Forum Boinc: Heatsink

[-GER-]

Hi, I added a Corsair(700)PS to my Dell(best buy) rig. This PS blows down instead of out the case. It blows straight down on the cpu which now has core temps that hit 75C and lock up comp. I took the side cover off the case and have a fan blowing in to it. Cpu core temps dropped from 72/75C to 67/69C. Gpu went from 80 to 70, but it was the cpu temps that were killing computer.

I did clean the dust bunnies out, it is a medium? case with 1 fan blowing out.

My Q's are, will a better cpu cooler resolve this or is a it a situation where I need a bigger case(and more fans)? Do comp stores like best buy sell decent cpu coolers?

Thanks, -Ger-

[Maxwell]

Others with better hardware knowledge may want to chime in here, but the fact that your computer may be locking up could be a BIOS setting. Some have a setting to shut down the computer if the CPU reaches a certain temp, and that temp can be adjusted. If you tell us the processor, someone around here might be able to tell you how hot is too hot...

Depends on the store. I was able to pick up an H50 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010&cm_re=h50-_-35-181-010-_-Product) from Best Buy in store a while back. You can probably find similar things in other electronic stores.

More fans, a different/better CPU cooler will all help. Returning that PSU and putting one in there that blows out of the case might be the best option. What all is the PSU running?

[joker]

I will chime in with my limited knowledge. That GPU sounds like it is running REALLY hot. I have several GPU's that are OC'ed pretty massively and dont get over 60 degrees C. The fan speeds are pretty high though. Does it exhaust out the back of the case or into it? Have you turned up the fan speed on the GPU or the CPU? This might help.

[JerWA]

Hi, I added a Corsair(700)PS to my Dell(best buy) rig. This PS blows down instead of out the case.
This is flat wrong. I'm not sure what's going on, but there is no PSU standard that exhausts into the case. If yours is truly blowing air INTO the case then something is critically wrong.


It blows straight down on the cpu which now has core temps that hit 75C and lock up comp. I took the side cover off the case and have a fan blowing in to it. Cpu core temps dropped from 72/75C to 67/69C. Gpu went from 80 to 70, but it was the cpu temps that were killing computer.
Most CPUs will hit thermal throttling or "save my ass mode" at that temp, so it's not surprising it's locking up. GPU is probably fine at 80C, depends on the card. Most modern, read 4 years old or newer, GPUs will run 100C without any problems (other than being as hot as a furnace in your case hehe).


I did clean the dust bunnies out, it is a medium? case with 1 fan blowing out.

My Q's are, will a better cpu cooler resolve this or is a it a situation where I need a bigger case(and more fans)? Do comp stores like best buy sell decent cpu coolers?

Thanks, -Ger-
The ATX (and BTX) standard requires that the PSU be exhausting the case, as the hot air will be trapped at the top otherwise. No amount of coolers will fix that if your PSU is truly not exhausting properly. A good cooler will put more heat into the case, not less, so you'll just heat everything up. Lots of intake and/or exhaust fans may help, depends on the case.

Can you link me to the power supply? And what model Dell?

[Shadow]

Your power supply should be sucking air from inside your case and exhausting it out the back. Sounds like the fan was mounted backwards at the factory.

[Fire$torm]

Your power supply should be sucking air from inside your case and exhausting it out the back. Sounds like the fan was mounted backwards at the factory.

+1 So the solution is to open your PSU and flip the fan so it blows in the opposite direction. Make damn sure you do this with the PSU UNPLUGGED!!! :P

[GregK]

thats what i was thinking. ive never seen or heard of a ps exhausting into the case. has to be built wrong as you said.

[dan]

I went through this same problem with a gateway best buy machine. The PSU fan sucks air from the case and vents out the back. Never heard otherwise. My temps in the Gateway we're running about the same as yours, causing PSU and hard disk failures. I added an extra fan, but that didn't really help. These problems turned me into a custom system builder.

The problem is the cases from big named vendors are not designed to push lots of air through them. They designed them for the occasional gamer and web surfer, not someone running Boinc at full load. Cooling in these cases is the cheapest solution possible.

