Overheating issues

[RJHNY1]

I bought my current computer in December 2004. After a while, I had some heating issues. But when I removed the side case, the computer would be fine. I have a temperature readout on the front of the computer tower. It would stay between 78-82F with the cover off and rise as high as 90F with the cover on.

I upgraded my computer recently with these specs:

Video Card: XFX PVT98GYDLU GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor
Hard Drive: Hitachi 160 GB 7200 RPM ATA 100
Power Supply: Thermaltake 480W Power Supply
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit

Power supply and hard drive remained from my old computer. It's not the same power supply as the one in 2004 as I had to replace that one.

It's the same deal...the temperature read out on the front of the tower says 78-82F with the cover off and rise as high as 90F with the cover on.

I have a fan on the mobo on top of the heat sink, a fan on the back of the computer and a fan on the side of the case panel. All 3 fans work fine and there are no dust issues.

Questions

1. The readout on the front of the computer...what is that temperature for? Is it for the CPU? Another part? The general temperature?

2. What should the temperature be? What's a normal range? I assume 78-82F is normal while 88-90F is getting too hot?

3. What can I do to fix this so I can have the side case on?

4. Where can I find the temperature readout? I know the bios, but what's a good program. I tried searching for some on download.com, but couldn't really find anything good.

Thanks for the help.

 

[RJHNY1]

No one?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Answers to your Q's:
1. Only you can tell us that, trace the cables.
2. Depends on where the temp is coming from.
3. See answer 2
4. RealTemp

 

[Intexity]

to my uneducated eyes the temps no matter where they come from seem kinda high. got any extra fans around? what case do you have? sounds like the room your in stays pretty hot. any way to turn the heat down? how messy are your cables? remember keeping a decent airflow in your case DOES make a difference. and what direction do your fans run? you want air to flow from one side to the other not all in or all out. play around with these things and see if you can't bring it down.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Originally posted by: Intexity
to my uneducated eyes the temps no matter where they come from seem kinda high. got any extra fans around? what case do you have? sounds like the room your in stays pretty hot. any way to turn the heat down? how messy are your cables? remember keeping a decent airflow in your case DOES make a difference. and what direction do your fans run? you want air to flow from one side to the other not all in or all out. play around with these things and see if you can't bring it down.

90F is only 32C. Ok temps in my book most of the time. It's idle CPU temps with stock cooling and no overclock, depending on the case that's being used and ambient temps. I'm interested to see where the temp is actually coming from...but we have to wait and see if the OP posts back..

RJHNY1: are you having any problems you feel are heat related? Reboots, lock ups, CPU throttling, etc..

 

[Intexity]

OHHHH im so used to seeing celsius first time i saw someone post fahrenheit ok what excuse can i use this time.....

 

[Dizzymon]

32C seems normal to me. Mine runs around 47C during the summers and around 33C during the winter.

 

[RJHNY1]

I am having no problems in my computer in terms of throttling, rebooting, lockups, etc. Everything's working fine.

To answer questions:

-My room is very cool. I live in NY, so it's been cold here. I have a heating vent not too far from the computer, but I don't keep the heat on high and the heating vent faces the front of the computer tower.

-The wires are messy, yes, but I have some of them tucked in the front compartments where there are no drives. Also, a majority of the wires rest on the floor of the tower. In my opinion, none of the wires are really interfering with the motherboard or the cards.

-I have a fan in the side case that blows air IN. There's another fan on the back and I'm pretty sure it blows the air OUT. I'm not sure b/c when I put my hand on the back, I do feel some air, but it's not that strong. It's a small fan too, 3X3. Maybe I should get a larger fan (the case can hold a larger fan). Of course there's another fan on top of the heat sink, which is fairly large.

-The wires leading from the temp readout in the front of the computer plugs into the lower right hand corner of the mobo, along with the other plugs for power on/off, reset, lights, etc.

I'm just concerned why when I put the side case on, the temperature all of a sudden begins to shoot up. I don't need a part of my computer to get overheated and break. This is a gaming computer and of course games can make the temps rise. But I would really like to have the side case up instead of having all the parts exposed.

Thanks for the continued assistance.

 

[Denithor]

70C (158F) is getting too hot...

 

[RJHNY1]

So...based on the info I provided, what can I do?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Replacing that rear fan should help. Is there a spot for a front fan? If so that would help also. To reiterate, your temps are well within ok. 90F is not very hot. You should still figure out where that temp is coming from.

edit: meant 90F

 

[Intexity]

How about this? hehehe

http://i468.photobucket.com/al...yintexity/DSC00579.jpg

 

[RJHNY1]

I do see a little spot where a front fan can go, but I can't screw it in unless I take the whole friggin computer apart. It's not worth it for that fan.

I did buy a bigger fan and replaced the back fan with it. I still can't figure out what the temperature readout on the front refers to.

 

[Intexity]

Well, I would need to know what case you have in order to have any idea what the temp readout is. Or else it is a separate component. I am assuming that you didn't build the computer. As far as being worth taking the computer apart for a fan, it IS worth it if it keeps your components from blowing. Unless you don't mind replacing your cpu or gpu or possibly your ram(maybe even your chipset). Maybe you have that kind of money. But if you don't get your temps under control something will overheat and blow sooner or later. I would download some kind of temp readout program like speedfan or something of the like that will tell you what temps each component is reaching.

 

[Spivonious]

Your temps are fine. With the side on, less cool air can get inside, so the temp rises a bit.

Adding a fan in the front would definitely help bring the temperatures down, but 90F is not a problem. When it starts getting close to 140-150, then you should start worrying.