Is my Athlon XP running too hot?

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sledge_sk

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Jul 18, 2006
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Hey forumz people,
my now ancient rig is running an AMD Athlon XP 2400+, and it's doing 74-75 Celsius (idle), stock speed and HSF. I'm keeping it coller at ~ 58-59 degrees using something like this (after removing the side panels and aiming it straight-on):

http://www.jula.se/Butik/assets/product_images/mellan/439604_b.jpg
l33t modding :lol:

Unfortunatelly i don't know how hot it has been running in the past, since i only got really interested in hardware a couple of months back and never checked what's happening in my case before (yes i have a pre-built machine :roll: ). Do you know if these temperatures are normal for this family of CPUs? I should also point out that we've got a heatwave on our back, the temperature in my room is 30 Celsius, can this have a big impact? Could reseating the HSF with new thermalpaste help? (it's been untouched for 3 years)

Oh and one more thing, not cpu related but i ain't gonna start a new topic for it. I also recently found out that my 12V rail is a little high @ 12.77V. How dangerous could this be? Can i do anything to lower it (don't think so, but...)?Can i do anything at all about it besides replacing it again?The PSU is a pretty new one, i replaced the original one after it died on me about 4 months ago.

Thx for any replies.
 
Those temps are too hot for that CPU. My guess is that your CPU fan is failing and/or the CPU heatsink is clogged with dirt. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Just because it spins, doesn't mean it's working and since you've never opened the case you may not even know if the fan is spinning.

I don't think reseating the CPU and new thermal paste is necessary. You should be able to remove the fan without having to remove the heatsink itself from the CPU. Replace the fan and make sure to dust out the CPU heatsink. In fact while you have the case open, I would take it to a well ventilated area and use compressed air to clean everything out. Make sure to blow the PSU out too. You don't have to remove it just blow it out through it's vents so that the dust exist the PSU and not into the case. You can buy the cans of compressed air at PC shops or places like office depot. If you use an air compressor, make sure it has a moisture filter installed so no moisture gets blown into the computer. If you cannot tell if a moisture filter has been installed on the air compressor...just bend over, take take two whacks, and buy the compressed stuff in the cans.

Make sure to ground yourself before touching any components that are inside the case.

You're room temperature does have a large impact on how well your system can stay cool but those temps are still too high for the 30C room temp you noted.
 
I agree, that is too hot for that CPU. 55-60 would be normal with stock cooler.

However, I think you should definately redo the thermal paste. If its a pre-built Athlon 2400+ then no doubt it has a thermal pad instead of thermal paste. The pad by now has probably dried up and kind of solidified. ( not to mention it was just a pad to begin with.)

So definately replace the pad with a respectable brand of transfer paste/gel.

And yes definately give the whole thing a good clean.
 
If your cpu isnt a barton core then expect your thermal tape from the heatsink getting worn out and should be replaced. XP cores before barton ran hot.
 
I have the same exact CPU in one of my pc's and mine runs at about 41c. I also have an aftermarket cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106035

This cooler is VERY good, I'd also reccoment some
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007

I have it OC'd however to 2.3 with a bus speed of 166 and a multiplier of 14.

You dont wanna go over 60c on those chips, from what ive read.
Click to expand...

My dad's PC is a 2400+.

Replaced his HSF a while back with:

AeroCool X-Raider - 13.99

Did pay 24.00 at the time from a local store, Compusa.

Idle temps 38-41C - load 47-49C. (side case is open)

Just another alternative if you don't want to spend too much, doing no OC.
 
thx for all those quick answers guys, here's some feedback.
1. I did have the case open, i even say so in the first post, it IS open as i type this :lol: I've cleaned out all the dust, oh what was it, 6 months ago probably,a nd it was thorough. Will redo, tomorrow. It's kinda late here.
2. Speaking of thorough, so is my core, bred. :lol:
3. I got the temperature readings from SpeedFan, can it be trusted for accuracy? Speaking of that, i just realised (just spent 2 minutes figuring out if it's realized or realised, not english native speaker) something. SpeedFan actually threw at me a whole bunch of readings, i just took the highest one and assumed that was the cpu, since it seems the hottest to the touch. Could i be so badly mistaken?

So far from your replies the main culprit would seem to be the thermal pad, i'll most likely replace it with some nice AS 5, if i can find some at the local stores. God i wish we had a newegg here.
I won't be buying a new HSF since i'm ditching this whole system in a little while, i just want it not to blow up till i get a chance to sell it. :twisted:
 
Yes the CPU should be the hottest thing, unless something is badly wrong...

Good to see you've been keeping the inside clean. I'm confident some thermal paste will make a big difference. just be sure to remove the pad properly.
 
Since youre rig is ancient then you need to "tune up" that rig. Clean everything and most importantly remove the old and possible crappy dried out thermal compounds on CPU, chipsets and GPU if so. Then thoroughly clean surface areas and replace the thermal paste/compound with something better like that of Artic Silver 5. Trust me you'll notic some big difference.

My bro still has his old HP desktop since he's not a gamer he kept it and now about 4 years old with P3. I disassembled it and clean everything with a duster and replaced the thermal compounds with AS5 and woa I've notice big difference in temps and are now running around 30c as compare to 55c before the "reconditioning" maintenance.
 
The stock coolers use a thermalpad so switching to AS wouldn't hurt.

My XP 2800+ idles at 35-38C OC'ed. I have a Thermaltake TR2-M2 in it. Its a copper core heatsink.
You might as well just buy a new HSF since I don't think many ppl will want to buy it and you can still use it for other purposes.

SpeedFan works just fine for me. Can you check the temps from your BIOS?
The highest one (TEMP1) is the CPU, next is probably the mobo, and what not, and then (HDx) is the hard drive(s).
All that heat is reducing the life of that CPU like hell.
 
