PC Temperature Range

Grave · 06-15-2007, 10:52 PM

So I just built a new system and things like this, which weren't much of a concern to me before, have become things I'm looking at.

What would you say is a good average range for system temperature and CPU temperature. Idle, and under heavy load?

Right now I've got my CPU at 21 degrees celcius/69F, and system temp is 30c/86F. Is that system temp a little high?

Would appreciate any thoughts as well as tips on improving system cooling.

Sidhe · 06-15-2007, 10:59 PM

It depends a bit on your system, but that's actually quite cold. Intel sets their limit for "thermally advantaged" at 38 Celcius system temp, and you're well under it.

Arbuste · 06-16-2007, 04:27 AM

How do you measure it, too? Thermal Tool Analysis and other software (Speedfan) give me vastly different results. From 33°c to 48°c (with TAT) having nothing loaded but WinXP. With a Core2Duo.

Blumpster · 06-16-2007, 04:39 AM

It doesn't really matter. Anything under or around 70 celsius and you won't see any damage. I ran my old AMD 2200 at 65 for 4 years and it never had a problem. When you reach about 80-90 the computer will just freeze. It's really hard to fry your computer, unless you don't even put a fan or heat sink on it, then you've got about 3-5 seconds of uptime.

Kiely · 06-16-2007, 06:38 AM

My avg temp with 2800cpu is just 55 avg, 60 in hot day + loads, until I reapply some arctic silver which keeps it 45-55 for a while. I can almost swear that my games run a SLIGHT bit choppier (frames are pretty much same but I get chops? etc which can really put me off if I play a FPS every once in a while) if it's in the 55-65 range.

But yeah 25-35 is great for any cpu. OC that.

Lyenae · 06-16-2007, 07:12 AM

Relatively speaking, your CPU at idle should be no more then 10 C above ambient case temperature. Under load, it should be no more than 30 degrees above ambient case temperature.

Ex. If your ambient case temperature is about 30 degrees, your processor should be no more than 40 C at idle, and no more than 60 C under full load.

If you are violating those heat limits, your cooling setup is not efficient. I use a stock cooling fan w/ Arctic silver and an AMD x2 4800. My motherboard temperature is 37 C, my idle temperture is 32 C, my load temperature is 45 C. I'd consider that efficient.

Intel chips, starting with the P4, are designed to automatically lower their clockspeed to prevent overheating. IIRC, they will start this process at above 90 degrees C. I don't know if AMD chips ever integrated this technology.

prescient63 · 06-16-2007, 07:16 AM

Processor max temp specifications

Grave · 06-16-2007, 09:12 AM

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

I've been tinkering around with mine, and everything seems to be running cool except for the GPU. At idle, with nothing but WinXP loaded, it's running at about 50c. I know this is not a big deal by itself, but I would think that would jump up considerably when I fire up EQ2 or something.

Either way, I plan to test just that once I finish patching. Anyone know of a hack to increase the fan RPM on the GPU?

Eomer · 06-16-2007, 09:22 AM

If it's Nvidia, Ntune will allow you to tinker with the GPU fan speed. There's probably other programs that allow better control, and I doubt ATI is any different.

Personally I run a 7800GT in a very well ventilated case, and it idles at 48-50C, and under full load goes up to 65-70C. That's not really a big concern. GPU's can run a little hotter than your CPU, if you notice artifacting then you'll want to turn the clock speed down if you're OCing.

Vorph · 06-16-2007, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grave

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

I've been tinkering around with mine, and everything seems to be running cool except for the GPU. At idle, with nothing but WinXP loaded, it's running at about 50c. I know this is not a big deal by itself, but I would think that would jump up considerably when I fire up EQ2 or something.

Either way, I plan to test just that once I finish patching. Anyone know of a hack to increase the fan RPM on the GPU?

ATI Tray Tool is the one to use for ATI cards. By default, the cards have a curve setup for increasing fan speed with temperature. You can change it to 100% always or make it 100% at 65 deg instead of 80 deg, etc.

PS - You really need to specify what hardware you have before asking questions.

Grave · 06-16-2007, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vorph

PS - You really need to specify what hardware you have before asking questions.

Thought I did, I must have rephrased what I said and left it out. It's an 8800 GTX. I downloaded RiveTune, but I'll have to read up on it to figure out the proper way to use it. There are mutiple fan options that I see when I run it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arbuste

How do you measure it, too? Thermal Tool Analysis and other software (Speedfan) give me vastly different results. From 33°c to 48°c (with TAT) having nothing loaded but WinXP. With a Core2Duo.

