Athlon xP processors are known to run a little hot. you might want to invest in a better heatsink (the thermaltake volcano series is popular). a little thermal paste helps too. your temps to seem a little on the high side though.

hi all
im just wondering if anyone knows how i can cool my cpu down its now running at 60c as im writing this post....ive got a monster copper heatsink and fan on the thing.......but it still runs pretty high....im thinking of getting those round ide cables so i can get more air into my pc im now running it with the side of my case off......but still running at 60c..it would be much higher with the side casing on
any ideas anyone im desperate.....as im getting my 9800 pro on saturday and i can imagine it will be running a higher temp with that vga card in it...i even think its making my present prophet 4500 to start crashing games as all the graphics on any game i play start to break up and clashing...........its doing my head in
thanks to anyone who can help
les

The temperature your getting is high. Make sure your heatsink is properly seated on the processor (there may be a little space if its not seated properly). Also, do you have an intake fan? That helps a lot. On my machine for example, I have an intake fan that sits in the front side of my case that sucks air in. I have another fan on the back side of my case and it works as the exhaust. Works like a charm. Getting those round cables can help too, but first try to see if you can reroute your existing cables before caughing up some money on getting those. Let me know how it goes!

Thermaltake Volcano heatsinks are the best when it comes to keeping your processor cool, so consider that option if you can afford another heatsink. I have a Volcano 11 and my temps never go higher than 50 degrees celsius on a full load (and if the fan on it is set to a low speed). The only downside to this heatsink is its size and the amount of noise it makes (when the fan speed is high), so make sure you check your system config to see if it can reasonably fit in and whether you will be able to tolerate the noise.

I had the same problem and when the mobo fried it fried my amd2000. Was a nightmare scenario. The original 7v's had some faulty capacitors, one of mine literally blew up. The replacement never came, the support people word very bad.
My problem was I when I would play video game it would lock up or reboot. If possible try rma'ing the board back to gigabyte.
The other thing it could be is the RAM> Some motherboards are just picky about RAM. One stick will work and another wont. You could try swapping the RAM out with another brand. SOme people had luck oc'ing the RAM. You can search for that on google. Good luck
V

thanks ali and variable.........i will try the things you sugested....if i take the heatsink off to try and enlign it a bit better will i have to put new cooling paste on top of the cpu again........plus i only have one stick of 512 333 memory....and that is working fineill go and buy some more artic silver paste
again
thank you...ali and variable for your help........ill keep you informed on how im getting on
cheers
les

If your CPU is running too hot, take off your heatsink/fan and :-

1. Carefully clean the CPU die with some kind of alcohol based cleaner - pure alcohol is best, but turpentine will work too

2. Clean the face of the Heat sink too as well

3. Get your thermal paste and with your finger, apply it to the heat sink in the middle and rub it right into the heatsink using a circular motion with your finger - this fills in any tiny pits/scratches on your heatsink.

4. With the same finger, get another small goop of thermal paste and carefully apply it to the die of your chip, smoothing it out sort of evenly - you don't need to be precise. Most people say use a credit card for this stage, as your finger will have dust/dirt on it - I say bollocks to that, you've already got thermal paste on your finger from applying the heatsink, so it makes no difference.

5. The tricky bit - aligning up your heatsink to the die and clipping in place - this bit is critical to a cool CPU.
The way I do it is to first hook up the one side of the clip in the area with least access for a screwdriver, keeping the face of the heatsink away from the die, then carefully pull across and over the die making sure that the other side of the clip is as close to where it will clip in as possible.
Using a small screwdriver, position it into the hollow grove of the top of the clip bit and position another screwdriver at the bottom where it will clip on - this screwdriver is for 'guidance' so you can get it clipped on in one easy and quick motion.

The longer you mess around trying to clip the heatsink on, the more mess you'll make of your thermal paste. Make sure your screwdrivers fit snuggly onto the clip area, as you could slip and damage your motherboard.

If your CPU is running too hot, take off your heatsink/fan and :-

1. Carefully clean the CPU die with some kind of alcohol based cleaner - pure alcohol is best, but turpentine will work too

2. Clean the face of the Heat sink too as well

3. Get your thermal paste and with your finger, apply it to the heat sink in the middle and rub it right into the heatsink using a circular motion with your finger - this fills in any tiny pits/scratches on your heatsink.

4. With the same finger, get another small goop of thermal paste and carefully apply it to the die of your chip, smoothing it out sort of evenly - you don't need to be precise. Most people say use a credit card for this stage, as your finger will have dust/dirt on it - I say bollocks to that, you've already got thermal paste on your finger from applying the heatsink, so it makes no difference.

5. The tricky bit - aligning up your heatsink to the die and clipping in place - this bit is critical to a cool CPU.
The way I do it is to first hook up the one side of the clip in the area with least access for a screwdriver, keeping the face of the heatsink away from the die, then carefully pull across and over the die making sure that the other side of the clip is as close to where it will clip in as possible.
Using a small screwdriver, position it into the hollow grove of the top of the clip bit and position another screwdriver at the bottom where it will clip on - this screwdriver is for 'guidance' so you can get it clipped on in one easy and quick motion.

