CPU Temp and CHIP Type - ways to cool it?

I recommend this processor, only if you are willing to go the extra steps to ensure better CPU cooling.

This CPU’s normal operating temperature was near 60-62°C in a PC with: a 4-fan Aluminum Coolermaster Praetorian case, all round system cables, wrapped, and stowed for maximum “wind tunnel” system airflow; no system load; a video card that runs cool; HDDs that run very cool; no overclocking; and on a cool Spring day (60°F ambient room temperature). This was with the stock Intel heat sink and fan.

I have my own torture “circuit course” I use to: break in new processors; find out what temperatures they run at, and see how they perform under immense loads. My torture test runs all of the following simultaneously:

-Prime 95’s Torture Test (a very math intensive prime number calculator).

-Windows Media Player, playing Internet radio, while displaying a complex animation.

-Run one command prompt for each hard drive partition on my system. Each command prompt continuously loops through the command: “Dir /S X: > X:output.txt” on each hard drive partition, forcing all hard drives to constantly seek, read, and write.

-Play Internet Spades or Reversi to see how the system responds to user input under this load.

The good news is that the Prescott 3.0E GHz handles all of this madness at once, with flying colors. It lagged a little with all the torturous HDD activity, but I could actually keep up with the online card game without people leaving because I was “the weakest link.” All the while, I’m jamming to Internet music. The lag was expected, because any processor will lag during this type of torture. What’s important to note, is how much of a lag it is. Prescott performed so well, that my music never stopped or skipped, and that only my mouse responsiveness suffered a couple of times—hardly a problem. (This was with Hyperthreading enabled.) The bad news is that the core CPU temperature measured a whopping 72°C with this torture testing. This CPU’s safety range ends at 80°C.

I called Intel back then (this was 3 months ago), because I was very concerned about temperature problems, especially during the hotter and more humid summer months (no central AC here). Intel told me not to worry; and said if the system wasn't slowing or showing noticeable signs of instability, that all was well. They also said that some motherboard sensors don’t correctly report Prescott’s CPU temperature. Okay Intel, whatever. (When I can practically blow dry my hair with my case fan, I think the temperature sensor is accurate.) It's a good thing I'm not an overclocker. Intel also said that, for Prescott based systems, they specifically recommend chassis with side intake fans that have a tube going from the side fan straight to the CPU to funnel colder air from outside of the chassis directly to the CPU fan. That's all fine and good, except that not many chassis come this way stock, and I had already bought mine. I’ll get around to modding it eventually.

I ordered some cooling upgrades. I replaced the stock Intel heat sink and fan with the Coolermaster Jet 4. I also used the Coolermaster Shin Etsu thermal compound. I replaced Coolermaster’s stock blowhole fan in the Praetorian Case with ThermalTake’s 3-function, Smart Case (75 CFM) Fan Blue Led 80mm x 80mm x25mm (A2016).

Today's weather is cool for summer—74°F ambient room temperature. Currently, my 3.0E MHz Prescott is running at 54°C with no load (down from 60-62°C). Under load, it’s still hovering near 69-70° C (down from 72°C).

The Prescott CPU runs hot. Intel says it can handle it, and not to worry. So far, mine has taken it well with no noticeable, adverse side effects. However, I’m concerned about how long this processor will last under this heat. Sure this CPU may take the heat now, but its useful life (and that of the surrounding PC components) WILL be shortened by continuous heat exposure. Good thing this CPU has a 3-year warranty (I also bought an extra year from my online retailer.)

My hardware hasn’t failed yet, and I've never had a system lockup that wasn't the result of some software bug. And it is a blazingly fast CPU. But again, I only recommend this CPU if you are willing to upgrade your system cooling.



this article is excerpt


zuhair m. gmaty

I second what maduropa says.  Don't apply too much thermal grease, though!  You only need a thin layer to fill in the tiny air gaps that would be between bare metal surfaces of the CPU and headsink.

In my experience, a P4 chip will "normally" be around 35-45 degrees celsius, depending on the heatsink+fan type, airflow in the case, and room temperature.

I believe the chips are rated up to about 80 degrees celsius, though the hotter they run the shorter their lifespan will be.  The operating temperatures they can cope with is discussed here on Intel's website:

  http://www.intel.com/support/processors/pentium4/sb/cs-007999.htm

The thermal specifications for Pentiums are readily available on Intel's web site -- and they are well below what's been "guessed at" above.

You indicated your 3.0GHz chip is new, so I assume it's a socket 775 chip;  if it's a Pentium 530, the thermal spec is 67.7 °C,  if it's a 630, the thermal spec is 66.6 °C.  The older Socket 478 CPUs had slightly higher ratings -- as high as 70 °C for a Northwood.

A comment on your boot-up temps:  Booting up actually stresses the CPU more than "normal" operation with XP -- the BIOS code does not manage the CPU as well as XP does, so it gets a bit warmer than it needs to;  BUT it should not be in the 60's regardless.   With reasonable case airflow and a "normal" ambient room temp (low-to-mid 70's) your CPU should be in the low 40's (mine's typically 38 °C when not being stressed).   The CPU should NEVER be in the 60's unless you're running applications (or games) that are VERY CPU-intensive.   Load Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del) and see what your CPU % utilization is -- if it's not approaching 100% you should NOT have temps in the 60's !!

