PDA

View Full Version : What can I infer about ambiet chassis temperature?

singularity2006
09-07-2006, 06:12 AM
I am running an Athlon XP3200+ that runs on idle at about 45*C, which is far too hot for my tastes considering how my old 3000+ ran at a nice 35*C on idle. In anycase, I thought it was a failing heat sink and replaced it. My original heat sink was the Zalman CNPS7000Cu, which worked so well for so long. But just to try, I bought the newest CNPS9500 to see if it would make a difference.

CNPS7000A: (old HSF)
CPU Temp: 45*C
Chassis Temp: 22*C

CNPS9500: (new HSF)
CPU Temp: 45*C
Chassis Temp: 27*C (*hotter*)

From the above readings, can I infer that the new HSF is radiating heat much faster (indicated by the higher chassis temperature) or is it just some glitch? And second of all, is it even worth it to keep the CNPS9500 as a replacement of my old HSF or should I just return the thing?

Btw, just in case anyone was wondering how I could fit the CNPS9500 over a socket-A, it's because Zalman was kind enough to use a locking mechanism that is the same length as the CNPS7000, which allowed me to use the same HSF mounts from the old heat sink. Normally, one would be hard pressed to be able to get this sucker to work on a socket-A CPU.
newman
09-08-2006, 01:34 PM
Could be your readings are wrong.. unfortunately, it's not uncommon - I had wrong temps reported on several systems. 45 C isn't all that hot, though - however, my 4800+ runs at 37-38 C when idle, and that's with a stock heatsink/cooler. So it does sound like it's a bit too much - IF the reading is correct. How's your airflow in the case itself? Badly set up airflow can cause you a lot of headaches. Make sure you don't have any "traffic jams" as far as airflow is concerned (no air streams coming from different fans colliding and such, especially not in front of your CPU) - you want to get that hot air away from your components and out of the case as quickly as possible. And ideally, you'll also want your intake fan to replace the ejected hot air with new cold one at the same rate...
tuna
09-08-2006, 01:43 PM
Your old heatsink/fan blew air directly down onto the motherboard, which would've cooled other parts of it, including the ambient temperature sensors. Your new heatsink/fan blows right out the back of the case without cooling anything else.
singularity2006
09-08-2006, 05:39 PM
AH, so that would explain why the ambient temperature would seem higher! In the end, I couldn't bring myself to spend the $70 for the new HSF so returned it. However, what I did though was to remove the fan off of the CNPS7000, clean it thoroughly, and give the heat sink fins and block a good cleaning with some hot water. Has anyone looked at how tightly compressed the individual fins get at the base of that heat sink? It's utterly amazing to me how machinery can press the fins so tightly together that you get a virtually flat and solid service. It took over two hours for all the micro-droplets of water to seep from the top of the heat sink past through the bottom section of it through the contact points.... it was really strange to watch. It was also quite irritating too since the rest of the heat sink was dry but for some "mystical" reason, water kept coming out of the base.

But yeah, cleaning off the HSF and then cleaning off the CPU and re-applying the AS5 gives me much better temps now. Idle is around 40*C for the CPU while chassis temp is read back at around 22 or so.
CGTalk Moderation
09-08-2006, 05:39 PM
This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.