- Jun 4, 2001
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I just built a SFF box (Shuttle ST62K "Zen") for a friend of mine who will be taking it back to Japan with them in a week. They don't do much gaming or any overclocking, so I thought it would be fine just to use the sticky, white thermal compound that came with Shuttle's I.C.E. heatpipe cooling system. However, the BIOS temps have me a little concerned (no Windows installed yet, but from my research, this motherboard doesn't yet support monitering software anyway).
The idle cpu temps never drop below 54C (system at 45C) with the fan set to full speed (4000 rpm and really loud), and never goes under 56C with the fan on medium (3000 rpm and not quiet).
So anyway, the possible problems spots that I can think of are:
-- I possibly applied the compound a little too liberally (not extremely thick, but maybe not thin enough that it could be categorized as a "translucent layer"), and should try cleaning the proc and reapplying
-- I shouldn't be using this compund in the first place and it would be best to just switch to some arctic silver
-- The Prescott core is simply a hot proc and these temps aren't all that crazy, given that it's a cramped sff box with only a single fan mounted on an indirect, heatpipe cooling system
So, what do you guys think my next step should be? I kinda wish I would have just ordered some AS5 to begin with from Newegg with the rest of the order, but I guess if I ordered it now, it should get to me before my friend has to leave. Or should I not be so worried about it? since I doubt they'll ever be putting the CPU under full load...
Here's a link to a site with some pix of the this particular box and its cooling setup: http://systems.pimprig.com/barebones/shuttle_xpc_zen_(st62k).php?page=3
Any advice will be greatly appreciated,
~EnDarkEnd
The idle cpu temps never drop below 54C (system at 45C) with the fan set to full speed (4000 rpm and really loud), and never goes under 56C with the fan on medium (3000 rpm and not quiet).
So anyway, the possible problems spots that I can think of are:
-- I possibly applied the compound a little too liberally (not extremely thick, but maybe not thin enough that it could be categorized as a "translucent layer"), and should try cleaning the proc and reapplying
-- I shouldn't be using this compund in the first place and it would be best to just switch to some arctic silver
-- The Prescott core is simply a hot proc and these temps aren't all that crazy, given that it's a cramped sff box with only a single fan mounted on an indirect, heatpipe cooling system
So, what do you guys think my next step should be? I kinda wish I would have just ordered some AS5 to begin with from Newegg with the rest of the order, but I guess if I ordered it now, it should get to me before my friend has to leave. Or should I not be so worried about it? since I doubt they'll ever be putting the CPU under full load...
Here's a link to a site with some pix of the this particular box and its cooling setup: http://systems.pimprig.com/barebones/shuttle_xpc_zen_(st62k).php?page=3
Any advice will be greatly appreciated,
~EnDarkEnd