IMO I would not run a core2 duo or any modern machine with anything less then a quality 450W, a stessed psu will produce heat adding to case temps.

just out of interest hold a thermometer at the exhaust of the psu for a few minutes and see what the the temp is if its approaching 50C its being over worked. I am not saying you have a bad psu, its actually very good but a bit small.

[james_8970]

A cheap thermometer will not give you the temp for the exhaust.
Again, for this rig, that PSU is more then enough, earthwatts are decent model PSU's.

If you'd add another case fan, it would have to be intake. Even though having a side case fan being an intake isn't the best of idea's, having every fan blow out is much worse.

Can you give us the error code at the bottom of the blue screen the next time it appears, it should start with 0x

By giving us this code we will be able to assist you in a more efficient manner.
James

Edited by james_8970, 09 January 2008 - 08:45 PM.

[Frunobulax]

I am no longer getting the blue screen error message. The reason I was getting that error was, I was trying to install Windows Server 2003 on an incompatible mobo. Now I have installed XP and no problems.

Re: temps, I will consider trying to mount an intake fan even if it's on the side and not the front. And next time I will be wiser about airflow considerations in my choice of case. But it sounds like this is not an urgent thing.

Thanks for all comments, and I welcome any other comments/advice.