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Need help getting better temperatures

T

thj

n00b
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
47
Hi all,

My HTPC is running a bit hot, so I'm here for some advice to see if I can get it to run cooler without making more noise.

My CPU is an Intel E5400 on a Zotac 9300 motherboard. Everything is fitted inside an OrigenAE M10 case with the Intel stock cooler. Theres a 60 mm case fan too, but I've been trying to undervolt and underclock the CPU (using RMClock), so it can run without the case fan because it's pretty noisy.

I've never done any overclocking or such, so I do not know much about temperatures, CPU volts and clocks. Please keep this in mind when writing your answers :)

I've made some measures, with the case fan:
CPU fan speed: 50% (higher speeds will result in too much noise)
Case fan speed: 100% (way too much noise, can't control it's speed)
FID: 10.0x (~2000 mhz)
VID: 1.1V (default is 1.2875V)
Temperature after full load in 7 mins: 59 C

And without the case fan:
CPU fan speed: 50%
FID: 10.0x
VID: 1.1V (default is 1.2875V)
Temperature after full load in 15 mins: 78 C

And idle temperature:
CPU fan speed: 50%
FID: 6.0x
VID: 1.1V
Temperature after idle in 15 mins: 63 C

What do you think about these temperatures? Are they way too high, or is it normal? How high can they be before I should start to worry?

What else can I do to lower the temperature? I would not like to go much lower than ~2 Ghz. Maybe an VID lower than 1.1V would work? But how can I do that? RMClock only allows me to go as low as 1.1V and I haven't had any BSOD yet.

Please give me some advice and suggestions on what to try, otherwise I'll have to see if it's possible to find a low noise 60 mm fan.

I hope you can help me. Thanks in advance!
 
Those temps are in the safe zone. There's no real need for worry. Finding a case fan that is bearable is the best thing you can do to lower temps. You can also look at a new CPU heatsink, preferably one that focuses on lowering noise more than temps.
 
Can you recommend one? The maximum height of the HSF is 80 mm.
 
I'm thinking of getting the Zalman CNPS8700.
What do you think of that compared to the Intel stock HSF?
 
Actually the Zalman CNPS8700 won't fit on the motherboard.

I figured out that the Scythe Big Shuriken will fit, also in my case. So this is my choice together with Coollaboratory Liquid Pro. What do you think?
 
The fanless temp is running a bit warm but still well under any max. I took a look at your case http://www.origenae.com/en/htpc_m10.htm and wonder if the bigger HS will really help, you issue is fan speed noise which is dependent on cpu temp, which is dependent on the cpu cooler and the cooling efficiency of the cpu cooler is mainly dependent on ambient case air temp. My point is that without fans your heat is trapped in the case and the heatsink is recirculating it over the cpu keeping the fan speed higher and creating noise.

Me, I think your real solution is to improve case airflow and then even the stock cooler will run slow enough as to be silent. I am concerned that while the new cooler you are considering is a good idea the trapped heat will create the same issue. CPU fan runs fast because heat is not getting out of the box. First try it with your new heatsink but if not happy then consider ......

Your case has provisions for both an intake and exhaust 60mm fan and only the intake (according to manuf ) is provided.

You mention the 60mm fan is too loud and runs at 100%. I can see that, smaller is usually louder.

My suggestion is to go with both an intake and and exhaust and find medium/high speed 60mm fans and either 7V them or splice them together and put them on a Vantech Fanmate II you can tuck somewhere inside the case after you test and dial in the noise to cooling performance that suits your needs.

An alternative is to try various low speed "quiet" 60mm fans until you run into some (a pair) that will do the job at a noise level that is acceptable.

I would want a 25mm thick (if will fit, 15 and 10mm also available) with as high a CFM rating as I could find. I would ignore the Db ratings as they are trash and you are going to dial in the cooling vs noise with some kind of fan control. If going with simple 7V mod I would likely want a lower rpm in the 3000 range instead of the more common 4000+ RPM.