You may be able to add an after market CPU cooler, but more than likely the hot air it radiates will stay in the case causing problems elsewhere. I will note there are some water coolers made where the heat exchange is outside the box, but you may not be able to hook it up through your case. I like zalman, and this one may do the trick http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=183

The best solution (in my opinion) if you want to run Bonic is build your own case with air flow in mind. My custom case is running 6 threads at 100% and the core temps are in the mid 40's. My GPU is a GTX 580 with lots of fans and is running at 45c under 100% load.

One thing to keep an eye on is that the wattage of a CPU can affect temps. I have two i7 boxes, one with an 860(95 watts) and one with a 950(130 watts). They average about 10 degrees different under load.

Also 75 degrees on an i7 is ok, I think the actual throttling starts around 95c. Before having proper cooling mine would hit an occasional 90c and never have a problem.

One last thing, best buy is expensive and doesn't always carry the best add ons. I buy most of my stuff from newegg.

Dan

[trigggl]

+1 So the solution is to open your PSU and flip the fan so it blows in the opposite direction. Make damn sure you do this with the PSU UNPLUGGED!!! :P

I highly suggest not doing this, assuming you were serious. Who knows if there are capacitors inside that hold their charge? One wrong move could be deadly to the PSU and not very safe for the person screwing with it. If there's a warranty, you'll have to break the seal on a sticker that will definitely void it.

If you do do this, be very careful that nothing electronic touches anything else. You may not want it even getting close. You'd be amazed at how far something can arc. I was messing with a tv tube once, not a good way to learn a lesson.

[-GER-]

The PS is working properly. Apparently my 2 volt brain couldn't wrap itself around the idea that fans can suck air out as well as blow it in #-o


The only other change I made was 5770 graphic card, which sits suspiciously close(about 1.5 inch under) to cpu. There's only 1 pci*16 on MB.

As Dan said these type setups (best buy et al.) are not optimal. I'm going to have to do some computer case research and find an upgrade that will do me for now and hopefully be re-usable for future upgrades.

Thanks for all your help.

[JerWA]

That's a start at least!

You might be able to add fan(s), but you can't replace any (Dell uses proprietary fans with a sensor pin, a normal fan will throw an error and the system will complain).

Which system is it? Most Dells have a grill on the back but no fan there, and you can ziptie one in place. I did, made a huge difference hehe.

[Fire$torm]

I highly suggest not doing this, assuming you were serious. Who knows if there are capacitors inside that hold their charge? One wrong move could be deadly to the PSU and not very safe for the person screwing with it. If there's a warranty, you'll have to break the seal on a sticker that will definitely void it.

If you do do this, be very careful that nothing electronic touches anything else. You may not want it even getting close. You'd be amazed at how far something can arc. I was messing with a tv tube once, not a good way to learn a lesson.

I was serious. I have done it on several occasions. The last time was during the Seven-Of-Nine build. An easy way to discharge the caps is to push and hold the systems power button for a few seconds with the PSU unplugged. I have opened many PSUs for cleaning and never had a problem.

The one thing I did not mention is that it is best to remove the PSU to do the work.

Also if the fan is blowing air out but is not doing so fast enough you can always upgrade the fan. The only real concern is matching fan type which a Yahoo/Google search can be of great help. The search should give you specs for CFM voltage and power draw.

Edit: Forgot to add that a CRT (used in items like a TV or pre-LCD monitor) need something on the order 30K Volts with a good deal of current behind it to generate AND control the electron beam. So yeah, they are dangerous, hence the reason for warning stickers on the back covers. A PSU on the other hand is not nearly so. Simple precautions make for easy handling.


That's a start at least!

You might be able to add fan(s), but you can't replace any (Dell uses proprietary fans with a sensor pin, a normal fan will throw an error and the system will complain).

Which system is it? Most Dells have a grill on the back but no fan there, and you can ziptie one in place. I did, made a huge difference hehe.

I have seen adapters for this situation. Try Frozen CPU or one of the other modding suppliers.