just a quick question...

[GrEEdY]

what temps. are "acceptable" for pcs to be running at?

right now i don't have anything on my pc overclocked and according to my volcano 7+ i am getting a range from 38*C to 45*C for cpu temps. system temps are lower about 29*C.

i have no idea what my video card is running at since i dont know how to really check it. any tips/suggestions???


System specs:
ECS K7S5A Ver. 3
XP 2000+
Volcano 7+ with High/Medium/Low settings
Chaintech Ti 4200
WD 80 gig hdd
Kingston 256K Ram
Chieftec Case (the most popular one that looks just like the antec case)

ps. i only have the 2 original exhaust fans on the back so adding more fans will be simple

[Budfred]

45C is fine and about what I was getting on the same motherboard with the same CPU Volcano 7, but more fans. That is just a little higher than your body temp, so it isn't enough to worry about. Over 50C is getting a little warm, but probably still safe. Up to 60C, you might want to start worrying, but you would have to run hotter for a while to do any damage. If your system is running 29C, your video is also probably not a problem, but you can buy sensor to monitor if you want.

Budfred

[GrEEdY]

what are some good monitors that i can purchase? all i'm using now for those temps is the software motherboard monitor.

is that software accurate to your knowledge? (if you heard of it)

[Budfred]

Which software monitor, there are a bunch of them. The one that seems to get the best press around here is MBM5. This thread has links to some hardware monitors which is what you would need to test a part that doesn't have its own sensor.

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19139

Budfred

[KenGr]

I am assuming you 38ºC to 45ºC are at idle or during a light load. If you are uncomfortable with these temps, try CPUIdle. When your CPU is not doing anything CPUIdle runs an HLT command which idles the processor and leads to further cooling. It is shareware - $30.00.

You can download it here:

www.cpuidle.de

It may cost more than another fan, but its a lot quieter.

[BigBlue66]

You should really consider adding two intake fans. The case has brackets for them and one even cools your harddrive. You will see an improvement in temps if you add the fans.

[gopi_vs]

Your XP processor may fry only after reaching 90 degree centigrade. If you wish to know the exact threshold limit for ur AMD processor, you can find it using the Ordering part number (OPN) located on top of the processor. Visit this (http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/FAQ_new24_09_02.pdf) pdf document for more information on it.


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<b>Sky is <font color="green"><b>not</b></font> the limit.</b>

[dilsburger]

Strongly agree with BB on the 2nd intake fan. I added a second and my CPU temp doesn't top 41.5C after 3D gaming....