2.8 Prescott Heating Problem

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:24 pm

one more thing, I like speedfan, but try downloading and using motherboard monitor 5 just to see if maybe it is giving you something different.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:30 pm

Box,
I'm beginning to think the problem starts with your mobo. From a little background check on it, it is a very cheap board with a very high defect rate. Alot of the consumer reviews I read talked of heat issues...with a 2.4A or C CPU, let alone a Prescott. Also from what i see this board will accept a Prescott, but isn't optimized for it like several other boards (ASUS,ABIT, DFI, etc.
I personally think that replacing the board may be the best way to go, get an ASUS or ABIT board, you will get some very good recommendations for those here.

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:29 pm

capper, the heat issues that you are talking about...does this denote a defective/crappy sensor? You say changing the board will be the best thing for me,but i dont think it isnt worth it right now because it works fine right now, and the only thing that switching boards would fix now is the temperature sensor. By the way, i got the mobo and 2.8 bundled for 180, so thats why i have a low quality board.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:40 pm

You got that as a bundle? I'm kinda amazed. Nowhere that I have looked do i see that your board is Prescott ready. That very much bothers me.
There were a few modifications that were needed for the Prescotts in the 478 boards, when companies made these, their boards became Prescott Ready.
It could be a sensor. I had a chaintech board with my pescott that I liked very much, but one thing that always bugged me was that a senor always reported a temp of 60C for a diode. Nothing felt hot to the touch and it worked fine.... for awhile, then one day it just died. Which is what i'm worried about for your sake, it seems they packaged the Prescott together with a board not set up for it, which is not a good thing to me. Read this link and some of the other boards on this forum under Intel Processors and Intel Motherboards. I think someone dumped some crap on you.
http://www.ksbrainstorms.com/index.php? ... r_circuits

http://legitreviews.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:42 pm

hmm my booklet for the mobo says it is prescott ready, but i cant be sure with "made in china" haha. Anyways, im "chillin" at 50C idle, and at 65C load which is good, err better than before. I moved my HSF around. this might answer your question, unless they are lying. http://www.ecsusa.com/support/table_prescott.html MBM5 gives the same readings as speedfan. Guess once i get the heat down, its time to OC to 3.2, i wish

What type of case do you have?

http://www.mge-usa.com/home/detail.asp? ... &iType=101 took the blue fan out for a 120mm vantec.

How much thermal paste did you put on your cpu?

Enough to cover the whole cpu, and i flattened it out.

Did you clean your cpu and heatsink before putting the thermal paste on?

yes

Does your mobo say that it is Prescott compatible?

yes

Do you havc the newest BIOS for your board?

yes, 1.0F, came out before prescott, but ECS says it works

what is the temperature in your house?

about 25C?

what does the CPU monitor say for fan speed on the Zalman?

just under 2700

Are there any scratches, grooves, or imperfections on the bottom of the heatsink where it mates with the CPU?

nope, installed it yesterday

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.

My case door is on, taking it off would lower about 2C, but i want to work with the panel on first

Post by **Illuminati** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 11:55 pm

Apoptosis wrote: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.

Are we sure there is really a problem here? I'm thinking that he is sitting normal for a prescott at 50C for his mobo. from our experience back on this temp analysis... getting an ABIT board may not decrease his temps at all.

I agree that when Capper had that chaintech die on him, 60C at idle is a bit high for any mobo... but 50C is normal for some.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 1:16 am

My CPU wasn't at 60C, there was a diode on my board reading that temp. My thought kind of ties in with the artickle i linked. I don't think just because a board says "Prescott Ready"doesn't mean it will work well, or long for that matter with a Pressie. The article kind of says that many board makers just put that on their boards to sell them, without making any changes or optimizing them for the Prescott, and as is, alot of these boards are burning up. Basically what the person was saying is that it wasn't worth it for board makers to makre the right mods to support Prescott with the new lines coming out, which make sense to me. Then again, everywhere I have looked and found Box's board, I have yet to see where it is "Prescott Ready", I'm afraid after using this board for a month, it will go tits up on him.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 5:24 am

Boxster,

I really think you are fine and that your temps are just off due to the calculation that the ECS motherboard uses.

