P4c performance is TERRIBLE

[Balforth]

Originally posted by: Budman

Obviously you never installed a P4 heatsink,you cant put it the wrong way,there's 4 clips & 2 levers. It's pretty much fool proof.

Good thing for me!!!

I noticed this morning that my temps were right back up to 66 degrees with this fan blowing in my open case. It seems that when I kill my grid client (distributed computing client for medical research), the temp drops like a rock. When I am running the client (with hyperthreading enabled, it only utilizes about 50% of the processor) it heats right back up.

I really don't want to spend even more money, it seems like this little "hey i should upgrade my cpu" has snowballed into a money pit!!! However it looks like it's inevitable. Do you guys think that new monster heatsink and fan will do the trick, or should I go for a new case as well? I was checking out the Thermaltake cases--they look freakin awesome and seem to be built for the job. Yes? No?

Thanks again guys. Give me your addresses and I'll come wash all of your cars.

 

[User1001]

I had the same problem as you for a bit. I took off the heatsinc and reapplied it and my cpu (3.0c) temp shot down from 84C to 51C. It shot down again to 43C when I changed the thermal interface material. (You have to do this if you take off the heatsinc)

 

[Balforth]

Well, I went a head and did the deed. Got the Thermaltake Xaser III and Tornado 92mm fan. I figured I could use a higher wattage power supply with all these new fans, and I got an awesome deal.

 

[sep]

:Q NICE, But a friends got the same case/powersupply and you would think this case should have good cooling...that's what we're attempting to determine. The fans are rated at 37cf in which should be just fine when you have 4 intake, 3 outtake, plus the 3 fans in the power supply. Not in this case. The two front are truley blocked by the drive bays being sideways..what the heck..not to mention the filters. The 2 window intakes don't have enough of an opening to pull in enough air and are also limited by the filters. Which leaves the out take fans. Without aircondition his cpu temp was going over 60+ causing the case to beep! beep! and slow the system down. He's installed an aircondition unit, but still gets temps around 52-3c for the CPU. We're still investigating what might be the problem. He's not told me what the case/mb temps are yet.

I don't think it's a bad purchase, just don't be too upset if it doesn't solve all your problems. If you room is always hot...well your just going to be moving hot air around.

 

[zephyrprime]

The case and the power supply aren't your problem. There's something wrong with your heatsink fan installation. Did you use any thermal compound? Did you plug in the heatsink fan?

 

[kponds]

I agree with zephyrprime. I don't think the power supply or case is the issue if the CPU is going into throttling down. I don't think anyone has asked what the internal chassis temp is. With the cooler he has, assuming its mounted correctly with decent thermal compound, I would expect his CPU temps to be reading much over about 15 to 20C over internal case temps in the bios under load. If the CPU is reading 65, his ambient should be around 45 (which is way to high). If there is much more than a 20c difference, the problem is in the cooler/thermal compound IMHO.

 

[Balforth]

I would agree that the stock heatsink and fan should be doing more than it is. I did apply everything correctly and it is installed correctly. I would remove and reset it, but I have no more thermal paste. The new heatsink and fan should be in any day, so I'll go ahead and go with that (I won't flinch at going out drinking beer and spending $50, why should I concern myself with a kick-butt heatsink and fan that will serve me for a good while for $50). And, well, I've already impulse bought the case and powersupply just like I impulse bought the motherboard, ram, and cpu, so we'll just see where that takes us!

I have read that the front panel restricts the intake, but I've also read many reviews that rank this case top notch and show comparisons that show this case as keeping the same system cooler than other cases built for cooling. I guess we'll find out. On any note, it's bound to be better than what I have going for me at the moment.

BTW: I freeze my roomates out by keeping our apartment below 65 degrees. I love it.

 

[Stoneburner]

A Slk900 with a 92 mm tornado could keep a lavapit cool. Did you set your vcore too high or something?

 

[topdog]

get some artic silver 3, and a vantec tornado fan. works like a charm on my 2.8c. heat is the least of my problems... if can get it stable @ 3.5

 

[Tavoc]

I agree with the others who have told you it had nothing to do with cooling, and everything to do with the HSF installation. Buy some Artic Silver 3, and follow the instructions very carefully. What thermal compound did you use before, and how did you apply it?

