hot baby hot..

[becklo]

hi guys,

my cpu temp is between 36C-39C when idle and it increased up to 66C occasionally when i run certain program, especially when during gaming. is it ok? i added one extra casing fan and plan to upgrade heatsink from 4500rpm to 6500rpm. will it help? thanx in advance.... by the way, my cpu is intel pentium 3 800mhz.

[Budfred]

That is hot, but it seems even more so on a PIII. A stronger fan may do it, but you may need some other options. A better heatsink might be good and Arctic Silver thermal compound claims to reduce heat as much as 5C when you use it between the CPU and heatsink. You may need to look at the airflow through your case as well to make sure you are getting the best you can. Also, is your video card running hot and is it cooled?

[becklo]

i haven't thought about the video card. will it affect the cpu temp very much if it hot?

[Budfred]

If the video card is running really hot it will add to the general heat in the case and that makes it more difficult for everything to cool. If your CPU fan is directed down to the CPU (as many are), it will be blowing warm (hot) air down into the CPU heatsink. Even if it is blowing up from the CPU, it will be pulling the warmed air through the heat sink...

[superdrumr]

it would also be good to check how the cables are running through your computer. If the tower is small or crowded with cables air flow can be obstructed. Try reaarranging your power cables and pulling them together tight with zip ties. Also consider replacing the floppy and IDE cables with rounded ones.