My computer is overheating. Please help me troubleshoot this.

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Clarification of Question by mat12500-ga on 31 Mar 2005 08:07 PST

This always happened. I built this system as a fast gaming system as
well as for other uses. The specs I modeled my system on suggested a
water cooling system but it was not that clear. So maybe it is
necessary.  Intel Prescott cpus run hot I hear. When I turn on the
computer after it has been off overnight I can do about 5 minutes of
heavy cpu load before it overheats. I have tested it against an open
window to make sure it is temp related and it is. Having a cool room
helps but I don?t want the room to have to be cool just for the
computer. I have even considered something like the Nventiv
refrigeration compressor (maybe a used one for about $300) but I have
not researched it fully yet (making sure it works on my cpu etc.). I
looked briefly at liquid cooling but maybe not enough because I did
not see any reviews that convinced me of its temperature advantage
over fans. Maybe liquid cooling is more consistent and eliminates more
of the spiking that occurs with fans. I would like to solve the
cooling issue as cheaply as possible but also in a practical way.


System specs:

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.60GHz
Speed : 3.61GHz
Performance Rating : PR4805 (estimated)
Number of CPU Cores : 1 Unit(s)
CPUs per Core : 1 Unit(s)
SMT Support : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Standard
L2 On-board Cache : 1MB ECC Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte line
size, 2 lines per sector, 2 threads sharing

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA PCI PCIe USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
MP Support : 1 CPU(s)
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. 1007.005
System : To Be Filled By O.E.M. To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5AD2-Premium
Total Memory : 1GB DDR2-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Intel Corporation 925x Memory Controller Hub
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 201MHz (804MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 1GB DDR2-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 4x 268MHz (1072MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : NEC FE2111SB
Monitor/Panel : SONY SDM-HS94P DVI-D 
Adapter : RADEON X800 XT
Adapter : RADEON X800 XT Secondary

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : WDC WD740GD-00FLA1 (69GB)
Hard Disk : WDC WD740GD-50FLA1 (69GB)
CD-ROM/DVD : _NEC DVD_RW ND-2510A (CD 40X Rd, 32X Wr) (DVD 5X Rd, 4X Wr)

Logical Storage Devices
1.44MB 3.5" (A:) : N/A
Hard Disk (C:) : 69GB (23GB, 33% Free Space) (NTFS)
Hard Disk (D:) : 69GB (9.6GB, 14% Free Space) (NTFS)
050203_1115 (E:) : 5.4MB (CDFS)

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 1 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
USB Controller/Hub : Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659
USB Controller/Hub : Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
USB Controller/Hub : Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
USB Controller/Hub : Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
FireWire/1394 Controller/Hub : Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE
1394 Host Controller
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : Logitech USB Wheel Mouse
Human Interface : Logitech USB Wheel Mouse

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : Creative SB Live! Value
Device : Creative Game Port

Printers and Faxes
Model : Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
Model : EPSON Stylus CX6600 Series
Model : Auto Microsoft Office Document Image Writer on NAME-IA76L6G1X5

Power Management
AC Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional (Win32 x86)
5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)

Network Services
Adapter : Marvell Yukon 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller #2

Performance Tips
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.

Main source of heat are comming from
 1) CPU
 2) Power supply
 3) HDD drives...

There is a couple of thinks you can do :
1) inprove air flows
 change all IDE flat cables, that block air-circulation to the round one !
 or go Serial-ATA
2) change your power supply for a one that has more fans

3) use a "CPU-Idle" program to put your cpu in low power mode each
time it is not used... I can observe a 10C difference on my computer
using these techniques.

4) spin down disk drive that are not used

hope that helps...

Thanks for your response. What do you think the best cpu idle program is?

Put it some where in a place where there is a substatial amount of
space on the sides. Clean out the dust. You may look into better heat
sinks.

Is there a big temperature advantage with water-cooled systems over
fan-cooled systems?

There is a big advantage... yes... but it's not usually worth the cost
unless you're building a gaming platform.

Had this always happened, or just started?

Mat12500,

The best cpu idle proggy that I'm aware of is RAIN.
http://www.benchtest.com/rain.html

Also, replace your heat sink and CPU fan.

On second glance, Rain does nothing on XP. Check the download page for details.

That sounds like the side effects of heavy overclocking.  Would you
mind checking if the box your CPU came in truly says 3.6 GHz or maybe
3.06 GHz?  It might just be a simple mistake.

The box says 3.6. I think the motherboard automatically overclocks the
system generally. When I have more time I plan to research how to slow
the system down as a short term solution because I do not always need
it to be full speed.

Make sure their is heat transfer compound between the heatsink and the processor.

The heatsink could be an issue, but also open the case and check all
wires to see if they have been organized well.  Use nylon sraps if
necessary or use wire ties.  Organizing the wires improves air flow. 
Also, if possible, install a fan that is an intake and one the is an
exhaust, the will create air flow in the case and help cooling.  Water
cooling is best, but it is not cheap.

Your specs dont say anything about chassis. From my experience, the
chassis is the biggest culprit. Try using it with a tested 38 degree
chassis.The cooling system that ships with the processor is good
enough even for heavy computing load, provided the thermals of the
chassis suit it. The chimney vent has to be at least 80mm, and the
rear fan at least 90 mm. Also ensure that there are no components like
power supply or cables close to or directly above the heatsink. Check
the Intel website for the Recomended Materials List to find a suitable
chassis. The ones that normally suit the requirement in terms of
dimensions are the ones that have a power supply that suits your board
shipping with it! Remember the thermally advantaged chassis only works
if the temperature in the room is below 35 celsius, wherein it
maintains the internal temperature at 38 cel.(technically only!). The
heating problem with all Grantsdale CPUs gets tackled best only with
the proper chassis usage.

A fan on the chimney is a good thing if it blows onto the heatsink,
otherwise it defeats the purpose. Try to avoid too many fans or it
gets too noisy to work with.

Alternately, if you have the Intel Active monitor installed, remove
it. The monitor shuts down way too fast. You can also increase the
warning temperature up to 75 deg celsius without damaging the
processor. You can even raise the warning temperature on the bios
safely.

My chassis model is: CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01-EK

http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?LT=english&Language_s=2&url_place=product&p_serial=PAC-T01&other_title=PAC-T01Praetorian

Ok--

When you build a gaming rig (especially one like this!) you've gotta
cool it.  There is not way around it, unless you plan to play only
Solitaire or Jump 'n' Bump.

Cooling is VERY simple, cheap, and worth while.

The simplest form is air cooling.  Regular fans (CPU, VGA, and Case)
will do the trick; make sure they re all installed correctly, and
working at their potential.  Hard-drive coolers are fairly useless, as
are RAM-Syncs.  Both are noisy, realitively pointless, and generally a
hassle to maintain.

The second, more powerful kind of cooling ? water-cooling ? is much
more expensive, but worthwhile if you plan to overclock or are looking
for a quiet PC.  This involves more tubes and cables than air cooling,
but since airflow is unnecessary, you needn't worry about it.

I agree with the other posters... It does seem like your case is the
problem.  Try removing one of the side panels for a while, and see if
the temperatures go dowm.