[jason32835]

I think I got a little rambley with this post when I first wrote it. Here is a revised version.

Is this too hot?? (attached image)



I'm downloading, installing, and running 780p video at the time. I know the video heat is high, but it is a fanless card. I'm also a little worried about the 51c on core 0.


I'm wonding on what people's thoughts are on these results. Can I live with these temps? Here are the system specs:

Case	IN WIN IW-BK623.BN300BL 0.6mm SECC Steel MicroATX
Mobo	ECS G31T-M(1.0) LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel
CPU	Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core
RAM	WINTEC AMPX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
DVD-RW	HP DVD1160I Internal SATA Drive DVD+R 22x/DVD+RW 8x
HDD-1	Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM 2MB CACHE IDE Bulk/OEM Hard Drive WD400BB
HDD-2	Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Keyboard	BTC 9019URFIII Black 87 Normal Keys 12 Function Keys USB RF Wireless Mini Multimedia Keyboard with Dual Mode Joystick Mouse
Remote	Microsoft Remote Control and Receiver for Media Center - A9O-00007
GPU	256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache
Networking	GIGABYTE GN-WP01GS PCI Wireless Adapter

 

[Sizam]

I know from experience that that HD temp is way to hot. Most drives these days are rated to 55, if you go above that the mfgr won't exchange it under warranty. Also I had some drives that kept reporting faults and io errors then I realized they were running in the low 50's, once I cooled them down to mid 30's all the faulting went away. And man, that 71 CPU seems obscene, same w/the video, just because it's fanless doesn't mean it can support super high heat. It being fanless means you need to manage airflow yourself elsewhere in the case.

 

[jason32835]

Hi Sizam, thanks for the response.


I put two drives in the case and they are way too close. They nearly touch. I think I will have to yank one out.


I also think I'll need a GPU with a fan. The case just isn't big enough to handle a fanless video card. Hopefully I can find one that isn't too loud.


The system is nice and quiet the way it is, but these temps are bad.. I want to leave this thing on a lot..


I may need to try a PCI slot fan also.

 

[Sizam]

Wow yea, that case looks like it'd be tough on airflow, doesn't look to be an airflow path. Is there space for a 120mm fan in the front of the case, in front of the hard drives between the plastic face and metal casing?

 

[jrwalte]

I can't see the pic.


51C on a CPU core isn't too bad if under sustained 100% stress. If anything under 100% stress, then it is too high.

 

[Max-Powers]

I just put together my HTPC, AMD Phenon II X3 720 and GTX260. I am using the program Core Temp 0.99.5 to monitor my cpu temp and have not been able to get above like 35c after playing hours of Left 4 Dead. What programs are out there that will run my computer at 100% so I can see how hot it gets and how fast it takes it to get there?

 

[Bigbird999]

At Max To load your cpu to 100% for stress testing - prime95 just google.


BB

 

[jason32835]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Sizam /forum/post/16829893


Wow yea, that case looks like it'd be tough on airflow, doesn't look to be an airflow path. Is there space for a 120mm fan in the front of the case, in front of the hard drives between the plastic face and metal casing?

The case has an internal duct that is supposed to move air via the CPU fan. I'd like to work it the best I can. I won't be doing any gaming on this system, it just needs to play 1080P.

Quote:
I can't see the pic.


51C on a CPU core isn't too bad if under sustained 100% stress. If anything under 100% stress, then it is too high.

I just attached the pic, I think that might work better.


51C on the CPU is at a dead idle. I tried to stress it running some video but it didn't break a sweat. That is good, but I need to stress it and see what the temp does. Maybe I need to re-seat the heat sink? Seems like 51C is high, but then again my other core is at 28c. Go figure.

 

[jrwalte]

If one says 51 and another 28 that may be a program error giving wrong information and 28 is the correct one. Try another CPU temp program and see if it's the same.


You would think that much of a heat difference would transfer to the other core to make it at least close to the first - I don't think they're insulated that well from each other. 51C is 124F so the back of the motherboard behind the CPU and the heatsink should feel really hot - hot enough to almost burn you, which is about 130F.


I can run my e6600 overclocked at 3GHz passively with a Zalman Arctic Cooler Pro with 100% stress and stay around 55C or below. I attach the fan and stay around 42C.

 

[jrwalte]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigbird999 /forum/post/16830727


At Max To load your cpu to 100% for stress testing - prime95 just google.


BB

Also google how to run prime95 on multiple cores. By default it will only stress core0.

 

[jrwalte]

SpeedFan can be hard to determine exactly which reading is for what. If temp1 at 30C is your ambient case temperature, then that isn't so bad and getting a PCI blowout below the video card may resolve your issue (as it is the hotest item in your HTPC).


There is no mistaking the HD temp, though, and that is too hot. What is the HD sitting next to that's a heat source? Anything? Is it at the top of your case (where heat rises and gets trapped) or at the bottom/middle?

 

[jason32835]

Hi jrwalte,


Thanks for that info. I have two HDDs in the case and they are right on top of each other. I do think I will need to pull one out, as they are hot to the touch! One of them is too old to have a heat sensor and that is why it dosen't show on SpeedFan.


I'll pull one out and see how that works.

 

[jrwalte]

Place the HD at the lowest point possible to keep it away from trapped heat.


Another thing you could try on top of the PCI blowout is a 5.25 bay (if you have the room) blow in (I don't think they sell blow outs, but if they did you could try that). You should be able to get one rated pretty low in dB and it'll help move that stagnant air at the top of your case.

 

[jason32835]

The case I am using provides some challenges to cooling. As you can see in this picture, the Hard drive slots aren't near any ventilation and are pressed right together. I think this makes it impossible to run two HDDs, but I hopefully can run just one ok.


I may be able to add a 3.25 blow out vent below the HDD if they make such a thing.

 

[whiteboy714]

WTH in there is at 128 C?????

 

[jrwalte]

it's negative 128 and its a common bad reading speedfan gives.

 

[jason32835]

I've made some changes and I'm getting some good results. I took out one of the HDDs and moved the OS to the remaining one. That dropped the idle temp of the HDD to around 45-48c


I opened up the case and put a big fan into it to see what would happen. The GPU went down to around 65c, and the CPU stayed at 51 and 28.


So, I ran Prime95 with case still open and the CPU went to 53-50. I thought that was sort of odd. I also installed a couple of other heat monitoring programs and they gave me the same results.


Also, with the case back together, I'm getting 73c from the GPU. I guess it is just a hot little bugger?

 

[Max-Powers]

I installed speedfan, and it says my GPU got up to 71C while playing an hour of Left 4 Dead. Is this too hot? should I take precautions to better cool my system?

It says my core got to 32 max, and temp 1,2,3 got to 43, 49, 40. What does that mean?

 

[cameronl]

hi, that is fine for the gpu.


My E4500 cpu gets to about 50 when playing HD & my 9600gt hits about 75.


CaM

 

[jhhoffma]

Why have a fast CPU AND a fast GPU if you aren't going to use hardware acceleration (DXVA) on your HD material? When using DXVA your CPU should be much above idle at all.


Personally, I'd ditch the case. In my opinion, if you're going to buy an "HTPC case" then pony up and get a good one (like Antec or Silverstone), as the bad (cheap) ones are going to cause problems at best and destroy some expensive hardware at the worst.