a fan

[artemis8]

My computer seems so hot. Do people usually buy extra fans for their crunching computers?

[coronicus]

My computer seems so hot. Do people usually buy extra fans for their crunching computers?

Aye, most prebuilt computers were not built with intentions of 24/7 max usage specially if you added a video card. I would sugest any cruncher to download temp software to monitor how things are going to avoid burning up there computers.

For GPU
Afterburner http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm
GPUZ http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

For CPU
RealTemp (has an alarm for max temps) http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

For CPU & GPU & Motherboard
CPUID HWMonitor http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

There are others but these are the main ones i personaly use.

[DrPop]

Yes! Absolutely. Can you tell me the make and model of your case and then what fans you already have in there? I and some of the others may have a few spares even...depends on what size of fan(s) you need. :)

[Duke of Buckingham]

THE FAN
http://www.aoc.gov/cvc/photos/images/10-17-05BigFan_lg.jpg

The DUKE fans
http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID32838/images/Duke_Blue_Devils_Fans_Championship.jpg

Fans that have a computer also
http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/the-twenty-weirdest-case-mods-we-could-find/too-many-fans.jpg

My computer with no fans
http://blog.zlti.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/burning-computer.jpg

The song of a crunching computer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-opY4qcidFk

CRAZY DUKE 843

[artemis8]

Aye, most prebuilt computers were not built with intentions of 24/7 max usage specially if you added a video card. I would sugest any cruncher to download temp software to monitor how things are going to avoid burning up there computers.

For GPU
Afterburner http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm
GPUZ http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

For CPU
RealTemp (has an alarm for max temps) http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

For CPU & GPU & Motherboard
CPUID HWMonitor http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

There are others but these are the main ones i personally use.

Thanks, coronicus, I had a desktop gadget (GPU Meter) that told me my gpu was at about 162-172 F. My cpu I downloaded real temp like you suggested and it's at 171-176 F. But I am pretty sure it has gotten hotter than that. We just turned on our a/c yesterday. It's nice to know for sure what temp they are at. I just don't know what's an 'unsafe' temp.

[artemis8]

[CENTER]THE FAN
http://www.aoc.gov/cvc/photos/images/10-17-05BigFan_lg.jpg


I am not sure I have room for that fan in my little study :(

[DrPop]

What CPU and GPU so you have in there? We can look up the safe temp threshold on a specs page. ;) High 80s °C for GPU is a safe level....I personally don't like them to hit 90°C or above, although you would have to push it over 100°C to kill it. :D

CPU - AMD I don't like my X6 to go anywhere over 60°C under 100% load. Mid 50s is better.
Intel - depends on the chip - the new S.B. is rated quite high, and Dad's crunches in the mid 70s or so just perfect.

[Slicker]

Often, it isn't just the fan but also the heat sink that needs to be upgraded. Many aftermarket heat sinks can lower the CPU temps by 10 or even 20 degrees Celsius. That's a lot. For a while now, CPUs will slow themselves down or even shut down if they get too hot. But having a good heat sink and fan you can keep it running at top speed. You can spend as little as $25 for an aftermarket heat sink and fan for the CPU. For under $50 you can get a pretty decent one (dual 120mm fans doing a push-pull through the heat sink -- that is if you case is large/wide enough for something that size.)

Once the heat has been taken away from the CPU, it then needs case fans to bring cool air into the case and force the hot air out. Aftermarket cases often have better air flow than the standard Dell, Gateway, etc. cases. Even a $40 case will be a huge step up. As far as case fans go, bigger is usually better because they move more air at the same RPMs and, if you have enough, can run at lower RPMs which means it runs quieter and they potentially last longer.

Or, by using a water cooled setup, you can skip the extra case fans. The cheaper ones will work better than the stock CPU cooler and the high end one works really well even if overclocking the CPU to faster speeds. Then again, you need a case that has the room to mount it. Here's a pretty good comparison of several options from $60 to $130 that would be an all-in-one solution:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/h2o-h80-h100-benchmark-overclocking,3084-8.html

Don't want to spend much if anything? If it is a mini tower, just take the cover off the case and set a box fan pointed right at it a foot or two away. You can always create your own Frankenstein case as well. I have a small mini-tower that had no room for additional case fans so I cut two holes in side and mounted two 120mm fans on the outside of the case - one to blow cool air directly on the GPU and the other on the CPU. I did splurge and get fans with wire guards on them just in case the cat got too curious.

[coronicus]

Im very concerned with your CPU temps 60c older intel 70c newer intel, not sure on the amd side.. you have to start watching closely depending on which intel series you have with those high of temps. I would release one of the cores on the cpu till you can get some fans to help cool em off i would start with the casing fan if you have more room to add some just lowering the air temps inside the casing should lower the cpu and gpu temps and casing fans are much cheaper and less complicated then getting a new heatsink/fan for the cpu. Have to remember those gpu will dump heat inside the casing.. good way to test it is stop gpu crunching wait an hour or so and see what you cpu temps are if there is a huge dif in temps then run out and get some casing fans..

[Fire$torm]

Sorry to add more but one thing many owners forget is to clean their CPU & GPU coolers. Canned air works great for this. You can use a vacuum cleaner but you need to be very careful. Adding fan filters to any intake fans will also help to keep dust out of the case. The filters need to vacuumed at regular intervals but that is easier then having to clean the inside of your computer.

