Reaperassault

Over the winter my computer ran great nice and cool and now that the spring/summer is coming here in North Carolina my computer is starting heat up as well.

I know a decent amount about hardware but cooling is a weak spot for me. I need help from general ideas about cooling to specific help choosing hardware for me.

My case was super budget at the time, but I'm willing to trade cases

My E6750 runs nice at 3.0 GHz and I would like to keep it there but its just getting too hot either from the case or the stock cooler

My new 8800GT runs hot as well but I was expecting that from the reviews I have read about the single slot low fan speed cooler.

I'm here to learn and hopefully improve my computer system even more with everyone's help.

As for spending wise I don't want to spend a lot of money but if need be I can pony up a decent amount (especially if the case/other cooling bits last a computer or two)

__________________

msdz

http://www.evga.com/articles/393.asp or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118037 would be a good way of getting the temps down on the 8800GT. I have been thinking of one of these myself since my card seems to be running hotter than most others I have read about. Mine is usually at 82*C under load, now with what I also read the card is not considered overheated till it hits 95*C or higher. My opinion that is just way to high to begin with and I am hoping I can get one of the coolers I linked. I am thinking more a log the lines of the Zalman cooler since it fits so many different applications in hopes that if I upgraded to a newer card(hoping to step up through EVGA to the 9800GTX soon as well) that it may work with it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150081 this is the heatsink/fan I got for my E8400. I know it is far from the best but it is better than the stock cooler. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835106080 I read some great reviews on this massive heatsink and they were all pretty good. A buddy of mine has one and he said his only problem is you better make sure you have a big enough case cause it sticks out far but does a great job at cooling. He also said he had to remove the heatsink in order to add more RAm cause it was in the way. he overclocks his E8400 to about 4.2Ghz so he may NEED this, if you have no real intentions of overclocking then maybe get the cheaper one. I am sure others will also have some good recommendations.

You may consider also another case that may have better cooling solutions to it. I like my Antec Nine Hundred but a few people do not care for them cause of the way the PSU is at the bottom and they claim that design is fighting against the cooling fan for the video card. Still it is a good case and keeps things cool for me. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Nine%2bHundred with that many fans and a 200mm fan it would almost have to stay cool without watercooling. Watercooling would be the ext idea but I don't like the idea of water and electicity, always afraid of a leak and something frying. I don't overclock so really have no need for watercooling.

As before others will may have better suggestions. Also do not forget the Artic Silver 5 if you get a new heatsink, I know they come with thermal compound on them already but AC5 will be better.

__________________

Tonk

i use this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835101017 cooler to cool my amd 6400x2(a very hot running cpu) and after 4 hours of gaming, i does NOT get above 40c in 75f ambient room temp, i have it stuffed in an antec p180 with 4 120mm fans and my 8800gts g92 also never gets above 46c the cpu cooler is very quiet, and if i turn all my 120mm fans off, i can hear barely a whisper from the computer

__________________
[url="http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=46832&altf=Upbtuz&altl=|UH-QDT|"im running for president[/URL]

-Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely, in an attractive and well preserved body; but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, a beer in the other, body totally worn out screaming "YEEEHAW, WHAT A RIDE!!!" - my grandpa

-My New Rig: cpu: AMD 6400+ 3.2ghz dual core mobo: Asus Crosshair ram: 8gb (4x2gb) geil exotera 4-4-4-12 video card MSI 8800GTS 512mb (g92) Vista:x64

Laptop: Dell i9300 2.16ghz-2gb ram-6800-17" 1920x1200

-Toasty/Tonk/Chair http://tgtonk.notlong.com

Long Bow

The thing with the 8800gt cards are that the factory settings for the fan are really low, even under 3d performance mode (games). I would suggest downloading RivaTuner from here www.guru3d.com With the newest version you can tell the card to run at 100% fan speed, or what ever you like, under 3d performance mode. This little trick will drop your temps anywhere from 10-20 deg. without switching coolers.

Depending on your budget I would suggest getting a better case like the Antec 900 (they just released the 1200 which is a slight revision) or the Antec P182. With a new case you may not need to upgrade your CPU cooler as the case will be much cooler to begin with. AFter looking at the pics of your case I would suggest getting the dremel out and cutting away the honeycomb covering in front of both fans and look at getting better fans. The honeycombs can restrict air flow, you can grab generic fan grills that are much less so. The Sycthe fans are well liked for CFM and low noise. After either of these routes I would then consider the CPU cooler. There are so many choice out there I would be sure to pick one that pushes air to the back of the case, fits your mobo, and has a decent fan on it. Thermalright makes some really good ones but there pricey. Like I said there are lots of choices and most will improve over stock.