If I have the room I would want two of these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835705022
wired in parallel (splice red to red, black to black, use only one yellow RPM lead)
connected to this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118217&cm_re=fanmate-_-35-118-217-_-Product


The problem with this approach is that while it is the most flexible in terms of dialing in noise vs cooling it does waste some of your limited power. the label on the fan says .22A (x12 = 2.65 watts) and just as a wild ass guess if you ran the fans 1/2 speed I guesstimate you would be wasting about 2 watts of power worst case with both fans running (not as bad as I thought at first but wanted to run through the numbers). Likely you could find a place to stick the fanmate to the inside top of the case cover.

If the case is set back in a recessed shelf such that the rearmost fan grill is not easily visible I would also consider taking a dremel and carefully removing the stamped in grill and replacing with a wire one. Some work with a fine file to clean up the edges and some close matching touch up paint applied with a hobby/model brush to the raw edge or caterpillar edge molding would make a nearly invisible mod that would help get that hot air that is killing you out of the case.

eh, my 2 cents. Sweet little deal you got going there.
 
Last edited:
BillParrish said:
The fanless temp is running a bit warm but still well under any max. I took a look at your case http://www.origenae.com/en/htpc_m10.htm and wonder if the bigger HS will really help, you issue is fan speed noise which is dependent on cpu temp, which is dependent on the cpu cooler and the cooling efficiency of the cpu cooler is mainly dependent on ambient case air temp. My point is that without fans your heat is trapped in the case and the heatsink is recirculating it over the cpu keeping the fan speed higher and creating noise.

Me, I think your real solution is to improve case airflow and then even the stock cooler will run slow enough as to be silent. I am concerned that while the new cooler you are considering is a good idea the trapped heat will create the same issue. CPU fan runs fast because heat is not getting out of the box. First try it with your new heatsink but if not happy then consider ......

Your case has provisions for both an intake and exhaust 60mm fan and only the intake (according to manuf ) is provided.

You mention the 60mm fan is too loud and runs at 100%. I can see that, smaller is usually louder.

My suggestion is to go with both an intake and and exhaust and find medium/high speed 60mm fans and either 7V them or splice them together and put them on a Vantech Fanmate II you can tuck somewhere inside the case after you test and dial in the noise to cooling performance that suits your needs.

An alternative is to try various low speed "quiet" 60mm fans until you run into some (a pair) that will do the job at a noise level that is acceptable.

I would want a 25mm thick (if will fit, 15 and 10mm also available) with as high a CFM rating as I could find. I would ignore the Db ratings as they are trash and you are going to dial in the cooling vs noise with some kind of fan control. If going with simple 7V mod I would likely want a lower rpm in the 3000 range instead of the more common 4000+ RPM.

If I have the room I would want two of these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835705022
wired in parallel (splice red to red, black to black, use only one yellow RPM lead)
connected to this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118217&cm_re=fanmate-_-35-118-217-_-Product


The problem with this approach is that while it is the most flexible in terms of dialing in noise vs cooling it does waste some of your limited power. the label on the fan says .22A (x12 = 2.65 watts) and just as a wild ass guess if you ran the fans 1/2 speed I guesstimate you would be wasting about 2 watts of power worst case with both fans running (not as bad as I thought at first but wanted to run through the numbers). Likely you could find a place to stick the fanmate to the inside top of the case cover.

If the case is set back in a recessed shelf such that the rearmost fan grill is not easily visible I would also consider taking a dremel and carefully removing the stamped in grill and replacing with a wire one. Some work with a fine file to clean up the edges and some close matching touch up paint applied with a hobby/model brush to the raw edge or caterpillar edge molding would make a nearly invisible mod that would help get that hot air that is killing you out of the case.

eh, my 2 cents. Sweet little deal you got going there.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much Bill!

I thought about the airflow problem myself too, but decided to try the Scythe Big Shuriken because I read that another guy had luck with it in his setup (same case).

When I receive it, I will test it and compare the temperatures and post my results here. If it turns out that the system still runs hot, I will look into what you're suggesting. Very nice with some ideas on how to improve the temperature for my system. That was exactly what I was looking for. Your help is much appreciated!

I should receive the Scythe this week. I'll post here when I get it. Thank you again!
 
What about a Scythe Shuriken Rev. B?

That cooler is less than 80.

Dimensions (LxWxH) 105 x 116 x 64 mm
 
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