Easy fix: Call the company you got it bundled from and ask them to check temps on the other bundles they are building. I know it's not using the same HSF, but if they are a tad higher then you are sitting pretty.

Nate's Advice: Turn off the monitoring devices and use it!

P.S. where did you buy this bundle at?

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 7:19 am

Hmm, under load right now, the temp monitor says that is is about 68C, and when i touch my comp, it is pretty warm up at the top. On my stock HSF, it had gone up to about 72 under load, and the case was pretty hot to the touch. Do you all think it is a good idea to make a case fan hole? If so would it be good at the top or the left side? Thanks for all of your help everybody. After leaving my comp overnight, im at 52 Idle and 68 load.

Edit:I just tried OCing it to 3.0, and it is idling at 52/53, about the same as it was a few mintues ago without any OC. I know it is a small OC of 200 MHz, but is this small temp change normal?

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 8:12 am

A top blow hole is one of the first things I do to any system I build , it really lowers the overall system temp. And that in turn will lower you CPU temp some.......

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 8:42 am

whats the best way to go abot cutting a hole in the case?

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 9:12 am

I always use a hole saw, for me it's the easiest way to make a clean round hole........ :D

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 10:42 am

The top is definitely the place to put a blow hole, remember that hot air rises. As Bio said, use a hole saw. You won't see optimal temps out of the AS5 for probably a week, it is very slow to cure. As to the O/C, carful until we can bring the temps down. But a couple of things, now that you have O/Ced it, go to Lowes or Home Depot and get some "Goof Off" and 600 grit sandpaper or finer. Use a mirror or equally flat surface and gently run the CPU over it at least a few times, see if it sands the whole surface of the heat spreader or misses areas. Clean the surfaces with goof off and a very clean, lint free cloth. When I was using a case that didn't have a blow hole, I used a very small room fan and zip tied it to the side, blowing on the heat sink fan, lowered the temps 5C or so. If you are going to cut a hole in the top, cut a hole in the door over the heat sink fan, you can mount a fand directly over the heat sink and have it blow fresh air directly on the heat sink fan. One thought on that, If you are going to cut on your case, take everything out of it and when you are done, clean it very well. Metal shavings and electronics do not mix well.

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 11:25 am

my cpu fan is under the power supply, i have heard of adding power supply fans, but im not sure about opening up the PS. I un O/Ced it, and it brought temp down about 1 degree. On a side note, how would intel know if the cpu has been overclocked or not, and if the stock HSF was being used?

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 12:36 pm

there are simple chemical tests that will determin if a thermal compound has been used. I dont think that intel tests for this though. most likly they will only do a continuity check on the cpu to see if its ok. So far though i have never liked intel's RMA policy.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 1:51 pm

Do not open your PSU, you can get electrocuted, even after it is unplugged. Don't O/C it right now, give it some time to let thermal compound settle, and experiment with air, try taking the cover off, different positions for case placement, anything you can think of. Be creative.
Try not to do any gaming. That will definitely not help the temps. From what I am seeing, your setup is not a good one to have a Prescott. Not enough ventilation or cooling, your mobo is very weak and doesn't come close to maximizing the system. I have looked all night and have yet to find anything, including the makers own site, that says this board is Prescott ready, everything I have seen relates to a 2.4 A or C, which run much cooler. The sad truth is that while Prescotts are very good chips (IMO) they need extra cooling, PSU with fans, good thermal paste, Good heatsink, a case with good ventilation, etc. And again, its my opinion, but a good CPU doesn't really ake a difference if it is stuck in a bad board.

Xerxes · Post by **Xerxes** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 4:29 pm

heh i was just fiddling around with a 2.8e and a asus p4p800se, that boards temps were way off it said 100f at idle and 120 max while running prime95 torture and another torture test. this was outside of a case with no real ventilation and the stock intel hsf with thermal paste. i grabbed another one to see if it says the same thing or is off (i also grabbed another becuase there was a few odd results in benchmarking with it)

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 6:08 pm

I am probably going to sand the processor and get arctic silver 5, and leave the case doors open.

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 6:12 pm

WOOHOO, we have another convert

BoxsterS258 · Post by **BoxsterS258** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 8:05 pm

one last thing...are there any suggestions on rearranging things inside the case to allow optimum airflow?