[elia0224]

I have been building a new computer with mostly Intel parts (D865PERLK MB abd Intel P4 3.2e CPU). I was warned that the 3.2e ran hot and is difficult to cool, so I installed a Thermalright XP-90 heatsink and Panaflow fan (not speed controllable).

Yesterday I got an overheating warning while installing some animation software from CD. The processor zone was slightly hot (in the yellow zone) at about 60 degrees celsius.

I had anticipated this possibility and assumed that I could underclock the CPU if necessary, since the 2.8 mhz cpu runs cool. However, I don't know how to do this.

Is it correct that the CPU speed cannot be controlled directly and the FSB speed must be reduced instead? How can I do this and can I reduce it only slightly, about 10%, in order to run the CPU cooler?

Thanks for any help you can give to me.

Elia

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The settings for this should be either on the motherboard (jumpers or dipswitches) or in the bios.
Do you have the motherboard manual - it will tell you in there how to do it.
BTW, if its onloy the CPU thats getting too hot, then if possible I would leave the FSB alone (assuming its set correctly) & decrease the multiplier instead. That way only the cpu speed will be affected.

[Samm]

The settings for this should be either on the motherboard (jumpers or dipswitches) or in the bios.
Do you have the motherboard manual - it will tell you in there how to do it.
BTW, if its onloy the CPU thats getting too hot, then if possible I would leave the FSB alone (assuming its set correctly) & decrease the multiplier instead. That way only the cpu speed will be affected.

[elia0224]

As I understand it, the multiplier cannot be changed in Intel chips. They "lock " it. What I need to know is whether I can change the FSB by a small amount. Instead of reducing the speed to 533 from 800, can I reduce it to above 700mhz?

[Samm]

Sorry, I forgot this was an Intel chip! I wouldn't recommend changing the FSB to a non-standard value though. The FSB value affects other components as well as the CPU & your system may become unstable.

[audioboy]

I suspect a problem with your HSF. I am running a P4 3.2e, using the stock HSF (with thermal pad) that came with it, and have no problems.
did you apply thermal paste with the HSF you have installed? or if it had a pad on it, did you remove the tape covering the pad?

also, do you have proper case cooling- at least 1 intake fan, and 1 venting out fan?
that CPU should idle in the low 40's celsius, and run in the mid-50's under a heavy load. adding additional case fans will lower these temps as well.

[elia0224]

I'm using a thermalright XP-90, a massive aluminum heatsink (the copper one gave only 1 degree more cooling and weighed two pounds!). There was no pad/tape and I used artic silver paste. I have one intake fan, no exhaust fan, so I will need to add that. The CPu idles at 40c and seems to work under a load at about 50c. The yellow zone is only about 5c above that (55c). What puzzles me is that it went into the yellow zone when I was doing some installations of software from CD but it has not done it again, though, even under stress test.

Right now the CPU is idling at 39/40c, zone one is at 28c and zone 2 is at 36c displayed on Intel's Active monitor. Is there a better monitor that I can get?

[audioboy]

sounds like you installed the HSF right, so no worries there. your temps all look good actually. I did some searching on the intel site for my processor (same as yours), and it said that it wont start going into thermal protection mode until the chip hits either the high 60's or mid 70's, depending on the chip (pretty sure in our case its was around 78 celsius).
I have read that artic silver takes a few days to cure properly, so perhaps that was what caused the spike in temp that one time.
sounds like your running fine! an exhaust fan would be a good addition, hopefully mounted somewhere near the CPU.

Edited by audioboy, 10 May 2005 - 04:40 PM.

[elia0224]

Thanks for all your advice. I added a front fan to the case, blowing in (the rear fan blows out). The temp appears to have been lowered about 3 degrees c., with the CPU idling at 42, zone 1 idling at 33 and zone 2 idling at 36. These are not starting temps, but stabilized after about two hours of use.

Edited by elia0224, 14 May 2005 - 10:05 PM.

[jrm20]

Iv had some problems with cooling my pc in the past, may i ask what size is your cpu fan? Since you have the prescott cpu like me, i suggest getting a huge 120mm cpu fan to cool that beast, i have the zalman cpu fan thats around $55.
Yes you need some case fans also. Try that if your still having problems.

[elia0224]

I this my cpu fan is 92mm which is all it will take, the rear case fan is larger than the front which is 80mm. I suspect the the flat ribbon cables which almost fill up the empty space in the case, might be obstructing airflow. So I am going to buy some 'round' cables and see if that helps. I'll let you all know.

[audioboy]

flat cables do screw up the airflow, round ones will help for sure.
I think the stock fan on my CPU is 60mm, but pretty deep, so it moves a good amount of air.
case fans are whats really needed to get the hot out, and some cool air in.
I have an antec case, with 2 exhaust fans near the CPU, 1 intake on the side by the PCI slots, and I added another intake fan to the front of the case. they are all stock antec 80mm fans.
larger fans can move more air while spinning slower, so they are good options if you can use them. some case modders like to cut holes in the side of their case, put a big 120mm fan there, pulling air in to the case. then putting on some kind of custom grill thing, to protect fingers, and also to be all tricked out...lol

[elia0224]

Yah.. I think I will have to switch to round cables. Who would have thought that the cables would make a difference! I don't think I'll cut holes in the case because all thosefans will make a lot of noise.

Does anyone know about electronic cooling, some sort of bimetal plate that gets cold when it is electrified. I saw this CPU cooler at a computer show about 15 years ago. It looked like a black chip about the size of the CPU and was like ice to the touch. I wonder if there are any larger ones that can be mounted in the case to air condition it.

[audioboy]

Here is a link to several kinds of extreme cooling projects from toms hardware.
they do some insane overclocking...enough money will get you anything!

[elia0224]

Liquid nitrogen!! Why didn't I think of that. I could also use my computer attached to a blender to make icecream.