How hot is too hot?

[jtate]

I am curious as to how hot the Athlon Xp 2100+ can get before it will be bad for the processor, also there is a part two to this question. What kind of cooling system do people use to keep it cool. Thanks P.S I am also using an A7V333 Asus motherboard if that info helps any.

 

[KrAziE]

WEll I have Dual Athlons @ 1200, and a standard system @2000+ both systems run at around 45 Degree Celcius and my room is very hot in the summer. Ambient temp in my room sumtimes hits 75 or 80...

I use Thermaltakes volcano 7 on all the machines cuz it looks cool and it works very well... I also use thermal grease

hope that helped

 

[jtate]

So does that mean i shouldn't go over 45 degrees celsius? I do a lot of 3d rendering with this computer and when I render it levels out at 71-72 degrees celsius. I am trying to figure out how much cooler I need it to be without having to worry about it frying.

 

[nja469]

No that means you shouldn't be over 65C. Athlons run very hot. If it don't crash, you're fine. But running consistently over 65C can be a bad thing. 90C is what AMD says will kill the core, and most people tend to agree 66C or more can lead to an early death for the core. So if it's over 65C alot I'd upgrade my cooling.

"Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one"

 

[jtate]

I see, so what sort of cooling systems do people use to keep it within a safe range then? I know I have heard a lot about thermaltake volcanoe 7+ are there any other set- ups I should be aware of? Thanks

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Use some good thermal paste, get a decent hsf (which means its probably gunna be loud) and get some more case fans in your case. Try even leaveing the case sides off. I generally don't like going above 65, but I sometimes tolerate 70. Of course I won't have my system for more then 2 years so it doesn't matter much to me if it doesn't last 5 years 😉

 

[14Dx]

When I oc my 1800 a lot or ambient room temp is too high, my sytem can get up to 62C idle. It usually crashes at 70C, max operating temp for athlons is 90C (i think) I'd recomend the Tt Dragon Orb 3 because its cheap ($25) and cools well, looks good. Also Arctic Silver 3, for thermal interface.

 

[Matisaro]

No that means you shouldn't be over 65C. Athlons run very hot. If it don't crash, you're fine. But running consistently over 65C can be a bad thing. 90C is what AMD says will kill the core, and most people tend to agree 66C or more can lead to an early death for the core. So if it's over 65C alot I'd upgrade my cooling.

Most agree if by early you mean 3 months off a 20 year lifespan.

The plain fact of the matter is thus.


No matter what temprature you run at, as long as it dosent lock up you can do no harm to the cpu, if it locks up you have gotten too hot.


The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark

 

[LED]

If it locks up you have gotten too hot.

Is that your method of thermal protection?

This sig runs too hot.

 

[Matisaro]

Its not about thermal protection, its about a safe constant operating temprature.


If my cpu runs at 70C under load and does not lock up, then it is FINE.

If it locks at 74C I set my thermal protection for 73C.

MY comments on the subject have nothing to do with protection and burn up, but are related to safe operating tempratures.

Some people try and tell others that they need to keep their cpus below 55C or 60C to prevent damage, this is an utter falsehood one I seek to correct each time I read it. Any temprature which is low enough so that an athlon does not lock up, is NOT high enough to cause damage to the cpu! That is what I strive to get out to people!


The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark

 

[LED]

I agree that 65C isnt so bad, but there should be a "worry" point where it's just too hot. In a previous thread you stated that mobo monitors, and bios readings are notoriously incorrect. So with that said, the AMD thermal protection system goes right out the window. Now your stating in order to find where the thermal protection should be set at by letting your system freeze, and then setting protection one degree lower. That's one degree shy of system lockup. Can you see the flaw in the thermal protection now? Even by your own statements. I know this is digging up old arguments, but you are contradicting youself. Saying on one hand AMD thermal prot is no worse than intels, and in some cases better.....and on the other hand stating that mobo readings are never on target. That may be true, mobo readings may be off. But some of these people may actually have a problem. Bad sitting sink, not enough thermal goop, dirty fins.....whatever. Those things can eventually lead to instability. W/O having a freeze, what do you set the thermal protection at? How hot is too hot?

This sig runs too hot.

 

[Matisaro]

Umm, not to invalidate the time you spent looking for a loophole in my debate and stand then trying to draw me into an ambush ;-).

But amds properly specified thermal protection runs automatically, and you do not set a temprature for it to shut off at.(and if you do ((which you might I am not sure if amd specified protection allows you to change that temp)), however any temp below 90C will suffice as the protection runs independant of the possibly locked processor.)