Oh people will buy it, don't worry about that. I'd keep it as a backup but the thing is, i'm moving across continents and this ol' heap isn't going with me. I'm soooo looking forward to building my new rig then, hope i won't mess something up and run here for help. :lol:
Anywho here's an update, i cleaned out the dust this morning and it has helped a lil' bit. It now idles @ 61C on it's own and with the room fan blowing over it i can get 54-55.
The whole SpeedFan read-out looks like this:
Temp1: 34C -likely the case, since the room temperature is about 32C
Temp2: 54C -this value changes the most, so i think it's the cpu, why it's temp2 i dunno
Temp3: 14C -complete mystery to me, it's not physically possible to have anything that cool in my room
Temp4: 49C -this one remains pretty stable, chipset?
Temp: 14C -copies Temp3
Temp: 54C -copies Temp2
HD0: 33C
HD1: 36C
HD2: 38C

Will let you know how i do with the thermal paste once i get some.
Once again thanx for all the replies and keep them coming!
 
61c is not the best, but its certaintly not going to hurt anything, not on an Athlon Thoroughbred.

I think your mission is complete. You could still change the thermal pad but do you really want to go to the effort?
 
Yeah i think i do, already called a friend up, he had some paste at home and is coming over, he's good with hardware so it should be done properly. Can't hurt and no effort from my side is actually necessary. 😀
 
Yes the CPU should be the hottest thing, unless something is badly wrong...

Good to see you've been keeping the inside clean. I'm confident some thermal paste will make a big difference. just be sure to remove the pad properly.
Click to expand...

The CPU is not the hottest part in the computer! It is the graphicscard... My old GeForce FX 5950 Ultra had a limit of 140c!!! And it did idle at about 70-80c and at max load it went all the way up to 120c!
 
Yes the CPU should be the hottest thing, unless something is badly wrong...

Good to see you've been keeping the inside clean. I'm confident some thermal paste will make a big difference. just be sure to remove the pad properly.
Click to expand...

The CPU is not the hottest part in the computer! It is the graphicscard... My old GeForce FX 5950 Ultra had a limit of 140c!!! And it did idle at about 70-80c and at max load it went all the way up to 120c!
Well ok but i only have a Radeon 9000pro (all-in-wonder mind you) and i doubt it idles at over 70C.
Also why would it's temperature drop by 13C after cleaning the dust off the cpu HSF??
 
That's too hot ,someting is wrong with that cpu or the mb try removing the HSF and apply some Arctic Silver 5.I have a AMD Athlon 2600+ stock HSF and it's like this (40c idle,55-60c full load)
 
If your motherboard allows you to change the CPU (core) voltage, then you can try lowering it.

My Athlon XP +2500 is running at stock speed using just 1.4v core voltage. That down from the standard voltage of 1.65v. You can try lowering the voltage a little and then stress your PC to check for stability. If it's stable then you can drop the voltage a little more and again test for stability.

Just because my CPU can run on only 1.4v will not mean yours can as well.
 
Also why would it's temperature drop by 13C after cleaning the dust off the cpu HSF??
Click to expand...

Dust acts like a heat insulator; trapping the heat near the heatsink. The trapped dust also blocks the fan on the heatsink from blowing the heat away.

Don't forget to clean the fan grill of the fan exhaust too.
I know but thx. By "it's" i meant the GPU, since i got a reply saying it could be my graphics that are burning up not my CPU. I did clean the dust off the CPU and it has helped some, so my point was that it couldn't be the graphics. Something tells me you didn't read the whole topic :wink:
 
If your motherboard allows you to change the CPU (core) voltage, then you can try lowering it.

My Athlon XP +2500 is running at stock speed using just 1.4v core voltage. That down from the standard voltage of 1.65v. You can try lowering the voltage a little and then stress your PC to check for stability. If it's stable then you can drop the voltage a little more and again test for stability.

Just because my CPU can run on only 1.4v will not mean yours can as well.
Click to expand...
No it does not, it is a pre-built system and has the overclocking functions turned off. I think i recall reading somewhere that there's a jumper on the board that overrides it, but i couldn't be bothered to look it up and spend time adjusting it since i'm ditching this system soon. It's a great tip though and i might use it sometime, with my future builds (not doing pre-built again for sure).
 
Yes the CPU should be the hottest thing, unless something is badly wrong...

Good to see you've been keeping the inside clean. I'm confident some thermal paste will make a big difference. just be sure to remove the pad properly.
Click to expand...

The CPU is not the hottest part in the computer! It is the graphicscard... My old GeForce FX 5950 Ultra had a limit of 140c!!! And it did idle at about 70-80c and at max load it went all the way up to 120c!

Thats pretty high. I have a Quadro2 Pro in that machine and it runs pretty cool.
 
I realize this thread is really old but...I happened to be working on a socket 462 motherboard and couldn't figure out why it was running 90c and hotter. I checked this thread and nothing here was an answer to my question.

The problem:

I inverted the heatsink when I installed it (rotated it 180 degrees). This prevented the heatsink from fully contacting the processor. It's now running at 53 degrees c and should drop 1-5 degrees after the thermal paste (Arctic Alumina by Arctic Silver) breaks in.
 
I realize this thread is really old but...I happened to be working on a socket 462 motherboard and couldn't figure out why it was running 90c and hotter. I checked this thread and nothing here was an answer to my question.

The problem:

I inverted the heatsink when I installed it (rotated it 180 degrees). This prevented the heatsink from fully contacting the processor. It's now running at 53 degrees c and should drop 1-5 degrees after the thermal paste (Arctic Alumina by Arctic Silver) breaks in.
 
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