It sounds to me like you have a bad thermal bond between your CPU and heatsink.   I'd suggest you remove the heatsink/fan;  very carefully clean all of the old thermal compound off both the heatsink and the CPU (use a credit card to scrape what you can; then a dab of isopropyl alcohol on a clean cloth to clean off the rest);  and then apply a small amount of Artic Silver 5 compound and remount the heatsink.   See the detailed instructions for appying Artic Silver 5 on their web site and follow them closely:
http://www.articsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

You may also want to invest in a new heatsink/fan combination.  This is by far the best air-cooled heatsink currently available:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118003

It has a thermal resistance of only 0.12 °C/W  ==> this means the temperature of the CPU will only increase by 0.12 °C  for every watt of power the CPU consumes.   For a 530 or 630 P-IV, with a thermal design power of 84w, that means the difference between the idle temp and max temp should only be 10 °C.
That should keep your system plenty cool.

... do measure carefully and be sure you have room for this -- but it fits fine on most motherboards.

... If you're interested, or if others wonder what THEIR Pentium's thermal spec is; here's the complete chart from Intel:
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/products/box_processors/desktop/proc_dsk_p4/technical_reference/182403.htm

ANYTHING OVER 50 C is too hot.  Regardless of chip type, if you reach 50C, shut it down and find another CPU fan, and make sure lots of arctic silver connects the CPU to the COPPER Core heat sink, and the CPU fan is running at least 25000RPM.  1500 RPM is too slow for modern CPUs.

Check this article, sounds like a tool for cooling High performance Processor...

http://www.edn.com/article/CA333623.html

When I boot up early in the morning, and the PC has been off all night .. BIOS temp read up to 55 degrees F ...

Seems a bit high for AM?

I found a freeware to test the temp while I am working w/ my apps, but did not quite understand it.

Any suggestions on how to monitor this while not in BIOS?

An excellent general system information utility, which includes temperature monitoring for your CPU, motherboard, and hard drives, is Everest Home Edition -- the temperatures are displayed in the "Computer" - "Sensor" area.   It's a free download from:
http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

For more targeted, temperature-only monitors that reside in the notification area (by the clock):

If it happens to be an Intel motherboard, they have an excellent monitoring program (http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/software/idu/ for newer boards;  http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/active.htm for older ones -- read the descriptions to see if they work with your board).

Asus has a several similar utilities for their boards.   For most other boards, you can use Motherboard Monitor:  http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

Ok its running at 59 degress now after installing the EVERST _(which is a very nice program) .. for anyone who would like to comment:

Here are my current system temps, and I think I will need a new fan (I used the one the P4 processor provided)

CPU 59 C

GPU 47 C

GPU Abient 41 C

Maxtor 34 C

If you're just "sitting there" watching Everest and not doing anything intense on your PC, then 59 is definitely TOO HOT !!   As I noted earlier, you may have a poor thermal bond between your CPU and heatsink ==> you could buy some Artic Silver 5 and re-mount the heatsink to test that;  or you can just replace the heatsink/fan with a better unit.   As I noted earlier, the Zalman 9500 (if it fits in your system) is far-and-away the best currently available air-cooled unit.

If  your BIOS supports tempreature monitoring then the CD you would have gotten with it would be having a system monitoring utility which shud also allow you to increase the fan speed in case the tempreature becomes too hot. Have a look at the CD and see.

Carrying off from where gary left off. There is a chance that the heat sink fan is not properly seated over the processor. Just check that its not loose or anything. The base temp for your CPU is a little over what normal processors have so thats OK but anything too much over that is not good.

Dan

Here is my motherboard ID, do you know if the fan you suggested will suite this?

Motherboard ID      08/19/2005-i875P-6A79BG02C-00

Company Name      Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

Wanted to add: Socket 478

That ID string doesn't correspond with any Gigabyte motherboards listed on Zalman's site;  but virtually all Gigabyte motherboards are compatible with this heatsink -- although some do require a small gap between the top edge of the motherboard and the bottom edge of the power supply (at most 1/3rd of an inch - usually less).   You can look at the pictures here and see what you think:  http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/9500_LED_478_eng.html

My guess is it will fit fine -- especially if there's a small gap between the upper edge of the motherboard and the power supply in your case.

I'm sorry for the delay in points ... I was overdue, thanks for all the help and advice!

Im on a Northwood, and my average temp has been 58 F .. I actually installed another fan I had called a CoolMaster .. wanted to see if that would change the temp in comparison with the Pentium stock fan, but its about the same not major change..

Im just going to throw some ice-cubes on the motherboard - that should do it ;)

Ahhh yes, the old ice-cubes-on-the-motherboard trick !!   Works very well, except for the damage all that condensation causes after they melt !!!   That's the problem with liquid cooling systems :-)

LOL!!  

TO ALL WHO ATTEMPT TO COOL THEIR MOTHERBOARD - ICECUBES DO NOT WORK!

I would feel terrible if someone tried this .. I did software support for about a year, and boy .. you would be shocked what people try without supervision!

"after the power went out my computer would not boot" ... hmmmm ... "did you have a surge protector?"  .....  "no"  .... hmmmm .. "Have you opened your computer?" ..... "yes" .... (warranty void) ... "why did you open it?" .... "because the label melted off in my cd-rom drive from a disk label sticker stamper" ..... hmmm ... that sucks .. "do you have a credit card or enough money to buy a new computer or lots of repair?"