2.8 Prescott Heating Problem

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:35 am

So, I have a 2.8 Prescott, not overclocked or anything. Using SpeedFan to monitor my CPU temperature, I get 50 degrees C at Idle, and 69 on full load. THe thing is, I am using the new Zalman CCNPS7000A-Cu, meaning it is all copper. I have 2 80 MM fans blowing out the back, and one 120mm fan blowing in air in the front. Other people's temps range from the 30's to the low 40's. I am wondering what is wrong, if whatever sensor that SpeedFan program uses from my computer is off(motherboard or processor sensor?), or I just need better parts, which i cant seem to understand. Im thinking the sensor is off, but who knows. Please help.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:18 am

Boxster,

Welcome to the forums & I hope we can help you out now and in the future!

I highly advise you to read our article on "How Cores Temperatures Are Found"

This article explains how a large temperature differnce is seen between motherboards with the same CPU. We also looked in depth at the Prescott Processor when I wrote that article. We found that our ABIT board showed 50C, while our ASUS board showed 36C. But in reality the CPU's were running the same temp.

article quote:

So the next time your buddy is bragging that his cooling solution on an ASUS board is better than the one on your ABIT board just laugh and say whatever! If he doesn't believe you show him this article and put him in his place! At the current time it is not possible to consider comparing temperatures between two different brand lines.

P.S. you never did say what motherboard you happen to be using.

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:37 am

BoxsterS258 wrote:Other people's temps range from the 30's to the low 40's.

Do you mean other people with prescotts, because from my experience thats a bit high but not to unusual for a prescott. I do have some basic questions, like what did you use for thermal paste, did you check to see that the heatsink was mounted straght and seated fully on the cpu, how many fans are there in your box, have you tried runing it with the side cover off.

under default conditions the 3.0e i just built runs at 57c load using the stock intel cooler.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:41 am

IF he's running an ABIT board or one that reads the same his 50C would be 36C on an ASUS board. So it really depends on what board he is running, but we don't know that yet ;)

To early to say if he's "above normal" right now.

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 10:07 am

Im using an ECS 848P-A mobo, I have 2 rear exhaust case fans ,80mm, and i have a front intake 120mm fan. I did check to center my heatsink, and i used the grease that came with the zalman. It will go from 51 to about 49 with the case side cover off, but I need some input about my motherboard and its sensor. THanks.

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 10:21 am

One thing to keep in mind is that the Zalman is designed to run quieter and thus hotter than other cooling options. your tems seem to fall right inline with what i would expect out of a prescott processor with a "slient" heatsink.

other wise its sounds like your doing everything right in terms of cooling.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:17 pm

I haven't followed the ECS motherboard line and don't have any of their P4 models in stock to check them. I'm asking around for you

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 1:44 pm

Are you using the fan controller than came with the Zalman? If so, ditch it and plug the fan directly into your mobo. The fan is never very loud, even at max speed. Try removing the fan controller and putting some AS5 on your heat sink.
Another thing you might consider is lapping the 2,8E, my temps dropped almost 7C after doing that. I found an article somewhere that showed these things are far from level, which causes a fairly poor seat for your heatsink. It isn't obvious to the eye, but once I started lapping it, it was very obvious, after about 20 minutes delicately sanding it down, I got everything nice and even, cleaned it with pure alcohol, put some AS5 on it, and got great temps. If you do this just be very careful and very patient.

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:07 pm

I dont think sanding is something i want to do because it would void the warranty. How much would AS5 lower the temp, on avg?

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:28 pm

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:45 pm

Lapping would void the warranty, but if you end up O/Cing it, it doesn't matter as it is voided anyway. Do the AS5, and try removing the fan controller, that should help a bit.

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:56 pm

Anything other than the thermal tape used buy intel or an intel heatsink voids the warrenty according to intel. OEM's warrenty the cpus internaly thats why they dont have to use intel coolers.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:14 pm

well, there you go, might as well dig out that 600G sandpaper and have at it.
To me that is very strange as the stock intel coolers don't do squat for the Pressies.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:30 pm

The great thing about the CPU you have is that thing O/Cs very well. Mine did 3.5 on air cooling no sweat, and screamed. At stock speeds the NW CPUs might have better numbers, but when you hit anything over 3.5GHz, the Pressie is awesome. Watercooling is recommended though as they get hot regardless of speed. On water cooling I run my 3.2 at 3.71 24/7, and always am trying different settings between 3.8 and 4.0 that are real stable and cool.

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:25 pm

Great, now my motherboard is idling at 54C.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:34 pm

what'd you do to make it go up?

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:36 pm

Your mobo is idling at 54C? If so you have some serious issues.
Please list all pertinent components so we can get a good idea about what you are working with, what is causing this, and what we can do to fix it.
Also realize that after putting thermal paste on, you need to give it awhile to set up, I think you won't see optimal results for up to 220 hrs, though I can't remember the specifics. Also include your BIOS setting including the V-Core and V-Dimm, voltage can play a large part in the heating of components

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:40 pm

Apoptosis wrote:what'd you do to make it go up?

Bad question.

capper5016 wrote:Please list all pertinent components so we can get a good idea about what you are working with, what is causing this, and what we can do to fix it.
Also include your BIOS setting including the V-Core and V-Dimm, voltage can play a large part in the heating of components

Good question.

I have to say that craked me up for some reason. i think what we need is a blend between both, we need to know what you changed and we need to know what things are set to now.

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:08 pm

My core voltage is 1.376, and my stick of 512 ram is at 2.5 volts. Again, I have a 2.8 prescott cooled by a Zalman CCNPS7000A-Cu, which is full copper. I have taken the fan controller off, so it has gone up 200 RPM, maybe i hit the heatsink or moved it, because it obviously did not help at all. Everythign else is the same.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:22 pm

What type of case do you have?
How much thermal paste did you put on your cpu?
Did you clean your cpu and heatsink before putting the thermal paste on?
Does your mobo say that it is Prescott compatible?
Do you havc the newest BIOS for your board?
what is the temperature in your house?
what does the CPU monitor say for fan speed on the Zalman?
Are there any scratches, grooves, or imperfections on the bottom of the heatsink where it mates with the CPU?
If your case door is off, you have good ventilation, you have fans blowing air on the board, and you installed the heatsink and thermal paste correctly... there is another issue we aren't seeing.
I'm going to think on it for a few, look over the above questions and answer them for me, those will give me a better idea of what we are looking at.

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