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Ok, I'm running an Athlon 64 FX-53 2.4Ghz processor. The LCD thermometer on the front of my computer is saying I'm running at 41 to 44 degrees celcius. Does anyone know what the tolerances are for this CPU? I've got rather shitty air circulation in this room, any suggestions for helping to bring it down?

I'm really worried about my comp, so any suggestions are extremely welcomed.
-K

44C? You have nothing to worry about. My 2.4GHz Celeron regularly hits 55C during long Quake matches. Worry when your temp creeps up past 65C.

you sure? Hotfoot was regularly telling me that 45 was excessive...and this rig cost me a fair bundle, and I'd rather not have to replace it too soon if I can avoid it

Is this at idle or under load? What kind of temperatures do you get after running the CPU full tilt continuously? What's the temperature in your room when you get these readings?

How many case fans do you have and where are they? Do you have good wire management in your case or is it a nasty mess that isn't conducive to airflow?

The latest AMD chips are not as robust in handling temperature as well as their predecessors. If your temperatures exceed 60 C at any time, you should definitely consider making improvements somewhere.

EDIT: For all your CPU temperature concerns, this site has an extensive listing of processors and temperature ratings, among other statistics.

And, did you buy this computer from a company, or build it yourself?

Knighthawk wrote:Ok, I'm running an Athlon 64 FX-53 2.4Ghz processor. The LCD thermometer on the front of my computer is saying I'm running at 41 to 44 degrees celcius. Does anyone know what the tolerances are for this CPU? I've got rather shitty air circulation in this room, any suggestions for helping to bring it down?

I'm really worried about my comp, so any suggestions are extremely welcomed.
-K

First off...SWEET CPU.

Second, thats good, abit higher then the newer AMD chips, but good for the FX-53's.

Honestly, I'm not sure how hot it is in the room, anywhere from 80-90F

Idle, it's about 42 degrees, full kilter, I honestly ,don't know, and I'm worried...even at the idle speed.

I've got 5 fans, 1 side, 1 top, 2 rear, 1 front (there may honestly be 2 in the front, I don't know for certain). All of them are unobstructed.

The wires are round-bundles, and I organized them as best as I could to keep the CPU fan/heat sink clear (pretty well done all in all) and to keep the Video Card fan clear.

Hope this helps you to answer my questions. Thank you for all the feedback, it's helping more than you may realize

With a room temperature of 80-90F, I'm not surprised your CPU's running a bit warm. My guess would be that full load will probably fall within safe limits, although if you want some added peace of mind you might go fire up a game and play for a few hours, then report back on the temperature.

42 C is fine. There's nothing wrong with your CPU sitting at that temperature. It could probably handle 50-55 C under load just fine, although my guess would be that it would peak around 48 C.

The only thing I could think of to lower CPU temperature would be to install a beefier heat sink, although I personally find uninstalling/reinstalling heat sinks to be a complete pain in the ass. If you think there's a lot of stagnant hot air building up around your computer you could try aiming a floor fan at it for added air circulation.

Sounds about right, Uraniun, My CPU's doing that too. It is getting a wee bit warm in here with the supergiganto window we have in damn-near the whole front of the living room. At least this huge psychedelic art piece (dumpster-dive score) in the window maked a nice heatshield.

Knighthawk wrote:Honestly, I'm not sure how hot it is in the room, anywhere from 80-90F

God damn, that would drive me insane.

That temperature is absolutely nothing- but for future reference, if your CPU starts running hotter and you just can't figure it out, clean the heat sink. It's likely clogged with dust and dead bugs. That's what happened to mine.

oh, I totally dig that one, I've been cleaning it like a fiend! Thing is, I just don't wanna have to shell out another 3k for a new computer, especially since this one is only about a year old now or so

Knighthawk wrote:oh, I totally dig that one, I've been cleaning it like a fiend! Thing is, I just don't wanna have to shell out another 3k for a new computer, especially since this one is only about a year old now or so

As Uraniun235 mentioned, sometimes a $20 box fan from WallMart, Home Depot or your local equivlant sounds right up your ally, Even in my watercooled systems I usaly have just such a floor fan sitting somewhere near my computer insuring that air in that area is more active, meaning more heat is exchanged and faster.

(For maxium Getto effect, buy two and slap one on each side of your case(Front/back or side to side) one pushing area one pulling away and pull your case cover off for maxium effect.

Hard to do if your case is on a desk but easy if its on the floor

Bean, what size of fan are you running next to your PC? Right now I have a fairly big fan, thats kinda noisy, and I'm wondering what I should replace it with.

Knight, no need to replace anything, just regularly(once a month or so) clean out dirt, and the tempature stays sane.

Unless your room is very warm like Knighthawk's, if you're running into overheating issues bad enough that you need to use a floor fan you should consider doing something about what's in the case.

You should have a CPU fan and at least one case fan, bare minimum. More than that is better. There are resources online that can help you determine optimum configuration. Cables should be arranged to permit maximum airflow. If you can, invest in rounded IDE ribbons (or go with that sexy sexy SATA technology). Basically, you want to have as much air as possible moving through your system, drawing in cool air and venting warm exhaust air.

As was mentioned earlier, consider cleaning the heatsink.

If you're running a stock heatsink/fan (read: one that Intel or AMD gave you), you may want to consider getting a better one. (The stock AMD HSFs are actually pretty decent these days.)

If all else fails, your room temperature isn't too warm and your CPU temperature is still abnormally high, you may need to clean off and reapply the thermal grease between the heatsink and CPU.

Ace Pace wrote:Bean, what size of fan are you running next to your PC? Right now I have a fairly big fan, thats kinda noisy, and I'm wondering what I should replace it with.

Knight, no need to replace anything, just regularly(once a month or so) clean out dirt, and the tempature stays sane.

Just a basic pair of fans, think their called Cyclone or something, there rather big and black and don't tip over easy, I bought them for eleven bucks apieace, beyond that I can tell you
(They also tend to drone out the 80mm, 120mm and Video fans spinning in the computer)

May I just ask why it is close to nearly 100 degrees in your room? That just really baffles me...and impresses me with your level of stamina.

In Western Australia, temperatures of +25 C (~77 F) is common during spring and very common during summer.

Well, I openned the computer up after the temperature (idle) spiked to 51 C, turns out that my video card's gills were kinda clogged. I figure airring those out might help, so I did that, got the temp down to 45...I'm getting a 6-pack of canned air tommorrow. I figure I'll give it a good blow & suck treatment (canned air & vaccuum) and see what kinda good that'll do. I double checked the gills on the processor, they're still pretty damn clear. I think maybe a good blow & suck will help it out. I'll let you all know the results