Make no mistake(ugh dubya comment) the method you described is what you do for SOFTWARE thermal monitoring, not for amd specified thermal protection(which to date has few supported motherboards I am aware).


That is all, resume your attempts to destroy me ;-).

Those things can eventually lead to instability. W/O having a freeze, what do you set the thermal protection at? How hot is too hot?

PS: for all intents and purposes instability=lockup. JUst to clarify, if you have instability(crashing apps etc) those are covered by my use of the term "lockup"(meaning programs etc).


As for your what do you set your thermal protection too? The best way IMO is to download toast, and set the cutoff 2 degress F higher than the temp you reach with that app.

YOu will most likely NEVER stress the cpu temp to that level, but if your playing quake 3, and your cpu shuts off due to your software monitoring, but you didnt have a crash, raise said temp another degree.

But I am digressing, my point is made my honor defended, adieu.

The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark

 

[jtate]

Well I must say thank you to everyone that has offered there opinion for me. I am going to give a shot to some of the suggestions I have seen on here. Thanks again everyone! =0)

 

[LED]

That is all, resume your attempts to destroy me ;-)

You're crafty.

Truth be told, thermal protection is only needed in a rare cases like....

A falling off heatsink (bad/weak mount, 2 fans w/ a heavy shroud).

Less than desirable ambient conditions, which computers were never designed to run in (thick humid air, hot swamp climate).

As long as everything is hooked up right, most people will never see their TP in action. So Im giving up on the TP arguments lol But will leave you w/ some facts.

1. AMD does not have on chip protection. And the limited support by mobo manus. to accept AMD's "wiring diagram" of a solution leaves AMD w/o TP or a shoddy mobo invented one in most cases.

2. The main reason you need TP is for peace of mind, and that's an illusion anyway.

3. If it werent for Toms "burning athlons" video, there would be less "how hot is too hot" threads, and less hysteria amongst noobs w/ 65C temps.

This sig runs too hot.

 

[phill21]

i have a question...
i used a standard volcano 7+ and it blew up my motherboard and cpu, because as i was to understand and know, that it wasnt sitting on the cpu at all properly.. this resulted in the above tragigy..
it sucks, because with the fan modified and working properly now, my cpu temp goes near to 60 degrees c and i feel this is just too high..
i know its summer and so on, so it should be ok.. but i dont like cpus getting this hot.. i have tried various different fans and i just can get the xps to cool less than 50c when idle.. which is really starting to bug the hell out of me..
i use the thermal grease and ive tried various amounts of fans, what do you recommend? i even have a full tower with 6 5.25" drive bays in because i thought it would be better than a midi tower.. i sometimes have to run the machine with its side off just to get it to cool down!!
i swear if i loose another xp cpu, i will go to intel.. cos this is getting really quite annoying..

if all else fails... kick it and if it goes wrong, say it wasnt you...

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Ok first off I'm not arguing with Matisaro I'm just stating my opinion. I think knocking the protection down only one degree below the crash point is folly. The cpu doesn't just go boom at the point it freezes, it looses stability the closer it gets to that point. I would find out what temperature your computer freezes at then make sure it never reaches within 5 degrees of that temp by using better cooling. Granted you will not cause much damage if any from running the cpu just below the critical freeze point, but just because you are not hurting the cpu doesn't mean you are not loosing stability. So yes go ahead and set the protection to 1 or 2 degrees below the freeze point. But try to keep your temps as far below that as you can. I don't really worry about chip life since I won't ever own it for how long it would take for it to die. I do however like to have a stable system.

 

[phill21]

i wasnt arguing with you, i was just saying that in my experience that the fan that was mentioned was not as good as it said it was..
my computer doesnt crash, i just want lower temperatures than what i have now.. i dont feel comfortable with the cpu temperatures up in the 50's as all the other cpus i have had have been no more than 30 at idle.. it just doesnt seem right to me...
i dont worry about the chip because i know that i will buy a new one within a year or two.. i just like it to be cooler rather than high.. its just an opinion..

if all else fails... kick it and if it goes wrong, say it wasnt you...

 

[ritesh_laud]

i know its summer and so on, so it should be ok.. but i dont like cpus getting this hot.. i have tried various different fans and i just can get the xps to cool less than 50c when idle.. which is really starting to bug the hell out of me..

Athlons run hot, simple as that. If you want a cool and quiet system, Northwood it is.