__________________

Tonk

ya, i should have added that on my gts, it was running a constant 60 when gaming and i downloaded riva and bumped the fan rpm from 39 to 69 and it dropped the temps from 60 to 44

__________________
[url="http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=46832&altf=Upbtuz&altl=|UH-QDT|"im running for president[/URL]

-Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely, in an attractive and well preserved body; but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, a beer in the other, body totally worn out screaming "YEEEHAW, WHAT A RIDE!!!" - my grandpa

-My New Rig: cpu: AMD 6400+ 3.2ghz dual core mobo: Asus Crosshair ram: 8gb (4x2gb) geil exotera 4-4-4-12 video card MSI 8800GTS 512mb (g92) Vista:x64

Laptop: Dell i9300 2.16ghz-2gb ram-6800-17" 1920x1200

-Toasty/Tonk/Chair http://tgtonk.notlong.com

sc1ence

The first thing you should do is clean the dust off the fans and heatsyncs. you may also want to consider putting some good thermal paste between the syncs and the chips.
get a front case fan. yours has a rear one, add another in the front.

Do not overlook case placement. dont put the case in the sun or near another heat source or in an inclosed area where the air will not move much.

If you are not paying for your own electricity you can get a standard smallish house fan and point it at your computer with the side of the case open. I have had to do that a few summers.

Room air conditioning can help a lot too.

__________________

Reaperassault

Due to certain requirements at my house now I have my case under a closed in desk now. It sounds like that is part of my problem but for now the case has to stay there.

I'm not a big fan of the styling on the Antec 900 and the p180 is a stretch for my extended budget.

__________________

sc1ence

If your case is in a closed in space, that is a HUGE heating problem.

Can you put a fan in the the desk the computer is in? Or just open the desk when the comp is on? BTW thats a really bad fire hazard.

Even if you can face the rear of the computer towards some open air.

__________________

Long Bow

Hmm a closed off area for your computer could be creating a little oven. I would suggest like above: open up the back of the enclosure and allow the hot air to get out.

The ghetto solution is to grab a fan and put in a position to blast the case with air to keep the heat from saturating the area when your gaming.

Even with a great case if your computer is sitting in a big oven it won't help your temps really. Perhaps your best upgrade would be a new desk?

__________________

Reaperassault

Its unfortunate then that I can't easily move the walls of my house. the desk is built into the wall and I don't have any room in my kitchen for a fan.

Oh well.

__________________

Long Bow

I have seen some people fit a fan into the desk itself to suck air out of the case area in similar instances. Basically you need to keep the area around the PC from getting to hot, however you can circulate that air do so.

__________________

Reaperassault

ok, now I'm a little confused. I've got some conflicting readings from several programs and common sense

All CPU temps is Celcius

Asus PC Probe II = 22
SpeedFan (4.33) = 22
Intel TAT = 21
Riva Tuner C2D monitor plug-in = 19
Core Temp (0.97) = 33

given that inside my house is around 71F ~ 21C

Edit:

the above info was with the CPU clocked at 2.8 GHz

I've also notice at 3.0 GHz

cpu temp = 27C for all the afore mentioned programs except for Core Temp which is at 40C

__________________

sc1ence

it all depends where the temp probe is. cpu core will give you the temp of the core, but add a few degrees to be safe. then you can measure the temp just at the socket but not in the CPU, many mobos will have a sensor there. the temp there should be lower than the core

__________________

SharinganTH1422

It's been a while since I've visited you tech guys .

I'm not sure if you're thing is fixed or not Reaper, because those temps look OK, but I have a very similar situation, with the built in desk thing, and Bamboo's suggested something pretty good here. On the last page he's got a pretty useful link as well, I think it's the last post of the thread.

Also, look around there for his cooling suggestions in terms of heatsinks, paste and fans, and benchmark tests for each, and my final choice of on the last couple of pages (excuse the rant about nVidia ).

There should be quite a bit of info for you to get through there I think, sorry I can't point you directly to all the relevant posts but I'm about to pass out with tiredness.

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...