janderso1
Jim
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-15
Saint Petersburg, FL
|  Is a 706 gram heat sink fan too heavy for an Athlon X2 64?
»www.ultraproducts.com/product_de···ctID=624
I read on another site the AMD recommends no more than 450 grams.
When I put my HTPC in my entertainment center and use it to record TV and playback TV shows it overheats and turns its self off. Here is what I currently have.
Silverstone Grandia GD02 Micro ATX HTPC case.
Antec Earthwatts 430 WATT power supply
Gagabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H Motherboard
Currently using the built in Radeon 3200 video
AMD 4850e Athlon X2 64 processor
Stock AMD heat sink Fan
4 1GB Crucial DDR2 800 memory sticks (have temporarily removed two of them to decrease the heat)
ATI TV wonder 550 PCI card to tune/record analog cable channels (temporarily removed to reduce heat)
External Hdhomerun box to tune/record non encrypted cable channels (clear QAM)
NEC IDE DV- RW
300 GB Seagate SATA drive (will be replaced with a 1 terabyte drive after I get everything working)
32 bit Vista home premium
Beyond TV software for recording and playback of TV shows
When the PC is sitting on a table the processor temperature at idle is 28 to 30C. When I put it in the entertainment center the idle temperature is 33 to 35C. When I record TV shows the temperature exceeds the 70C I have set in the BIOS and the PC shuts down. Note that CPU utilization is less than 15% when recording so I don’t know why it is overheating.
The housing for the DVD drive extends about half way across the current heat sink fan. There is only 73 millimeters between the surface of the motherboard and the housing of the DVD drive. Unless I go to an external DVD drive, I can only use low profile heat sink fans.
I don’t intend to over clock this system, but I may add a real Video card which would be even more heat.
I tried to under clock the processor until I found a solution, but the BIOS won’t let me set the FSB below the default 200 MHz
I would also appreciate suggestions for other low profile AM2 heat sink fans.
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Jim Anderson |
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eX_NihiLo
Here's Your Something For Nothing
Premium
join:2003-08-05
Louisville, CO
 ·Comcast
| The weight limitation is for the old socket A Athlon XPs AFAIK.
Your system has a low heat profile. Could be the stock HSF is not mounted properly or the HSF fan PWM control isn't working. Watch your CPU fan and temps under load outside the entertainment center. That case has two small fans can you confirm they are spinning? If you've eliminated internal heat factors, you may need to ensure exit airflow out of the entertainment center or place it outside of the enclosure. |
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punker
deleted by moderator
Premium
join:2004-06-21
Palmdale, CA
clubs:
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| reply to janderso1
i'd use the C&Q driver
»www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/Tec···,00.html
use this to check the temp
»www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/ |
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srr2
join:2001-12-20
Bethlehem, PA
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 ·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to janderso1
You said that at 15% processor the temperature shoots up to 70C. That has "poor heatsink-processor contact" written all over it. How fast does it go up? How hot does the ambient air in the entertainment center get where the PC is located?
You didn't provide a link to it, so I don't know what your case looks like, but generally, is the airflow through it consistently in one direction, i.e. front to rear? Are the case fans unobstructed? Too many cases have a matrix of small perforated holes for the exhaust fans -- those cut the airflow dramatically by raising the head pressure on the fans. If your case has those, take a metal shear and open up a real hole.
If I had to pick ONE troubleshooting step, I'd take the existing heatsink off and have a very close look at the way it's sitting on the processor and whether there's some problem with the mounting hardware. Then clean it all off and remount with quality thermal paste applied properly. |
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