For CPU/System temp I was using a utility that came with my MSI motherboard, might not be the best thing to use. It seems kind of clunky.

GPU temp I'm just measuring using the nvidia nTune control panel.

06-15-2007, 10:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
Grave Slightly OP Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,087 +20 Internets	PC Temperature Range So I just built a new system and things like this, which weren't much of a concern to me before, have become things I'm looking at. What would you say is a good average range for system temperature and CPU temperature. Idle, and under heavy load? Right now I've got my CPU at 21 degrees celcius/69F, and system temp is 30c/86F. Is that system temp a little high? Would appreciate any thoughts as well as tips on improving system cooling. __________________ The Wandering Rogue Relocated and redesigned - Check it out.

06-16-2007, 06:38 AM	#5 (permalink)
Kiely He who dares, wins Rodders. Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,069 +1 Internets	My avg temp with 2800cpu is just 55 avg, 60 in hot day + loads, until I reapply some arctic silver which keeps it 45-55 for a while. I can almost swear that my games run a SLIGHT bit choppier (frames are pretty much same but I get chops? etc which can really put me off if I play a FPS every once in a while) if it's in the 55-65 range. But yeah 25-35 is great for any cpu. OC that. __________________ Ban deep thought.

06-16-2007, 09:12 AM	#8 (permalink)
Grave Slightly OP Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,087 +20 Internets	Thanks for the replies, very helpful. I've been tinkering around with mine, and everything seems to be running cool except for the GPU. At idle, with nothing but WinXP loaded, it's running at about 50c. I know this is not a big deal by itself, but I would think that would jump up considerably when I fire up EQ2 or something. Either way, I plan to test just that once I finish patching. Anyone know of a hack to increase the fan RPM on the GPU? __________________ The Wandering Rogue Relocated and redesigned - Check it out.

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06-15-2007, 10:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
Sidhe Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Waynesburg, PA Posts: 201 +1 Internets	It depends a bit on your system, but that's actually quite cold. Intel sets their limit for "thermally advantaged" at 38 Celcius system temp, and you're well under it.

06-16-2007, 04:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
Arbuste This calls for the league of Evil! Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 717 -1 Internets	How do you measure it, too? Thermal Tool Analysis and other software (Speedfan) give me vastly different results. From 33°c to 48°c (with TAT) having nothing loaded but WinXP. With a Core2Duo.

06-16-2007, 04:39 AM	#4 (permalink)
Blumpster . Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Washington Posts: 1,593 -2 Internets	It doesn't really matter. Anything under or around 70 celsius and you won't see any damage. I ran my old AMD 2200 at 65 for 4 years and it never had a problem. When you reach about 80-90 the computer will just freeze. It's really hard to fry your computer, unless you don't even put a fan or heat sink on it, then you've got about 3-5 seconds of uptime.

06-16-2007, 07:12 AM	#6 (permalink)
Lyenae Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,912 -9 Internets	Relatively speaking, your CPU at idle should be no more then 10 C above ambient case temperature. Under load, it should be no more than 30 degrees above ambient case temperature. Ex. If your ambient case temperature is about 30 degrees, your processor should be no more than 40 C at idle, and no more than 60 C under full load. If you are violating those heat limits, your cooling setup is not efficient. I use a stock cooling fan w/ Arctic silver and an AMD x2 4800. My motherboard temperature is 37 C, my idle temperture is 32 C, my load temperature is 45 C. I'd consider that efficient. Intel chips, starting with the P4, are designed to automatically lower their clockspeed to prevent overheating. IIRC, they will start this process at above 90 degrees C. I don't know if AMD chips ever integrated this technology.

06-16-2007, 07:16 AM	#7 (permalink)
prescient63 You can't blame women for what they do wrong in the same way that you can't blame a dog for what it does wrong. Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,252 -6 Internets	Processor max temp specifications

06-16-2007, 09:22 AM	#9 (permalink)
Eomer Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 9,493 +25 Internets	If it's Nvidia, Ntune will allow you to tinker with the GPU fan speed. There's probably other programs that allow better control, and I doubt ATI is any different. Personally I run a 7800GT in a very well ventilated case, and it idles at 48-50C, and under full load goes up to 65-70C. That's not really a big concern. GPU's can run a little hotter than your CPU, if you notice artifacting then you'll want to turn the clock speed down if you're OCing.