The longer you mess around trying to clip the heatsink on, the more mess you'll make of your thermal paste. Make sure your screwdrivers fit snuggly onto the clip area, as you could slip and damage your motherboard.

hi all
ive got my cpu temp down to 55 degrees.....is this about right....its a 2600 333 fsb.........and could someone confirm something for me i have an 80 gig hd 8 cache and im using windows m.e.......now then a local computer shop says windows 98 se and windows m.e wont recognise anything over 60 gig hd.....wierd that cos acording to my pc it states that im using 80 gig...therfor this is why im having over heating problems and blue screen errors
im greatfull for any help
les

Les if you're not overclocking your CPU then 55C is a bit hot even for a 333. It's still within the safety margin (below 60C) however but better keep an eye on its temp during graphics intensive apps. I don't know what HS/F you're using for cooling but it's similar to a Volcano 9 or 11 you should be able to push it down to 40-45C if your case and PSU are properly ventilated.

thanks for that jim.....
i dont know what heatsink/fan im using i got it at a computer fair....its a big copper sort of thing lol. but it is for a 2600..or so i was told.....ive tried a volcano 7+ but my pc ran hotter and kept locking up...101 compared to 60 with the one i got from the fair......do you think i should try a volcano 11
cheers matey
les..........so if my cpu temp is 60.....whenever i play a game does the temp go higher.........
as im waiting on a radeon 9800 pro..........will this run bad......if my temp goes any higher
cheers
les

I got an XP2000+ together with the Volcano 7+ and for example now I run at 45 degrees Celsius with the lowest speed on the fan....so I can't understand how you got so bad cooling with yours...

hi dimitrios
as im using a 2600 333 fsb........mabe my cpu runs a lot hotter than a 2000....(just a thought mate)..mabe im wrong...........what i need to know is how much paste do i put on the cpu...is it lots or is it a small amount....ive put quite a bit on...when i took the heatsink off .the paste was all over the cpu...i had to clean it all off and started again
cheers
les

hi again all
something else puzzling......ive downloaded speedfan which i use to keep tabs on my pc temp......not sure how it works though....on the right it shows 5 temp checks....can anyone please tell me which one is the cpu......mabe im reading it wrong....im going by the top one 55 degrees
cheers
les

Hi guys, I've read this thread a few times over the last month or so & need your expert help.

I have a Gigabyte GA-7VAXP mobo running a XP2400+ processor, 1024MB of PC3200 RAM, and 2 x 120GB 8MB buffer hard drive. I also have installed a GeForce 4200Ti 128MB video card.

Many 3D games flicker badly and hang the PC. I have all the latest Nvidia drivers, DirectX9, etc.

I seem to have temporarily solved the problem by setting the AGP to 4x in the bios, rather than Auto or 8x. Games work ok now but my old PC was only 4x AGP and one of the reasons I upgraded my mobo was to get more out of my 8x card. Can anyone point me in a right direction as I've tried most things I know. Cheers.

If it works at 4x John, just leave it, as the difference is minor anyway.

hi again...its me again...i know im never out of here....just give me a season ticket lol..........the worst thing i ever done was upgrade to a more powerfull pc........i had a 1200 athlon with 256 pc 133....a crappy nvidia 32 meg vga card and 20 gig hd..........i never had a problem with it.......day in day out and not a murmer....soft arse me sold it ...added money to it and boughta 2600xp cpu a gigabyte mb 80 gig 8 cache hd 512 ddr 333 memory a prophet 4500 (yes yes i know the kyro chips are crap....didnt know this at the time of buying lol).....getting a 9800 pro on monday.....................and all i get is problems...i got to run this thing with no side on the tower to try and get it to run at a lower temp
catch you all soon
les

Thanks Al, I probably will just leave it at 4X AGP in the bios. Just seems a shame. Can't remember why else I upgraded !

@ John - You are welcome. I think you have a good board there, even if it does have issues with certain vid cards.

@ Les - Sometimes Les, the best way to solve the heat and configuration issue, is to tear it all down and re-assemble from scratch. I don't know what case you have, but if you have any empty fan holes, I would certainly add some. If they are all occupied, perhaps consider going to a higher CFM fan.

As for the heatsink, it sounds like you have way too much paste on there. I would recommend a Vantec Aeroflow HSF and either Arctic Silver or Arctic Silver Ceramique for your paste. Go to the Arctic Silver website for application instructions - less is best. You should also consider rounded cables if you don't already have them. Another trick that I use is to by-pass the little thermal probe that some PSUs have dangling in the case. The purpose of the probe is to throttle back the PSU fan(s) to keep the noise down. To run the fan at full power, simply snip off the thermister at the end and jion the wires together. Now you just added an 80mm full speed fan to the system.

As far as easy to use and accurate temperature readings on the 7VAXP, I have found that the Mainboard Information readings in SiSoft Sandra work quite well. Sandra is 'freeware' which you can find with a Google search. I hope this helps.

thanks for that info all m8
so a little paste is better....ive been using loads....one time when i took the heatsink off it was smeard all over my cpu..i had to clean it all off
cheers again matey
les

Hi again Al, (& Les, interesting reading).

As I mentioned things are fine now with the graphics on this mobo with the bios dumbed down to 4X AGP.

I've just been trawling the net & found DirectX9 to be the culprit with the G4 Ti4200 8X card. Many people wish to regress to DirectX 8.1 but it seems tricky.

Even the "Sparkle" site (my graphics card maker ) say the card is 'supported / designed' to DirectX 8.1 & below.

My question then, do I try to regress to DirectX 8.1 from 9, or as its working okay in 4X AGP just leave the bloody thing alone.

Answers on a postcard to the usual address !!

Thanks for your help guys,

John.