Cooling problems

[g4ry13]

I think i have a problem with my fans on the computer, i don't think they're coming in at the right temperature and the computer gets too hot and as a result crashes.

I heard you can change the temperature that the fans kick in at using the BIOS, how do you get to that and what do you do? (i'm not that good with computers - so a little detail would be appreciated).

What temperature would should one expect the fans to come in at? Considering i have a 2.4ghz processor, (i don't know if any other specs are relevant)

Thanks for the help
Gary

[Mark.S]

CPU fans should be running constantly!

[Liszt]

The fans should always be on really

When your system boots up, hit the enter setup key (usually del or f1 or f2 dependant on machine)

This will start your Bios menu.

Find the heading like PC Health oor PC status.

This should show the voltage and temperature details.

There is normally a function to set the cut off temperature.

You could try running with the case side off and see if this makes a differrence.

Liszt

[FourWheelDrift]

As above..............

but if you are still finding you are overheating you can either get a bigger internal fan or you can get one of these nifty pieces of kit for about £6. As long as you have a spare 5 1/4 slot at the front.

[Podie]

You can also get cooling fans attached to PCI cards... so another option, assuming you have a spare slot.

[beano500]

Podie said:

You can also get cooling fans attached to PCI cards... so another option, assuming you have a spare slot.

...and I picked up one for £2.49 from E-buyer the other week while I was ordering other stuff (haven't tried it yet though!)

Also, I found MBM (MotherBoard Monitor) here a slinky little site - somewhere you can get hold of a download which can show you all that's going on under the covers if your a control freak!

But there's useful links too - I was surprised to see just how hot the max temps for AMD processors are for example...

[FourWheelDrift]

beano500 said:

I was surprised to see just how hot the max temps for AMD processors are for example...

Yes, I run my whole house's heating system from mine

(AMD Athlon XP 2400+)

[beano500]

I was wondering about pumping mine up to 95 and frying some eggs and bacon....

....certainly must be what Ted uses to warm his pies

[sheepy]

FourWheelDrift said:

beano500 said: I was surprised to see just how hot the max temps for AMD processors are for example... Yes, I run my whole house's heating system from mine (AMD Athlon XP 2400+)

Actually, the numbers from AMD seem conservative. Typically a chip will be designed to a maximum junction temperature of 125C. From the datasheets I'd assume that either AMD want a wide safety margin, or they couldn't get "timing-closure" on their design at 125C and dropped to 105C to get the required performance.

Mind you, the numbers quoted by AMD are useless for monitoring by users as they need to calculate package loss for themselves (we quote max package temps for different air-flow rates as well as max juntion temp).

(Spot the poor chip designer stuck at work because his project is at a critical stage!!)

Sheepy

[d3ano]

Ever thought about using a water cooling system
There was a great artcile in PC Plus. They seem quite cheap also.

[Liszt]

The best cooling system I have seen was a guy who had submerged his system in oil (a mineral oil I think) which he had in an insulated polystyrene box. He then slapped an old air conditioner on and ran the system at about 30 degrees below freezing

Too much spare time.

[annodomini2]

some motherboards turn the fan off when the cpu is cooler than a specified temperature to save noise and energy use.

You'll have to look at the manual for your motherboard, it should say in the bios section how to resolve what temperature you want it to switch on at.

If you don't have it find out which motherboard is in your machine and search the web for the manual.