Ritesh

 

[lhgpoobaa]

so tell me then... if you could obtain idle temps of 30C or less... what advantage would that give you???

would your computer run faster? last noticably longer? (given that the computer will be amazingly obselete by that time)

the numbers are all pretty meaningless anyway.
my friend had a tbird on an asus board that ran full load at 64C.
my old tbird locked up at 52C
my new XP is good for at least 70C.

if your cpu can handle full load. on the hottest day of the year, in the stuffiest room in the house... what does it matter?

<b>Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped! 😎 </b>

 

[Matisaro]

1. AMD does not have on chip protection. And the limited support by mobo manus. to accept AMD's "wiring diagram" of a solution leaves AMD w/o TP or a shoddy mobo invented one in most cases.

Bear in mind that the thermal protection is part of the socket a specification, so mobo makers are violating the spec when they exclude it.

The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark

 

[Matisaro]

fan that was mentioned was not as good as it said it was..
my computer doesnt crash, i just want lower temperatures than what i have now.. i dont feel comfortable with the cpu temperatures up in the 50's as all the other cpus i have had have been no more than 30 at idle.. it just doesnt seem right to me...

What im trying to tell you, is your 50c iS fine, and you shoudlnt waste money cause you dont feel comfortable!

The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark

 

[Matisaro]

so tell me then... if you could obtain idle temps of 30C or less... what advantage would that give you???

would your computer run faster? last noticably longer? (given that the computer will be amazingly obselete by that time)

the numbers are all pretty meaningless anyway.
my friend had a tbird on an asus board that ran full load at 64C.
my old tbird locked up at 52C
my new XP is good for at least 70C.

if your cpu can handle full load. on the hottest day of the year, in the stuffiest room in the house... what does it matter?

Spot on!

The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark

 

[phill21]

what im saying is that i understand it fine.. i just dont like it as such..
i dont mind it being high, but i just wish it wasnt..
i have bought a new power supply so that it has two fans, one at the back of the tower and one at the base of it as it will such out hot air from the cpu.. it seems to be better.. and im having a hole punched out of the side of the case so that i can put another fan there so it can be blown onto the cpu.. or near to it..
i think that this will help enough so im not going to worry so after this..
i havent had any lock ups, with the temp being so high, but i just dont want it up that high.. and i dont want to fork out for a new mobo, cpu and memory just yet.. i have only just gotten this one!! maybe when the prescott and hammer come out... but thats a little while away.. i think!!


if all else fails... kick it and if it goes wrong, say it wasnt you...

 

[HolyGrenade]

Make no mistake(ugh dubya comment)

Tell him to "Cease and desist" and then threaten him with sanctions and "precision" carpet bombing. Or is it the other way round? :lol:

N E way.

My brand spanking new A7V333 and an AthlonXP 1800+ gets pretty hot. According to the iPanel which gets its reading from the motherboard, my system usually hovers at 57 - 59 Celcius. But after hours of DivXing, it gets to 61 celcius. I use a silent heat-pipe heatsink. I think its made by coolermaster. The other fans in the system are the GeForce tiny but LOUD fan and the two fans in the powersupply, so not a lot of airflow.

I'm thinking of installing two large intake fans, one on the front, one on the side, and an extractor fan on the back.

The overheat power cutoff on the A7V333 is pretty good. I was talking on the phone (thats my excuse ) while I was putting the system together. I put the heatsink on the CPU, but forgot to hook it on. I powered the system on, but it would switch back off before I could count to 1. (I've been told that normal people don't start counting at 0. Bloody non-programmers! I suppose that makes it counting to 2...) I did that a few times before realising that the heatsink wasn't hooked on. The processor is still good.

PS, I can kinda slide my heatsink (a bit) side to side. Does that mean I put too much thermal compound? I used Coolermaster premium compound, which is silver colour and somewhat thicker and dryer than the runny white compound in that comes with the heatsink.

<b><font color=red>I'm a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to keep up.</font color=red></b>

 

[Matisaro]

what im saying is that i understand it fine.. i just dont like it as such..
i dont mind it being high, but i just wish it wasnt..

I understand you understand that, but what I wanna know is why the temp bothers you, its NORMAL, you dont worry about your cars engine cause it runs at 200c do you, even though its supposed to run that hot.

What I dont get is why you are willing even desiring to spend extra money to lower your cpus temprature for no other reason than you have arbitrarily set 50C as too hot, when it is far from too hot, and in fact a normal temp.



The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark