[Ionakana]

Hi everyone

I've just put together a system featuring a Pentium 4 630+ CPU and an Epox EP-5EGA+ motherboard. I've installed the CPU and heatsink/fan combination as per Intel's instructions, and I'm not attempting to overclock.

I'm operating the system in an air conditioned room, and at this moment recording a CPU temperature of 45C and a CPU fan speed of 3590RPM. However, under heavy load, the CPU temperature increases to over 60C, at which point the CPU speed begins to throttle back. What is curious to me is that while the CPU fan speed changes from time to time, it does not appear to respond directly to the CPU temperature.

I've tried setting the CPU fan speed auto control in the bios to maintain a lower temperature, but this has had no discernable effect on either the temperature or the fan speed.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be going on? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi, it's me again.

Perhaps I underestimated the importance of case fans - at the moment I'm not using one! I should have an opportunity to purchase a couple tomorrow if needed.

My case has two grilles where fans can be mounted - one on the rear panel, about halfway down, and the other on the left side panel, about 1/3 of the way down, well towards the rear.

I'm thinking I should use a rear-mounted fan for air intake, as it would direct its airflow across the motherboard, and a side-mounted fan for exhaust - being located slightly higher in the case than the rear fan, it should be more efficient at removing hot air.

Is what I am proposing the optimum configuration, and is it likely to help with my thermal issues? Again, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Ionakana]

Hi, it's me again.

Perhaps I underestimated the importance of case fans - at the moment I'm not using one! I should have an opportunity to purchase a couple tomorrow if needed.

My case has two grilles where fans can be mounted - one on the rear panel, about halfway down, and the other on the left side panel, about 1/3 of the way down, well towards the rear.

I'm thinking I should use a rear-mounted fan for air intake, as it would direct its airflow across the motherboard, and a side-mounted fan for exhaust - being located slightly higher in the case than the rear fan, it should be more efficient at removing hot air.

Is what I am proposing the optimum configuration, and is it likely to help with my thermal issues? Again, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[mcpscomp]

Yes you do underestimated the importance of case fans. I suspect your case will have the third grill at the front(may be hidden behide the front panel. Since P3 came out, most of the cases made it standard to suck the air in from bottom front and push the air out from upper rear. The side fan is some thing came out later serve mostly for those high end video. Anyway, you will see big improvement after you have all the case fan running. remember to check flow after.the air sucked in from the front and escape out to the rear.

[warriorscot]

Intake at front outake at back, your lucky you didnt kill your cpu and the rest of your hardware without a case fan.

[jrm20]

Case fans will help abit. Remember that prescotts run warmer than pretty much any other chip. They are made to take the heat so dont get scared. Make shure you do put some case fans in the case.

Its a good idea to get a good aftermarket cooler for the cpu if you are using the stock fan and heatsink that came with the processor.

Edited by jrm20, 17 January 2006 - 11:29 AM.

[Ionakana]

Thank you for your replies so far.

I'm looking at the inside of my case now, and there is indeed another grille behind the front panel. However, at the same location the plastic front has only a series of slits, each about 1cm long, running down the extreme left and right sides. My instinct is that this would not allow sufficient air to be drawn in to effectively cool the system.

What do others think? Am I likely to have success in cooling my system by mounting a fan here, or does it sound to you that my case is poorly designed in regards to airflow?

[warriorscot]

Well what case is it and we can better tell you, but a fan there is better than no fan, as long as there is at least one on the rear exhaust it should be ok but the more the better in terms of cooling.