D945GNT & 531 EM64T Processor Cooling Problems
 

Hi everyone, I have been a lurker and occasional poster in this forum for about three years now, but I have been experiencing a problem with the PC that I built a few months ago without and have not been able to resolve it.

Last fall I upgraded my PC with some new components; this is what my specifications are now:

Antec 1080 Case (left over from my previous configuration)
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-380 380W power supply
Intel 945GNT motherboard
Intel Pentium 4 531 Prescott 800Mhz FSB LGA775 processor
PQI 1GB 240-pin DDR2 667 SDRAM
XFT PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 Pci Express Video Card
Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB SATA150 hard drive
Western Digital Caviar 120GB ATA hard drive (left over from my previous configuration)
Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum (left over from my previous configuration)
Sony DVD-RW (left over as well)

Now here is the problem: Whenever I attempt to do anything that is processor intensive (gaming, extreme internet surfing, large graphics, even burning a disc) I get an error that pops up from Intel Desktop Utilities warning me of heat problems. On top of that, my system constantly runs warm (above what I believe should be the norm) and far above anything that I experience with my previous configuration.

I have three cooling fans installed, one in the front and two in the back in addition to the fan on the video card, the heat-sink, and the one from the power supply.

One way that I thought to have resolved this was a case upgrade. After doing extensive research with the help of Google I have learned that the Prescott does run warmer than normal, but how much higher is beyond me. (See graphic below.) I have dealt with Intel a number of times on this, and I was only able to get them to send me a replacement motherboard, which did not resolve the problem.

If there is anyone here that can provide me with advice or their experiences in this situation I would certainly appreciate it!



http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43906...oorLEBEFNlH6Zg

Case temp, processor temp, or both? How hot is hot?

Which heatsink/fan are you using? If Intel, did you clean off the included thermal paste/pad and start fresh? That's good for 8-10°f.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/robfru...a6.jpg&.src=ph

Here is a display of the case temperatures. I thought it was showing up in my initial post.

And yes, I did clean off all the thermal grease from the first installation before installing again. (Same problem with first motherboard as with the second one, but Intel was not as willing to send me a new CPU or heatsink, I had to coax a motherboard out of them.)

That's livable for a prescott, assuming it's peak. Check the area just above/outside the processor for airflow. That area of the board is sensitive. Make sure cables & such are out of the way and not impeding flow from the processor/vreg to the closest exhaust fan.

I was short about the heatsink. What I meant was that some Intel heatsinks ship with a very poor heatsink to processor junction in the form of a double-stuff oreo pad. When you cleaned the heatsink did you notice a foil square on the heatsink side? It's easy to miss. If yours has it, there's compound under the foil as well which further insulates the junction. I've never seen less than a 5 degree f improvement after removing it, often 8-10 degrees.

60 C is hot, but not to hot. Did you use standard thermal grease or the good stuff (like artic silver) this will help the temperature. Second make sure you have just a thin film of thermal grease, don’t slather it on.

Yeah, I checked for airflow and made adjustments to the routing of the cables. I do not believe mine had the "oreo" pad. There was a small pad there, was that it?

I used the standard thermal grease. However, I have problems with the case feeling warm sometimes as well. Have either of you worked with this type of configuration? One with the Antec TRUEPOWER supply that has the fan blowing down?

try taking the side of the case off and leaving it off and see if that helps, also is the heat sink on the cpu clean, or covered in dust.

The bad oreo pad is a 478 package thing so nevermind. I wasn't paying attention.

Dilbert's right about using too much grease. That, or not spreading it evenly leading to contact gaps.

The p/s fan is on the bottom, but draws into the supply from below and exhausts out the back, right? I'm sure I've worked on recent Truepower IIs.

Just making sure. There are designs that draw from the outside and blow down inside, which helps reduce noise, but it's horrible for anything except the coolest of systems. I reverse those fans at the first chance.

Correct, the fan is on the bottom and draws the hot air out the back of the power supply unit.