 

[Balforth]

Well, the new case, heatsink, and fan are on there way, so it's too late to go back. I used the syringe looking deal that came with the box cpu... i just spread it as evenly as I could across the top of the proc, then locked the heatsink down on top of it...

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: Balforth
Well, the new case, heatsink, and fan are on there way, so it's too late to go back. I used the syringe looking deal that came with the box cpu... i just spread it as evenly as I could across the top of the proc, then locked the heatsink down on top of it...

How much did you use? One syringe is enough to do about 100 CPUs.

 

[BuckNaked]

I am wondering if you used too much thermal compound.... Too much will limit the heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsink. When I apply thermal compound, I apply just a small dab and spread it around with the edge of a business card. I strive to get it as thin as possible while still evenly covering the surface without any part of the core being visable.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[LastRide]

You need to spread the paste thin like paint and don't plug the hole on teh heatspreader.Also I assume you took off the thermal pad on the P4 heatsink before you put on the paste.

 

[WarCon]

Why does it matter if you plug the hole in the heatspreader or not? It is only there for the curing of the thermal adhesive that they used to mount it, so that the gas that it vented didn't unseat it. At this point its simply a hole.........

Actually have heard of some people filling it (the cavity beneath the hole) with thermal compound to try and improve thermal conductivity. Doubt it did much though.

 

[Balforth]

LOL I used the whole thing... it was pretty thick... I'll have to remember to spread it on thin.

Now that I have the slk-900u, 92mm tornado, and Xaser III on the way, is it really important that I also order Arctic Silver 3? Does thermal compound usually come with a new heatsink? Seems like it should...

 

[lobadobadingdong]

just outa curiosity, did you go into your system bios to make sure it was running cached instead of non-cached? that can create a 30-40% performance drop depending on they system. and is (strangely) set at default to be non-cached by many mobo manufacturers.

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: Balforth
LOL I used the whole thing... it was pretty thick... I'll have to remember to spread it on thin.

Now that I have the slk-900u, 92mm tornado, and Xaser III on the way, is it really important that I also order Arctic Silver 3? Does thermal compound usually come with a new heatsink? Seems like it should...

Holy CRAP!

Uh yeah, that'd be your problem.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Balforth
LOL I used the whole thing... it was pretty thick... I'll have to remember to spread it on thin.

Now that I have the slk-900u, 92mm tornado, and Xaser III on the way, is it really important that I also order Arctic Silver 3? Does thermal compound usually come with a new heatsink? Seems like it should...

Live and Learn

 

[Balforth]

Ya... I built systems for a computer shop for about 5 years... back in the day of the mighty 386 and 486. It was all so simple then!!! I've read all about why it should be applied thin and feel like an idiot I guess I should do my homework before attempting to wield such a powerful system.

I read about running a cached bios... but I couldn't find an option for that on my asus p4c800. Is that a pretty standard feature in most motherboards?

 

[LastRide]

The paste is probably going to be squishing out all over the place when you take the heatsink off.Too much paste will cause excesssive heat.

 

[zephyrprime]

All that paste has probably oozed out onto the MB.

 

[Granorense]

Originally posted by: zephyrprime
All that paste has probably oozed out onto the MB.

I hope not...He is like $300 over the budget already. All he needs now is a fried mother board! If you need to clean your cpu, alcohol can be used!

Read every post, it was just like reading a book, very entertaining, educative and fun! Great job guys.

 

[bjc112]

Also, considering the thermal compound is all over the CPU, you can just wash it with soap and water under the sink... Then get the Alcohol out and rub away..

MAKE SURE IT IS 100% DRRRRRRRRRRRRRY before putting it back in the socket...

 

[bjc112]

Also, considering the thermal compound is all over the CPU, you can just wash it with soap and water under the sink... Then get the Alcohol out and rub away..

MAKE SURE IT IS 100% DRRRRRRRRRRRRRY before putting it back in the socket...