Need help cooling an older PC

Z

zidion

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
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I have this old pc that im trying to create in a linux box. It keeps freezing on me though, and I think its because its getting to hot. Its a intel celeron 500mhz, so im not even sure if I can find a heatsink/fan for it ( the one on it now is crappy as hell).

An ideas on a setup I could use to get something to work on this?
 
Can you get anything in terms of specs of the board/cpu?

If it's an older Intel chip it could be Socket 370 or Socket 423. It could very well be heat...the old-a$$ computer my girlfriends mom had was a P-233 that had one of those vertical heatsinks but the fan had been removed. Ontop of that, the PSU's fan was also nowhere to be found. That system kept locking up and restarting 'cus the PSU was overheating...but it could be a similar situation here.

Put your hand on the top of the case...does it feel abnormally warm over the PSU? If not then it's most likely just a processor heat issue, but if you're noticing a lot of heat buildup above the PSU then it could be a situation similar to what was happening with my gf's mom's comp.

Get back to me/us with more system specs if possible....if you can get a copy of CPU-Z on that computer you'd be able to get more info on the mobo/socket fairly easily.
 
cornelious0_0 said:
Can you get anything in terms of specs of the board/cpu?

If it's an older Intel chip it could be Socket 370 or Socket 423. It could very well be heat...the old-a$$ computer my girlfriends mom had was a P-233 that had one of those vertical heatsinks but the fan had been removed. Ontop of that, the PSU's fan was also nowhere to be found. That system kept locking up and restarting 'cus the PSU was overheating...but it could be a similar situation here.

Put your hand on the top of the case...does it feel abnormally warm over the PSU? If not then it's most likely just a processor heat issue, but if you're noticing a lot of heat buildup above the PSU then it could be a situation similar to what was happening with my gf's mom's comp.

Get back to me/us with more system specs if possible....if you can get a copy of CPU-Z on that computer you'd be able to get more info on the mobo/socket fairly easily.
Click to expand...

The PSU doesnt get hot (or I havent noticed). I did touch the heatsink and it was hot as hell.

What happens is that it freezes and the front button wont turn the computer off, so I have to unplug the power cord from it (there is no little switch on the PSU :rolleyes: )

Ill try the cpu-z thing when I get home later on from work.
 
Good stuff, at least that narrows it down...

Here's a link to download CPU-Z...and click on the "Mainboard" tab when you run the program and it will/should give you the Manufacturer/Model of motherboard that'll help me/us find you a cooler that'll fit the bill.
 
cornelious0_0 said:
Good stuff, at least that narrows it down...

Here's a link to download CPU-Z...and click on the "Mainboard" tab when you run the program and it will/should give you the Manufacturer/Model of motherboard that'll help me/us find you a cooler that'll fit the bill.
Click to expand...

meny socket A heatsink & fans will fit a socket 370.
 
cornelious0_0 said:
Good stuff, at least that narrows it down...

Here's a link to download CPU-Z...and click on the "Mainboard" tab when you run the program and it will/should give you the Manufacturer/Model of motherboard that'll help me/us find you a cooler that'll fit the bill.
Click to expand...

that only runs on windows though right? This computer has no OS as of right now (cant get anything to install because it freezes after like 10mins).
 
What weebob said is true...in that most "latch down" type s462 heatsinks are also compatible with s370...so if you can't get into an OS and/or run the system for more then 10 minutes then you might have to open 'er up and see what kind of model/name you can find on the board and we'll go from there I guess.
 
cornelious0_0 said:
What weebob said is true...in that most "latch down" type s462 heatsinks are also compatible with s370...so if you can't get into an OS and/or run the system for more then 10 minutes then you might have to open 'er up and see what kind of model/name you can find on the board and we'll go from there I guess.
Click to expand...

its an Intel CA810 Motherboard
 
Looks like you are looking at a s370 board...sorry for the slow response, but here's some coolers you could look into.

I obviously don't have a lot of experience with s370 coolers...but I suppose your choice is going to depend mainly on your noise preference.

Some of the better coolers I can see on that list are the:

- Vantec Aeroflow
- Spire WhisperRock IV
- Masscool WhisperRock II
- Spire SPA49B0

It wouldn't hurt to look into reviews on each cooler if you're interested...but one thing I can say for sure is that the Vantec Aeroflow is a very nice cooler...and would most likely keep your processor the coolest, but it's gonig to be significantly louder then the rest.

If all you're looking for is a basic cooler that'll keep the CPU within operating temperatures (preventing it from overheating and shutting down the comp) then there are a number of cheaper coolers in that list of s370 coolers on Newegg...but for $10-$15 I figure it couldn't hurt to go with something a little nicer.
 
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