The best AMD/Intel CPU cooler for under $25 dollars is the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. Its only limitation is it won't fit in some much older narrow ATX cases or any "Slim" ATX cases.

Best price: Geeks.com - $14.99 +S/H (Link (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=RR-B10-212P-G1-R&utm_source=GoogleProducts&utm_medium=ShoppingSites&utm_campaign=RR-B10-212P-G1-R))

Newegg installation video ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1DGRZSV_gI&feature=player_embedded

[John P. Myers]

Sorry to add more but one thing many owners forget is to clean their CPU & GPU coolers.

Agreed. If you haven't taken your side panel off and sucked the dust out lately (or ever), now is a great time. Depending on how dusty it is, you could easily lower CPU temp by 20C or more. Personally i just use the hose attachment on my home vacuum cleaner.

[coronicus]

Be very careful with vacuum powered blowers specially cleaning fan that have power connectors to the motherboard you can send voltage back into the board and possibly damage it. Just stick something in the fan to stop if from spinning when cleaning or unplug the cables.

[artemis8]

Yes! Absolutely. Can you tell me the make and model of your case and then what fans you already have in there? I and some of the others may have a few spares even...depends on what size of fan(s) you need. :)

I have two Dells. Mine is a Studio XPS 8100 my husband's is basically the same but a year newer (so I am not positive the model), windows 7 64bit. The cases basically look the same. Sounds like I have several different cooling options!

[artemis8]

What CPU and GPU so you have in there? We can look up the safe temp threshold on a specs page. ;) High 80s °C for GPU is a safe level....I personally don't like them to hit 90°C or above, although you would have to push it over 100°C to kill it. :D

CPU - AMD I don't like my X6 to go anywhere over 60°C under 100% load. Mid 50s is better.
Intel - depends on the chip - the new S.B. is rated quite high, and Dad's crunches in the mid 70s or so just perfect.

My gpu is an ati radeon HD 5700 series. My cpu is an intel i7 860 2.80GHz. Hubby has an Intel i7-2600 3.40GHz

[artemis8]

Sorry to add more but one thing many owners forget is to clean their CPU & GPU coolers. Canned air works great for this. You can use a vacuum cleaner but you need to be very careful. Adding fan filters to any intake fans will also help to keep dust out of the case. The filters need to vacuumed at regular intervals but that is easier then having to clean the inside of your computer.

The best AMD/Intel CPU cooler for under $25 dollars is the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. Its only limitation is it won't fit in some much older narrow ATX cases or any "Slim" ATX cases.

Best price: Geeks.com - $14.99 +S/H (Link (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=RR-B10-212P-G1-R&utm_source=GoogleProducts&utm_medium=ShoppingSites&utm_campaign=RR-B10-212P-G1-R))

Newegg installation video ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1DGRZSV_gI&feature=player_embedded

I usually don't open the case, but I always check the vents to make sure they aren't blocked, as I have cats and my computer is like a fur magnet.

[Fire$torm]

I have two Dells. Mine is a Studio XPS 8100 my husband's is basically the same but a year newer (so I am not positive the model), windows 7 64bit. The cases basically look the same. Sounds like I have several different cooling options!

Yours looks like this????
http://www.itechnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Dell-Studio-XPS-8100-Core-i7-i5-Desktop-PC.jpg


I usually don't open the case, but I always check the vents to make sure they aren't blocked, as I have cats and my computer is like a fur magnet.

Yeah, I know that well. The problem is with the smaller dust/dander particles. They will eventually get on and in everything. So if it is not removed it acts like a winter down comforter keeping all the heat from escaping from the coolers. Neglecting to clean CPU/GPU coolers is the number one reason for computer failure in the consumer segment. This wasn't an issue 15 years ago so lots of folks were never enlightened and I'm sure quite a few have been duped into buying new hardware by unscrupulous repair centers......

Bottom line is it needs to become a regular routine especially for those who BOINC.

[DrPop]

@Artemis - if that is the case you have, the one in F$'s picture: best you can do is take the cover off and blow it out real good; be surprised what finds its way in there! :)) :) Then, take a look at the exhaust fan that's on the back and note the amps (12V DC). Can you see if there is a front fan, down on the bottom front of the case? There should be, and it should be blowing in.

I am sure we could find some higher amp fans for you that will blow more CFM. ;) Just let me know the amp number on there and I'll hook you up if you want a more powerful one. However, you may try F$'s suggestion of taking the case off and blowing it out real good first, just in case that fixes it.

Your i7 860 CPU has a max operating temp of 72.7 degrees C. I would aim for a mid to high 60's C under 100% load on all cores. Try not to go too much higher than say, 68 C. :D
The 5700 series ATI GPU should be able to sustain operation at 100% load up into the 80's C at least.

[Crazybob's Son]

Everyone always recommends blowing it out. The step everyone forgets though is if you haven't done it in a while or EVER. TAKE THE CASE OUTSIDE OR IN THE GARAGE!! You will have a dust cloud for a little while and you don't want all that dust floating around in the air.

[Duke of Buckingham]

The Fan felt down of the computer. GEEEEZ

http://edge.ebaumsworld.com/2008/03/wtf-car-fan.jpg

[trigggl]

The Fan felt down of the computer. GEEEEZ

http://edge.ebaumsworld.com/2008/03/wtf-car-fan.jpg

I guess he'll be taking the bus.

The subwoofer amp puts out a lot of heat.